RUSSIA. February 9, 1904 (January 27 O.S.) St. Petersburg. Emperor Nicholas II issued a manifesto declaring war Japan.
Vladivostok. Cruiser Detachment Commander Adm. Jessen, received an order from the governor, Gen. Alekseev to start hostilities and inflict the most sensitive blow and harm to messages Japan with Korea, went to sea with the cruisers "Rurik", "Russia", "Gromoboy" and "Bogatyr".
Port Arthur- Defense of Port Arthur. The main base of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the headquarters of Russian troops in Northeast China was located on the Liaodong Peninsula (China). On the night of January 27, 1904, a detachment of Japanese destroyers attacked the Russian fleet in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. However, the Japanese failed to land troops. Hostilities began on land from mid-April 1904, when the forces of three Japanese armies were landed in different places: the 1st Army of General Kursky (45 thousand people) at Tyurenchen, the 2nd Army of General Oku at Bizvo, 4th Army General Nozu at Dagushan. Later they were joined by General Noli's 3rd Army. In May 1904, Port Arthur was cut off by the Japanese from Manchuria. After a long defense on December 20, 1904, Port Arthur was surrendered to the Japanese. During the offensive battles near Port Arthur, the Japanese army lost up to 110 thousand people and 15 warships. The losses of the Russian troops were also significant.
Port Arthur (rus). In the morning, while on reconnaissance, the cruiser "Boyarin" discovered the main forces of the Japanese fleet, Vice-Adm. H.Togo (6 battleships, 5 armored cruisers, 4 cruisers). At 11:00 the Japanese squadron opened fire. The Russian ships responded, keeping under the protection of coastal batteries, which, as the shells were delivered, successively entered into battle. The battle lasted about 40 minutes, after which the Japanese fleet, having received a rebuff, withdrew, establishing a complete naval blockade of the Russian naval base, remaining out of the reach of the fire of its coastal batteries. In the battle, the battleship "Poltava", the cruisers "Askold" and "Novik" were slightly damaged. Orders of the viceroy adm. Alekseev on the announcement of mobilization in the Far East and the nomination of the 3rd Vost.-Sib. sbr gene. Kashtalinsky to the border of Manchuria with Korea, passing along the river. Yalu.
4.Boevye actions on the outskirts of Port Arthur. 25.5-8.7.1904 War in the context of world politics
Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905(chronological table)
Tsushima battle(a detailed chronicle of the battle and its analysis)
The heroic defense of Port Arthur collapsed because of the short-sighted decisions of the generals. This defeat of the Russian troops predetermined the outcome of the Russo-Japanese War.
The beginning of the war
On January 26, 1904, large-scale hostilities of the Russo-Japanese War began with the attack of Japanese destroyers on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur on the Russian squadron. The Japanese torpedoed and temporarily disabled the best Russian battleships Tsesarevich and Retvizan, as well as the cruiser Pallada. Measures to protect ships in the outer roadstead were clearly insufficient. It is worth recognizing that none of the Russian ships received fatal damage, and after an artillery battle on the morning of January 27, the Japanese fleet was forced to retreat. The moral factor played a fatal role - the Japanese fleet managed to seize the initiative. Our squadron began to suffer ridiculous and unjustified losses in the following days due to poor interaction and control. So, two days after the start of the war, the Yenisei minelayer and the Boyarin cruiser were killed on their own mines.
mine war
During the struggle for Port Arthur, both sides actively used minefields: the Russians to protect the approach to the fortress, and the Japanese to strengthen the blockade measures. Moreover, the losses from mines in ships and personnel for both sides turned out to be much greater than in all naval artillery battles at Port Arthur combined. As a result of an explosion on Japanese mines, the battleship Petropavlovsk sank (Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov, his headquarters and most of the crew died on the ship), the gunboat Thundering and four destroyers. During the fighting, Russian ships laid 1442 mines on the approaches to the fortress, the victims of which were 12 Japanese ships, including the battleships Hatsuse and Yashima. Thus, the Japanese fleet suffered the heaviest losses in the war of 1904-1905 precisely from Russian mines near Port Arthur.
Who does time work for?
The events at Port Arthur to a large extent determined the general course of hostilities of the Russo-Japanese War. The Russian command needed to carry out a series of offensive actions in order to unblock the fortress. This forced them to go on the offensive. The results of such forced and ill-prepared offensives were failures near Wafangou and Shahe.
For the Japanese, who planned to capture Port Arthur immediately, a long siege also proved to be a difficult task. She pinned down a third of all Japanese troops on the continent. Attempts to solve the problem with one powerful assault (as on the eve of the battles on the Shahe) led to colossal losses with minimal military results. The surrender of the fortress on January 5, 1905, allowed the Japanese command to timely transfer the 3rd Army from Port Arthur to Manchuria shortly before the biggest battle of the war near Mukden.
Food
During the struggle for Port Arthur, both the Russian and Japanese armies experienced food shortages. The situation in the fortress was aggravated by General Stessel's ban on the local Chinese population from fishing, which could be a serious help in the fight against food shortages. And if the reserves of flour, crackers and sugar at the time of the surrender of the fortress remained for another month and a half, then there was practically no meat and vegetables. Scurvy began to rage among the garrison.
