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178 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
Under any circumstances it was a tremendous
undertaking ;
but with the Russians—ever alert,
ever obstructive, ever full of initiative and pluck
as antagonists, the work became a truly herculean
task, and it is to my mind as much to the credit
of the brave Japanese army here that it carried out
the hard, dangerous, and laborious task in so
comparatively short a time, in face of so great
obstructions, as the most brilliant assault ever
delivered by the armies in the north.
The official reports published in Tokyo do not,
as a rule, contain more than the bare facts (and
very often not even the bare facts) about what
took place here ;
this or that position had been
attacked and taken, so many big shells were fired
against this or that ship, &c., but by people who
know how to read between the lines quite a
pathetic story may be read into the dry-as-dust
official documents. Read, for instance, the fol-
lowing extracts (as translated in The Japanese
Times) :
October 19th :
“ The trenches directed to
Erhlungshan and the north fort of Tungkikuan-
shan (North Kikuan Fort) having advanced quite
close to the enemy’s position, are now subject to
assiduous obstruction from the enemy day and
night.”
October 21st: “The enemy’s obstruction
gradually increases, but our work is steadily pro-
gressing.”
October 22nd :
“ Our work in the trenches
directed to Erhlungshan and Tungkikuanshan
continues to receive the enemy’s obstruction.”
October 23rd: “Our troops are suffering very
much from the enemy’s obstructions, and their
work is consequently making little progress.”
For us, who have seen and know what these
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