The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915Various
History
The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915
Various
World War, 1914-1918
Austrian prisoners affirm that they received orders to hang all those
striving against their country, to burn all the enemy's villages, and
put all their inhabitants to death.
The Servian Quartermaster General is drawing up an official list of
these Austro-Hungarian deeds.
*The Attack on Tsing-tau*
*By Jefferson Jones of The Minneapolis Journal and The Japan
Advertiser.*
JAPANESE HEADQUARTERS, Shantung, Nov. 2.--I have seen war from a grand
stand seat. I never before heard of the possibility of witnessing a
modern battle--the attack of warships, the fire of infantry and
artillery, the manoeuvring of airships over the enemy's lines, the
rolling up from the rear of reinforcements and supplies--all at one
sweep of the eye; yet, after watching [Transcriber: original 'watchnig']
for three days the siege of Tsing-tau from a position on Prinz Heinrich
Berg, 1,000 feet above the sea level and but three miles from the
beleaguered city, I am sure that there is actually such a thing as a
theatre of war.
On Oct. 31, the date of the anniversary of the birth of the Emperor of
Japan, the actual bombardment of Tsing-tau began. All the residents of
the little Chinese village of Tschang-tsun, where was fixed on that day
the acting staff headquarters of the Japanese troops, had been awakened
early in the morning by the roar of a German aeroplane over the village.
Every one quickly dressed and, after a hasty breakfast, went out to the
southern edge of the village to gaze toward Tsing-tau.
A great black column of smoke was arising from the city and hung like a
pall over the besieged. At first glance it seemed that one of the
neighboring hills had turned into an active volcano and was emitting
this column of smoke, but it was soon learned that the oil tanks in
Tsing-tau were on fire.
As the bombardment was scheduled to start late in the morning, we were
invited to accompany members of the staff of the Japanese and British
expeditionary forces on a trip to Prinz Heinrich Berg, there to watch
the investment of the city. It was about a three-mile journey to this
mountain, which had been the scene of some severe fighting between the
German and Japanese troops earlier in the month.
When we arrived at the summit there was the theatre of war laid out
before us like a map. To the left were the Japanese and British cruisers
in the Yellow Sea, preparing for the bombardment. Below was the Japanese
battery, stationed near the Meeker House, which the Germans had burned
in their retreat from the mountains. Directly ahead was the City of
Tsing-tau, with the Austrian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth steaming about
in the harbor, while to the right one could see the Kiao-Chau coast and
central forts and redoubts and the intrenched Japanese and British
camps.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account