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218 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
constructed, looking, at a distance, like a spider’s
web. The saps were also everywhere made
deeper and stronger, to give better protection
against the ravages of the enemy’s shell and
the shrapnel fire.
At Sungshuh fort a very strong last parallel
was built, thirty yards from the moat, and from there
two strongly fortified approaches were carried
right up to the top of the counterscarp. Artillery
was moved nearer to the fort, so that the effect of
the shelling could be better observed and the
guns be aimed directly at loopholes or other
special parts of the fortifications. A battery of
six 1 2-pounder naval guns was placed near Shui-
shi village, two 3’6 in. mortars at Shikou village
close by, and batteries of field guns still nearer
to the fort, in fact, only some 1,200 yards away.
Approaches were dug from Hackimakiyama,
East and West Panlung, and Ichinobe (“ P ”) forts
against different parts of the Chinese wall to pre-
pare for attacks on the whole enceinte, in order to
divert the enemy’s attention, and compel him to
extend his comparatively small force over a large
area.
At East Kikuan fort the saps were carried up
the steep incline towards the “ Tragedy Trench,”
and out to the west strong approaches and parallels
were constructed towards 203 Metre Hill and its
sister hill Akasakayama.
Although the whole fort line was still kept under
an intermittent fairly strong artillery fire, the
Japanese during this period concentrated most of
their shelling, especially with the big howitzers and
the 4*7 in. naval guns, on the town and harbour.
The bombardment soon began to tell. Shells fell
into several of the ammunition magazines, causing
big explosions, and many fires broke out in the
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