Defense of the naval fortress of Port Arthur. The siege of Port Arthur as a black page in Japanese military history

Defense of Port Arthur

Japanese artillery shelling of 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 fences, and hand grenades were widely used. Port Arthur became the birthplace of a new weapon - the mortar.

Defense of Port Arthur. The main base of the Russian Pacific Fleet 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 the forces of three Japanese armies were landed in different places: the 1st Army of General Kurski (45 thousand people) at Tyurencheng, the 2nd Army of General Oku at Biziwo, the 4th Army 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 the advanced positions of the Russians - the Vodoprovodny and Kumirnensky redoubts and Long Mountain. On September 8-9 (September 21-22), 1904, there was a stubborn battle for the 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 used 11-inch howitzers to shell the fortress for the first time, 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 three days of 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.

The heroic defense of Port Arthur collapsed due to the short-sighted decisions of the generals. This defeat of the Russian troops predetermined the outcome of the Russo-Japanese War.

Beginning of the war

With the attack of Japanese destroyers on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur on the Russian squadron on January 26, 1904, large-scale military operations of the Russo-Japanese War began. The Japanese torpedoed and temporarily disabled the best Russian battleships Tsesarevich and Retvizan, as well as the cruiser Pallada. Measures to protect ships in the outer roadstead turned out to be clearly insufficient. It is worth recognizing that none of the Russian ships received fatal damage, and after an artillery battle on the morning of January 27, the Japanese fleet was forced to retreat. The moral factor played a fatal role - the Japanese fleet managed to seize the initiative. In the following days, our squadron began to suffer ridiculous and unjustified losses due to poor interaction and control. So, just two days after the start of the war, the minelayer "Yenisei" and the cruiser "Boyarin" were killed by their own mines.

Mine war

During the struggle for Port Arthur, both sides actively used minefields: the Russians to protect the approach to the fortress, and the Japanese to strengthen the blockade measures. Moreover, the losses from mines in ships and personnel for both sides turned out to be much greater than in all artillery naval battles at Port Arthur combined. As a result of an explosion on Japanese mines, the battleship Petropavlovsk sank (Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov, his staff and most of the crew were killed on the ship), the gunboat Gremyashchiy and four destroyers. During the fighting, Russian ships laid 1,442 mines on the approaches to the fortress, the victims of which were 12 Japanese ships, including the battleships Hatsuse and Yashima. Thus, the Japanese fleet suffered the heaviest losses in the war of 1904-1905 from Russian mines near Port Arthur.

Who does time work for?

The events at Port Arthur to a large extent determined the general course of military operations of the Russo-Japanese War. The Russian command had a need to carry out a series of offensive actions in order to unblock the fortress. This forced us to go on the offensive. The results of such forced and poorly prepared offensives were failures at Wafangou and Shahe.

For the Japanese, who planned to capture Port Arthur immediately, a long siege also turned out to be a difficult task. It pinned down a third of all Japanese troops on the continent. Attempts to solve the problem with one powerful assault (as on the eve of the battles on Shahe) led to colossal losses with minimal military results. The surrender of the fortress on January 5, 1905 allowed the Japanese command to timely transfer the 3rd Army from Port Arthur to Manchuria shortly before the largest battle of the war near Mukden.

Food

During the struggle for Port Arthur, both the Russian and Japanese armies experienced food shortages. The situation in the fortress was aggravated by General Stoessel’s ban on the local Chinese population from fishing, which could be a serious help in the fight against food shortages. And if the reserves of flour, crackers and sugar at the time of surrender of the fortress remained for another month and a half, then there was practically no meat and vegetables. Scurvy began to rage among the garrison.

Japanese troops experienced no less difficulties. Initially, the Japanese food system was not adapted to combat operations on the continent in conditions of a climate more severe than on the Japanese islands and the frosty winter of 1904-1905. The huge loss in the Japanese army near Port Arthur (up to 112 thousand people, according to domestic historians) was due not only to combat losses, but also to huge sanitary losses.

Death of General Kondratenko

A heavy loss for the defenders of Port Arthur, which accelerated the fall of the fortress, was the death of the chief of land defense, Lieutenant General Roman Kondratenko. The name of this man, who became the soul of the defense of Port Arthur, is associated with a number of measures to strengthen the defense of the fortress. Under the leadership of Kondratenko, the defense of Port Arthur was virtually rebuilt. The concentration of large forces in the direction of the enemy's main attacks more than once allowed Kondratenko to repel the onslaught of superior Japanese forces. Kondratenko paid much attention to the introduction of technical innovations (mortars, barbed wire with electric current passed through it). Being a fearless defender of Port Arthur, at the same time, Kondratenko advocated for an early end to the war with Japan, pointing out the need to sign peace before the Japanese were able to capture Port Arthur. After the death of Kondratenko on December 2, 1904, generals Stessel and Fock began to actively pursue a policy aimed at surrendering the fortress to the Japanese.

