Port Arthur defense ended

December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905) during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905, after a lengthy defense, the Russians surrendered the main base of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the headquarters of the Russian troops in North-Eastern China on the Liaotung Peninsula - Port Arthur to the Japanese.

On the night of January 27 (February 9), 1904 a detachment of Japanese destroyers attacked the Russian fleet at the outer raid of Port Arthur, but landing of the Japanese did not succeed. The military action begun on land from mid-April 1904 when, in different locations, were landed the forces of the three Japanese armies: the 1st Army under General Kurski (45 000 men) near Tyurenchen, the 2nd Army unmder General Oku near Bitszyvo, and the 4th Army under General Nodzu near Dagushan’. Later they were joined by the 3rd Army under General Nogi. Defense of Port Arthur was headed by General A. M. Stoessel, who commanded all the land and engineering troops, as well as the fortress artillery.

In May 1904 Port Arthur was cut off from Manchuria by the Japanese.

Before 10 (23) August the Russian fleet had several times tried to go to sea, but when faced with fierce fire of the Japanese fleet under Admiral Togo, came back.

16 (29) August the Japanese command sent to Port Arthur a truce envoy with the offer of surrender. It was rejected, and 19 August (1 September), the assault of the fortress began. Only 5 (18) December, the Japanese, having lost eight thousand people, occupied the mountain Vysokaya, which dominated the city,  and began firing the squadron blocked on the raid. November 22 (December 5) was sunk the battleship Poltava. The next day, having got twenty hits, sank "Retvizan. Two days later on orders from the commander was flooded “Peresvet” hit by ten shells. “Pobeda”, hit by twenty three shells, also sank, followed by “Pallada”. 26 November (9 December) “Bayan” fell, hit by ten shells.

After the destruction of the squadron the fortress’ position has worsened sharply. 2 (15) December during the shelling was killed the organizer and inspirer of the defense of Port Arthur General R. I. Kondratenko.

20 December (2 January) after the eleven months of heroic defense, the chief of the Kwantung fortified area, Lieutenant-General Stoessel, contrary to the opinion of the military council and determined defenders of Port Arthur to continue resistance, surrendered the fortress. On the eve of the surrender,  the surviving ships were destroyed along with the guns, warehouses were burned down.

The heroic defense of Port Arthur lasted 329 days. Russian soldiers and sailors, defending the fortress, have shown unprecedented resilience and perseverance, resisting one hundred thousandth Japanese army and their entire fleet. According to various sources, the losses of the Japanese side numbered 60 to 112 thousand people; the Japanese fleet also suffered significant losses. Russia's losses amounted to approximately 30 thousand people.

The fall of Port Arthur had predetermined the further course of the war and the defeat of Russia, which lost the fleet and naval base in the Pacific Ocean. Japanese troops, which became free after the capture of Port Arthur, were used against the Russian army in Manchuria. Under the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905 the leasehold interest of Port Arthur passed into the hands of Japan.

Until the end of World War II, Port Arthur was a Japanese naval base and a springboard for penetration into Manchuria. In August 1945 the city was captured by Soviet paratroopers and after Japan's surrender was granted the status of the base shared by the USSR and China. And in May 1955 it was transferred to China free of charge as an act of friendship.

 

Lit.: Бартлетт Э. Осада и капитуляция Порт–Артура. СПб., 1907; Береговая артиллерия в обороне Порт-Артура в 1904–1905 годах // Денисов А. П., Перечнев Ю. Г. Русская береговая артиллерия. М., 1956; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/tw/denisov_perechnev/06.html; Гамильтон Я. Записная книжка штабного офицера во время русско-японской войны. М., 2000; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/english/hamilton/index.html; Дискант Ю. В. Порт-Артур, 1904. М., 2002; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/dyskant/index.html; Колчигин Б., Разин Е. Оборона Порт-Артура в русско-японскую войну 1904-1905 гг. М., 1939; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/kolchigin_razin/index.html; Летопись войны с Японией. №№ 1-84. СПб., 1904-1905; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://genrogge.ru/hwj/; Порт-Артур. Воспоминания участников. Нью-Йорк, 1955; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/port-arthur/index.html; Степанов А. Н. Порт-Артур. М., 1978; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/prose/russian/stepanov1/index.html; Сорокин А. И. Оборона Порт-Артура. М., 1952; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/sorokin_ai/index.html.

 

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Апушкин В. А. Дело о сдаче крепости Порт-Артур японским войскам в 1904 г. СПб., 1908;

Грипенберг О. К. Ответы О. Грипенберга на обвинения Г.-А. Куропаткина. СПб., 1909;

Истинная правда о Русско-Японской войне. М., 1904;

История СССР: альбом наглядных пособий. М., 1947. Вып. 9;

Куропаткин А. Н. Записки генерала Куропаткина о Русско-японской войне: Итоги войны. Берлин, 1909;

Норригаард Б. В. Великая осада: Порт-Артур и его падение. СПб., 1906;

Обзор сражений при взятии сухопутных укреплений Порт-Артурской крепости. СПб., 1909;

Русская армия и ген. Куропаткин как полководец: из опыта русско-японской войны. Киев, 1909.