Dalian Fortress

The name Port Arthur appeared in 1858, when Luishun was captured by the British. The fortress was soon returned to China. With the help of German engineers, the Chinese began to turn the port into a real fortress: a new bay was excavated, electricity was provided, docks and eight forts with 62 guns were built. The fortress housed a garrison of 7,500 people.

In 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, the fortress came under Japanese rule, as did the entire Liaodong Peninsula. But the occupation did not last long - a year later, under pressure from Russia, France and Germany, the land was returned to the Chinese government. In 1898, the rights to lease Port Arthur and the Liaodong Peninsula were granted to Russia, and in 1901 the construction of the Port Arthur Fortress began. The author of the project was a military engineer K. Velichko. The main task of the fortress and flotilla was the defense of Russian possessions in China from the attack of Japanese troops. Admiral Stark's 1st Pacific Squadron was on the raid.

In February 1904, the Pacific Squadron was attacked by the Japanese Navy. Before the arrival of their main forces, Japanese ships blocked the Russian fleet in the harbor of Port Arthur. During the battle on April 13, the flagship battleship Petropavlovsk, on which the commander of the Russian fleet, Admiral Makarov, was killed. It was only after the fourth assault on December 5 that the Japanese were able to capture Mount Vysokaya, towering over the city, and begin shelling the Russian squadron. The heroic defense of Port Arthur lasted 329 days.