High

Vysoka (height 203) was one of the key defense points of Port Arthur. From Vysoka you could see the fortress and the inner roadstead, where most of the ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron were located. Japanese troops made repeated attempts to capture this height. The most fierce battles on Vysokaya took place in mid-November 1904, when the Japanese threw two divisions into battle and concentrated the fire of heavy 280 mm siege howitzers, from the shells of which no protection could be saved. On November 23, the Japanese finally captured Vysoka, gaining the opportunity to adjust siege artillery fire on Russian ships in Port Arthur, which predetermined the death of most of the squadron.

However, heavy losses in the battles for Vysokaya (5 thousand killed and 7 thousand wounded in the November battles alone) forced the Japanese command to abandon further large-scale frontal attacks, focusing on operations against individual Russian fortifications.

Stessel

Not the least negative role in the defense of Port Arthur was played by Lieutenant General Anatoly Stessel. In literature he is often called the commandant of the fortress, although this is not so. Stessel was the head of the Kwantung fortified region; after the abolition of the latter in June 1904, he, contrary to orders, remained in Port Arthur. He did not show himself as a military leader, sending reports with exaggerated data about Russian losses and the number of Japanese troops. Infamously known for a number of very shady financial affairs in the besieged fortress. On January 2, 1905, contrary to the opinion of the military council, he began negotiations with the Japanese on the surrender of Port Arthur. After the war, under pressure from public opinion, he was put on trial and sentenced to 10 years in a fortress, but six months later he was released by decision of the emperor and hastened to go abroad.

Taking advantage of the insufficient preparedness of the Russian army and navy for combat operations, the Japanese fleet, on the night of January 27, 1904, without declaring war, suddenly attacked the Russian squadron in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur, disabling the battleships Retvizan, Tsesarevich and the cruiser Pallada. ".

Taking advantage of the insufficient preparedness of the Russian army and navy for combat operations, the Japanese fleet, on the night of January 27, 1904, without declaring war, suddenly attacked the Russian squadron in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur, disabling the battleships Retvizan, Tsesarevich and the cruiser Pallada. ". This marked the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. On February 24, 1904, Vice Admiral S.O. arrived at the Port Arthur fortress. Makarov, who took energetic measures to prepare the fleet for active combat operations. On March 31, the squadron under his leadership came out to meet the Japanese fleet. The battleship "Petropavlovsk", on which Makarov was, was blown up by Japanese mines and sank. After the death of Makarov, the Russian squadron, led by the uninitiative Rear Admiral V.K. Witteft, could not prevent the enemy from transferring troops to the Kwantung Peninsula.

In March 1904, Japanese troops landed in Korea, and in April in southern Manchuria. Russian detachment under the command of General M.I. Zasulich was forced to retreat.

The naval blockade pattern consisted of three lines:

1. Destroyer patrol - directly near the fortress, but beyond the reach of coastal batteries.

2. Cruiser patrol, designed to assist light forces.

3. The main forces, usually located at Eliot Island or in the Korean skerries.

The task of the first two battle lines was to fight Russian light forces, destroy the “blockade breakers” and warn the main forces about the Russian squadron going to sea. Communication between the lines was carried out via radio. This system turned out to be quite reliable.

In order to more reliably “exclude” the Port Arthur squadron from the war, Togo made a number of unsuccessful attempts to close the exit from the harbor by flooding fire ships in the fairway (February 11, March 14 and April 20).

Along with purely blockade actions, both sides are making efforts to actively mine the waters surrounding Port Arthur. The mine war intensified in March 1904 (the death of the battleship Petropavlovsk, damage to the battleship Pobeda). On May 15, the minelayer "Amur" (under the command of Captain II Rank F. Ivanov) laid a barrage of 50 mines with the expectation of crossing the likely course of the enemy's blockading fleet. On May 17, the battleships Hatsuze and Yashima were blown up at this barrier. "Hatsuze" died from the detonation of the cellar, "Yashima" lost speed and sank on the way to Japan. On the same day, nicknamed the “black day of the Japanese fleet,” the cruiser Yoshino sank from a collision with the cruiser Kassuga.

