Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XXII. Collapse
<< 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.
COLLAPSE 277
taring fire from the Itzeshan batteries during their
advance.
Directly after the explosion hundreds of shells
and shrapnel were poured in over the fort from all
the Japanese positions, and at the same time the
infantry prepared to attack. The 19th and the
36th regiments, which were detailed for this work,
had been drawn up in the approaches and the
last parallels. Ground scouts were sent ahead,
and succeeded in finding some dead ground under
the parapet, and they signalled to the others to
follow. Across the shell-swept zone the men
were dribbled in twos and threes, running at the
top of their speed towards the sheltered places.
Within a few minutes a considerable force was
assembled under the parapet, sheltered from the
artillery fire by the heaps of ddbris caused by the
explosion, and from here they made their way
into the interior of the fort.
The total Russian garrison in Erhlung consisted
of about 500 men of the 26th East Siberian
Sharpshooters. About half of this force had
been drawn up in the lower battery of the fort.
The explosion killed a number of them ;
the
others were so stunned by the shock that they
were unable to make any serious resistance to
the Japanese onslaught. The whole of this force
was annihilated, and the Japanese took possession
of the lower level of the fort ;
in amongst the
heaps of earth and blocks of concrete they were
able to find shelter, awaiting the decision of the
staff officers whether the upper battery should be
attacked at once, or if mining operations should
be continued against this part of the work. A
thorough reconnaissance was made, and in the
meantime the soldiers were set to work to entrench
themselves in the interior of the fort, and to secure
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