Japanese troops experienced no less difficulties. Initially, the Japanese food system was not adapted to the fighting on the continent in a more severe climate than on the Japanese islands and the frosty winter of 1904-1905. The huge decline in the Japanese army near Port Arthur (up to 112 thousand people, according to Russian historians) was due not only to combat, but also to huge sanitary losses.
The death of General Kondratenko
A heavy loss for the defenders of Port Arthur, which hastened the fall of the fortress, was the death of the head of the land defense, Lieutenant General Roman Kondratenko. The name of this man, who became the soul of the defense of Port Arthur, is associated with a number of measures to strengthen the defense of the fortress. Under the leadership of Kondratenko, the defense of Port Arthur was actually built anew. The concentration of large forces in the direction of the main attacks of the enemy more than once allowed Kondratenko to repel the onslaught of superior Japanese forces. Kondratenko paid much attention to the introduction of technical innovations (mortars, barbed wire with electric current passed through it). Being a fearless defender of Port Arthur, at the same time, Kondratenko advocated an early end to the war with Japan, pointing out the need to sign a peace before the Japanese were able to capture Port Arthur. After the death of Kondratenko on December 2, 1904, Generals Stessel and Fok began to actively pursue a policy aimed at surrendering the fortress to the Japanese.
High
High (height 203) was one of the key points in the defense of Port Arthur. From Vysoka one could see the fortress and the inner roadstead, where most of the ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron were located. Japanese troops made repeated attempts to capture this height. The fiercest battles on Vysokaya unfolded in mid-November 1904, when the Japanese threw two divisions into battle and concentrated the fire of heavy 280 mm siege howitzers, from which shells no protection could save. On November 23, the Japanese finally took possession of Vysokaya, having received the opportunity to correct the fire of siege artillery on Russian ships in Port Arthur, which predetermined the death of most of the squadron.
However, heavy losses in the battles for Vysokaya (5,000 killed and 7,000 wounded in the November battles alone) forced the Japanese command to abandon further large-scale frontal attacks, concentrating on operations against individual Russian fortifications.
stossel
Not the last negative role in the defense of Port Arthur was played by Lieutenant General Anatoly Stessel. In literature, he is often called the commandant of the fortress, although this is not so. Stessel was the head of the Kwantung fortified region, after the abolition of the latter in June 1904, contrary to orders, he remained in Port Arthur. As a military leader, he did not show himself by sending out reports with exaggerated data on Russian losses and the number of Japanese troops. Notorious for a number of very dark financial affairs in the besieged fortress. On January 2, 1905, contrary to the opinion of the military council, he began negotiations with the Japanese on the surrender of Port Arthur. After the war, under the pressure of public opinion, he was put on trial and was sentenced to 10 years in a fortress, but six months later he was released by decision of the emperor and hurried to go abroad.
The fortresses of Port Arthur from February 9 (January 27, old style) 1904 to January 2, 1905 (December 20, 1904, old style) during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).
In order to secure access to the Yellow Sea, in 1898 the tsarist government of Russia leased for 25 years part of the Liaodong Peninsula (Kwantung Peninsula) with Port Arthur (now Lushun). The construction of fortifications in Port Arthur, due to lack of funds, began only in 1901 (by January 1904, nine long-term and 12 temporary batteries were built in the coastal direction from 25 batteries; on land, six forts, five fortifications and five long-term batteries were completed only one fort, three fortifications and three batteries). Of the 552 guns, 116 were on alert. The garrison of the Kwantung Peninsula consisted of the 4th and 7th East Siberian Rifle Divisions. The head of the Kwantung Fortified Region was Lieutenant General Anatoly Stessel, the commandant of the fortress was Lieutenant General Konstantin Smirnov, the head of the land defense was Lieutenant General Roman Kondratenko, who became the organizer and inspirer of the defense of Port Arthur. At the beginning of the war, the 1st Pacific Squadron was in Port Arthur under the command of Vice Admiral Oscar Stark (seven battleships, nine cruisers (including three old ones), 24 destroyers, four gunboats, two minelayers, two mine cruisers).
On the night of February 9, 1904, 10 Japanese destroyers suddenly, before the declaration of war, attacked the Russian squadron, which, due to the carelessness of the command, was on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur without proper security measures. The battleships "Tsesarevich", "Retvizan" and the cruiser "Pallada" were heavily damaged. But the enemy failed to destroy the Russian squadron with one sudden blow. In the morning, the main forces of the Japanese fleet appeared in front of Port Arthur (six battleships and 10 cruisers under the command of Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo). A Russian squadron came out to meet them (five battleships and five cruisers). The fight lasted for about an hour. Under the fire of Russian ships, supported by coastal artillery, the enemy retreated and went to the open sea. His attempts to block the Russian squadron from entering the inner roadstead of Port Arthur were also unsuccessful.
On March 8, Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov took command of the Pacific Squadron, taking decisive measures to increase its combat activity. But on April 13, during one of the squadron's exits to the sea, the flagship battleship "Petropavlovsk" hit a mine and sank two minutes later. Makarov and most of the crew were killed. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Witgeft took command of the squadron.
