610 THE CHINO-JAPANESE WAR, 1894—95 a party of Chinese seamen tried to reach it in order to disable tlae guns, but they cametoo late.

western forts,Marshal Oyama directed the 2nd Division to advanceon Wei-hai-wei. The town wasoccupied without any opposition. Themost perfect orderprevailed. Some ofthe inhabitants fearing a repetition of the excesses that had occurred at Port Arthur, abandoned their shops and houses on the approach of the Japanese. Official seals were placed upon the doors and windows of the deserted buildings in order to ensure that the propertyleft in them should not be touched.

During the afternoon the shore batteries captured by the Japanese exchanged fire with Ting's fleet and the guns on I-tao Island. The Chinese made good practice, a shell from the Ting-Yuen dismounting one of the guns in Lung-miao-tsui. About four o'clocktheJapanese ceased firing, and shortly after Ting signalled to cease fire. This ended the fighting for the day. The Japanesehad captured all the eastern mainlandforts and batteries, with aloss of only about 64 killed and 162 wounded. A small detachment advanced along the Cheefoo road, to the west of the town, and in tlae snowstormit came suddenlyon a column of about 2,500 Chinese troops. A sharp skirmish followed,but the Japanesedrove off the enemy, inflicting on them a loss of about a hundred, while they themselves only lost six killed and 39 wounded. It was afterwardsfound thatthese troops werepart of the garrison of the western forts, who, on February ist, gave up all idea of defending them, and began their retreat to Cheefoo.

During thenight the Japanese torpedo boats tried to get into the harbour by the opening between the boom and the eastern shore batteries. By some oversight the troops holding these batteries hadnot beengivenany notice of what wasintended, and they took the boats for Chinese craft trying to run out to attack Ito's fleet. They therefore opened fire upon them, and the boats retired and gave up the attempt. They were lucky enough to get away without anyinjury from thefire of their friends. Admiral Tingbecame awarein the afternoon that the forts were abandoned. He at once proceeded to the westernmainland,accompanied by one of his English officers, Captain Graves, and a party of seamen. They removed the breech blocksand other fittings of the guns, and blew up the magazines. But for the storm the Japanese would doubtless have occupied the fortson January 31st,and they wouldhave been able to turn their batteries at short range on Liu-kungIsland and the Chinese fleet.

Next day,January 31st, it was intended that the town of Wei-hai-wei should be occupied, and the western mainland forts attacked with the help of the fleet. But a heavy gale had sprungup during the night, andin the morning a storm was raging along the coast, the wind driving before it dense showers of snow, while the thermometer fell nearly to zero. Admiral Ito,leaving only his fast cruisers of the Flying Squadron sheltered in Three Peak Bay to observe Wei-hai-wei, took refuge with the rest of the fleet at Teng-chow. On land all operations were suspended.

Thusby the evening of February ist all the landdefences of Wei-hai-wei had been captured or destroyed. The Chinese flag flew only over the island forts and the ships of the fleet. Oyama's army haddone its share of the work; it now remainedfor Ito's squadrons to complete what hadbeen so wellbegun.

The tempest continued all through February ist. But in the afternoon, as the wind was falling and it washoped that next day the fleet would be able to assist in an attack on the