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74 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
explosions and their fierce shelling had demoralized
the garrison and made their task easy. They
were soon shown their mistake. Sappers, creeping
up during the night, had succeeded in cutting a
way through the wire entanglements ;
but when
the 44th regiment, leading the advance, tried to
reach this point, it was met by such a devas-
tating fire from rifles and machine guns, shells
and shrapnel, that it sustained enormous losses.
But the Japanese soldiers are wonderful ;
though
their comrades fell left and right, and every step
forward brought them nearer to certain death, the
rapidly dwindling ranks pushed on undaunted.
Some even reached as far as the moat wTich,
deep and wide, surrounds the fort ;
without
hesitation they jumped in, 20 ft. down ;
they
did not know then that strong caponiers defended
the moat and could rake it with fire. Their fate
was sealed. The majority of the regiment did
not get anywhere near the fort, the fire was too
deadly ;
and, completely broken, the scattered
remnants fled back to cover. No other attempt
was made that day to attack the fort it was too
evidently hopeless, with the moat barring the
way.
In the morning of August 22nd General Nogi
called a council of war to discuss the situation.
So far the general assault had been a complete
failure. His troops had been beaten back with
terrible losses everywhere. They had not
succeeded in getting a foothold at any point.
Not a single advantage had been gained; the
question must naturally have presented itself to
him whether it would not be a wiser policy to give
up at once the idea of carrying Port Arthur by
direct assault than to sacrifice more lives in a task
thejmmense difficulty of which he now began fully
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