Five-month defense of the port city. The siege of Port Arthur as a black page in Japanese military history

Port Arthur fortress from February 9 (January 27, old style) 1904 to January 2, 1905 (December 20, 1904, old style) during the Russian-Japanese War (1904-1905).

To secure access to the Yellow Sea, in 1898 the Russian tsarist government leased part of the Liaodong Peninsula (Kwantung Peninsula) with Port Arthur (now Lushun) for 25 years. The construction of fortifications in Port Arthur, due to lack of funds, began only in 1901 (by January 1904, nine long-term and 12 temporary batteries were built out of 25 batteries on the seaside; on the land side, six forts, five fortifications and five long-term batteries were completed only one fort, three fortifications and three batteries). Of the 552 guns, 116 were in combat readiness. The garrison of the Kwantung Peninsula consisted of the 4th and 7th East Siberian Rifle Divisions. The head of the Kwantung fortified area was Lieutenant General Anatoly Stessel, the commandant of the fortress was Lieutenant General Konstantin Smirnov, the head of ground defense was Lieutenant General Roman Kondratenko, who became the organizer and inspirer of the defense of Port Arthur. At the beginning of the war, Port Arthur was home to the 1st Pacific Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Oscar Stark (seven battleships, nine cruisers (including three old ones), 24 destroyers, four gunboats, two minelayer, two mine cruisers).

On the night of February 9, 1904, 10 Japanese destroyers suddenly, before war was declared, attacked the Russian squadron, which, due to the carelessness of the command, was stationed on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur without proper security measures. The battleships "Tsesarevich", "Retvizan" and the cruiser "Pallada" received heavy damage. But the enemy failed to destroy the Russian squadron with one sudden blow. In the morning, the main forces of the Japanese fleet (six battleships and 10 cruisers under the command of Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo) appeared in front of Port Arthur. A Russian squadron (five battleships and five cruisers) came out to meet them. The battle lasted about an hour. Under fire from Russian ships, supported coastal artillery, the enemy retreated and went to the open sea. His attempts to block the Russian squadron’s entrance to the inner roadstead of Port Arthur were also unsuccessful.

On March 8, Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov took command of the Pacific squadron and took decisive measures to increase its combat activity. But on April 13, during one of the squadron’s trips to sea, the flagship battleship Petropavlovsk hit a mine and sank two minutes later. Makarov and most the teams died. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Vitgeft took command of the squadron.

The passivity of Rear Admiral Vitgeft, who took command of the squadron, allowed the Japanese to freely begin on May 5 in the Bitszywo area the landing of the 2nd Army of General Yasukata Oku, which, without meeting resistance, cut off railway track on Port Arthur, May 26 Japanese troops, thanks to significant superiority in forces (about 35 thousand people against 3800 people for the Russians), captured Russian positions on the Jinzhou Isthmus, covering the distant approaches to Port Arthur. Russian troops retreated to positions along the Lunaantan Bay line. Fearing an attack from the main forces of the Russian army from the north, the enemy left one division against Port Arthur and redeployed three to the north. Sent to support Port Arthur, the 1st Siberian Corps under the command of General Georgy Stackelberg (about 30 thousand people) was defeated at Vafangou on June 14-15 due to inept leadership. To capture Port Arthur, the Japanese created the 3rd Army of General Maresuke Nogi, which launched an offensive on June 26 and by July 30 reached the immediate approaches to the fortress, beginning its siege. By this time, its garrison numbered about 50.5 thousand people (of which eight thousand were sailors), 646 guns (including 350 serfs) and 62 machine guns. The enemy had about 70 thousand people, about 400 guns (including 198 siege guns) and 72 machine guns.

On August 10, Russian ships again attempted to break through to Vladivostok (the first attempt was made on June 23), but after an unsuccessful battle in the Yellow Sea they returned to Port Arthur, where they actively supported with their fire ground forces during the defense of the fortress, artillery and personnel were transferred to the troops to strengthen the defense.

On August 19, the enemy began an assault on Russian positions. In fierce battles that lasted until August 24, at the cost of heavy losses (about 15 thousand people; the Russians lost over six thousand people), he succeeded only in selected places wedge in main line perimeter of the fortress.

On September 19-22, Japanese troops launched the 2nd assault. Having carried big losses(7.5 thousand people against 1.5 thousand people for the Russians), the enemy captured three fortifications - the Kumirnensky and Vodoprovodny redoubts and the Long height; the main object of their attack, Mount Vysoka, which dominated the city, survived.

