Part 23 (2/2)
The noise immediately became deafening as the guns from nine other s.h.i.+ps thundered almost simultaneously, sending a perfect hail of sh.e.l.l upon the island fort. In the darkness the scene was one of most intense excitement.
For the first time the spy found himself amidst the din of battle, and perhaps for the first time in his life his nerves were somewhat shaken as he stood in a convenient corner watching the working of one of the great guns in the turret, which regularly ran out and added its voice to the incessant thunder.
CHAPTER XXIX.
LANDING OF THE ENEMY AT LEITH.
All the vessels were now under steam and approaching Inchkeith, when suddenly two sh.e.l.ls struck the _Admiral Orlovski_ amids.h.i.+ps, carrying away a portion of her superstructure.
Several of the other vessels were also hit almost at the same moment, and shortly afterwards a torpedo boat under the stern of the flags.h.i.+p was struck by a sh.e.l.l, and sank with all hands. Time after time the Russian vessels poured out their storm of sh.e.l.l upon the fort, now only about a mile and a half distant; but the British fire still continued as vigorous and more effective than at first.
Again the flags.h.i.+p was struck, this time on the port quarter, but the shot glanced off her armour into the sea; while a moment later another sh.e.l.l struck one of her fighting tops, and, bursting, wrecked two of the machine guns, and killed half a dozen unfortunate fellows who had manned them. The debris fell heavily upon the deck, and the disaster, being witnessed by the spy, caused him considerable anxiety for his own safety.
Even as he looked he suddenly noticed a brilliant flash from one of the cruisers lying a little distance away. There was a terrific report, and amid flame and smoke wreckage shot high into the air. An explosion had occurred in the magazine, and it was apparent the s.h.i.+p was doomed! Other disasters to the Russians followed in quick succession. A cruiser which was lying near the Herwit light-buoy blazing away upon the fort, suddenly rolled heavily and gradually heeled over, the water around her being thrown into the air by an explosion beneath the surface. A contact mine had been fired, and the bottom of the s.h.i.+p had been practically blown out, for a few minutes later she went down with nearly every soul on board.
At the moment this disaster occurred, the _Admiral Orlovski_, still discharging her heavy guns, was about half-way between the Briggs and the Pallas Rock, when a search-light illuminated her from the land, and a heavy fire was suddenly opened upon her from Leith Fort.
This was at once replied to, and while five of the vessels kept up their fire upon Inchkeith, the three others turned their attention towards Leith, and commenced to bombard it with common sh.e.l.l.
How effectual were their efforts the spy could at once see, for in the course of a quarter of an hour, notwithstanding the defence offered by Leith Fort and several batteries on Arthur's Seat, at Granton Point, Wardie Bush, and at Seaside Meadows, near Portobello, fires were breaking out in various quarters of the town, and factories and buildings were now burning with increasing fury. The great paraffin refinery had been set on fire, and the flames, leaping high into the air, shed a lurid glare far away over the sea.
Sh.e.l.ls, striking the Corn Exchange, wrecked it, and one, flying away over the fort, burst in the Leith Distillery, with the result that the place was set on fire, and soon burned with almost equal fierceness with the paraffin works. The s.h.i.+pping in the Edinburgh, Albert, and Victoria Docks was ablaze, and the drill vessel H.M.S. _Durham_ had been shattered and was burning. A great row of houses in Lindsay Road had fallen prey to the flames, while among the other large buildings on fire were the Baltic Hotel, the great goods station of the North British Railway, and the National Bank of Scotland.
In addition to being attacked from the forts on the island, and on land, the Russians were now being vigorously fired upon by the British Coastguard s.h.i.+p _Imperieuse_, which, with the cruiser _Active_, and the gunboat cruisers _c.o.c.kchafer_, _Firm_, and _Watchful_, had now come within range. Soon, however, the enemy were reinforced by several powerful vessels, and in the fierce battle that ensued the British s.h.i.+ps were driven off. Then by reason of the reinforcements which the Russians brought up, and the great number of transports which were now arriving, the defence, desperate though it had been, alas! broke down, and before midnight the invader set his foot upon Scottish soil.
[Ill.u.s.tration: POSITIONS FOR THE DEFENCE OF EDINBURGH.]
Ere the sun rose, a huge force of 60,000 men had commenced a march upon Edinburgh and Glasgow!
Events on sh.o.r.e during that never-to-be-forgotten night were well described by Captain Tiller of the Royal Artillery, stationed at Leith Fort, who, in a letter written to his young wife at Carlisle, on the following day, gave the following narrative:--
”Disaster has fallen upon us. The Russians have landed in Scotland, and the remnant of our force which was at Leith has fallen back inland. On Friday, just after nightfall, we were first apprised of our danger by hearing heavy firing from the sea in the direction of Inchkeith Fort, and all civilians were sent on inland, while we prepared for the fight.
”Very soon a number of s.h.i.+ps were visible, some of them being evidently transports, and as they were observed taking soundings, it was clear that an immediate landing was intended. Fortunately it was a light night, and while two Volunteer field batteries were sent out along the coast west to Cramond and east to Fisherrow, we completed our arrangements in the fort. With such antiquated weapons as were at our disposal defeat was a foregone conclusion, and we knew that to annoy the enemy and delay their landing would be the extent of our resistance.
Some of our guns were, of course, of comparatively recent date, and our supply of ammunition was fair, but the Volunteer guns were antiquated 40-pounder muzzleloaders, which ought to have been withdrawn years ago, and the gunners had had very little field training. The arrangements for horsing the guns were also very inefficient, and they had no waggons or transport. Most of our forces having been drawn south, the only infantry available was a battalion and a half--really a provisional battalion, for it was composed of portions of two Volunteer rifle regiments, with a detachment of Regulars. Our Regular artillery detachment was, unfortunately, very inadequate, for although the armament of the fort had been recently strengthened, the force had been weakened just before the outbreak of war by the despatch of an Indian draft.
”It was apparent that the enemy would not attempt to destroy our position, but land and carry it by a.s.sault; therefore, while the Inchkeith guns kept them at bay, we undermined our fort, opened our magazines, and got ready for a little target practice.
”The Volunteer batteries sent eastward had been ordered to do what execution they could, and then, in the case of a reverse, to retire through Portobello and Duddingston to Edinburgh, and those on the west were to go inland to Ratho; while we were resolved to hold the fort as long as possible, and if at last we were compelled to retire we intended to blow up the place before leaving.
”As soon as we found the Russian flags.h.i.+p within range, we opened fire upon her, and this action caused a perfect storm of projectiles to be directed upon us. The town was soon in flames, the s.h.i.+pping in the harbour sank, and the martello tower was blown to pieces. Our search-light was very soon brought into requisition, and by its aid some of the boats of the enemy's transports were sunk, while others came to grief on the Black Rocks.
”By this time the enemy had turned their search-lights in every direction where they could see firing, and very soon our Volunteer batteries were silenced, and then Granton harbour fell into the hands of the enemy's landing parties. Having first rendered their guns useless, the survivors fell back to Corstorphine Hill, outside Edinburgh, and we soon afterwards received intelligence that the Russians were landing at Granton in thousands. Meanwhile, although our garrison was so weak and inexperienced, we nevertheless kept up a vigorous fire.
”We saw how Inchkeith Fort had been silenced, and how our Volunteer batteries had been destroyed, and knew that sooner or later we must share the same fate, and abandon our position. As boatload after boatload of Russians attempted to land, we either sank them by shots from our guns or swept them with a salvo of bullets from our Maxims; yet as soon as we had hurled back one landing party others took its place.
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