This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1911 edition. Excerpt: … CHAPTER XI The fighting on December 1–Reconnoitring at night–The ideal officer –The attacks on 203 Metre Hill on December 4–Events on Akasaka Yama from November 27 to December 4. December 1 ran its course in the usual way, until it had grown dark, when something rather serious occurred. Owing to the constant alarms, and my fears for the safety of the hill, I could not think of eating, but, taking advantage of a period of comparative quiet, and hoping that the Japanese would take some time to recover from the severe lesson they had had, I had gone out into the open air (it was fearfully close in the bomb-proof) and was sitting on the slope of the parapet, when suddenly the alarm was raised. Rifle firing broke out, accompanied by the roar of bursting hand grenades. I sprang to my feet and saw that our men were flying out of the left breastwork–fortunately, however, only a few of them as yet. Midshipman Soimonov was there with the sailors. What’s all this about? I shouted. The hand grenades were too much for us. Every one has gone, and the Japanese have captured our work.
You fools! I yelled after them. You have been asleep again. Get back at once and tell Midshipman Soimonov that I order him to turn the Japanese out again. Upon this, the sailors turned and ran past me. Ten minutes afterwards there was a splutter of firing from the left breastwork, next a loud Hurrah! and then, a moment afterwards, silence. An orderly from Midshipman Soimonov ran up to me and reported that they had regained the trench, but that the Japanese were still in possession of the work itself, from which I concluded that the sailors alone were numerically too weak to retake the place. I sent a telegram to the staff,
Send me one fresh company, but…