The passivity of Rear Admiral Witgeft, who took command of the squadron, allowed the Japanese to freely begin on May 5 in the area of Bizwo the landing of the 2nd Army of General Yasukata Oku, which, without meeting resistance, cut the railway line to Port Arthur, on May 26, the Japanese troops, thanks to a significant superiority in forces (about 35 thousand people against 3800 people from the Russians), captured Russian positions on the Jinzhou Isthmus, covering the distant approaches to Port Arthur. Russian troops retreated to positions along the line of the Lunaantan Bay. Fearing an attack by the main forces of the Russian army from the north, the enemy left one division against Port Arthur, and redeployed three to the north. Sent to support Port Arthur, the 1st Siberian Corps under the command of General Georgy Shtakelberg (about 30 thousand people) was defeated near Vafangou on June 14-15 due to inept leadership. To capture Port Arthur, the Japanese created the 3rd Army of General Maresuke Nogi, which launched an offensive on June 26 and reached the near approaches to the fortress by July 30, beginning its siege. By this time, its garrison consisted of about 50.5 thousand people (of which eight thousand sailors), 646 guns (including 350 serfs) and 62 machine guns. The enemy had about 70 thousand people, about 400 guns (including 198 siege guns) and 72 machine guns.
On August 10, Russian ships again attempted to break through to Vladivostok (the first attempt was made on June 23), but after an unsuccessful battle in the Yellow Sea, they returned to Port Arthur, where they actively supported the ground forces with their fire during the defense of the fortress, transferred artillery and personnel to the troops to strengthen the defense.
On August 19, the enemy launched an assault on Russian positions. In fierce battles that lasted until August 24, at the cost of heavy losses (about 15 thousand people; the Russians lost over six thousand people), he managed only in some places to wedge into the main line of defense of the fortress.
On September 19-22, Japanese troops launched the 2nd assault. Having suffered heavy losses (7.5 thousand people against 1.5 thousand people from the Russians), the enemy captured three fortifications - the Kumirnensky and Vodoprovodny redoubts and the Long height; the main object of their attack - the High mountain dominating the city - withstood.
On October 1, the shelling of Port Arthur from 11-inch howitzers began, destroying the concrete casemates of the fortress, not designed for such a caliber of guns. During the 3rd assault on October 30-31, the Japanese troops were able to occupy only a few secondary fortifications. Having received replenishment, the enemy resumed the assault on November 26, directing the main blow against Mount Vysokaya, on December 5, despite the heroism of the defenders, took possession of it and began destroying the surviving ships of the squadron locked in the inner roadstead with artillery fire. The battleship Poltava was the first to die on December 5, the next day - the battleships Retvisan and Peresvet, on December 7 - the battleship Pobeda and the cruiser Pallada, on December 9 - the cruiser Bayan. Of the large ships, only the battleship "Sevastopol" (Captain 1st Rank Nikolai Essen) survived, which left the inner raid in a timely manner and took refuge in the White Wolf Bay. Here it was attacked by Japanese destroyers for six nights, but to no avail: two of them were destroyed by artillery fire from the battleship, and nine were seriously damaged. Until the very end of the defense of Port Arthur, "Sevastopol" continued to provide fire support to the ground forces.
On December 15, General Roman Kondratenko died with his closest assistants. General Anatoly Fok, a supporter of the surrender of the fortress, was appointed head of the land defense. On December 29, a meeting of the military council was held, the majority of the participants of which spoke in favor of continuing the defense. However, despite this, Anatoly Stessel signed the capitulation on January 2, 1905.
On January 2, 1905, the Port Arthur garrison numbered over 32 thousand people (including about six thousand sick and wounded), 610 guns, nine machine guns, about 208 thousand shells and up to three thousand horses.
The heroic defense of Port Arthur lasted 329 days, including 155 days of direct struggle for the fortress on the land front. She pinned down large enemy forces (up to 200 thousand people), frustrating his plan to quickly defeat the Manchurian army. In the struggle for Port Arthur, the Japanese lost over 110 thousand people and 15 warships, another 16 ships were heavily damaged and out of action for a long time. The losses of the Port Arthur garrison in killed and wounded amounted to about 27 thousand people.
Under the Portsmouth Peace Treaty (1905), lease rights to Port Arthur passed to Japan, and it became the main base of Japanese aggression in China. In 1923, the lease expired, but Japan did not return Port Arthur to China. During the 2nd World War (1939-1945), on August 14, 1945, an agreement was signed between the USSR and China on the joint use of Port Arthur as a naval base for 30 years. On August 23, 1945, Soviet troops liberated Port Arthur. In February 1950, an agreement was concluded between the USSR and the PRC on the joint use of the naval base of Port Arthur for three years, which was extended in 1952. After the end of the war in Vietnam and Korea in October 1954, an agreement was concluded on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Port Arthur, which was completed in May 1955, and all the facilities of the fortress and the naval base were transferred to the PRC.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
(Additional
DELIVERY OF PORT ARTHUR
On the right flank of the fortress, where I commanded the battery, on December 19 there was complete calm. Fighting, and very formidable, was in the center near the Eagle's Nest. Taking advantage of the calm, I went on business to General Stessel's Headquarters. Entering a vast room crowded with clerks and telephonists and a mass of telephone sets (each fortification had its own special line), I saw General Fock moving from one telephone to another and transmitting General Stessel's order for a ceasefire and for the envoy ensign Malchenko to leave for position with a proposal to surrender the fortress. I was, of course, amazed by this news, all the more so since before coming to the Headquarters, I heard among the officers standing near the Headquarters, talk that two days ago Stessel had a military council, at which it was decided that in the event of the enemy entering into city, withdraw to Liaoteshan and continue the fight from this mountain, quickly fortifying it.
