one o'clock
For four days -- 27th , 28th , 29th , and 30th October -- the Russian works were subjected to such a terrific bombardment as , up to then , mortal eyes had certainly never beheld . It reached its height about eight o'clock on the morning of the 30th , and continued until about one o'clock in the afternoon , during which the din was terrific and indescribable . Shell and shrapnel fell upon the Russian works at the rate of one hundred per minute , the forts resembled volcanoes in eruption , from the continuous explosions of the shells which fell upon them , and the entire landscape became veiled in a thick haze of smoke . At one o'clock the preparation was thought to be complete ; and ten minutes later the great assault began -- to end in complete and disastrous failure ! The Russian forts , supposed to have been silenced by those four days of terrific bombardment , were as formidable as ever ; and as the stormers dashed forward they were met by so furious a rifle and artillery fire that they were literally annihilated . The second grand assault upon Port Arthur had failed , as completely and tragically as the first ! To have incurred such tremendous losses for such insignificant results was a terribly depressing experience for Japan ; but the benumbing effect of the blow began to pass away when , in the first week of November , the news arrived of General Oku 's splendid success upon the Shaho ; and with renewed hope , and that indomitable patience and courage which is so marked a feature of Japanese character , the troops before Port Arthur set to work to repair their disasters .