On October 1, the shelling of Port Arthur began with 11-inch howitzers, destroying the concrete casemates of the fortress, which were not designed for such a caliber of guns. During the 3rd assault on October 30-31, Japanese troops were able to occupy only a few minor fortifications. Having received reinforcements, the enemy resumed the assault on November 26, sending main blow against Mount Vysokaya, on December 5, despite the heroism of the defenders, he captured it and began destroying the surviving ships of the squadron, locked in the internal roadstead, with artillery fire. The first to perish on December 5 was the battleship "Poltava", the next day - the battleships "Retvizan" and "Peresvet", on December 7 - the battleship "Pobeda" and the cruiser "Pallada", on December 9 - the cruiser "Bayan". From large ships only the battleship "Sevastopol" survived (captain 1st rank Nikolai Essen), which promptly left the internal roadstead and took refuge in the bay White wolf. Here he was attacked by Japanese destroyers for six nights, but to no avail: two of them were destroyed by artillery fire from the battleship, and nine were seriously damaged. Until the very end of the defense of Port Arthur, Sevastopol continued to provide fire support ground forces.

On December 15, General Roman Kondratenko and his closest aides died. General Anatoly Fok, a supporter of the surrender of the fortress, was appointed head of the ground defense. On December 29, a meeting of the military council was held, the majority of the participants in which were in favor of continuing the defense. However, despite this, Anatoly Stessel signed capitulation on January 2, 1905.

On January 2, 1905, the garrison of Port Arthur numbered over 32 thousand people (including about six thousand sick and wounded), 610 guns, nine machine guns, about 208 thousand shells and up to three thousand horses.

Heroic Defense Port Arthur lasted 329 days, including 155 days of direct struggle for the fortress on land front. It pinned down large enemy forces (up to 200 thousand people), thwarting his plan for a quick defeat Manchurian army. In the fight for Port Arthur, the Japanese lost over 110 thousand people and 15 warships, another 16 ships were seriously damaged and were out of action for a long time. The losses of the Port Arthur garrison in killed and wounded amounted to about 27 thousand people.

According to the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905), the lease rights to Port Arthur passed to Japan, and it became the main base Japanese aggression in China. In 1923, the lease expired, but Japan did not return Port Arthur to China. During the 2nd World War (1939-1945), on August 14, 1945, an agreement was concluded between the USSR and China on the joint use of Port Arthur as a naval base for 30 years. On August 23, 1945, Soviet troops liberated Port Arthur. In February 1950, an agreement was concluded between the USSR and the PRC on the joint use of the Port Arthur naval base for three years, extended in 1952. After the end of the war in Vietnam and Korea in October 1954, an agreement was concluded to withdraw Soviet troops from Port Arthur, which was completed in May 1955, and all the structures of the fortress and naval base were transferred to the PRC.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

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On January 5, 1905 (December 23, 1904, old style), the traitor Stessel surrendered Port Arthur to the Japanese, having heroically defended it for 159 days.

On January 27, 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began. It began precisely in Port Arthur: even before the official declaration of war, eight Japanese destroyers launched a torpedo attack on the ships of the Russian fleet stationed on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur.

The settlement on the site of Port Arthur, which existed since the Jin Dynasty, was originally called Mashijin (? ??). Modern Chinese name The city of Lushunkou (???? - a bay of calm travel) appeared only in 1371. Lushun received the English name Port Arthur due to the fact that in August 1860, the ship of the English Lieutenant William K. Arthur was repaired in this harbor. This English name later it was adopted in Russia and other European countries. On November 21, 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Port Arthur was captured by Japanese troops. The Japanese troops of the 2nd Army of the one-eyed General Matahara, under the pretext that the remains of captured Japanese soldiers had been discovered in the city, staged a merciless four-day massacre in the city in the traditional Japanese style.. ..More than 20 thousand were killed in these four days civilians, regardless of gender and age. Of the entire population of the city, the Japanese left only 36 people who were supposed to bury the corpses of the dead. On their hats, by order of the Japanese command, it was written: “Don’t kill these.” The collection of bodies continued for a month, after which, on the orders of the Japanese, a huge mountain of bodies was doused with oil and set on fire, maintaining the fire for 10 days.

In 1895, under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Port Arthur passed to Japan, but due to strong pressure from Russia, Germany and France, Japan was soon forced to return Port Arthur to China.

In those years, Russia needed an ice-free naval base like air, and best place, than Port Arthur, it was difficult to imagine. In December 1897, the Russian squadron entered Port Arthur. The commander of the Pacific squadron, Rear Admiral Dubasov, under the cover of the 12-inch guns of the battleships Sisoy the Great and Navarin and the guns of the 1st rank cruiser Rossiya, held short negotiations with the command of the local fortress garrison, generals Song Qing and Ma Yukun. Dubasov quickly resolved the problem of the landing of Russian troops in Port Arthur and the departure of the Chinese garrison from there. After distributing bribes to minor officials, General Song Qing received 100 thousand rubles, and General Ma Yukun - 50 thousand. After this, the local 20,000-strong garrison left the fortress in less than a day, leaving the Russians with 59 cannons along with ammunition. Some of them will later be used for the defense of Port Arthur. The first Russian military units came ashore from the Volunteer Fleet steamer Saratov, which arrived from Vladivostok. It was two hundred Transbaikal Cossacks, field artillery battalion and fortress artillery team. On March 15 (27), 1898, Port Arthur, together with the adjacent Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula, was officially leased by the Chinese to Russia for 25 years. However, we were hardly going to limit our presence to 25 years: soon the creation of the Kwantung Governorate was proclaimed on the Liaodong Peninsula, which in 1903, together with the Amur Governor-General, became part of the Far Eastern Viceroyalty.