When gen. Fok went around all the phones, I went up to him and expressed my surprise at such an unexpected order, to which he told me that there was no other way out, because a number of fortifications that had passed to the Japanese over the past few hours proved that the troops were so overworked, that they are no longer able to resist. To this he added: “Do you know what was done by the Japanese to the Chinese when they invaded the same Arthur during the Sino-Japanese War?..”
We were all well aware that the Japanese, having invaded Arthur, slaughtered all the Chinese to the last, we were prepared for this and none of us for the entire siege did not count on the opportunity to stay alive.
When I left the Headquarters and, passing through the officers gathered in front of the Headquarters, I recounted my conversation with the general, everyone, I believe, experienced the same thing - the joy of the resurrection! In an instant, we remembered all our relatives, whom we, having said goodbye to the hope of surviving, had not remembered for months. But this lasted for minutes, and then came a bitter feeling of vexation and shame. It seemed that death was better than the shame of surrender.
The silence that followed was somehow especially reflected on the nerves. We were so accustomed to the constant rumble of gunfire, which did not separate even individual shots, that it became eerie from the ensuing silence. At 9 pm continuous explosions began. They were especially strong in the port. It was we who blew up our remaining half-submerged ships and port facilities. Guns were blown up on forts and fortifications. At 7 o'clock in the morning the explosions stopped.
On the same night, the destroyer "Statny", under the command of Baron Kossinsky, loaded with regimental banners and other shrines of the regiments, as well as the secret affairs of the headquarters, went to Chifu and, having successfully broken through, handed over at dawn on December 20 all its valuable cargo to our consul.
Negotiations on the conditions for the surrender of the fortress were scheduled for the morning. The first thing the Japanese demanded was to stop all sorts of explosions and the slaughter of horses for meat, and oxen were brought in to feed the garrison of the fortress. The conditions for surrender were honorable: weapons were left to the officers and they were offered, on parole, not to fight anymore, to return to their homeland, and those who wished to share the fate of the team were allowed to go into captivity.
Japanese troops did not enter the fortress, only on the third day Japanese officers began to appear in Port Arthur. I remember having breakfast that day at the Naval Assembly. During breakfast, a group of seven Japanese officers entered the dining room. They began to walk around the table and greet each of us, and we silently shook hands, left our breakfast and left the meeting. From that moment on, we considered the meeting closed for us.
Sending prisoners began on 21 December. She walked very slowly. We were collected outside the city and sent by trains. Only the first day we were left without food. The Japanese explained this by the fact that more prisoners appeared at the assembly point than was shown during the negotiations. From the second day, everyone was given canned food and even half a bottle of whiskey, the last one on the third day they stopped issuing.
I was walking with the last echelon, and while the Golden Mountain in Arthur was visible, the St. Andrew's flag fluttered on it. The Japanese showed themselves to be very tactful and replaced it with their flag only when the last echelon was out of sight, as the doctors and sisters of mercy who remained in Arthur, who lingered with the wounded in the fortress, later said. It was a chivalrous act on the part of the enemy, as well as the entry of their troops only after the release of the last echelon of prisoners.
It took us eight days to reach one of the railway stations between Port Arthur and Dalniy. We walked two or three versts a day. Then tents were set up, a fire was made in the middle of the tent, the smoke of which came out of a large hole in the roof, and we, warming ourselves around the fire, spent time in tents until the next morning, when we set off on a further hike.
The temperature was all this time, at night, -20 gr. according to Réaumur. Arriving at the station, I was amazed at the endurance of the Japanese. Obviously due to lack of space, the entire landing stage of the station was occupied by wounded Japanese soldiers, who were lying one next to the other, right under the open sky. And it's so cold! Having loaded us into freight wagons without heating, we were brought to Dalniy that same evening, where we were placed in an unfinished gymnasium. We slept on the floor, even without straw. The rooms were so crowded with officers that we all had to go to bed at the same time, otherwise, because of the crowding, it would be impossible to get to our place. A few days later we were sent to Japan on steamboats and our ordeals were over.
Captain 1st rank
B. I. Bok
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Subtitles
Before the war
The Russian-Chinese convention, concluded on March 15 (27), 1898, leased Port Arthur to Russia for 25 years with the right to extend this period. The main forces of the Russian naval forces in the Pacific received an ice-free base on the coast of the Yellow Sea. The 9th East Siberian Rifle Regiment was the first to land here. On March 16 (28), 1898, over the Golden Mountain, to the thunder of a salutatory salute and a booming “Hurrah!” St. Andrew's flag hoisted. Port Arthur was made the main base of the Russian navy in the Pacific.
