THE CHINO-JAPANESE WAR, 1894—95. 580 and 33,000,000 rifle cartridges, besides horse.4, provisions, miscellaneous equipment, and a military chest containing 6,000 dollars in silver. In one of the forts was the complete plan of the submarine mines laid to defend thebay. With the help of this document the Japanese engineers were ableat once to renderthe mines harmless by disconnecting them from the firingstation, and then to raise them with very little trouble.

On the afternoon of the 6th the Japanese changed the direction of his advance, made a detour, and worked up to the gate, keeping close under the wall. The result of this delay was that when he reached the eastern gate he heard the cheersof his comradesinside the city, who, afterforcing the north gate, had rushed to open the eastern gateway. The Chinese fledby the south side, fired upon by the victors, some of the garrison who had been posted on the south wall leaping down from it in their panic flight. Thus, with the loss of only a few men fleet, under Admiral Ito,had arrivedoff the mouth of Ta-lien-wan Bay. Earlier in the day, while steaming along the coast, the sailors had heard the firing during the capture of Kin-chow. Between six and seven o'clock next morning the fleet closed on the mouth of the bay and firedsomelong-ranging shots, to attract the attention and draw the fire of the forts. There was no reply from the seawardbatteries, and soon after it was seen that on fort after fort the Japanese flag was being displayed. In the followingdays the heavy guns and material of the siege wounded, the city of Kin-chow was taken in less than an hour and a quarter.

The next point to be attacked was Talien-wan, where three modern forts armed with Krupp guns and Gatlings defended the bay and the narrow isthmus behind it. The forts had been built and armed under the superintendence of Major von Hanneken; and, as they were held by at least 4,000 men, some severe fighting was expected. The fleet was to lend its co-operation in the attack, and the field artillery oftheJapanese armywas tobe brought into action in the pre-ADMIRAL IT0.

liminarybombardment,after whichthreecolumns were to advance to storm the forts. But on the morning of the 7th, when the Japanese advanced, the Chinese,after firing a few harmless shots, abandoned the forts and fled headlong towards Port Arthur. So sudden was their flight that the Japanese, when they occupied the forts, found some of the guns actually loaded.

An enormous quantity of artillery, arms, and stores fell into the hands of the invaders at Kin-chow and Ta-lien-wan. Marshal Oyama reported that,almost without any loss,he had captured 200 prisoners, 122 guns,many of them Krupps of large calibre, Seven machine guns, more than 600 rifles of various patterns, some of them Mauser repeaters, nearly two and a half million rounds of ammunition for the artillery, train were landed at the wharves in the bay, and all was ready for the attack on PortArthur.

After the shameful panic of the defenders of Ta-lien-wan,the Japanesedid not expectthatthe fortress would make any very prolonged or determined resistance. When the expedition against Port Arthur was being planned at the Imperial Japanese headquarters at Hiroshima,it was supposed that the groupof modern forts at Ta-lien-wan would not be reduced without regular siege operations, and that Port Arthur might hold out for some time against the combined attack of the fleet and of the land army, and Oyama had therefore been provided with a heavy siege train and a strong force of engineers. But it was now decided totreat the forts of Port Arthur as if they were mere field works, and try to rush them after a brief