At 6 p.m. on December 29 a meeting--the last meeting--of the Council of War took place in the District Staff Offices. All the senior commanders in the Fortress were present: 1. _Captain Golovan_, Chief Staff Officer 7th East Siberian Rifle Brigade. 2. _Lieutenant-Colonel Dmitrevsky_, Chief Staff Officer 4th East Siberian Rifle Division. 3. _Colonel Khvostoff_, Chief of the Fortress Staff. 4. _Colonel Reuss_, Chief Staff Officer of the Kwantun District. 5. _Lieutenant-Colonel Nekrashevitch-Poklad_, commanding 25th Regiment. 6. _Colonel Petrusha_, commanding 28th Regiment. 7. _Lieutenant-Colonel Handurin_, commanding 15th Regiment. 8. _Colonel Semenoff, A.D.C._, commanding 26th Regiment. 9. _Colonel Savitsky_, commanding 14th Regiment. 10. _Colonel Griaznoff_, commanding ----[40] Regiment. 11. _Colonel Mekhmandaroff_, commanding 7th East Siberian Rifle Artillery Division. 12. _Colonel Irman_, commanding 4th East Siberian Rifle Artillery Brigade. 13. _Colonel Grigorenko_, commanding the Fortress Engineers. 14. _Rear-Admiral Wiren._ 15. _Rear-Admiral Loschinsky._ 16. _Major-General Gorbatovsky_, commanding the eastern front. 17. _Major-General Biely_, commanding the Fortress Artillery. 18. _Major-General Nadein_, temporarily commanding 4th East Siberian Rifle Division. 19. _Major-General Nickitin_ (no special appointment). 20. _Lieutenant-General Fock_, lately commanding 4th East Siberian Rifle Division, now in command of the land defences. 21. _Lieutenant-General Smirnoff_, Commandant of the Fortress. 22. _General Stössel, A.D.C._ It was evening, and the town and front were quiet. The collected members conversed and exchanged opinions in a low tone while waiting for the meeting to commence. Every one was naturally much interested in what was coming, and most guessed why General Stössel had summoned all the senior commanding officers. At last it began. The meeting is recorded for clearness in the following form: _Stössel._ 'Gentlemen, I have called you all here to give me your opinion frankly with regard to the actual state of the Fortress and the steps which should be taken in future. When the meeting is over I will read you this paper' (in his hand was a letter).[41] 'Let us commence with the juniors. Captain Golovan, what is your opinion on this question?' _Golovan._ 'We must certainly hold out to the very last.' _Dmitrevsky._ 'The food is very bad. We have little ammunition now left. I do not see that we can expect anything by continuing the defence.' _Nekrashevitch-Poklad._ 'We have no ammunition. Scurvy is on the increase, and the hospitals are full. We have few men to garrison the Fortress works. Under such circumstances, there is little use in carrying on with the defence.' _Petrusha._ 'We have held out till now, and we can hold out longer; and then--God's will be done.' _Savitsky and Griaznoff._ 'It is very difficult to hold out longer. Everything is going badly.'