In May, the Japanese captured the Jinzhou position, thus cutting off Port Arthur from the Manchurian land army. Leaving part of the forces to form the 3rd Army of General Noga, intended for operations against Port Argur, they began an offensive to the north. In the battle of Wafangou (June 1-2), the Russian command led by General A.N. Kuropatkin, unable to ensure the coordination of the actions of individual units and overall leadership of the battle, gave the order to retreat.

The direct struggle for Port Arthur began at the end of July - beginning of August 1904, when the Japanese army, which had landed on the Liaodong Peninsula, approached the outer contours of the fortress. By the beginning of the close siege of Port Arthur, out of 50 thousand people in the city, one third remained, of which 2 thousand were Russians, the rest were Chinese.

The fortress garrison numbered 41,780 soldiers and 665 officers, armed with 646 guns and 62 machine guns. In addition, there were 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 2 mine cruisers, 4 gunboats, 19 destroyers and the Amur mine transport in the bay. There were up to 8 thousand personnel on the squadron and the Kwantung naval crew. (Sorokin A.I. The heroic defense of Port Arthur, 1904-1905. M„ 1955. P. 50.)

From the male population of the city, not called up for mobilization, but capable of carrying weapons, 3 squads of 500 people each were formed. The guards worked around the clock on the construction of defensive structures and carried out guard duty on the central fence of the fortress. Later, they delivered ammunition and food to the positions and served as a defense reserve in case of emergency. A bicycle flying post was formed from local residents, which provided communication between the fortress headquarters and numerous fortifications on the front line during battles. In November, bicycles were used for the first time to transport the wounded.

The defense of Port Arthur was led by General A.M. Stoessel, to whom all ground and engineering troops, as well as fortress artillery, were subordinate, the fleet was subordinate to the commander-in-chief, who was in Manchuria and could not control it.

Port Arthur was poorly equipped as a base for the navy: the inner harbor for ships was cramped and shallow, and also had only one exit, which was narrow and shallow. The outer roadstead, completely open, was dangerous for the anchorage of ships. In addition, the fortress turned out to be insufficiently protected from land and sea. Despite the enormous work done by the Russian troops and civilian population on the initiative and under the leadership of the energetic and talented General R.I. Kondratenko, who was the commander of the ground defense, the construction of fortifications proceeded extremely slowly.

Serious shortcomings in the system of defense of the fortress from land, the lack of a unified command of the defense forces and the isolation of the fortress from the main forces of the Russian army operating in Manchuria created very unfavorable conditions for the defenders of Port Arthur.

Formed by the Japanese to besiege the fortress, the 3rd Army consisted of three infantry divisions, two reserve brigades, one field artillery brigade, two naval artillery detachments and a reserve engineer battalion. Not counting special troops, General Nogi had over 50 thousand bayonets, more than 400 guns, of which 198 were special siege artillery barrels. (Sorokin A.I. Op. cit., p. 51.)

June 23, 1904. Sortie of the Russian fleet. Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov was succeeded by Rear Admiral Wilhelm Karlovich Vitgeft, who was appointed temporary commander of the 1st Pacific Squadron, the command of which was entrusted to Vice Admiral, member of the Admiralty Council Nikolai Illarionovich Skrydlov. Vitgeft's damaged ships were repaired and he sortied, causing Togo to worry about his weakening forces. Admiral Togo tried to force a battle on the Russians, however, Vitgeft avoided the collision and returned to port

On August 6, the first assault began, which lasted 5 days. Hot battles broke out in the Western sector for Mount Uglovaya, in the Northern sector at the Vodoprovodny and Kuminersky redoubts, and especially in the Eastern sector for redoubts No. 1 and No. 2. On the night of August 10-2, Japanese units broke through to the rear of the main line of Russian defense. Russian infantry and companies of sailors quickly counterattacked from different directions. After about half an hour, the remnants of the Japanese troops were forced to flee. Thus, the first assault on Port Arthur ended in the defeat of the Japanese, one of the reasons for which was the remarkable night shooting of the Russian artillery. The Army of Nogi lost 15 thousand soldiers, some units ceased to exist. The Japanese were forced to move on to a long-term siege of the fortress. On August 12, enemy engineering battalions reached the front lines. At the end of August - beginning of September, siege work made significant progress. During this time, the enemy's artillery regiment was replenished with eleven-inch siege howitzers.

