United States or Svalbard and Jan Mayen ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The Japanese held the Palace gates as long as possible, and then being desperate exploded a mine which killed numbers of Koreans and Chinese soldiery and threw the attack into confusion. They then fought their way out of the city escaping ultimately to the nearest sea-port, Chemulpo. The explanation of this extraordinary episode has never been made public.
I went on deck to look for the pirate, hoping to get, if possible, a few interesting and accurate details of the adventurous journey of the China, but he had already gone, and we were just on the point of raising our anchor, bound for Chemulpo.
The Japanese held the Palace gates as long as possible, and then being desperate exploded a mine which killed numbers of Koreans and Chinese soldiery and threw the attack into confusion. They then fought their way out of the city escaping ultimately to the nearest sea-port, Chemulpo. The explanation of this extraordinary episode has never been made public.
From that time there could be no doubt that the intention of the Japanese was to make their first attack upon the enemy by marching up the Korean peninsula, and that the capital of Korea was chosen for a base of operations because of climatic considerations. Chemulpo, however, was not the only landing-place.
The two hours' railway ride between Chemulpo and Seoul affords quite diversified scenery. The situation of Seoul is beautiful. It is a walled city, the entire circumference of which is twelve miles, and in this wall are eight arched gateways. While the wall itself is not high, it seems to cling near to the sides of the foothills and the mountains.
As I stopped for a moment to gaze upon the excited crowd, it suddenly flashed across my mind that I had been told at Chemulpo, that to the mournful sound of what is called the "Big bell" the heavy wooden gates lined with iron bars were closed, and that no one was thereafter allowed to enter or go out of the town.
CHEMULPO, SEOUL, June 7th: Chemulpo is an open port and has quite a foreign settlement; it now can boast of wide streets and some shops, but twenty years ago it was nothing more than a fishing village. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the only means of connection between Chemulpo and London, twenty-one days being required for the trip.
Thus in less than a week the Port Arthur fleet had become reduced in strength by no less than three battleships, five cruisers, and one mining ship, exclusive of the cruiser Variag and the gunboat Korietz, destroyed at Chemulpo.
Those were the only orders of which we were aware, but in the light of what occurred after Uriu's arrival at Chemulpo, it is probable that the Vice-Admiral was given a considerable amount of latitude with regard to his further proceedings.
On a certain afternoon, Wong-lih drove up to the hotel where Frobisher was staying, and announced that his duties were now completed, and that he was ready to start for Tien-tsin. There was, luckily, a dispatch-boat in the harbour which had just arrived at Wei-hai-wei from Chemulpo, on her way to Tien-tsin; and the admiral had decided to take passages in her for Frobisher and himself.
Word Of The Day