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274 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
explosions, or in the holes which the big howitzer
shells had made in the ground. Though many of
the men were shot down during this short race,
little by little a force of about 150 men was
assembled in the front part of the fort, and the
commander, Captain Iwamoto, then led them
against the sandbag trenches at the rear. A
furious combat ensued here, and though the
Japanese were unable to dislodge their stubborn
antagonists, they succeeded in drawing the atten-
tion of the defenders from the ramparts, over
which strong supports were now pouring. The
fighting was mostly hand-to-hand, but the Russian
machine guns took an important part in the
defence, their galling fire making fearful ravages
amongst the attacking party. The Japanese
therefore got a couple of mountain guns hauled
up on the parapet, and with these succeeded in
silencing the Maxims.
But the fighting still went on for hours. Man
after man of the brave defenders was struck down
at his post, and the terrible shelling of the
trenches leading to the fort made it impossible
for the Russians to send up further reinforce-
ments, while, with the Japanese, the more heads
that were cut off the hydra, the more grew out
again. At half-past eleven, after nearly seven
hours of continuous terrible fighting, the few
survivors of the garrison (the Japanese estimate
them at about twenty men) finally gave up the
hopeless struggle and fled, blasting the bridge
across the moat behind them.
The Japanese losses amounted to between 700
and 800 men ; but they thought that cheap.
The first permanent fort was now at last, after
four months of continuous fighting, in their
hands. The Japanese were jubilant. General
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