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AFTER THE BALL 111
struggle they were overcome and every man
killed. The Japanese greatly admired this deed,
and speak of the gallant Russian officer with the
greatest respect and appreciation. His sword is
sure to find a place of honour in some museum in
Tokyo.
It was not only the Russian infantry which be-
came aggressive about this time. The artillery,
during the days of the general attack, succeeded
in locating several of the Japanese batteries, and
now they assumed the offensive. Although the
excellent positions of the Japanese guns made it
difficult for the Russians to put them out of action,
they yet managed to give them a very bad time,
and made sure that at the next attack the Japanese
gunners should not have it so completely their
own way as they had at first.
On September 2nd one of the Japanese naval
batteries on the crest of a hill to the north-west
of Shuishi village was completely smashed by
10 in. shells from Itzeshan and Laotiehshan forts.
I had that day strolled out in that direction with
two other correspondents, and so had the good
luck to witness, at close range, a part of one of
the hardest-contested artillery duels which took
place here. The firing had not lasted long when
we arrived, but the Russians were rapidly getting
the exact range, and though the Japanese blue-
jackets stood manfully to their guns and answered
back as quickly as their opponents, it soon be-
came evident that their guns really had no chance
against the heavy fortress ordnance.
From our point of vantage we had an excellent
view of the Japanese battery, but some hills in
front of us prevented our seeing the enemy’s lines,
so after a while we went on to another hill, some
300 or 400 yards out to the right of the battery.
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