On August 10, 1904, a naval battle took place in the Yellow Sea. On the direct orders of Emperor Nicholas II, Rear Admiral Vitgeft attempted to break through to Vladivostok. He went to sea at the head of a squadron consisting of 6 battleships, 5 cruisers and 8 destroyers (as well as several small minesweepers, gunboats, etc. - the hospital ship "Mongolia" and a number of other auxiliary ships). In the afternoon, Admiral Togo's squadron approached him. Japanese artillery had a significant superiority over Russian, and the fire of 4 modern squadron battleships of Togo was more intense than the fire of their enemy. Both squadrons suffered serious damage. An hour and a half after the start of the battle (at 17 hours 30 minutes), a 12-inch (305 mm) shell hit the foremast of the flagship battleship Tsesarevich and exploded right above the admiral's bridge; Rear Admiral Witteft himself and almost his entire staff were killed in the explosion. Ironically, this happened at the very moment when Admiral Togo, believing that the Russian breakthrough had been successful and it was almost impossible to prevent their further advance, had already given the order to the ships of his squadron to retreat to Sasebo. The failure of the Tsesarevich forced him to reconsider the situation, and the order that had not yet been transmitted was canceled. As a result of the ensuing confusion of orders, the Russian ships retreated in disorder. The cruiser "Askold" and the destroyer "Thundering" broke through to Shanghai; the damaged battleship "Tsesarevich" and the destroyers "Besshumny", "Fearless" and "Ruthless" - in Qingdao (rented by Germany): destroyer "Burny" - in Weihaiwei (rented by Great Britain): cruiser "Diana" - in Saigon: destroyer "Resolute" - in Chifu (modern Yantai in China), the cruiser Novik almost reached Vladivostok, but near the Korsakov post (Japanese Otomari: modern city of Korsakov on Sakhalin), where it went for bunkering, it was forced to again engage in battle with the Japanese cruisers and died.

The Nogi divisions, thinned out during the August assault, were replenished with 16 thousand soldiers and officers and, in addition, 2 sapper companies. In turn, the defenders of Port Arthur improved their defensive structures. Thanks to the installation of new naval batteries, the number of artillery in September increased to 652 barrels. The cost of shells was reimbursed by the fleet, and on September 1, 1904, the fortress had 251,428 rounds. (Sorokin A.I. Op. op. p. 71.) A stubborn struggle unfolded for the dominant heights of Long and High, which were important in the defense system of the fortress. The assaults on these heights followed one after another. The enemy's manpower in the main direction of attack outnumbered the defense by about 3 times, and in some areas - up to 10 times. When repelling attacks, the Russians made extensive use of a number of new means of combat, including mortars invented by midshipman S.N. Vlasiev. After four days of fierce fighting, the Japanese managed to capture Mount Long. The attacks on Mount Vysokaya on September 6-9, during which the Japanese lost up to 5 thousand soldiers and officers, ended without results. The Russians lost 256 people killed and 947 wounded. (Sorokin A.I. Op. cit. P. 77.) This completed the second assault on the fortress.

From September 29, front-line soldiers began to receive 1/3 pound of horse meat per person twice a week; Things were worse with bread - it was given out at 3 pounds a day. Scurvy appeared, claiming more lives than shells and bullets. At the beginning of November, there were over 7 thousand wounded and sick with scurvy, dysentery and typhus in the city’s hospitals. The civilian population was in an even more difficult situation. At the end of November, dog meat was sold at the market, and horse meat became a luxury.

The ships stationed in the inner roadstead provided great assistance to the ground forces in the defense of the fortress. So, the fleet allocated 284 guns and a large amount of ammunition for this. Through the efforts of the sailors, 15 different fortifications were built and armed on the shore. A large number of sailors and naval officers were transferred to land to replenish the forces of the fortress defenders. However, the main form of assistance from the fleet to the troops was artillery support, which was systematic and continued until the fall of Port Arthur.

On October 17, after a 3-day artillery preparation, the Japanese carried out a third assault on the fortress, which lasted 3 days. All enemy attacks were repulsed by Russian troops with huge losses. On November 13, Japanese troops (over 50 thousand people) launched a fourth assault. They were bravely resisted by the Russian garrison, which by this time numbered 18 thousand people. Particularly heavy fighting took place over Mount Vysokaya, which fell on November 22. Having occupied Mount Vysokaya, the enemy began shelling the city and harbor with 11-inch howitzers. Having received numerous damages, the battleship Poltava sank on November 22, the battleship Retvizan on November 23, the battleships Peresvet and Pobeda, and the cruiser Pallada on November 24; The cruiser Bayan was heavily damaged. On December 2, defense hero General Kondratenko died with a group of officers. This was a great loss for the defenders of the fortress. Although after the death of the squadron the situation of the besieged greatly worsened, the garrison was ready to continue the fight. Combat-ready units still held the defense, they could fire 610 guns (of which 284 were naval), there were 207,855 shells (there was a lack of large caliber), there was no urgent need for bread and crackers, out of 59 fortified units of the fortress, no more than 20 were lost. (Sorokin A.I. Op. cit., p. 103.) However, due to the cowardice of General Stessel and the new chief of ground defense, General A.V. Foka December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905 new style) Port Arthur was surrendered to the Japanese.