During its occupation by the Russians, Port Arthur was only a small, uncomfortable village with a population of about four thousand people, which later received the name of the Old City. In May 1901, the new owners began cutting and selling plots in the New City, and it began to be built up rapidly. In the New City for the military administration, the buildings of the headquarters and the Engineering Department were built, then the building of the Russian-Chinese Bank, a real school and many solid residential buildings were erected. The western part of the city was occupied by one-story soldiers' barracks and a huge naval crew building. Each ship brought new military units and employees, property, goods and building materials. From the interior provinces of China, a flow of labor force poured into the Kwantung region, and by January 1, 1904, 51,906 inhabitants (except for the troops) lived in Port Arthur: 15,388 of them were Russians and 35,000 were Chinese.
The Chinese began to deepen the shallow harbor of Port Arthur, but even by the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, this work had not been completed. It consisted of an artificial Eastern and more spacious Western basins. Both of them were connected to the outer roadstead by a passage 900 m long and 300 m wide. The Russians managed to increase the old dock for cruisers inherited from the Chinese, restore and improve the small shipyard and arsenal destroyed by the Japanese in 1895, port workshops, a small dock for destroyers. In the area of the Eastern Basin there were workshops and coal depots - by the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, all the coal reserves of Port Arthur were estimated at 207,200 tons of coal, including 124,900 tons of the best cardif. The territory of the port itself and the whole city were illuminated from the central port power station.
According to the recollections of people who were in Port Arthur, from the sea he seemed very unfriendly. The gaze of a passenger on a steamboat approaching the city first saw a long mountain range, abruptly dropping into the sea. From the gloomy yellow-gray rocks, devoid of any vegetation, it blew longing and cold. The sea beat against the high shore with a dull noise. From the top of the Golden Mountain, a beautiful view of the city opened up. Directly below, the Eastern Basin was visible, behind it at the foot of the Quail Mountain was the Old City itself, behind which stretched uneven hilly terrain up to Bolshoy Mountain, dominating all of Port Arthur - at its base was the New Chinese City. To the right of the small pool was the Freshwater Lake, around which the barracks and buildings of the Engineering Department were scattered in disorder. Between this lake, the Zolotaya and Krestovaya mountains and the sea, there were summer cottages built up with cottages for Russian naval officers. Looking to the left, first, an exit to the outer road opened, and then - a rather extensive Western basin, on the opposite side of which the New European City was spread; The Western Basin was separated from the sea by the long and narrow peninsula Tiger's Tail. All this panorama was closed by the sea and a chain of high steep mountains, on which there was a ring of fortifications that protected Port Arthur from a possible enemy attack. However, Russian military engineers did not have time to complete the construction of the city's defensive fortifications by the beginning of the war.
In accordance with the "Plan of military operations of naval forces in the Pacific for 1903", developed by the chief of staff of the commander of the naval forces of the Pacific Ocean, Rear Admiral V.K. Vitgeft, supplemented by the "Distribution of naval forces in the Pacific Ocean in wartime in 1903", to 1904 all Russian naval forces were divided between Port Arthur and Vladivostok. Based in Port Arthur: a combat squadron (battleships, new cruisers, 1st detachment of destroyers) and a defensive detachment (obsolete cruisers, 2nd detachment of destroyers, gunboats and mine transports) - a total of 7 squadron battleships, 6 cruisers, 3 old sail-screw clippers, 4 gunboats, including 2 armored boats, 2 mine transports, 2 mine cruisers and 25 destroyers.
It was precisely the destruction of this formation of the Russian naval forces, apparently, that was the main goal of the Japanese army at the first stage of the Russo-Japanese War. Operations against the Port Arthur fortress were not in the interests of the Japanese army. They were needed by the Japanese Navy. “The siege of Port Arthur was necessary,” wrote the official work of the German General Staff. - The Japanese could complete their operations on land only by having dominance at sea. It is for this reason that the Russian fleet in East Asia had to be destroyed, and since most of it took refuge from the attack of the Japanese ... in the harbor of Port Arthur, the fortress had to be attacked from land. “The Japanese fleet had to wait for the arrival of the Baltic squadron, and for Japan it was a vital issue to create for itself ... favorable conditions for a future naval battle [with the Russian 2nd Pacific squadron - approx.], that is, take Port Arthur first. The attack on Liaoyang, where the main forces of the Russian Manchurian army were concentrated, was originally planned by the Japanese to begin after the fall of Port Arthur, when the liberated siege army would be transferred to Manchuria near Liaoyang.