Construction of the fortress began in 1901 according to the design of military engineer K. Velichko. By 1904, about 20% of the total work had been completed. Admiral Stark's 1st Pacific Squadron (7 battleships, 9 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 4 gunboats and other vessels) was based in the port. The Port Arthur serf was stationed in the fortress. infantry regiment under the command of Vice Admiral Evgeniy Ivanovich Alekseev (since 1899), formed on June 27, 1900, consisting of 4 battalions from the troops European Russia. On December 6, 1902, N. R. Greve was appointed commander of the port of Arthur; in 1904 he was replaced by I. K. Grigorovich.

Near Port Arthur on the night of January 27, 1904, the first military clashes Russo-Japanese War, when Japanese ships fired torpedoes at Russian warships stationed in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. At the same time, the battleships Retvizan and Tsesarevich, as well as the cruiser Pallada, were seriously damaged. The remaining ships made two attempts to escape from the port, but both were unsuccessful.

On the morning of February 24, the Japanese attempted to scuttle five old transports at the entrance to Port Arthur harbor in order to trap the Russian squadron inside. The plan was foiled by the Retvizan, which was still in the outer roadstead of the harbor. On March 2, Virenius’s detachment received an order to return to the Baltic, despite the protests of S. O. Makarov, who believed that he should continue further to the Far East. On March 8, 1904, Admiral Makarov and the famous shipbuilder N.E. Kuteynikov arrived in Port Arthur, along with several wagons of spare parts and equipment for repairs. Makarov immediately took energetic measures to restore the combat effectiveness of the Russian squadron, which led to an increase in military spirit in the fleet. On March 27, the Japanese again tried to block the exit from Port Arthur harbor, this time using 4 old vehicles filled with stones and cement. The transports, however, were sunk too far from the harbor entrance. On March 31, while going to sea, the battleship Petropavlovsk hit mines and sank within two minutes. 635 sailors and officers were killed. These included Admiral Makarov and the famous battle painter Vereshchagin. The battleship Pobeda was blown up and out of commission for several weeks. Of the entire Russian fleet, only the Vladivostok cruiser detachment (“Russia”, “Gromoboy” and “Rurik”) retained freedom of action and during the first 6 months of the war several times went on the offensive against the Japanese fleet, penetrating Pacific Ocean and being off the Japanese coast, then leaving again for the Korean Strait. The detachment sank several Japanese transports with troops and guns, including on May 31, Vladivostok cruisers intercepted the Japanese transport Hi-tazi Maru (6175 brt), on board which were 18 280-mm mortars for the siege of Port Arthur.

Potre-Arthur shortly before the start of the war.

On May 3, the Japanese made a third and final attempt to block the entrance to Port Arthur harbor, this time using eight transports. As a result, the Russian fleet was blocked for several days in the harbor of Port Arthur, which allowed the Japanese to land the 2nd Japanese Army of about 38.5 thousand people in Manchuria. The landing was carried out by 80 Japanese transports and continued until April 30. At the same time, the commandant of Port Arthur, Baron Stessel, did not take any action to disrupt the Japanese landing.

Luckily, the commander of the 7th East Siberian Army was appointed head of the fortress's ground defense. rifle division Major General R.I. Kondratenko. largely thanks to him, the garrison did everything possible to increase the defense capability of Port Arthur. The work was carried out both day and night. Trains with troops, artillery, machine guns and ammunition arrived in the city. Towards the beginning of the close siege of Port Arthur by Japanese troops fortifications the fortresses consisted of five forts (No. I, II, III, IV and V), three fortifications (No. 3, 4 and 5) and four separate artillery batteries (letters A, B, C and D). In the intervals between them, rifle trenches were dug, covered with barbed wire and, in the most dangerous directions, landmines buried in the ground. On the flanks, forward field-type positions were also equipped on the mountains Xiagushan, Dagushan, Vysokaya and Uglovaya. The Kumirnensky, Vodoprovodny and Skalisty redoubts were moved towards the Shuishin valley. Behind the belt of the main fortifications, between them, as well as on the coastal front, batteries and separate firing points of dagger action were installed: of these, the most famous in the history of defense are the Big and Small Eagle Nests, the Zaredutnaya battery, the seaside numbered batteries, redoubts No. 1 and 2, Kurgannaya battery, Quail Mountain, Dragon's Back, etc. The system of fortifications was based on a terrain that was quite favorable for defense. All the fortifications were built on the mountains, opposite which to the north there was a relatively flat area. As it approached the fortifications, it moved into open, sloping terrain, which was under fire from artillery and rifle fire from the defenders. There were observation posts everywhere to correct artillery fire. The rear slopes of the heights provided good cover for people and guns.

