T HE fighting by land in the Far East continues to
centre at Port Arthur. As we begin to understand the nature of the defences and the desperate expedients which the Japanese are compelled to adopt, feats like the capture of the Kee-k wan-shan Fort, recorded last week, seem more stupendous. On Wednes- day the besiegers reached the true enceinte of the fortifica- tions, and captured the great Erh-lung-shan Fort, the chief defence work on the eastern ridge. The story of the attack is typical of Japanese siege methods. By the end of October they had secured a lodgment on the counterscarps of the fort, and for more than a month made ineffectual attempts to carry it. On Wednesday they blew up the parapet with dynamite, and then, after taking it by assault, constructed temporary shelter works under a heavy fire. A few hours later they succeeded in passing the inner line of guns, and after some desperate fighting expelled the defenders from the gorge, and took possession of the whole fort, capturing some forty-three pieces of artillery. The capture of the other great eastern fort, Sung-shu-shan, will probably follow soon, and the whole eastern ridge will then be in Japanese hands. It remains to be seen how far the western forts, which are the final defence of the old town, will be able to resist the advance from Pigeon Bay and the batteries on 5.1 03-Metre Hill.
