![Classical relativity: Scope and beyond 3
Newton gave a start to a new era in the science development. He refused
to follow the a priori mathematical statements based on a naive desire for
harmony, made his motto “Hypotheses non fingo” and firmly established
induction as the main scientific method. So, when Kepler’s measurements
and law which Newton used when determining the ratios of planets acceler-
ations, led him to the idea of the long-range attraction between the planets
and the Sun (the force of attraction followed the inverse square law), New-
ton postponed the publication of his result for two decades, because such a
“hypothesis” seemed inappropriate. In his letter to Berkeley, Newton wrote
“The idea that the ability to excite gravity could be an inherent, intrinsic
property of matter, and that one body can affect another through a vacuum
at a distance and without something that could transfer the force from one
to the other, this idea seems to me so preposterous that, I think, it could
hardly come to mind to any man able to think philosophically”. And when,
reluctantly, he let the public become familiar with his achievements, he had
no reason to assume that this “effect through the void” is not transmitted
instantaneously, and the void itself which is just a “container” where it all
happens, is not described by Euclidean geometry.
Thus, until the 18th century, mathematics and science, alternating in
the lead, participated in the development of increasingly accurate world
picture which made it possible to predict and calculate the future events.
In this picture, time was, in a sense, the fourth coordinate whose various
values could not be measured using only the senses. An instrument was
needed, and this instrument was mathematics. Like any other tool, it
distorted the picture by the rules that were not always known.
1.1.2 Curvature, forces and fields
At the end of the 18th century, Gauss was the first to constructively ap-
proach the question of the applicability of Euclidean geometry to describe
the world. He directly measured in situ the sum of internal angles of a
triangle. The vertices of the triangle were at the tops of nearby mountains.
Gauss did not find any deviation of his calculations from the Euclidean
geometry within the accuracy of his measurements.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Lobachevsky assessed the prin-
cipal possibilities of astronomical observations and found the conditions in
which it becomes impossible to assert anything definite about the geometry
describing the phenomena. This inevitably led him to the creation of the
first non-Euclidean geometry [Lobachevsky (1979)], whose applicability to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-20-320.jpg)
![On the top of the hill solid shelters were built for the gunners and
a round trench was made, with a considerable number of blinded
traverses, which were not, however, very solidly constructed.
The summit of the hill on the left flank (which we called the
Connecting Ridge) was lined with trenches. On the reverse slopes of
the hill a magazine, very solidly made, was constructed for gun and
rifle ammunition, and cover was also provided there, sufficient for a
whole reserve company. In rear of the hill (174 Metre Hill) there
were four field mortars, and on the crest, for long-range firing, two
long naval guns (I do not remember their exact calibre, but I think it
was 150 mm.) with steel shields, in a well-constructed battery, and
behind the crest four field quick-firers. On the saddle between 174
Metre Hill and Connecting Ridge were Lieutenant Tsvietkov’s two
quick-firers.
The garrison of 174 Metre Hill consisted of the 5th and 9th
Companies of the 5th Regiment (about 300 men), while the 6th,
10th, 11th, and 12th Companies of the same, and one company of
the 24th Regiment were on Connecting Ridge.
There were on Namako Yama at this time: on the left flank, the
1st Company of the 28th Regiment under Major Sakatski, the 11th
Company of the 13th Regiment, the 5th and 6th Companies of the
Kuang-tung Battalion, and the 12th Company of the 13th Regiment.
It must be admitted that the trenches here were not sufficiently
strong to afford much protection against the Japanese Shimose and
shrapnel, and heavy losses were expected. But what could be done?
We had neither the time nor the tools necessary to deal with that
rocky soil, and thus to improve matters.
A battery had been placed on the top of 174 Metre Hill, instead of
an infantry redoubt. This battery was in position before the 5th
Regiment occupied the hill. I wanted to convert it into a redoubt, but
my senior officers refused to sanction the proposal, as, in General
Bieli’s[61] opinion, there was no other position for long-range guns.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-22-320.jpg)
![How much time and trouble we spent on completing this battery,
while the real defenders had to crowd into the small unfinished
trenches! I may add that the guns posted in this battery had a large
area of dead ground, and drew on themselves the fire of the
Japanese heavy artillery, which considerably interfered with our
work. I was nearly killed by a shell bursting near me, and escaped
by a miracle with no greater hurt than a blow in the side from a
large clod of earth.
On the fall of the advanced positions the garrison of 174 Metre Hill
had to live in the trenches, whereas before they had been encamped
on the reverse slope of the hill. Field kitchens had been well built in
a ravine, and others on the reverse slope.
