Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun: A Story of the Russo-Japanese WarCollingwood, Harry
General
Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War
Collingwood, Harry
Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 -- Juvenile fiction
As the dawn gradually brightened the sky behind the ridge of Mount
Sampson, the Russians again became uneasy, and their rifles once more
began to speak from the trenches, a shot here, then another shot yonder,
followed by quite a spluttering here and there all along their front;
but their artillery remained silent, for the fog was still so dense that
nothing could be seen at which to aim.
Protected by the cover of the fog, the Japanese soldiers went to
breakfast, fortifying themselves with a good meal, in preparation for
the arduous labours of the day that lay before them; and I did the same,
for I knew not how long it might be before I should again have the
opportunity to eat or drink; also, following the example of several of
the officers and men, I filled my jacket pockets with biscuit, and
provided myself with a good capacious flask of cold tea, having done
which, I felt ready for anything.
We had barely finished breakfast when the sun showed over the ridge of
Mount Sampson; and almost immediately the thick curtain of fog, which
had thus far so effectually hidden the movements of the Japanese troops
from the enemy, began to lift and thin. This was the signal for the
final movement prior to the storming of the Nanshan Heights; and that
movement was directed against the city of Kinchau, it being known by
this time that the devoted band of engineers who had been dispatched at
midnight to blow in the gates of the city must have failed in their
mission, otherwise some of them at least would have been back to report.
To the 1st Division was assigned the task of taking the city; and they
did it in brilliant style. Marching upon the southern gate, a party of
four engineers was sent forward to blow in the massive barrier, which
was protected by steel plates and bands, secured by heavy steel bolts,
and loopholed for musketry. The devoted quartette succeeded in placing
their blasting charges and igniting the fuses under a heavy fire, not
only from the loopholed gate, but also from the walls, but in so doing
they were so severely wounded that after they had lighted the fuses they
were unable to effect their escape, and received further severe injuries
when the explosion occurred and the gate was blown off its hinges. Then
the waiting 1st Division, straining like eager hounds held in leash,
rushed forward through the thick, acrid smoke, with levelled bayonets,
yelling "Banzai Nippon!" as they ran; and as they charged impetuously in
through the south gate, the enemy went streaming as impetuously out
through the west gate, about half a mile away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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