In the plans worked out by the Russian military command on the eve of the war, one can detect a curious evolution of views on the role of Port Arthur in this war. The plan drawn up at the Provisional Headquarters of the Viceroy E. I. Alekseev was based on the assumption that “since sufficient forces are concentrated at Liaoyang in a timely manner, then the Japanese army’s offensive to Port Arthur is unthinkable, why only it can be assigned to the defense of Port Arthur garrison with the most insignificant additions. On the contrary, the Minister of War A. N. Kuropatkin, in his Most Submissive Note of July 24, 1903, recognized the “most desirable and possible plan of action for the Japanese” as one in which they would try to immediately occupy Korea and capture Port Arthur. According to A. N. Kuropatkin, sufficient forces to fight Japan could be deployed in South Manchuria only in the second half of the year after the announcement of mobilization. Until that time, Kwantung will be cut off from Russia, and therefore the number of Russian troops there must be increased. And at first, Kuropatkin managed to convince the governor Alekseev of this, who on February 12 (25), 1904 reported to the tsar that a possible Japanese attack on Port Arthur "for our common interests in the entire theater of war can be recognized as rather beneficial", since the fortress was already has a garrison of 20,000. But Kuropatkin demanded and achieved an even greater strengthening of the fortress garrison, since he believed that “if the besieged Port Arthur does not have a sufficient garrison, then the army commander, worrying about the fate of the fortress, may be forced to go on the offensive with unconcentrated forces, and this will inevitably lead to defeat. Appointed commander of the Manchurian army, he “believed that 45 thousand [people] would be enough to repel the assault. On the contrary, the forces of the Manchurian army, concentrated near Liaoyang, seemed to him insufficient to launch a counteroffensive. He considered Port Arthur only a fortress, intended only to "rive as many enemy forces as possible to itself." Until he achieved numerical superiority over the enemy, he considered it both harmful and dangerous to defend any remote points. Convinced that the outcome of the war with Japan would be decided on the fields of Manchuria, Kuropatkin from the very beginning decided to allow the Japanese to lay siege to Port Arthur, which, as he assumed at that time, could hold out for several months, diverting a significant part of the forces of the Japanese army. The commander of the Russian army deliberately refused active operations at the beginning of the war, giving the initiative to the enemy, who took advantage of this to deploy his armies and prepare for the offensive. The small detachments that Kuropatkin had instructed to hold back the enemy's advance at this first stage of the war could not do this. Landing armies in turn, in parts, the Japanese thereby gave the Russians certain advantages that they did not even think of taking advantage of. Kuropatkin's orders to "attack, but without determination" and "do not engage in battle with superior forces" had a depressing effect on the troops, killed in commanders the desire to grapple with the enemy and defeat him. And when the troops are ordered "not to engage in battle with superior forces," every now and then they always end up being afraid to touch the enemy's patrol.
Summing up the above, we can say that the "great siege" of Port Arthur began for two reasons. Firstly, because the Japanese command considered it necessary to destroy the Russian fleet, which was based there, as soon as possible. To achieve this important goal, it was ready to make any sacrifices: after all, the dead soldiers of the 3rd Army of the Foot could be replaced, and the United Fleet of Togo had to win with the same ships with which it started the war. Secondly, due to the fact that the Russian land command decided not to interfere with the beginning of this siege, considering it beneficial for itself that Port Arthur divert the enemy troops.
Port Arthur was cut off from land communications with the Manchurian army from April 23 (May 6), 1904 (after the landing of the 2nd Oku Army in Bidzuvo) and from sea communications through the Chinese port of Yingkou - from July 11 (24), 1904. (after the battle at Tashichao). On May 13 (26), 1904, the Japanese 2nd Oku Army broke through the Russian defenses on the Jinzhou Isthmus, which blocked the approaches to Port Arthur in the narrowest part of the Liaodong Peninsula. As a result of this victory, the Japanese occupied the port of Dalniy on May 19 (June 1), 1904, which became the place of concentration of the 3rd Noga Army, intended for operations against Port Arthur. Already on July 13-15 (26-28), 1904, this army attacked after a stubborn battle that cost it 6,000 people. killed and wounded, broke through the last fortified positions of the Russians on the Green Mountains, blocking the nearest approaches to the fortress. The actual siege of Port Arthur began when, on July 17 (30), the Japanese approached the city at a distance of a shot from the main caliber of battleships, and Russian ships fired at the enemy from the harbor for the first time. On July 25 (August 7), 1904, Japanese artillery carried out the first bombardment of the city and port.
Fortifications of the fortress
In the hands of the Chinese, Port Arthur was a military base, suitably fortified. There were four coastal batteries and several high earthworks that surrounded the city from the east and north and were interconnected by an earthen rampart, which later received the name of the Chinese wall. In addition, over two dozen inpans were scattered around the immediate vicinity of the city, surrounded by an adobe wall, but most of them were destroyed, so these fortifications of Port Arthur, when transferred by the Chinese in 1898, were no longer of great combat value. Having occupied the city and wishing to have a military port and a base for the fleet in it, Russia had to create a new fortress here, the drafting of which was started on the spot in the same 1898, when the city was occupied.
The local commission proposed to improve and re-equip the old Chinese coastal batteries, and then replace these batteries with new ones. The line of forts on the land front of the projected fortress was recognized as necessary to move to the Wolf Mountains, about 8 km from the outskirts of the Old City. The next project, drawn up by a special commission that arrived in Port Arthur in October 1898, differed from the first project mainly in that the line of forts did not reach the Wolf Mountains, but went about 4.5 km from the city along the line Dagushan - Dragon Range - Panlongshan - Corner Mountains - High Mountain and White Wolf Height. This land defense line was 70 km long and required a 70,000-strong garrison and 528 ground weapons alone.