By July 17 (30), 1904, the Port Arthur fortress had only 646 artillery pieces and 62 machine guns, of which 514 guns and 47 machine guns were installed on the land front. For defense from the sea there were: 5 10-inch guns (10 on the report card), 12 9-inch guns, 20 modern 6-inch Kane guns, 12 old 6-inch guns of 190 poods (4 on the report card), 12 battery 120- millimeter guns, 28 57-mm guns (24 according to the report card), as well as 10 11-inch and 32 9-inch mortars. There were only 274,558 shells (of which heavy: 2,004 11-inch, 790 10-inch and 7,819 9-inch), an average of about 400 per gun. To transport cargo, materiel, ammunition, food, etc., there were 4,472 horses in the fortress. By the day of the close siege of the fortress, the garrison was provided with food: flour and sugar for six months, meat and canned food for only one month. Then we had to be content with horse meat. There were few supplies of greens, which is why there were many cases of scurvy in the garrison during the siege.

On July 25 (August 7), 1904, the Japanese opened fierce fire on the forward positions of the Eastern Front - the Dagushan and Xiaogushan redoubts, and by the evening they were attacked. All day on July 26 (August 8), 1904, there was a stubborn battle there - and on the night of July 27 (August 9), 1904, both redoubts were abandoned by Russian troops. The Russians lost 450 soldiers and officers in battle. Japanese losses, according to them, amounted to 1,280 people.

On August 6 (August 19), 1904, the Japanese began bombing the Eastern and Northern fronts, and the latter was attacked. August 6-8 (August 19-21), 1904, the Japanese attacked from great energy The Water Supply and Kumirnensky redoubts and the Long Mountain, but were repelled from everywhere, having managed to occupy only the Corner and the Panlongshan fortification. On August 8-9 (August 21-22), 1904, Nogi stormed the Eastern Front, captured the advanced redoubts at the cost of severe losses, and on August 10 (August 23), 1904, approached the line of forts. On the night of August 11 (August 24), 1904, he thought to deliver a decisive blow to the fortress, in the gap between forts II and III, but this blow was repelled. The forts and the Chinese Wall remained with the besieged. In this four-day battle, almost half of the Japanese army died - 20,000 people (of which 15,000 were in front of the Eastern Front). The losses of the Russian army amounted to about 3,000 killed and wounded.

After another failure, the Japanese began excavation work in another on a large scale. The sappers, having reached the front line, dug day and night, drawing parallels, trenches and communication passages to the forts and other fortifications of Port Arthur.

On September 18 (October 1), 1904, the besiegers first used 11-inch howitzers to shell the fortress, the shells of which pierced the concrete arches of the forts and the walls of the casemates. The Russian soldiers still stood firm, although their situation had worsened. From September 29, front-line soldiers began to receive 1/3 pound of horse meat per person, and then only twice a week, but there was still enough bread, it was given out at 3 pounds per day. Shag disappeared from sale. Due to the hardships of trench life and the deterioration of nutrition, scurvy appeared, which on some days tore him out of the ranks. more people than enemy shells and bullets. On October 17 (October 30), 1904, after a three-day artillery preparation, which certainly weakened the strength of the defense, General Nogi gave the order for a general attack. In the morning, the siege artillery opened heavy fire. By noon it had reached its maximum strength. Supported by artillery, the Japanese infantry launched an attack. The attacks ended in the complete defeat of the Japanese. Although on October 18 (October 31), 1904 it was absolutely clear that the next assault on the fortress had failed, nevertheless Nogi ordered to continue attacks against Fort No. II. The battle began at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and lasted intermittently until one in the morning and again without success for the Japanese.

In early November, Nogi's army was strengthened by a new (7th) infantry division. On November 13 (November 26), 1904, General Nogi launched the fourth - general - assault on Arthur. The blow was directed from two sides - to the Eastern Front, where it boiled down to a desperate, frantic onslaught, and to Mount Vysokaya, where a nine-day battle took place. general battle the entire siege. In fruitless attacks defensive fortifications fortress, Japanese troops lost up to 10% of their manpower in the attacking divisions, but main task assault, to break through the Russian front, remained unfulfilled. General Nogi, having assessed the situation, decided to stop attacks on the broad (Eastern) front and concentrate all forces to capture Mount Vysokaya, from which, as he learned, the entire Port Arthur harbor was visible. After fierce battles lasting ten days on November 22 (December 5), 1904 Vysokaia was taken. In the battles for Vysokaya, the Japanese army lost up to 12 thousand soldiers and officers, about 18,000 on the entire front. The losses of Russian troops on Vysokaya reached 4,500 people, and on the entire front exceeded 6,000. The next day after capturing the mountain, the Japanese equipped it with observation post to adjust artillery fire and opened fire from 11-inch howitzers at the ships of the Port Arthur squadron.

