PORT ARTHUR
Lu-shun
Port Arthur, at the point of the "Regent's sword," or Liaotung Peninsula, was formerly China's chief naval arsenal, but was captured by the Japanese in the war with China in 1894 and its defences and military works destroyed. In 1898 when Russia obtained a lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan she fortified the former, making it into a great nayal and military stronghold.
By the time the war between Russia and Japan broke out, an anchorage for battleships har at great cost been provided in the western harbour, and the hills surrounding the harbour had been so strongly fortified that Port Arthur had come to be regarded as an impregnable fortress. It was on the night of February 8th, 1904, that the Japanese squadron under Admiral Togo made its first attack on Port Arthur and succeeded in inflicting substantial injuries to the Russian ships. But the strength of the land defences and the dangers of a mine-strewn channel prevented the Japanese admiral from following up his success. He resolved, as the next best thing, to block the entrance to the harbour, and in this endeavour several old merchant ships and a few score of heroic lives were sacrificed, but none of the attempts proved entirely successful. It was not until May, 1904, that Port Arthur was beseiged by the Japanese land forces under General Nogi, and from then onwards down to the capitulation of the fortress on January 1st, 1905, there were repeated conflicts of a most sanguinary character. When in November, 1904, the Japanese army, after many unavailing attempts, succeeded at last in capturing 203-Meter Hill they obtained the key to the position. From this point of vantage they bombarded the Russian ships in the harbour, and sank or disabled every one of them early in the month of December. Thereafter Erlungshan Fort, Signal Hill and other minor forts were captured, but not without great loss of life on both sides, and General Stoessel, recognising the hopeless- ness of his position, proposed surrender, as before stated, on New Year's Day, 1905. The terms of capitulation allowed officers to bear side-arms and to return home on parole. The prisoners delivered to General Nogi were 878 officers and 23,491 men; about half the number being sick or wounded. General Stoessel decided to give parole and return home, but other prominent generals and one admiral preferred to be sent to Japan as prisoners. The booty delivered included the occupation of 59 permanent forts, 546 guns, including 54 large calibre, 149 medium and 313 small calibre, 82,670 cannon balls, 30,000 kilos of ammunition, 35,252 rifles, 1,920 horses, four battleships, not including the Sevastopol, which was entirely sunk, two cruisers, 14 gunboats, and destroyers; 10 steamers, etc., besides 35 small vesscis.
Port Arthur is now the headquarters of Japanese civil and military administra- tion in the province of Kwantung.
KWANTUNG GOVERNMENT
Governor-General and Commander-in-chief-General BARON Y, OSHIMA
Civil Administrator-in-chief-Hon. Y. ISHIZUKA
BUREAU OF CIVIL ADMINISTRATION (Minseibu)
CABINET OF GOVERNOR-GENERAL
(Totoku Kwanbo)
K.Sugiura, private secretary, in charge
of Confidential Documents
H. Shimantura, private secretary, chief
of Archives section
Y. Matsuoka, secretary in charge of
Foreign Affairs
COUNSELLORS (Sanjiwan)
M. Okamura H. Shimamura
General Department (Shomukwa)
T. Sekiya, secretary in chief S. Izisawa, secretary
Police Department (Keimukwa) T. Ura, secretary, capt. supt. I. Kubotani, secretary
Treasury Department (Zaimukwa)
C. Royama, secretary in charge DigiTz
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.