Another fierce artillery duel preluded the general advance. By 11 o'clock the Russian batteries appeared to have been silenced, and the Japanese pressed forward to storm the heights. But it turned out that General Stoessel was only reserving his fire. No sooner did the Japanese debouch into the open upon the slopes which led up to the hill than a storm of missiles swept across their path, mowing them down in serried masses. The wire entanglements, too, proved a deadly obstacle. Rush after rush was made by the gallant Japanese, but every attempt to get near to the trenches was vain. The carnage was terrific. The officers fell in all directions, the rank and file lay in piles of dead at the foot of the hill, and the advance came for a time to an absolute standstill. [Sidenote: A General Bombardment] It was clear that further artillery preparation was necessary, and therefore General Oku ordered a general bombardment once more. For hours his field batteries, supplemented by the gunboats, rained shot and shell upon the Russian positions, searching the whole range of forts and trenches, and doing terrible execution. The Russian fire slackened under this fearful cannonade, but still the Japanese continued their bombardment. [Sidenote: Chances of Defeat] And now came the crucial moment of the day. The artillery ammunition of the attacking force began to give out. To bring up fresh supplies from far in the rear meant that before the bombardment could be resumed night would have fallen upon the scene, for it was by this time late in the afternoon. When this untoward intelligence was brought to him, General Oku was presented with a problem of the utmost difficulty and a responsibility which might well have seemed overwhelming. He must either hazard another infantry attack at once, fraught with all the possibility of failure, or he must temporarily withdraw his forces and wait for further ammunition and perhaps heavier guns. The second course meant only delay; the first, in the event of a repulse, meant not merely delay, but the possibility of a crushing defeat as well. It must be remembered, moreover, that the troops had been close upon sixteen hours in the field. In these circumstances a commander of less resolution and with less confidence in his men would have been under a strong temptation to choose the alternative which offered the smaller risk, but General Oku was made of different mettle. He knew that delay would upset the general arrangements of the campaign; he knew, too, that it might give a fatal opportunity for the advance of a relief force from the north. He therefore at once accepted the tremendous responsibility of ordering a resumption of the attack all along the line. Fortunately, a weak point in the Russian defences had been discovered. The shallow waters of Kinchau Bay allowed men to wade in and approach Nanshan from the southwest, at a point at which, owing to the angle of emplacement of the Russian guns, they could do