This fatal moment 2 (15) General Kondratenko died. Japanese artillery began to hit the fort where the general was located, obviously knowing from someone about his stay in this fort.

On December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905), General Stoessel announced his intention to enter into negotiations on surrender, contrary to the opinion of the Military Council of the fortress. On December 23, 1904 (January 5, 1905), a capitulation was concluded, according to which the garrison of 23,000 people (counting the sick) surrendered as prisoners of war with all supplies of combat equipment. Officers could return to their homeland by giving honestly that they will not participate in hostilities. Discharged from Stoessel's service in 1906 next year appeared before a military tribunal, which sentenced him to death penalty for the delivery of the port. The court found that during the entire period of defense, Stessel did not direct the actions of the garrison to defend the fortress, but, on the contrary, deliberately prepared it for surrender. The sentence was later replaced by a 10-year imprisonment, but already in May 1909 he was forgiven by the tsar.

The fall of the fortress decided the fate of the entire war. If Port Arthur had held out until the arrival of the 2nd Pacific Squadron, which was just coming to its aid, it would not have had to go to Vladivostok through the Tsushima Strait, and it would not have been defeated. By the beginning of 1905, the Japanese economy had already been undermined by the war, and if the fortress had held out for a few more months, the Japanese would have had to make peace on our terms.

Port Arthur was liberated from the Japanese Soviet Army On August 22, 1945, during Soviet-Japanese war. According to the Soviet-Chinese treaty, the Port Arthur area was transferred by China to the Soviet Union for a period of 30 years as a naval base.

On February 14, 1950, simultaneously with the conclusion of a treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance An agreement on Port Arthur was concluded between the USSR and the PRC, providing for sharing the indicated base of the USSR and China until the end of 1952. At the end of 1952, the government of the People's Republic of China, taking into account the aggravation of the situation in Far East, appealed to the Soviet government with a proposal to extend the stay of Soviet troops in Port Arthur. An agreement on this issue was formalized on September 15, 1952.

However, after Stalin's death Soviet Union unexpectedly refused further lease: on October 12, 1954, the government of the USSR and the government of the People's Republic of China entered into an agreement that Soviet military units would be withdrawn from Port Arthur. The withdrawal of Soviet troops and the transfer of structures to the Chinese government was completed in May 1955.

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Current state fortifications of Potre Arthur

The whole history of that distant one, now by everyone forgotten war still raises many questions, doubts and disputes among researchers, and just amateurs military history.
From various sources it is known that Port Arthur was never properly prepared for defense, main reason The current situation is associated with the lack of necessary government funding; in those days, the Russian army was plagued by the same funding problems as now.

According to the plans of the military department, to completely complete everything construction work and other measures to bring the fortress into full combat readiness were planned only by 1909, however, the tsarist Ministry of Finance began to allocate money for construction work only with the beginning of the war; in total they managed to allocate about 4.5 million rubles out of 15 million planned, which was approximately less one third of what is needed.

As a result, by the beginning of hostilities in the fortress, only a little more than half of all work had been completed, and greatest attention was turned to the coastal front, that is, they were going to defend themselves from the enemy mainly from the sea, and not from land.

Another miscalculation during the construction of Port Arthur is the fact that it defensive line was too closely adjacent to the city and the harbor, this gave the Japanese the opportunity to subsequently shell most of the fortress, almost from the very first days of the siege, including the sea harbor itself with the warships of the fleet.

It turned out that in terms of military engineering, Port Arthur simply did not fit in its engineering parameters to the standards of the then modern fortress like Verdun or Brest-Litovsk, the so-called classical fortresses. Port Arthur was not a fortress, but most likely was a complex of various defensive positions and structures. The Russian military command, fully aware of everything weak points defense of Port Arthur, the entire system of main fortifications was built based on the terrain, which was quite favorable for defense.

Most of the fortifications were mainly built on dominant heights, opposite which to the north of the fortress there was a relatively flat space, which, as it approached the fortifications, turned into open sloping terrain, the entire this area, was turned by the defenders into a zone of continuous artillery and rifle fire. The rear slopes of the heights provided good cover for people and guns.

With the outbreak of hostilities, the construction of fortifications accelerated, work was carried out day and night. Trains with troops, artillery, machine guns and ammunition continued to arrive at the fortress until the very last moment. But it was not possible to completely complete all the engineering and construction work in five months, which was expected to take five years.

It is also known from various sources that by July 1904 the Port Arthur fortress was armed with only 646 artillery pieces and 62 machine guns, of which total number 514 guns and 47 machine guns were installed on the land front.

