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PREPARATIONS 45
section was out of the question ;
that would
require the capture of the strong Itzeshan and
Antzeshan forts with a number of minor advanced
positions, and thereafter an advance across the
large, comparatively level plateau under the cross-
fire from the many strongly fortified and heavily
armed positions which surround it.
The only remaining alternative was to direct
an attack against the eastern fort-ridge. In spite
of the fact, which, however, scarcely was known
to the Japanese, that some of the very strongest
of the land forts had been constructed in this
section, there were several reasons which made
the choice of this route less objectionable than
the others. In the first place, this was the
shortest way to the town, and there were no
advanced works in front of the forts, which there-
fore could be attacked directly ;
secondly, the
country where the forts had been constructed
was exceedingly broken and intersected by narrow
valleys and gorges and deep dongas, so that the
advance to some extent would be sheltered from
the enemy’s fire, while in many places there was
dead ground where the troops could stop and
re-form and snatch a short rest. The principal
object of an attacking force must be the high,
steep Wantai hill, which completely dominated
the whole surrounding country, and from where
an advance on the town would be a comparatively
easy matter ;
but to achieve this it would be
necessary to open a way through the enceinte
forts of the section, capturing one or two of them
through which the troops could be poured.
As I have already pointed out, the Japanese
knew astonishingly little of the strength and the
construction of the defences of Port Arthur ;
but
they had been able to ascertain that the centre of
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