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OCTOBER 175
terous to conjecture that, with the further losses
entailed by the defence of the eastern fort-ridge,
and with a most essential part of the fortress in
the hands of the enemies, the Russians would
give up the hopeless fight and surrender. Any-
how, that was how the ever-optimistic Japanese
looked at it. Under the devastating fire of their
new big guns the decimated garrison would be
powerless to withstand a determined assault by
General Nogi’s entire force. The end was draw-
ing near ;
Port Arthur was doomed.
To carry out their new plans two things, then,
were necessary : to bring the big howitzers, which
began to arrive about the middle of September, into
position, and to carry their saps up so near to the
eastern forts that an assault could be made on them
from the last parallels. The ii-in, howitzers are
constructed after a Spezzia model. They consist of
three main parts, the barrel, the carriage, and the
slide, weighing respectively ten, six, and seven
tons. The slide is mounted on a centre pivot set
in heavy concrete. The weight of the shell is
475 lbs., with a bursting charge of 66 lbs. melinite ;
there are seven different weights of driving
charges used, according to the range desired, the
biggest being 44 lbs. It may well be imagined
that the transport of these guns to their proper
positions was no easy matter. Too heavy to be
carried over the light railway, they had to be
hauled on rollers over the poorly made roads.
Then there was the construction of the concrete
bedplates and the heavy work of mounting the
guns and fitting them with their gear. A new
platform had to be constructed along the railway
line, and strong sheerlegs had to be erected for
unloading from the trucks. All the heavy ammu-
nition must be transported to the different battery
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