Directory_and_Chronicle_1914 — Page 835

PORT ARTHUR

順旅 Lu-shun

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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 naval and military stronghold.

By the time the war between Russia and Japan broke out, an anchorage for battleships had 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 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 on the 5th December, 1904, the Japanese army, after many unavailing attempts, succeeded at last in capturing 203-Metre 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 on the 8th 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 $78 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 of large calibre, 149 medium and 343 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 vessels.

Port Arthur (called by the Japanese Riojun), is now the headquarters of the Japanese civil and military administration in the province of Kwantung. The town is divided into two parts, the old and the new. The old or east part is a business town existing from the Chinese régime, and the port admiralty, naval yard, Red Cross hospital, captured arms museum, the fortress commander's office, local civil government office, and the high and district courts, are located there. The new or west part was a poor village when the Russians entered into occupation. They erected here many fine build- ings, among them being the Kwantung Government Office, the

Office, the Middle School and Higher School for Girls, Technical College and the Yamato Hotel, &c. As a memorial to the Japanese soldiers who fell in the assault on Monument Hill, which commands the harbour, a high tower has been erected at the suggestion of Admiral Togo and General Nogi. The climate is bracing, and though the winter from December to February is cold the harbour is free from ice. March, April and May are lovely months, as the surrounding hills and fields are covered with verdure and flowers. June, July and August constitute the wet season, and are rather warm, though not so warm as other cities in Manchuria, as the sea breezes temper the heat. The rain is not sufficient to inconvenience travellers much, and in fact Port Arthur at this time of year attracts many visitors, who enjoy the sea bathing under the famous Golden Hill. September, October and November form a perfect autumn