There were about 400 shells for each gun. For transportation of cargo, materiel, combat supplies, food, etc. there were over 4.5 thousand horses in the fortress.

By the beginning of the defensive battles, the garrison of Port Arthur was provided with food, incl. flour and sugar for six months, meat and canned food for only one month. Then they had to be content with horse meat; there were few supplies of greens, which is why during the siege there were many cases of scurvy in the garrison.

The total number of the fortress garrison numbered 41,780 soldiers and 665 officers. In addition, in Port Arthur Bay there were 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 2 mine cruisers, 4 gunboats, 19 destroyers and the Amur mine transport.

There were up to 8 thousand personnel on the squadron and the Kwantung naval crew; it was a truly well-trained, professional army, consisting of conscript soldiers, middle age who were no older than 30 years old, therefore the soldiers from the Port Arthur garrison, unlike the soldiers of Kuropatkin’s army, which consisted mostly of reservists, fought professionally, with minimal own losses, while causing maximum damage to the enemy.

The defense of Port Arthur was led by General A. M. Stessel, to whom all ground and engineering troops, as well as fortress artillery. However, what was interesting to note is that the fleet, which was based in the bay of the fortress, was not subordinate to Stoessel, but to the commander-in-chief, who was in Manchuria and could not really control it.

Even in the absence sufficient quantity long-term, well-fortified structures, Port Arthur met the enemy with organized defense and, as shown further events, became a real grave for the Japanese ground army.

The Japanese sought to capture Port Arthur, first of all, in order to destroy it as the main base of the Russian navy, that is, ground army acted in the interests of the fleet, the events of the war showed that the Japanese fleet fought much better than the ground forces. For the siege and capture of Port Arthur, the Japanese formed a special 3rd Army, which consisted of three infantry divisions, two reserve brigades, one field artillery brigade, two naval artillery detachments and a reserve engineer battalion.

On initial stage siege, not counting special troops, the commander, General Nogi, had under his command over 50 thousand bayonets, more than 400 guns, of which 198 were special siege artillery barrels.

Subsequently, the siege group of Japanese troops constantly increased and soon reached about 100 thousand soldiers, and this is not counting the reserves, with which the Japanese kept up to 200 thousand soldiers and officers at Port Arthur.

The fighting for Port Arthur began in the first half of May 1904 on the distant approaches to it, with the so-called Battle of Panshan. This place was called the Jinzhou Isthmus, about 4 km wide (the most bottleneck Kwantung Peninsula) positions were defended by the reinforced 5th East Siberian rifle regiment 4th East Siberian Rifle Division, which totaled about 3 thousand 800 people with 65 guns and 10 machine guns. For 13 hours, the regiment confronted units of the Japanese 2nd Army, about 35 thousand people with 216 guns and 48 machine guns. At first, the Japanese acted according to a template, tried to storm the heights head-on, literally walked over the corpses of their dead soldiers, 8 consecutive attacks were repulsed by the Russians without much difficulty.

In the end, without receiving reinforcements, the regiment was forced to retreat from the tactically advantageous and well-fortified position it occupied. As a result of the first battle, the troops of Lieutenant General Yasukata Oku lost 4.5 thousand of the 30 thousand people who participated in the battle. The losses of Russian troops amounted to about 1 thousand people. This was just the beginning; the main casualties of the siege were still to come for the Japanese.

Further, the assaults on the fortifications of Port Arthur were carried out by the Japanese in strict order, as if according to a schedule, so, for example,
the assault, carried out from August 19 to 24, ended in the complete defeat of the Japanese, one of the reasons for which was the remarkable night shooting of the Russian artillery. The result of the assault - in two weeks of continuous fighting, the Japanese killed more than 15 thousand of their soldiers, some units, or even entire units of General Nogi, simply ceased to exist or were no longer ready for combat, Russian troops also suffered serious losses of approximately 3 thousand people.

In the period from September 15 to 30, General Nogi launched his next dense, massive frontal attack, this time successfully. The Japanese even managed to capture some secondary positions, but the key point of the entire defensive system - Hill 203 - repelled all attacks. The shock columns were swept down again and again until the hillsides were covered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers. In this battle, the Japanese lost 7 thousand 500 people, the Russians - about 1 thousand 500 people.

Particularly successful and effective in repelling all these Japanese assaults were units of Russian machine gunners, line after line they mowed down countless chains of Japanese, sending them in dozens, or even hundreds, to heaven to their Japanese gods, the barrels became red-hot and did not have time to cool down, from the intense operation, the machine guns were out of order, the carriers barely had time to bring cartridges with belts, there was the roar of battle all around, the corpses of the enemy lay in bulk, Japanese soldiers, like zombies, continued to move forward, and only death awaited them.

