iled unprecedented sacrifice of life on the
besiegers' part. The crucial point of the siege-operations was the
capture of a position called 203-Metre Hill. This took place on
November 30th after several days of the most terrible fighting ever
witnessed, fighting which cost the Japanese ten thousand casualties.
The importance of the hill was that it furnished a post of
observation whence indications could be given to guide the heavy
Japanese artillery in its cannonade of the remaining Russian ships in
the harbour.

Nothing then remained for the Russians except to sink the ships, and
this they did, so that Russia lost a squadron which, all told,
represented an outlay of over thirty millions sterling--$150,000,000.
In a telegram despatched to his own Government on January 1st,
General Stossel said: "Great Sovereign, forgive! We have done all
that was humanly possible. Judge us; but be merciful. Eleven months
have exhausted our strength. A quarter only of the defenders, and
one-half of them invalids, occupy twenty-seven versts of
fortifications without supports and without intervals for even the
briefest repose. The men are reduced to shadows!" On the previous day
Stossel had written to General Nogi, declaring that further
resistance would merely entail useless loss of life considering the
conditions within the fortress. The total number of prisoners who
surrendered at the fall of the fortress was 878 officers and 23,491
men, and the captured material included 546 guns; 35,252 rifles; 60
torpedoes; 30,000 kilograms of powder; 82,670 rounds of
gun-ammunition; two and a quarter million rounds of small-arm
ammunition; a number of wagons; 1,920 horses; four battle-ships; two
cruisers; fourteen gunboats and torpedo-craft; ten steamers;
thirty-three steam launches, and various other vessels. These figures
are worthy of study, as one of General Stossel's alleged reasons for
surrendering was scarcity of ammunition.

MISHCHENKO'S RAID

The capture of Port Arthur meant something more than the fall of a
fortress which had been counted impregnable and which had dominated
the strategical situation for fully seven months. It meant, also,
that General Nogi's army would now be free to join their comrades
beyond the Liao River, and that Kuropatkin would find his opponents'
strength increased by four divisions. It became, therefore, important
to ascertain how soon this transfer was likely to be effected, and,
if possible, to interrupt i