In the battles for the fortress, the Japanese lost more than 110 thousand people and 15 warships. The losses of the Russian army amounted to about 25 thousand soldiers and officers. Almost the entire 1st Pacific Squadron was also lost - about 50 ships. The defense of Port Arthur is a glorious and tragic page in the history of the Russian army and navy. The fall of Port Arthur predetermined the further course of the war and the defeat of Tsarist Russia, which lost its fleet and naval base in the Pacific Ocean. Japanese troops, freed after the capture of Port Arthur, were used against the Russian army in Manchuria. According to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905, the lease rights to Port Arthur passed to Japan).

officers 153 lower ranks 12300 died after surrender 1567 died on the way from Port Arthur to Dalniy died in captivity 300 sailors officers 83 lower ranks 2500 total 17000

Siege of Port Arthur- the longest battle of the Russo-Japanese War. New weapons such as 11-inch mortars, rapid-fire howitzers, Maxim machine guns, barbed wire fences, hand grenades, and even chemical weapons were widely used during the siege.

Before the war

According to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, concluded in 1895 after the end of the Sino-Japanese War, China transferred the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur to Japan. However, on April 23, Russia, Germany and France turned to the Japanese government demanding that they abandon the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula. Nicholas II, supported by the Western allies, had his own plans for Port Arthur as an ice-free port for Russia. China agreed to transfer Port Arthur to Russia in a concession for 25 years, and also granted Russia the rights to build a railway. The main investments went into the development of the Dalniy port, which was conceived as an “open city” - that is, without armed forces, only for commerce.

Fortress fortifications

The project for the construction of fortifications was approved in 1900. It was planned to build 27 long-term batteries on the coastal front, and eight forts, nine fortifications, six long-term batteries and eight redoubts on the land front.

At the beginning of the siege of the fortress by Japanese troops, the fortifications of Port Arthur consisted of five forts (No. I, II, III, IV and V), three fortifications (No. 3, 4 and 5) and four separate batteries (letters A, B, C and D). In the intervals between them, rifle trenches were dug, which were covered with wire fences and, in the most dangerous directions, land mines buried in the ground. On the flanks of the fortress on the mountains Xyagushan, Dagushan, Vysoka and Uglovaya, forward field-type positions were equipped. The Kumirnensky, Vodoprovodny and Skalisty redoubts were moved towards the Shuishin valley.

The Port Arthur fortress had three fronts: Eastern on the right flank. Northern in the center and Western on the left flank of the defensive line. The defense of the Eastern Front was entrusted to General Gorbatovsky, the Northern Front was entrusted to Colonel Semenov, and the Western Front was entrusted to Colonel Irman. The entire defense of the ground front was in charge of General Kondratenko, and the reserves were in charge of General Fok. The eastern front consisted of forts: I, II, III and a number of long-term fortifications connected to each other by a rampart - the so-called “Wall of China”. The forward position here was made up of redoubts: Dagushan and Xiaogushan. The northern front consisted of a forward position - the Vodoprovodny and Kumirnensky redoubts and the redoubt from Fort IV. On the Western Front, forward positions were hastily fortified on the Uglovaya, Dlinnaya and Vysokaya mountains and the main position (forts V and VI) was in its infancy.

Defense

Battles for advanced fortifications

On July 25 (August 7), 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) there was a stubborn battle there - and on the night of July 27 (August 9) both redoubts were abandoned by Russian troops. The Russians lost 450 soldiers and officers in battle. Japanese losses, according to their data, amounted to 1280 people

First assault

On August 6 (August 19), the Japanese began bombing the Eastern and Northern fronts, and the latter was attacked. On August 6-8 (August 19-21), 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), Nogi stormed the Eastern Front, captured the advanced redoubts at the cost of severe losses, and on August 10 (August 23) approached the line of forts. On the night of August 11 (August 24), 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 fell - 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.

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), and by the morning of September 7 (September 20), the Japanese captured the Russian advanced positions - the Vodoprovodny and Kumirnensky redoubts and Long Mountain. On September 8-9 (September 21-22) there was a stubborn battle for the 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. Russian losses amounted to 1,500 people, Japanese - 6,000.