In November, the next so-called “fifth general” offensive of the Japanese took place and again it was repulsed by the Russians in all positions and cost the Japanese more than 12 thousand lives.

And only, finally, on November 22 (December 5) the enemy completely occupied height 203 (Vysokaya Mountain). Total losses The Japanese during the assault on the mountain amounted to about 10 thousand people. Russian troops lost 5 thousand soldiers and officers, these were the largest one-time losses of Russian troops for the entire defense of Port Arthur.

From the captured mountain, the Japanese began to adjust the fire of heavy siege weapons on the Russian ships. Soon, most of the ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron were sunk in the Port Arthur roadstead. The fate of the fortress was predetermined. The failure of constant assaults, as well as the entire siege of the fortress as a whole, sharply complicated the situation in the Japanese siege army. In many formations the “limit of so-called stability” was exceeded, as a result of which the morale of the Japanese troops dropped sharply.

There were cases of disobedience and even an attempt at rebellion, and this was among the always disciplined Japanese, who had their own philosophy of life and death, unique from all peoples, who, as Japanese experts say, were never afraid to die for their emperor, apparently not all were so - they were afraid and how they were afraid. The behavior of the Japanese high command itself, which abandoned tens of thousands of its soldiers directly to slaughter, is also interesting; one can directly say that the Japanese literally overwhelmed the defenders of the fortress with the corpses of their soldiers.

According to various sources, it is known that during the siege of Port Arthur, the Japanese army lost from 90 to 110 thousand of its soldiers killed, wounded, or died from wounds and diseases - these were truly horrific losses. Russian losses amounted to only 15 thousand dead, of which directly combat losses amounted to 7800 soldiers and officers.

On December 23, 1904 (January 5, 1905), a capitulation was concluded, according to which the garrison of 23 thousand people (counting the sick) surrendered as prisoners of war with all supplies of combat equipment.

In those days, knightly traditions were still in effect and the Japanese allowed Russian officers to return to their homeland. Those who agreed to give their word of honor that they would not participate in hostilities.

Still remains controversial issue, could Port Arthur continue to resist, or were the garrison’s resistance forces really completely exhausted? Who is the head of the garrison, General Stessel - a criminal who surrendered the fortress to the enemy or a hostage of the prevailing circumstances. Some researchers argue that further resistance by the defenders of the fortress was futile; completely blocked from sea and land, without ammunition and sufficient food supplies, Port Arthur was doomed, and Stessel’s actions as a commander were justified; they made it possible to save the surviving defenders of the fortress. There is another opinion that Stoessel committed treason, since he surrendered all his artillery to the Japanese, which was at least 500 units. artillery pieces of various calibers and systems, large reserves of provisions and other material assets, who at the time of surrender continued to remain in the fortress.

Stoessel nevertheless appeared before a military tribunal, which sentenced him to death for the surrender of the fortress and port. The court found that during the entire period of defense, Stessel did not direct the actions of the garrison to defend the fortress, but, on the contrary, deliberately prepared it for surrender. However, the sentence was later replaced by a 10-year imprisonment, but already in May 1909 he was forgiven by the tsar. The society of that time Russia was not at all interested in the details of the lost war; students and female students were then more interested in bombers and revolutionaries of various stripes, and the heroic defense of Port Arthur, located on the other side of the world, the war with some Japanese - all this was perceived by the majority society rather as exotic and nothing more.

Defense of Port Arthur

Japanese artillery shelling Russian warships in the bay

Opponents

Commanders of the forces of the parties

Strengths of the parties

The defense of Port Arthur is the longest battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. During the siege, such new types of weapons as 11-inch mortars, rapid-fire howitzers, Maxim machine guns, barbed wire barriers, hand grenades. Port Arthur became the birthplace of a new weapon - the mortar.

Defense of Port Arthur. Home base Pacific Fleet Russia and the headquarters of Russian troops in Northeast China was located on the Liaodong Peninsula (China). On the night of January 27, 1904, a detachment of Japanese destroyers attacked the Russian fleet in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. However, the Japanese failed to land troops then. Military operations began on land in mid-April 1904, when forces of three Japanese armies: 1st Army of General Kurski (45 thousand people) at Tyurencheng, 2nd Army of General Oku at Bizivo, 4th Army of General Nozu at Dagushan. They were later joined by General Noli's 3rd Army. In May 1904, Port Arthur was cut off from Manchuria by the Japanese. After a long defense, on December 20, 1904, Port Arthur was surrendered to the Japanese.

Characteristics of the parties involved

• - The cruisers Nissin and Kassuga, purchased from Argentina, entered service on April 11, 1904.

• • - This number includes the mine cruisers “Vsadnik” and “Gaydamak”.