The men lived in large field tents, and the officers in an
improvised barrack, built of planks.
Strenuous efforts had been made to construct a road leading from
the top of the hill, and an enormous amount of energy had likewise
been expended in making roads to the principal hills—203 Metre,
Namako Yama, and Akasaka Yama. To this end we had been working
hard ever since the arrival of the 5th Regiment at 174 Metre Hill, at
which time there existed only one small path over 203 Metre Hill.
CONSTRUCTING THE ROAD ON THE REVERSE SLOPE OF 203
METRE HILL.
p. 116]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-23-320.jpg)
![By its fire, and by the posting of a detachment to prevent Height
426 from being outflanked from the left, 174 Metre Hill was a source
of considerable annoyance to the Japanese, so, in attacking the
advanced hills, they did not forget it.
On August 14,[62] at 4.15 a.m., the enemy opened a tremendous
fire on 174 Metre Hill, and kept it up till 5 o’clock in the evening. On
this day Captain Andreiev, commanding the artillery on the hill, was
wounded by four splinters.
At 1.15 a.m. on August 15 the enemy advanced on 174 Metre Hill
from the front and from the left flank. Firing continued till 3.15 a.m.,
when the Japanese retreated, but a heavy bombardment broke out
again at 4.30 a.m. and continued till 9 o’clock.
This bombardment was renewed at 4 p.m., continuing till 7 p.m.
As a result some of our splinter-proofs were destroyed and also part
of our trenches.
On August 16 the Japanese did not fire at all, possibly through
want of ammunition, we ourselves taking advantage of the occasion
to rebuild our trenches. About 9 p.m. desultory rifle fire broke out
under the hill, and the enemy’s skirmishing line appeared about
1,200 paces away, while behind, in complete silence, marched the
storming columns. The defenders of the hills threw down their
digging tools, stood to their posts, and opened fire in volleys.
The storming columns moved away, now to the right, now to the
left, and finally took cover in the defile on the left. This was at about
11 p.m., and our men sat in the trenches all night expecting another
attack. We expended 12,000 rounds of ammunition.
On August 17 and 18 our men rebuilt the trenches under heavy
rifle fire.
On the 17th the trenches were completed to the required profile,
but a heavy bombardment was then opened on the hill. Our guns](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-24-320.jpg)
![Seeing that the right flank of Connecting Ridge was the most
probable point of attack (there was a good deal of dead ground from
our guns in front of it), and that a very heavy artillery fire was now
being directed there, I sent the 7th Company of the 28th Regiment,
under Major Frantz, to stand in reserve behind it.
About four o’clock the firing reached its zenith. The Japanese
advanced to the attack, not in columns but in large groups, but they
failed to get up to the trenches. Hundreds of them were mown
down, and it seemed to me that the attack had failed everywhere.
What was our surprise, when we received a report from Major
Astafiev, commanding the 10th Company,[63] that his half-company
had been wiped out, save ten men, and that the Japanese had
occupied his empty trenches during the attack. The remaining ten
men, however, had not retreated (they were separated from the
captured trench by a cliff), but had stuck to their trench. I then and
there made a mental vow that the deeds of these heroes should
eventually be put on record in letters of gold as a perpetual
memorial to the 10th Company, and I now redeem my pledge.
The trench occupied by the Japanese was under the cliff, and it
was a very difficult matter to climb down into it. As we had no
further reserves available, I sent to 203 Metre Hill for two half-
companies (2nd and 4th of our regiment), hoping to drive the
Japanese out of the trench with these men. I also sent to General
Kondratenko for reinforcements.
Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski reported from 174 Metre Hill that
the Japanese had run up one by one, had established themselves
within a few paces of the trenches, and were throwing stones at our
riflemen, who returned the missiles.
At about six o’clock we collected two companies of the 13th
Regiment, and made an attack on about 100 Japanese then in the
trenches of the 10th Company. The companies quickly reached the
top of the cliff, but got no farther, as it was a big drop down below.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-27-320.jpg)
![the 1st Company of the 13th Regiment who had been left there, and
the ten men of the 10th Company, prevented them from spreading
along the trench, while in front their road was barred by those
standing on the hill, so that it appeared inevitable that they must all
be killed that night.
Meanwhile night had already fallen. The usual night firing had
started between the outposts at the foot of the hills, and the
resulting noise would cover the advance of our attacking companies.
I sent to ask why the attack had not commenced, and was kept
waiting for an answer for a very long time. The night was very dark.
