THE ATTACK ON KIN-CHOW. 579 had landed more than 38,000 men in the Liaotung Peninsula.

riflemen. After trying for two hours to beat down the fire of the defenders, the Japanese drewoff, intending to renew the attack at dawn next day,whilethe right or westerncolumn was beginning active operationsagainst Kin-chow.

TheChinese forces in the district wereinferior in numbers to the invader, but this inferiority should have been compensated for by the strong fortifications which they had to defend. In the town of Kin-chow and the forts at Ta-lien-wan Bay there were about 6,000 men. At Port Arthur itself there were 10,000 men. General Sung, the military governor, had left the place for the country near the Yalu, and General Chieng, one of hislieutenants,was in command of the fortress. Admiral Ting had taken away what was left of his fleet to Wei-hai-wei. He hadpaid a visit to Port Arthur in the beginning ofNovember, after the landing of Oyama's army in the peninsula,but,on November 7th, under ordersfromPekin, he started againfor Wei-haiwei. On the qth he called at Taku to take on board ammunition and other stores, and returned to Wei-hai-wei on the 12th. All this time Admiral Ito, with the Japanese fleet, was anchored among the Elliot Islands. He made noattempt to interfere with Ting's movements, confining himself to a passive guardianship of ths Japanese transports.

Justbefore dawnon the 6th,MajorSaito,with a battalion of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and somecompanies of engineers, workedround the right of the ridge on which the sorts stood. It had been ascertained that on this side the ground wasmore favourable for the attack than on the front, which had been assailed on the previousday. Firingbegan atsixo'clock,and the two forts wererushed in succession in about half anhour. Saito led the stormers sword inhand. As he entered the first fort he saw a Chinese soldier, torch inhand,bending downto lightthe fuse of a mine. Just in the nick of time Saito closed with him, and, dashing the torch aside, cut him down,killinghim on the spot. Meanwhile,General Yamaji,with the western column, the main body of Oyama's army, was approaching the north sideofKin-chow. Ateight o'clock he had placed five of his batteries, thirty guns, inposition on arising ground within easy range of the walland the north gate,and opened fire.

The Chinese replied with a number of Krupp guns, mounted on the rampart, but their fire was slowand inaccurate. This cannonade went on till near nine o'clock, whilst the left column movedpast the two forts that Saitohad stormed and took up its position facing the eastern wall of the town. A little before nine the last of the Chinese guns was silenced,andonly a few riflemen were inactionon the wall. Then a storming column advanced against the north gate, headed by a detachment of engineers, who were to blowit in.

Kin-chow, the first object of Oyama's operations, is a small town, surrounded by a wall thirty feet high. The wall is a perfect square witha gate crownedby a pagoda-like structure in the middle of each of its four faces. The doors of the gates were strongly plated with iron,butthere were no flanking defences. The walls were commanded by high ground within short artillery range. A few miles out on the road to Pi-tzu-wo there were two forts oh a rocky ridge. The neck of land just south of Kin-chow is little more than two miles wide from sea to sea. The roads from the north therefore converge upon the town, and it may be regarded as the most northerly outpost of Port Arthur, from which it is about thirty-two miles distant.

The sappers were received with a sharp fire of rifles from the loopholes near the gate and the pagoda above it. Onoguchi, a private, who was carrying the charge of gun-cotton, was shot through the arm, but, though the blood ran elovMi over thegun-cotton,he went on, placed it in position, fixed the fuse, and staggered back fainting into the arms of his comrades, only when his work was done. The iron-bounddoorways flew inwards in a cloud of smoke, and through the smoke the Japanese rushed in, cheering, with bayonets at the charge. The Chinese fled before them. Meanwhile,another column had advanced against the eastern gate. Major Tseiji, who led it, noticed a suspicious mark on the ground, a cross about thirty feet long;suspecting that this indicated amine, he Marshal Oyama's army advanced in two columns. On the 4th the left or easterncolumn disperseda small Chinese detachment and made a few prisoners. Next day it came upon the two advanced forts. There was a hurried reconnaissance, after which the advanced guard, encouraged by previous experiences to reckon on theChinese garrison making a feeble resistance, attempted to carry the forts by a coup-demain. But the Chinese made a sturdy stand behind their walls. Each of the forts wasarmed with four guns, and its parapet was lined with