Tactical and technical data of some Russian ships on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War

Tactical and technical data of some Japanese ships

Progress of the battle

Battles for advanced fortifications

On July 25 (August 7), 1904, the Japanese opened fierce fire on the forward positions of the Eastern Front - the Dagushan and Xiaogushan redoubts, and by the evening they were attacked. All day on July 26 (August 8), 1904, there was a stubborn battle there - and on the night of July 27 (August 9), 1904, both redoubts were abandoned by Russian troops.

First assault

On August 6 (August 19), 1904, the Japanese began bombing the Eastern and Northern fronts, and the latter was attacked. On August 6-8 (August 19-21), 1904, the Japanese attacked with great energy the Water Supply and Kumirnensky redoubts and the Long Mountain, but were repelled from everywhere, managing to occupy only the Corner and the Panlongshan fortification.

On August 8-9 (August 21-22), 1904, Nogi stormed the Eastern Front, captured the advanced redoubts at the cost of severe losses, and on August 10 (August 23), 1904, approached the line of forts. On the night of August 11 (August 24), 1904, he thought to deliver a decisive blow to the fortress, in the gap between forts II and III, but this blow was repelled. The forts and the Chinese Wall remained with the besieged.

Siege and second assault

After the failure of the first assault, Nogi switched to a siege for some time. The Japanese received reinforcements and built siege structures.

The second assault began on September 6 (September 19), 1904, and by the morning of September 7 (September 20), 1904, the Japanese captured advanced positions Russians - Water supply and Kumirnensky redoubts and Long Mountain. On September 8-9 (September 21-22), 1904 there was a stubborn battle for high mountain, in which the Japanese saw the key to Arthur. However, the Japanese failed to take Vysoka Gora - the Russian army owed its preservation as a result of the battles of September 9 to the eye and resourcefulness of Colonel Irman, the determination of Lieutenant Podgursky and the heroism of the riflemen of the 5th regiment. Podgursky and three hunters knocked out three companies of Japanese who had occupied the lunettes with pyroxylin bombs.

Continuation of the siege and third assault

After another failure, the Japanese began excavation work on an even larger scale. The sappers, having reached the front line, dug day and night, drawing parallels, trenches and communication passages to the forts and other fortifications of Port Arthur.

On September 18 (October 1), 1904, the besiegers first used 11-inch howitzers to shell the fortress, the shells of which pierced the concrete arches of the forts and the walls of the casemates. The Russian soldiers still stood firm, although their situation had worsened. From September 29, front-line soldiers began to receive 1/3 pound of horse meat per person, and then only twice a week, but there was still enough bread, it was given out at 3 pounds per day. Shag disappeared from sale. Due to the hardships of trench life and the deterioration of nutrition, scurvy appeared, which on some days tore more people from the ranks than enemy shells and bullets.

On October 17 (October 30), 1904, after a three-day artillery preparation, which certainly weakened the strength of the defense, General Nogi gave the order for a general attack. In the morning, the siege artillery opened heavy fire. By noon it had reached its maximum strength. Supported by artillery, the Japanese infantry launched an attack. The attacks ended in the complete defeat of the Japanese. Although on October 18 (October 31), 1904 it was absolutely clear that the next assault on the fortress had failed, nevertheless Nogi ordered to continue attacks against Fort No. II. The battle began at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and lasted intermittently until one in the morning and again without success for the Japanese.

Fourth assault. Death of the squadron

In early November, Nogi's army was strengthened by a new (7th) infantry division. On November 13 (November 26), 1904, General Nogi launched the fourth - general - assault on Arthur. The blow was directed from two sides - to the Eastern Front, where it boiled down to a desperate, frantic onslaught, and to Mount Vysokaya, where a nine-day general battle of the entire siege took place. In fruitless attacks on the defensive fortifications of the fortress, Japanese troops lost up to 10% of their manpower in the attacking divisions, but the main task of the assault, to break through the Russian front, remained unfulfilled.

General Nogi, having assessed the situation, decided to stop attacks on the broad (Eastern) front and concentrate all forces to capture Mount Vysokaya, from which, as he learned, the entire Port Arthur harbor was visible. After fierce fighting that lasted ten days, on November 22 (December 5), 1904, Vysokaya was taken. The next day after capturing the mountain, the Japanese set up an observation post on it to adjust artillery fire and opened fire from 11-inch howitzers at the ships of the Port Arthur squadron. Thus, the fate of the Russian battleships and cruisers was finally sealed.

Capitulation of the fortress

Photograph of sunken Russian ships in Port Arthur harbor. In the foreground are “Poltava” and “Retvizan”, then “Victory” and “Pallada”. On December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905), General A. M. Stessel announced his intention to enter into negotiations on surrender. The widespread thesis that this was done contrary to the opinion of the Military Council of the fortress does not correspond to reality, since the Council did not express any general and final opinion or decision. On December 23, 1904 (January 5, 1905) capitulation was concluded. The officers could return to their homeland, giving their word of honor that they would not participate in hostilities.