urious a rifle and
artillery fire that they were literally annihilated. The second grand
assault upon Port Arthur had failed, as completely and tragically as the
first!

To have incurred such tremendous losses for such insignificant results
was a terribly depressing experience for Japan; but the benumbing effect
of the blow began to pass away when, in the first week of November, the
news arrived of General Oku's splendid success upon the Shaho; and with
renewed hope, and that indomitable patience and courage which is so
marked a feature of Japanese character, the troops before Port Arthur
set to work to repair their disasters.

Their first success was achieved in the middle of the month of November,
when they gained possession of the little village of Kaokiatun, thus
securing the command of Pigeon Bay. This success was followed, on the
23rd of the month, by an attempt on the part of the Japanese to capture
the Russian trench on East Kikwan Hill. The attempt resulted in
failure, with a loss of some three hundred slain, to say nothing of
wounded. This was followed, on the 26th, by an attack upon Q Fort,
North Kikwan, Erhlung, and Sungshushan. This too resulted in failure
for the Japanese, with awful slaughter; the failure in this case,
however, being tempered by the capture of the trench on East Kikwan
Hill. This capture was of very great importance to the Japanese, from
the fact that it commanded the approach to the fort on the summit of the
hill; and the Russians, recognising this fact, fought madly to regain
possession of the trench, finally succeeding toward midnight. The
fighting on this occasion was most disastrous for the Japanese, their
wounded alone totalling over 6000, while it was estimated that in dead
their losses must have exceeded 10,000!

The result of all this sanguinary fighting was to convince the Japanese
Staff, at last, that the defences on the eastern slope were impregnable
to assault, and must be captured by other means. They accordingly next
turned their attention to 203 Metre Hill, which was the key to the
eastern defences of Port Arthur, and determined to take it by assault.

This was a particularly tough proposition, and after the tremendous
losses which Nogi's army had already suffered in its disastrous assaults
upon the eastern defences, the Staff might well have been excused had it
hesitated to undertake such a herculean task. For the position was so
immensely strong that the Rus