Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - II. From Nanshan to Port Arthur
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
14 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
paratively easy victory over the Russians in their
immensely strong position at Nanshan certainly
gave him a right to think so, and to consider
the task before him a not very difficult one,
especially as he must have had full cognizance of
the very deficient state of the fortifications at
Port Arthur at the outbreak of the war. It is
probable that his reports from this time were to
that effect, and it is perfectly certain that the
Manchu Maru expedition was sent out in order to
give members of the Japanese Diet, the foreign
naval attaches and others an opportunity of seeing
the fall of Port Arthur, and to convey the Em-
peror’s thanks and congratulations to his victorious
Army and Navy through Marquis Kuroda, Vice-
President of the Chamber of Peers and one of the
most prominent public men in Japan. The
Japanese themselves admit so much. Judging
from the programme for the tour of the Manchu
Maru, the Japanese must have calculated that Port
Arthur would be in their hands about the middle of
July. That the fortress was able to hold out so
much longer may partly be due to the fact that the
Vladivostock squadron in its first raid succeeded
in sinking three Japanese transports, of which one
was carrying siege guns, as well as railway trollies
to bring them into position before Port Arthur.
It is undoubtedly also due to the very ably
conducted campaign of General Stoessel, who
stubbornly contested every inch of ground which
the Japanese had to cover before they stood right
outside of Port Arthur ;
thereby giving the Russian
engineers an additional two months’ respite for
getting the defences of the fortress into shape.
The Kuang-tung peninsula is hilly. There is
very little level ground. Mountains rise behind
mountains, hills above hills, forming broken
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