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), the besiegers used 11-inch howitzers to shell the fortress for the first time, 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), after three days of 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) it was absolutely clear that the next assault on the fortress had failed, nevertheless Nogi ordered continued 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

Japanese artillery shelling of Russian warships in Port Arthur harbor

In early November, Nogi's army was strengthened by a new (7th) infantry division. On November 13 (November 26), 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 Vysokaya, where a nine-day general battle of the entire siege took place. In fruitless attacks on the defensive fortifications, the fortress lost up to 10% of its manpower in the active divisions, but the main task of the assault remained unfulfilled. General Nogi, having assessed the situation, decided to stop further actions on the broad (Eastern) front and throw all his forces into capturing 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), Vysokaya was taken. In the battles for High, the Japanese army lost up to 12 thousand soldiers and officers. The losses of Russian troops on Vysokaya reached up to 4,500 people, and on the entire front they exceeded 6,000. The next day after occupying the mountain, the Japanese equipped 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

On December 20, 1904 (January 2), 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), a capitulation was concluded, according to which a garrison of 23,000 people (counting the sick) surrendered as prisoners of war with all supplies of combat equipment. The officers could return to their homeland, giving their word of honor that they would not participate in hostilities. Dismissed from service in 1906, Stoessel appeared before a military tribunal the following year, which sentenced him to death for surrendering 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.

Literature

• Yanchevetsky D. G. At the walls of motionless China. - St. Petersburg. - Port Arthur, published by P. A. Artemyev, 1903.
• Defense of Port Arthur. A. von Schwartz, Y. Romanovsky. 1908
• Stepanov A. Admiral Makarov in Port Arthur: a story / Stepanov A. - Vladivostok: Primizdat, 1948. - 149 p.
• Stepanov A. Port Arthur: Historical narrative. Part 1-4 / Stepanov A. - M.: Sov. writer, 1947
• Stepanov A. Port Arthur: Historical narrative. Book 1 / Stepanov A. - M.: Goslitizdat, 1950. - 539 p.: ill., portrait.
• Stepanov A. Port Arthur: Historical narrative. Book 2 / Stepanov A. - M.: Goslitizdat, 1950. - 640 pp.: ill.
• Sorokin A.I. Heroic defense of Port Arthur 1904-1905 / Sorokin A.I. - M.: DOSAAF, 1955. - 118 p.: ill., map.
• Keyserling A. Memories of Russian service: [trans. from German] / Keyserling Alfred. - M.: Akademkniga, 2001. - 447 pp.: 4 l. ill.
• Plotnikov I. F. Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak: Researcher, admiral, supreme. Ruler of Russia / Plotnikov Ivan Fedorovich; total ed. Blagovo V. A.; resp. ed. Sapozhnikov S. A. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2003. - 702 p.: photo.
• Shatsillo V. Russo-Japanese War: 1904-1905 / Vyacheslav Shatsillo; Larisa Shatsillo. - M.: Mol. Guard, 2004. - 470 pp.: ill.
• Gorinov M. M. History of Russia of the 20th century / Gorinov Mikhail Mikhailovich, Pushkova Lyubov Leonidovna. - M.: Rosman: Education, 2004. - 319 p.: ill.
• Alexey Vasilievich Shishov. Unknown pages of the Russian-Japanese War: 1904-1905. M.: Veche, 2004. ISBN 5 9533 0269 X,
• Nakhapetov B. A. Organization of medical care in besieged Port Arthur / B. A. Nakhapetov // Questions of history. - 2005. - N 11. - P. 144-150.

Notes

Links

• Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian Army. - M.: Eksmo, 2006. - ISBN 5-699-18397-3. Chapter XIII. War with Japan 1904-1905 and the first turmoil
• Sorokin A.I. Defense of Port Arthur. Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
• Conditions for the design and construction of the Port Arthur fortress.
• Norrigaard B.V. The Great Siege (Port Arthur and its fall)

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See what “Port Arthur defense” is in other dictionaries:

January 27 (February 9) December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905), during the Russian-Japanese War. Russian troops under the command of Lieutenant General R.I. Kondratenko [until December 2 (15)] heroically defended the naval fortress of Port Arthur (now Lushun) and ... encyclopedic Dictionary

PORT ARTHUR DEFENSE 1904-1905 - defense by Russian troops and naval forces 01/27/12/20/1904 of the seaside fortress and main naval base of the Russian Navy Port Arthur in Manchuria during the Russian Japanese war of 1904-1905.

