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166 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
very few seconds, especially when under heavy
fire from the enemy, will understand and appreciate
the excellence of the Russian gunners’ practice
and feel strengthened in their faith in the impor-
tance of the artillery’s role in a modern battle.
Another thing noteworthy as showing a trait in
the Japanese character, which during the whole
campaign here became more and more apparent,
was their almost incredible optimism in the appre-
ciation of the strength and effectiveness of their
own offensive means as compared with the defen-
sive means of the enemy, which in this case was
shown by the unpreparedness, or rather the incom-
pleteness, of their preparations for the attacks. In
no place had they carried their saps nearer to the
enemy’s works than some fifty yards, so that the
last rush had to be made across an open space,
exposed to a terrible fire at close range. This
accounts for the severe losses which the Russians
everywhere were able to inflict on them before
being driven out.
The Japanese soldier did not like this kind of
underground warfare. It was too slow for him,
and it was taxing his tenacity and his fortitude to
a much higher degree than the most desperate
attacks out in the open. There, in the midst of
his comrades, fired by the joy of battle, what
mattered it to him if he were killed or wounded,
or if his brother or his best friend were struck
down by his side? His blood was up, and his
only wish and thought was to get to close quarters
with the enemy in a square hand-to-hand fight.
But in the sapping operations it was quite different.
There was no excitement, no banzai-business about
that. It was daily, hard, prosaic, work, digging
his way through the hard soil, with only a couple
of comrades toiling and sweating alongside of him,
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