Everything was quiet, till now and again the enemy’s bullets, like
birds of the night, hummed high overhead, or our star-rockets,
strange hissing monsters, like fiery snakes shot up into the sky and
burst into a thousand dazzling stars, brilliantly illuminating the dark
hills and valleys.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This proverb was
exemplified in us and in our men. How many times have we not
been witnesses of the truth of it! how many times have not the
Japanese taken advantage of the utter exhaustion of our troops,
fallen upon them when they lay asleep, and captured important
points in our position (as at Ta-ku Shan, Miortvaia Sopka,[64] and
other places)!
We realize now what it means to defend a fortress lacking a main
line of defence and having an insufficient number of permanently
fortified positions. Now I can clearly see that open field works, even
though prepared for some time in advance, and with trenches
strengthened with glacis parapets (as Glinka-Yarnchevski proposed
at one time), will not give the defenders facilities for sufficient rest;
and rest is a very important factor.
We were so tired that day—a fact not to be wondered at—that we
lay down where we were and went to sleep. Heavy rifle firing
brought us to our feet again. Star-rockets shot into the air and lit up](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-31-320.jpg)
![disturbed by the groans of the badly wounded men as they were
being carried along the road.
Our bearers (bandsmen, regimental clerks, and volunteers from
the town) sought them out during the night in the ravines, trenches,
and ruined blindages,[65] and carried them to 203 Metre Hill.
Before the sun had risen, the enemy’s guns began their work of
destruction, the worst of it being that they did it without receiving
any punishment in return.
Little by little, rifle firing broke out. When it was quite light, the
companies on Connecting Ridge noticed a Japanese battery coming
into action at very close range. They opened fire in volleys, and the
battery retired with heavy loss. Second-Lieutenant Bitzouk, who was
for the second time wounded in the leg, was chiefly responsible for
the destruction of this battery.
After this battery had retired, the infantry commenced their attack,
and towards seven o’clock there was very heavy rifle firing.
All the company commanders on Connecting Ridge were placed
hors de combat, and the three companies were commanded by
Acting Ensign Agapov. I called for volunteers from the staff for the
command of these companies, and in response to my call Lieutenant
Vaseeliev and Second-Lieutenant Galileiev at once stepped forward.
At 8 a.m. General Kondratenko arrived, and found that everything
was satisfactory. But the firing and bombardment had not slackened.
About 11 a.m. it was reported from the hill that the enemy was
attacking from the left flank, and that Acting Ensign Shishkin had
been killed.
I immediately telephoned to the officer commanding the artillery
to again concentrate his fire on the valley in front of 174 Metre Hill,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-33-320.jpg)
![and soon our shells were streaming in the required direction. But still
the Japanese guns vomited death.
A report now came in from the troops on the hill that their
trenches were absolutely destroyed. They asked for not less than
one company to reinforce them, as there were very few of the
original defenders left. I myself saw that their last reserves had been
used, and a long line of wounded streamed down from the hill,
amongst whom was the new commandant, Captain Bielozerov. When
brought to my vicinity, he was in a fearful condition; a bullet had
struck him on the right side of the chest and passed right through,
his shirt being soaked with blood. He passed quite close to me and
whispered to me: “Send up a company at once. Put Second-
Lieutenant Ivanov in command.”
Second-Lieutenant Ivanov was one of my bravest officers. When
volunteers were called for to collect the wounded on Height 426, he
said he would go with twenty-five men who had also volunteered
under Lieutenant Alalikin of the battleship Poltava. When they
reached the Japanese outpost line, they saw that it was impossible
for the whole detachment to get through, whereupon Second-
Lieutenant Ivanov crawled through the enemy’s lines alone and
found a wounded artillery non-commissioned officer, whom he
hoisted upon his shoulder and brought back. On his way back he
met Serpukov, a lance-corporal of the 9th Company, who had got
through safely, and between them they carried the wounded man to
their detachment, and thence to 174 Metre Hill.
I immediately sent an order to Second-Lieutenant Ivanov to
consider himself in command on the hill.
The loss of Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski and Captain Bielozerov
was irreparable. The latter was a real hero. On August 20 there was
a moment on 174 Metre Hill when the sections of the 28th and 13th
Regiments[66] on the left flank wavered and turned their backs.
Captain Bielozerov rushed in amongst the fugitives, and with a few](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-34-320.jpg)
![impassioned words, pointing out to them the shame they would
bring on their regiments, made them return to their posts. Captain
Bielozerov was wounded when he sprang out of the trench to see
where the enemy was and what he was doing.
It was only possible to hold the hill at the price of heavy losses,
but we decided that it was worth it. Hence I resolved to go myself to
the hill, and to send up our last reserves.