The interdepartmental meeting, to which this project fell, sought to save the cost of Kwantung in terms of people and money. It expressed the wish that the Kwantung garrison should not exceed the number of bayonets and cavalry available there at that time, namely 11,300 people, so that "the organization of the protection of the peninsula would not be excessively expensive and politically dangerous."
The military department, having accepted this directive, sent professor K. I. Velichko to Port Arthur, who at that time was a member of the Engineering and Fortress Committees, and gave him guidelines for drafting the fortress. In accordance with these instructions, the final project of the fortress was drawn up, according to which the length of the land line of defense that passed through the heights of the Dragon Range, the hill in front of the Cemetery Mountain, Jagged Mountain, the hill near the village of Sanshugou, Woodcock Hill, the heights at the southern corner of the Western Basin and Mount Bely wolf, amounted to 19 km. The center of the arc, along which all the forts of the land line were located, was the entrance to the inner raid at the tip of the so-called Tiger's Tail, and the radius of this arc was 4 km; it was closed by an approximately 8.5 km coastal position in the form of an obtuse reentrant angle of about 12º.
In addition to the main defensive line, which consisted of six forts and five intermediate fortifications, the project also provided for the encirclement of the Old City and the Eastern Basin with a continuous central fence of temporary strongholds and lines connecting them in the form of a rampart with a moat with a sheer counterscarp and flank defenses. And although the construction of the main defensive line was planned in the first place, but since this line had shortcomings caused by economic considerations, various advanced buildings and positions were also secondarily provided (for example, on Mount Dagushan). The Primorsky Front was supposed to consist of 25 coastal batteries, located in three groups: on the Tigris Peninsula, Zolotaya and Krestovaya mountains. All these batteries were assigned 124 guns, including 254- and 152-mm guns, 280- and 229-mm mortars, 57-mm coastal guns, field battery guns and old 152-mm three-ton guns.
The cost of engineering work was calculated in the amount of 7.5 million rubles; almost the same amount had to cost all artillery weapons. In total, about 15 million rubles were to be allocated for the construction of the Port Arthur fortress. This amount does not seem excessive, if we recall that all three serial battleships of the Poltava type (built in 1892-1900) at once cost the Russian treasury only one third more (7-8 million rubles each).
In this form, the project of the fortress was approved in 1900, work began a little earlier. But due to small financial holidays, these works were not carried out immediately, but were divided into three stages, with the expectation that the construction of the fortress would be completed in 1909. And until January 27 (February 9), 1904, when the Russo-Japanese War had already begun, only 4.5 million rubles were allocated for defensive work, that is, less than one third of what was needed. Therefore, by the indicated date, only a little more than half of all the work was done in the fortress, with the greatest attention being paid to the coastal front, which turned out to be in the highest degree of readiness: 21 batteries were erected on it, including 9 long-term types and 12 more temporary, and 2 powder magazines. On the land front, only fort No. IV, fortifications No. 4 and 5, batteries lit. A, B and C and 2 nutrient cellars. The rest of the buildings were either not yet completed, or just begun construction, or even not started at all. Among such unfinished, but of paramount importance in the defense of the fortress (since they were subsequently attacked by land), were forts No. II and III and temporary fortification No. 3. By the beginning of the war, the Port Arthur fortress was armed with 116 artillery pieces ready for action. guns, of which there are 108 on the sea direction, and on the land direction in general only 8 (at fort No. IV) guns instead of 542 according to the time sheet.
After the outbreak of hostilities, the construction of fortifications accelerated according to the well-developed plan of engineer-lieutenant colonel S. A. Rashevsky and under the able leadership of the commander of the 7th East Siberian Rifle Division, Major General R. I. Kondratenko. The latter was the soul of the entire defense: largely thanks to him, the garrison did everything possible to increase the defenses of Port Arthur. Work was carried out day and night. Echelons with troops, artillery, machine guns and ammunition arrived in the city. But to do in five months, moreover, in the order of improvisation, the work that was designed for five years, was, unfortunately, still beyond the limits of human possibility.
By the beginning of the close siege of Port Arthur by the Japanese troops on July 17 (30), 1904, the fortifications of the fortress consisted of five forts (No. I-V), three fortifications (No. 3 - 5) and four separate artillery batteries (letters A, B, C and D ). In the intervals between them, rifle trenches were dug, covered with barbed wire and, in the most dangerous directions, with land mines buried in the ground. On the flanks, advanced field-type positions were also equipped on the Syagushan, Dagushan, High and Corner mountains. The Kumirnensky, Vodoprovodny and Skalisty redoubts were moved towards the Shuishin valley. Behind the belt of the main fortifications, between them, as well as on the coastal front, batteries and separate firing points of dagger action were installed: of these, the most famous in the history of defense are the Big and Small Eagle's Nests, Zaredutnaya battery, coastal numbered batteries, redoubts No. 1 and 2, Kurgannaya Battery, Quail Mountain, Dragon's Back, etc.
The system of fortifications relied on the terrain, which was quite favorable for defense. All fortifications were built on mountains, opposite which, to the north, there was a relatively flat area. As it approached the fortifications, it turned into an open sloping area, which was under fire from artillery and rifle fire from the defenders. Everywhere there were observation posts to correct artillery fire. The rear slopes of the heights served as a good cover for people and guns.