Construction of a cre-po-sti (co-men-dant - Lieutenant General K.N. Smirnov) on the arena-do-van near China's Kwan-tung peninsula in the moose since 1901, but by the beginning of the war it was not over. Port-Ar-tour was the main element of the Kwan-tun-sk-go uk-re-p-len-no-go region (chief - Lieutenant General A.M. Stes-sel; 2 rifle divisions and several separate units), re-zer-va-mi ru-ko-vo-dil Major General A.V. Fok. At the naval base, the main forces of the Ti-ho-oke-an-es-cadre (Vice Admiral O.V. Stark; 48 combat troops) were located at the naval base. ko-rab-lei, including 7 bro-non-nos-tsev and 4 krey-ser-ra 1 rank).

On the night of January 27 (9.2), 1904, Japanese mine-bearers suddenly, before the declaration of war, attacked the Russian ships, hundred appeared on the outer road of Port-Ar-tu-ra, and you put 2 armored carriers and 1 cruiser out of action. One day, the attempts of the main forces of the Japanese fleet (Vice Admiral Kh. To-go) to destroy the Russian es-cad-ru in the morning of the same day succeeded -Ha didn't they? Under the fire of the Russian ships, under the support of the be-re-go-voy art-til-le-ri-ey, the enemy stepped away and went into retreat. covered sea. We were unsuccessful in our attempts to block the Russian es-cad-ra on the internal road of Port-Ar-tu on February 11 (24). ra. On February 24 (March 8), Vice Admiral S.O. Ma-karov joined the co-man-do-va-nie of the Ti-ho-oke-an-es-ka-roy, took decisive measures to increase its combat activity. But on March 31 (April 13), during the es-kad-ry’s departure to the sea, the flag-man bro-not-no-sets “Pe-tro-pav-lovsk” Dor-val-sya on the mi-not and for-zero. Ma-ka-rov and most of the team died. Rear Admiral V.K. joined the es-cad-roy team. Vit-geft. North of Port Ar-tu-ra on April 22 (May 5) the Japanese 2nd Army (General Ya. Oku; about 35 thousand people, 216 guns, 48 ​​guns) -le-me-tov), ​​who-to-paradise, on-not-xia on-ra-zhe-nie Russian troops near Jin-zhou and Wa-fang-gou (watch the Jin-zhou battle of 1904 and the Wa-fan-gou battle of 1904), from re-za-la Port Ar-tour from the Russian Manchurian army. In addition, the Japanese have created a new 3rd Army (General M. No-gi; 48 thousand people, 386 guns), which On June 13 (26), she moved to the na-stu-p-le-nie and ov-la-de-la mountain Ku-in-san and Green-mi mountains. Russian troops under the leadership of Major General R.I. Kon-d-ra-ten-ko, na-know-chen-no-go at-the-head-of-no-one su-ho-put-noy defense of the fortress, counter-attack you -were the Japanese from the Green Mountains, one day on July 13 (26), the Japanese came to the goiter and on -after persistent battles, again the ov-la-de-li Ze-le-ny-mi, and then the Wolf-i-mi mountains. Russian troops are moving towards the fortress. A non-middle-of-the-road defense has begun at Port Ar-tu-ra.

By this time, the efforts of the personal so-sta-va gar-ni-zo-on the ob-ro-on Port-Ar-tu-ra on the dry-ho-put- nom on the right-le-nii was-la usi-le-na: there were 5 forts, 3 long-term uk-re-p-le-nii and 5 sta-tsio-nar-nyh ba-ta-rey. Between the defensive formations you have rifle trenches, covered by fences behind the city. -niya-mi, and in some schools - fu-ga-sa-mi. The Su-ho-put-naya defense on the river (the length of the front is 20 km) consisted of 3 sectors: western, northern and eastern exactly. The strongest in engineering was the eastern sector, the weakest was the western one.

By se-re-di-ne July-la gar-ni-zon Port-Ar-tu-ra, you counted about 42 thousand people, Ti-ho-oke-an-skaya es-kad-ra ( 36 slaves) - up to 12 thousand people. There were 646 guns and 62 pu-le-me-ta at the military station. Of the heavy artillery (124 guns), only 1/3 could fight long-range siege artillery -ri-ey pro-tiv-no-ka. The supply of artillery ammunition and food supply was limited. Great difficulty arose with drinking water. There were also problems in the management organization. Beginning Kwan-tun-sko-go uk-re-p-len-no-go district A.M. Stes-sel still in June did not receive orders from the commands. Manchurian ar-mi-ey gene. from inf. A.N. Ku-ro-pat-ki-na to hand over the ko-man-do-va-nie to the ko-men-dan-tu of Port Ar-tu-ra and arrive at the army headquarters. But Stes-sel, having hidden the telegram, did not tell you anything. More than that, he began to intervene in the affairs of the co-men-dan-ta of the kre-po-sti and gradually-pen-but-from-stra -neil K.N. Smir-no-va from ko-man-do-va-niya.