At this moment E. P. Balashov, the medical officer in charge of the
hospital, rode up with his assistant, M. Tordan, a French subject, and
accompanied by General Fock. These unexpected arrivals put new
spirit into us.
We were all struck with the bravery and coolness of E. P. Balashov,
who was a great favourite in the regiment. Bullets were whistling by
in sufficient numbers to try the nerves of any man who had not
previously been under fire, in spite of which our civilian general[67]
and his companion did not appear to experience the slightest
sensation of fear.
General Fock did not fail to give us his opinion on the position of
affairs, and he declared that the hill must be held anyhow till
nightfall. This was already quite obvious to all of us. It is a very
nasty thing to retreat by day under the fire of an enemy who is only
a few paces off. But General Kondratenko expressed the wish to hold
the hill for an indefinite length of time, notwithstanding the fact that
it would be more than difficult to remain there under a hail of large
and small shells without any cover from their murderous effect.
About twelve o’clock a rifleman ran down from the hill with a note
from Second-Lieutenant Ivanov. He demanded immediate
reinforcements, and as many as possible, saying that both officers
and men were beginning to waver; hence it was obviously necessary
to send up help at once.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-35-320.jpg)
![The troops on the positions occupied by us were disposed as
follows: On Division Hill, the 5th, 7th, and 11th Companies of the
5th Regiment, with the 2nd and 3rd Scout Detachments of the 5th
Regiment and the 9th Company of the 27th Regiment, under Major
Beedenko. On Namako Yama, two companies of Marines, under our
own officers, Afanaisev and Siedelnitski, both companies under the
command of Lieutenant Shcherbachev; the 7th Company of the 28th
Regiment and the 2nd Scout Detachment of the same regiment,
under Major Sokkatski; also one company of the 13th Regiment and
the 9th Company of the 5th Regiment.[68] A section of Marines
defended Extinct Volcano. On 203 Metre Hill, as before, there were
the 2nd and 4th Companies of the 5th Regiment, and I had three
companies of the 4th Reserve Battalion in reserve. All worked at
night, and slept during the day.
We were very much stronger now that our defensive line was so
much smaller, and I no longer feared sudden attacks. But the
following regrettable incident again disturbed my peace of mind.
Early on the morning of August 23, I was awakened to hear a
report that the Japanese had taken Extinct Volcano in the night.
EXTINCT VOLCANO: TAKEN FROM THE RIGHT FLANK OF
NAMAKO YAMA.
p. 136]
I would not at first believe it, as the firing must have been heard,
and the night had passed absolutely quietly.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-40-320.jpg)
![Just as I reached my new point of observation, I had a very
alarming experience. I heard the shriek of a heavy shell over my
head, and a moment later it fell about 10 paces from me; the earth
shook from the deafening reverberation of the explosion, and I was
thrown heavily to the ground, covered with sand and lumps of clay.
It was some time before I recovered from the shock and could
continue my way.
This was due to one of our own 11-inch guns on the coast forts. It
was laid on the hill occupied by the enemy, but the shell dropped
near me—by no means the first instance of our coast-defence guns
giving us an unpleasant surprise. An 11-inch shell once landed in the
6th Company’s trench on Division Hill. Luckily, there were no serious
consequences from these mishaps.[69]
On reaching the left flank of Division Hill, I found that the valley
was not visible to me. I shouted up to Division Hill, telling those
there to inform me if there was anything to be seen behind Extinct
Volcano, and soon received the answer that there were no hostile
troops in the valley.
The Japanese, however, caught sight of me from their trenches
and lost no time in firing at me, which was pleasant indeed. They
even started shelling me with their field guns; they had, seemingly,
an enormous supply of rifle and gun ammunition, and certainly used
it freely.
