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282 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
guns were placed in the old Russian battery
positions. The Japanese imagined that the very
marked weakening of the defence indicated that
the Russians intended to give up the whole eastern
fort-ridge with the old town, possibly with excep-
tion of the sea forts. They thought that General
Stoessel had realized that the garrison was
insufficient to hold the long line of defence from
Pigeon Bay to Yenchang ;
but if the troops were
concentrated in the western and southern sections,
which were still practically intact, they would be
strong enough to hold the besiegers at bay yet for
some time. On New Year’s Day, when I made
the customary calls in the morning, officers of the
Headquarters Staff told me that the Japanese
did not anticipate the fall of the fortress for
another six weeks or two months. The Russian
proposal of surrender came therefore as a com-
plete, though very pleasant surprise, to the
Japanese.
On New Year’s Day, at half-past four in the
afternoon, a Russian parlementaire was sent out
from Port Arthur under a flag of truce, He pro-
ceeded along the main road towards the south-
eastern Shuishi lunette, where he was met by a
Japanese staff officer to whom he handed a letter
from General Stoessel to General Nogi. The
letter was written in English, and read :
“ Sir,
“ Taking in consideration the state of affairs
in the seat of war in general, I find the further
resistance of Port Arthur useless, and in view of
the fruitless loss of men I would like to negotiate
about the capitulation. If you agree to this, I
beg you to appoint delegates for this purpose
who would discuss about the conditions, order of
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