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56 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
for once in his life he addressed me in English,
calling to me as he rode past,
“ To-day . . . wind . . . very!”
“Yes, General,” I answered, “wind, very!”
and he rode home, as pleased as Punch.
It is a common thing for the chief of staff of
an army to be given more credit for what has
been achieved than the commander himself, and I
confess that for some time I made the same mis-
take with regard to General Nogi. The chief of
staff. General Iditti, was an exceedingly capable
and distinguished officer, and he will undoubtedly
go far. He had a more masterly way than his
chief, and it is therefore perhaps only natural that
among the foreign correspondents he was at first
considered the soul of the whole attack. This
may be so up to a certain point ;
but that General
Nogi had a will of his own, and was anything but
a puppet, I have had many proofs. His officers
had the greatest admiration for his capacity, and
a very wholesome fear of his disapproval.
After our interview we went on for a few miles
to the high conical peak of Fenghoangshan where
General Nogi had stood, gazing out over the forts
of Port Arthur, on July 30th, when he had driven
the Russians behind their last line of defence, and,
for the first time in this campaign, saw the famous
fortress before him. From this same hill, afford-
ing us an excellent panoramic view of the whole
field of operations, we watched the events of this
and the following days.
General Nogi’s plans were based on the assump-
tion that he could lead an overwhelming force
against the Russians, every man of which could
be relied on to do his duty unflinchingly.
He would engage the enemy everywhere along
his whole front, forcing him to spread his strength
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