In connection with the threat from the forces of the fleet, the es-kad-re was given an order to dig into Vla-di-stock. Back on June 10 (23), she was subjected to such torture, but, having met with the Japanese fleet, V.K. Vit-geft decided to go back. On July 28 (August 10), the Russian es-cad-ra (6 bro-non-nos-tsev, 4 krey-ser-ra and 8 es-min-tsev) again went to sea. On the same day, a naval battle took place in the Yellow Sea, during which Vit-geft was killed, and the current manager The es-kad-ra scattered: the main forces (10 ships) returned to Port Ar-tour, and the rest went to the minesweepers. New ports, where are the in-ter-ni-ro-va-ny. The cruise-ser "No-vik" broke into the Sea of ​​Japan, but near the island of Sa-ha-lin it was overtaken by 2 Japanese cruise-se-ra-mi and po-p-len . Os-tat-ki of the Ti-ho-oke-an-es-kad-ry (Rear Admiral R.N. Vi-ren), block-ki-ro-van-nies against-no-com on the internal rey-de Port-Ar-tu-ra, took part in the defense of the fortress, supporting the fire of the land wars ska.

August 3 (16) Japanese ko-man-do-va-nie na-pra-vi-lo in Port-Ar-tour par-la-men-to-ra with the offer to surrender , but it would have been rejected. From August 6 (19) to the beginning of December, there were 4 assaults against the shield from the ra-zi-li. During the assault, the Japanese suffered significant losses, nevertheless, they managed to capture a number of government-dominated heights on approach Port-Ar-tu-ru, place a siege artillery on them and begin a planned bombardment of the fortress and co-rab-ley on the raid. By the beginning of December, most of the forts and long-term uk-re-p-le-nies of the main line of defense had been raz-ru-she-na , and most of the ko-rab-lei es-kad-ry in some way. Among the surviving Russian ships there are 7 mini-carriers, a cannon-boat and a steam-boat. Of the large ships, only the bro-ne-no-sets “Se-va-sto-pol” (ka-pi-tan 1st rank N.O. Es-sen) ), a timely new internal raid and a break-in in White Wolf Bay. Until the very end of Port Arthur's defense, he continued to provide fire support to the land troops.

On December 2(15), R.I. died. Kon-d-ra-ten-ko. He was replaced by A.V., famous for his ka-pi-tulyant-ski-mi on-the-structure. Fok. On December 16 (29), a meeting took place with 20 of his students out of 22 you said for prolonging the fight. Only Colonel V.A. The flight (chief of staff of the Kwan-tun-sko-go uk-re-p-len-no-go region) was for ka-pi-tu-la-tion. Fok, in essence, resisted, but already 3 days after the ov-la-de-niya against-no-one Mount Bol-shoye Or -li-noe Gnez-before, he-lived A. Ste-s-lu-that he considers further co-operation impossible. Ste-sel agreed with him and, in response to the decision of the military council, ordered Rei-su to join the Japanese in the re-go-vo-ry about ka-pi-tu-la-tion. On the night of December 20, by order of Fo-ka, a number of important strongholds were abandoned, which sharply deteriorated the protection of the shield -ni-kov Port-Ar-tu-ra. That same night, on the mini-nose “Stat-ny”, combat signs were sent from the right to the Chinese port of Chi-fu (Yan-tai). tourist hours, codes and other important documents. At one time, not wanting to surrender to the enemy, they broke out of Port-Ar-tour and went to the neutral-mine ports 5 mi-no-nos-tsev, bro-ne-no-sets “Se-va-sto-pol” for-to-p-len ko-man-doy, and ka-no-ner-ka “Ot-important” ny" look-up. 12.20.1904 (2.1.1905) at 19 o'clock Flight signed the act of ka-pi-tu-la-tion. By this time, the gar-ni-zone of Port-Ar-tu-ra counted over 32 thousand people (including about 6 thousand sick and wounded), 610 guns, 9 pu-le-me-tov, about 208 thousand shells and up to 3 thousand horses.

The defense of Port Arthur lasted 329 days. She amassed large forces against Tiv-nik (up to 200 thousand people), thwarting his plan to crush the Russian Manchurian army. In the fight for Port Ar-tour, the Japanese lost over 110 thousand people and 15 battle ships, another 16 battle ships in all seriousness -ez-nye-damage-de-tions. In that time, the gar-ni-zo-on Port-Ar-tu-ra killed and killed about 27 thousand people with us.