Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XIX. The Third General Attack
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
THIRD GENERAL ATTACK 237
in the harbour was all-important, and as the door
had been slammed so forcibly in their faces in the
eastern section, they would have to try their luck
in another direction. From November 27th the
general attack therefore condensed itself into a
tremendous effort to capture a single important
position, the famous nine days’ fight for 20^
Metre Hill.
Although the fighting went on with practically
no interruption from November 26th to Decem-
ber 6th, the first day’s attack forms an absolutely
independent part of the operations, and must be
treated separately.
The infantry attacks were received at first with
a terrible fire from rifles and machine guns. The
fighting soon developed into a series of hand-to-
hand encounters. With the enemy so close, it is
difficult for the defender to keep calm and to
aim correctly. It becomes intolerable to him to
remain quiet and self-possessed ;
the strain is too
great. He must, must get to close quarters with
his enemy, although he knows that his rifle
is a much more destructive weapon than his
bayonet.
Early in the afternoon the force in front of
Sungshuh fort had been largely increased. At
about two o’clock the first assault was made.
Through the bomb-proof passage they crossed
the moat and gained the parapet of the rampart,
which in a moment became black with moving
men. Into this seething mass of humanity the
machine guns of the forts and the batteries on
Antzeshan poured such a tremendous fire that
the attackers were mowed down, crushed, dis-
persed, and sent head over heels back to the
moat again in less than a minute, before a single
man had reached the interior of the fort. The
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
