Port Arthur ... Outpost of the Russian Empire on the Yellow Sea. A distant patch of land on the edge of the world, abundantly watered with the blood of Russian soldiers. Eleven centuries ago, the eyes of the whole world were riveted to this place. It was here that the main events of the Russo-Japanese war unfolded. Here great feats were accomplished and fatal, and sometimes conflicting decisions were made. The defense of Port Arthur is a prime example of the military prowess of Russian soldiers.
Port Arthur, which served as the main base of the Russian fleet in this region, occupied a strategically advantageous position. From this bridgehead, the Russian squadron could strike in the direction of the Korean and Pechili Gulfs. Thus, threatening the most important operational lines of the Japanese army. But for all its strategically advantageous position, Port Arthur was not well equipped to serve as a reliable and secure naval base. The inner harbor, where the main forces of the fleet were located, was too cramped and shallow. Having only one very narrow exit, it was a real mousetrap in the military-tactical aspect.
An external raid was not much preferable in this regard. Completely open, it posed a frank danger, like a parking lot for military ships. In addition, the fortress did not have adequate protection either from a naval attack or from a land attack. In general, on the eve of the war, it was difficult to call this fortress an impregnable stronghold. Port Arthur was not able to withstand the massive blow of the army and navy of Japan. And he could not provide the Pacific squadron with a safe base. These are the main premises for the tragedy of this war.
By the time the heavy siege of Port Arthur began, of the 552 fortress guns, only 116 were on alert. The fourth and seventh East Siberian rifle divisions were not fully equipped with the garrison. As for the fleet, the Port Arthur raid was the location of the first Pacific squadron and the Siberian flotilla.
The war, and, accordingly, the defense of Port Arthur, began on the night of January 27, 1904. The start of hostilities was the attack of 10 Japanese destroyers on the squadron, which stood on the Port Arthur raid. Immediately, Japanese torpedoes damaged two squadron battleships and one cruiser. These were the first losses of this dramatic and bloody war ...
In the morning, the main forces of the Japanese squadron led by Admiral Heihachiro Togo approached. From that moment, the defense of Port Arthur against the Japanese armada, which had fourfold superiority, began directly. The afternoon battle, which did not bring success to the squadron of Admiral H. Togo, was crowned with a complete blockage of the fortress. In order to prevent Russian ships from leaving the harbor and disrupt the transportation of Japanese troops to the Korean peninsula.
The valiant defense of Port Arthur lasted 329 days, but the fall of Port Arthur was inevitable. On the 329th day of heroic and fierce resistance, the fortress nevertheless fell. The protracted and exhausting defense of Port Arthur thwarted the plans of the Japanese command regarding the lightning-fast defeat of Russian troops in Manchuria. The price of 27 thousand Russian lives - this is the result of the protection of Port Arthur. The damage of the attackers was so great (112 thousand dead and wounded, fifteen sunken ships and sixteen damaged ships) that the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army, General M. Nogi, who felt guilty for such monstrous and unjustified losses, was about to perform the hara-kiri rite. But the emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun forbade him this act. And only after the death of the monarch did the general fulfill his intention ...