For six days and nights there had been fighting almost without a moment’s intermission. Notwithstanding the tremendous efforts made, the attack was ineffective. Everywhere the invaders had been repulsed. Even at sea the _Retvizan_ from the entrance to the harbour, with some torpedo-boat destroyers, had driven away some Japanese gunboats and destroyers firing at the south-eastern forts at the time the general attack had been planned to take place. The Japanese fleet did not take any great part in these assaults. During the fighting much rain fell. The night was made lighter than day by the numerous brilliant search-lights from the Russian positions. The Japanese were everywhere delayed by obstructions, and hampered by the light thrown upon their attempts during the night to cut wire entanglements or remove them. A strong electric current was passing through the wires of the entanglements, and thus it was injury or death to whomsoever tried to cut them: yet there were seen occasionally Japanese lying on their backs and with their teeth attempting to nip through the dead wires of these murderous traps. Under the search-light the men shammed to be dead or wounded: when this was understood the Russians failed to respect the Red Cross flag. Undaunted by death, recking nothing of the fate of those who had preceded them in the same endeavour, the Japanese advanced relentlessly, unceasingly, as those impelled by instinct. There were no bugles, no drums, no music, no hurrahs, no cries of “Banzai,” but in absolute silence the besiegers went on, now in the glare of the brilliant, blinding electric light, then a little time in its shadow or suddenly exposed by floating lights from rockets and star shells--and in the end all failed. An eye-witness writes of the attack on Etseshan: “I watched the assault of a ghostly mass of moving figures, through which continual lanes were made by our guns, admitting glimpses of the scenes behind. These gaps were closed up as if by magic, and the mass surged onward, while our men, forsaking the trenches sought the shelter of the forts. On they came until close to us. The mines exploded and the earth opened. Bodies were hurled into the air, and then sank again to earth. Hands clutched rifles, and in the moonlight bayonets looked like fireworks shooting upwards and descending point downwards into the body of a man--but in silence.” A correspondent with the Japanese forces states that the mines seemed to be but little used, and were found to be ineffective. The losses of the Japanese he estimates at 14,000, in addition to 8,000 incapacitated through illness, and 16,000 suffering from beri-beri. The losses were made good from men of the second reserve landed at Dalny, and the work of the besiegers never slackened. The attack having been repulsed, General Stoessel determined upon a sortie in force, to drive the Japanese from the positions they had established in the Sui-shi valley.