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148 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
our places in trenches on the hill assigned to us,
the Japanese guns had already opened up against
the enemy’s positions, but as yet not very vigor-
ously. The real bombardment commenced about
two o’clock in the afternoon, so we had plenty of
time to study the field of operations, of which we
had a most excellent view.
Right in front of us rose the heavy bulk of
i8o Metre Hill, with its double row of trenches
all round its large plateau. A little further to the
south-west, separated from i8o Metre Hill by a
sudden dip in the mountain range, the tall, steep,
double-peaked 203 Metre Hill loomed up, also
with a double crown of trenches. To our right
we had 174 Metre Hill, which the Japanese had
captured on August 20th. Separated from the
hills in front of us by a narrow valley, it rose up,
sloping gently at first, but gradually getting
steeper, until it lifted its head proudly and nearly
perpendicularly in the air. To our left, deep
down below us, the broad valley of Shuishi
stretched its green fields far out to the east, until
it was met and stopped by the dark towering
masses of Takushan. In the centre of the valley,
surrounded by fertile plains, lay the large Shuishi
village, looking, at a distance, peaceful and placid
under the shadows of old willow and mulberry
trees. Seen through our glasses, the suggestion
of peacefulness vanished. The roofless houses, de-
serted streets, and broken-down or blackened walls,
told another story—of fire and flames, of bursting
shells and swift-flying bullets, of fierce encounters
of angry men, of blood and death, and dire
distress. To the east of the village and to the
south were the redoubt and the lunettes about to
be attacked. They were not easy to discover at
first, lying half buried, with only the top of the
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