Organizationally, the land defense of Port Arthur was divided into two sectors. The first, under the command of the commander of the 1st brigade of the 7th rifle division, Major General V.N. fort number V and ended with the White Wolf redoubt. The first of the sectors included the Eastern and Northern fronts, the second - the least ready for battles, the Western Front. The commander of the 7th East Siberian Rifle Division, Major General R. I. Kondratenko, was appointed head of the land defense of the fortress. All reserves were led by the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, Major General A. V. Fok. The general leadership of the defense of the fortress was formally supposed to be carried out by the commandant of the fortress, Lieutenant General Smirnov, but in fact, the supreme command from the very beginning was in the hands of the head of the former Kwantung Fortified Region, Lieutenant General A. M. Stessel.
One of the significant shortcomings of the Port Arthur fortress was the fact that its defensive line adjoined the city and harbor too closely, which made it possible for the Japanese to bring their cannons to those positions from which the city began to be shelled from the very first days of the siege. Ultimately, Port Arthur itself did not satisfy the theoretical conditions of the then normal fortress. Some fortifications of the outer contour were separated from the city at a distance less than the normal limit - 4 km. So, fort No. III was 2.5 km away from the city, and forts No. IV and V were only 1.5 km from the outskirts of the New City. And even if we consider only the Eastern Basin, where the Russian squadron was hiding, as a protected area, then it turns out that the line of land forts was only 3 km away from the border. The besieged Port Arthur could not serve as a reliable base for the fleet: the main line of defense passed at a distance less than the firing range of the Japanese army and siege artillery. It is clear that such a proximity of the fortifications to the city caused the bombing of the latter and the port from the very first shots, and ships, warehouses and hospitals suffered, and not only shells, but also rifle bullets flew through the streets. Such a narrowing of the bypass was caused solely by considerations of economy and the desire to drive the length of the bypass in accordance with the manpower strictly allocated for the city. "Due to the unavailability of the fortress and the lack of equipment of its port ... the correct idea of \u200b\u200b" the existence of Arthur for the fleet "was nullified: the fortress could not provide the squadron from the fire of Japanese land batteries."
As B. Norigaard, a journalist for the English newspaper Daily Mail, wrote, Port Arthur would be an impregnable fortress in the full sense of the word, "if the Russians had enough time to strengthen the outer line of defense as well ... along the Fenghoanshan and Dagushan ridges." This outer line, which dominated the Russian forts and fortifications for a long distance, became the starting point of the Japanese offensive, it well covered the deployment of Japanese troops, their field camps and siege weapons.
There were also shortcomings in the fortification system itself: too few long-term fortifications, which, moreover, were not camouflaged on the ground, their location on the same line with large "dead" (non-shootable) zones, the lack of good roads in the fortress for maneuvering troops and artillery, lack of aerial surveillance (aerostats), unreliable communications. Only one Eastern Front of Defense could be considered to be in any way completed. The northern front was only half completed. The western front was barely marked, meanwhile, there was the key to the fortress - Mount High (or height 203) - the Malakhov mound of Port Arthur, from which the whole city and the raid were clearly visible and with the occupation of which the entire Russian squadron was doomed to death by the Japanese. These shortcomings in the fortification system of the fortress had to be filled by the garrison of the fortress itself, fortunately, consisting mostly of young conscripts under the age of 30, who were distinguished by good health and high morale.
By July 17 (30), 1904, the Port Arthur fortress was armed with only 646 artillery pieces and 62 machine guns, of which 514 guns and 47 machine guns were installed on the land front. For protection from the sea there were: 5 10-inch guns (10 according to the report card), 12 9-inch guns, 20 modern 6-inch Canet guns, 12 old 6-inch guns of 190 pounds (4 according to the report card), 12 battery 120- millimeter cannons, 28 57-mm cannons (24 according to the report card), as well as 10 11-inch and 32 9-inch mortars. There were only 274,558 shells (of which heavy: 2004 11-inch, 790 10-inch and 7819 9-inch), an average of about 400 for each gun. Almost from the very beginning of the war, the uselessness of mortars against ships became clear, and they began to be used for defense on the land front (as well as most of the guns were either moved there or received the possibility of circular firing). However, the extremely small (compared to 35,000 11-inch charges expended by the Japanese army during the siege) for this stocks of shells affected here. There were 4472 horses in the fortress for the transportation of goods, materiel, ammunition, food, etc. By the day of the close imposition of the fortress, the garrison was provided with food: flour and sugar for half a year, meat and canned food for only one month. Then I had to be content with horsemeat. Supplies of greenery were scarce, which caused very high cases of scurvy in the garrison during the siege.
Defense
Battles for advanced fortifications
The commission of inquiry, which examined the Port Arthur case, found signs of a number of crimes in Stessel's actions, and the charge consisted of many points. However, at the trial, it almost completely fell apart, reduced to three theses:
1) surrendered the fortress to the Japanese troops without using all means for further defense; 2) inaction of the authorities; 3) minor breach of duty
