ii4        The Russian Navy in the
the arrival of the reinforcing squadron, which would consist in submerging them as far as the shallowness of the inner roadstead of Port Arthur would allow ; the water would, in fact, protect them from the enemy's fire and would cause them damage of a kind which could be repaired ; for we could pump out the water and afterwards undertake the necessary repairs. We could also take a certain number of our vessels into the outer roadstead, where the enemy's fire would cause them less damage, but where, on the other hand, they would, however, be exposed to the attacks of the Japanese torpedo-boats. We could take a certain number of our ships there, sheltering them behind the hulls of the fire-ships which the Japanese sank there when they tried to block up the channel. But if I discuss here the measures to take at the last moment, it is not that I do not cherish still the hope that Port Arthur will hold out until the arrival of the second Pacific Ocean Squadron. It is simply because I promised to speak the truth that I have desired not to ignore the hypothesis of the capitulation of our stronghold ; and it is also to show that I was right