THE TRUTH ABOUT PORT ARTHUR
First Edition April, 1908.
Second Impression May, 1908.
Third Impression September, 1908.
GENERAL SMIRNOFF.
THE TRUTH ABOUTPORT ARTHUR
BY MONSIEUR E.K. NOJINE
ACCREDITED RUSSIAN WAR CORRESPONDENT DURING THE SIEGE
TRANSLATED AND ABRIDGED BY
CAPTAIN A.B. LINDSAY
2ND KING EDWARD'S OWN GURKHA RIFLES
TRANSLATOR OF 'THE BATTLE OF TSU-SHIMA,' ETC.
EDITED BY
MAJOR E.D. SWINTON, D.S.O.
ROYAL ENGINEERS
AUTHOR OF 'THE DEFENCE OF DUFFER'S DRIFT'
WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1908
The siege of Port Arthur was the event of the late war in the Far Eastwhich most attracted the attention and interest of the rest of theworld. There were other military operations, it is true, of equal ifnot of greater importance to the ultimate issue of the struggle; but,owing to their complexity, their slowness, and the absence of definiteadvance information, their progress and purport were not easily graspedby any save military students. The case of Port Arthur was different.The long drawn-out agony of the siege was continued before the eyes ofthe world for many months,[1] and, while the imagination was touched byits romantic side, the point at issue was at once apparent.
Even so, there was much mystery about the conduct of the defence andthe eventual fall of the Fortress; for, owing to its remote positionand almost complete isolation by the enemy, the available informationalmost entirely consisted of that supplied by correspondents withthe Japanese, and was, therefore, information from the outside, andmore or less a history of results alone. In 1907, or between twoand three years after the culmination of the siege, the inevitabledisclosures—the aftermath of defeat—which sometimes help to anappreciation of causes began to be made in Russia.
More than one book has recently been written by Russians who saw thedefence from inside the Fortress, and who therefore claim to be in aposition to give the inner history of the tragedy.
'The Truth about Port Arthur' was published in Russia last year. M.Nojine, the author, by whose permission this abridged translationhas been made, was the accredited Russian war-correspondent in PortArthur, and as such went through the greater part of the siege. He hadexceptional facilities for collecting material for his work, for hewas all through in close contact with the 'fighting' leaders of PortArthur, and had access to official documents and diaries, and, havingbeen an eye-witness of much, and possessing the trained observation ofa journalist, his testimony should carry weight. His book is one longindictment of the then régime in Russia, and of some of the officialsconnected with the defence of Port Arthur.
By the time that the English translation was completed, in the autumnof 1907, it was announced that some of the senior officers whoconducted the defence were to be tried by court-martial. In fact, fromthe copy of the official indictment then published,...