When I returned to Colonel Irman, our scouts had already arrived,
and we decided to attack without delay. The scouts, with one
company from the reserve (the 5th of the 27th Regiment), were to
advance directly on the hill, while one company from the garrison of
Namako Yama moved from the flank. It was a hard climb up the
high steep hill, and continued for some time without the enemy
firing a shot, our guns meanwhile sweeping the summit. When,
however, the scouts got close up, and likewise the company from](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/34004-250404020630-5ce03280/85/Introduction-To-The-Anisotropic-Geometrodynamics-1st-Edition-Sergey-Siparov-43-320.jpg)
Introduction To The Anisotropic Geometrodynamics 1st Edition Sergey Siparov
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- 8. NEW JERSEY • LONDON • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNAI World Scientific K E Series on Knots and Everything — Vol. 47 Sergey Siparov State University of Civil Aviation, Russia Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics
- 9. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN-13 978-981-4340-83-0 ISBN-10 981-4340-83-9 All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. Copyright © 2012 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE Printed in Singapore. INTRODUCTION TO THE ANISOTROPIC GEOMETRODYNAMICS Series on Knots and Everything — Vol. 47
- 10. Preface Ptolemy was probably the first who designed a world machine that cor- responded to what everyone saw and was based on some inherent ideas, but at the same time the mechanism was supplied with details that needed long and skillful observations. There were stars, Sun, Moon and planets that were obviously rotating around the Earth – along the circular orbits belonging to the heavenly spheres, but it turned out that from time to time the planets performed retrograde motions, and Ptolemy set inside various tilted epicycles. For some time it worked smoothly, but then the bug started to mani- fest itself in such a way that the errors were accumulating with time. For Copernicus it became clear that the drawback was general. Still, the obvi- ous must have been preserved, and its presentation should have been based on some inherent ideas, while the rest of the device should have been re- designed. The components were reshuffled: Sun took the central position, and the Earth, planets and stars started to rotate around it along circular orbits. It looked good but worked even worse than before, until Kepler noticed and revealed the new details – those planetary orbits were ellipti- cal. This was implemented, and since then the machine seemed to work perfectly. But then the new engineers became curious, why it was so. Galileo paid attention to the surrounding conditions and proclaimed that the working principles one might be looking for should be indepen- dent of place, time and straight uniform motion. These notions required a language with the help of which the strict definitions, demands and instruc- tions could be formulated. And Newton performed this linguistic task and, in parallel, recognized that the independence on straight uniform motion could be achieved only if the reason for the motion is proportional not to the motion itself but to its change. He gave the short definition that became v
- 11. vi Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics the foundation. Turning back to the world machine in possession of new knowledge, he discovered the law on the base of which it was functioning. The discouraging news was that there was a distant force acting between Sun and planets (stars were too far), but nothing else than to remain log- ically consistent could be done, and Newton had to attribute a universal character to this force. The next magnificent linguistic achievement was made when they thought of the materials used for the device. One short phrase consisting of four parts pronounced by Maxwell not only perfectly displayed all the huge variety of electromagnetic phenomena, but, unexpectedly, revealed the deep relationship between electromagnetism and optics – that is explained the way we see. And then the thunderbolt came. The light did not obey the velocity addition rule following from the main principle of independence proclaimed by Galileo and known as “relativity principle”. Einstein accepted the blow and stood up with the realization that we see what we see – any time, any place and any straight uniform motion, and that the guesses should be dismissed however clever they are. When we see, it takes time for light to pass a path in space, therefore, the obtained images correspond not to the current positions of objects but to the abandoned positions, and if we want to know how it works, we should focus not on the objects themselves but on the processes involving their motions and light travel times. This approach preserved the Maxwell’s achievement and produced the new one: the account for the light travel time added a new dimension to the world picture, and now the motions became not the trajectories on the flat plane governed by the distant forces, but the curved trajectories nested on the relief. The heavenly (and other) bodies produced rather potentials than forces, and these potentials produced the relief. This caused the problem with measuring details of the machine with the help of triangles: the triangle plane did not fit the curved surface. But already Newton was keen enough in regarding infinitely small parts of everything, since then they learned the ways, and Einstein made geometry indistinguishable from dynamics. The residuary trouble is distances. Currently, we can neither penetrate into the regions of matter where electrodynamics is not enough nor reach the distant parts of the observable Universe. But the signals come from both regions, and we have some nice patterns for their interpretation. The golden dream is to unify the patterns, and the Einstein’s rule “we see what we see” seems to be the most appropriate base for that. This book is a single step in this direction. The need for the large
- 12. Preface vii amount of “dark notions” that appeared in astronomy in the last decades means that the machine seems to start coughing again. The introduction of those performed in order to make the mechanism fit the drawn specifica- tion makes one suspicious. It comes to mind to mimic Einstein’s approach, change the point of view and try another model for the background of ev- erything we could observe and register, i.e. for the space and time. A simple analogue of such possible model is known in general physics, it is the phase space. It cannot be perceived by our senses immediately, but it is not hard to get used to it. Such transfer resembles the pass from the Lagrange ap- proach to the Hamilton one, and any physicist is aware of both. The results of the suggested description led to the simplification of the current world picture: there is no need for the dark matter and, possibly, no need for the dark energy in the explanation of the paradoxes in the known observations on the cosmological scale. At the same time all the achievements of the classical GRT on the planetary scale are preserved. In order to suggest a specific test for this modified theory, we need an effect on galactic scale, and it seems that the effect of optic-metrical parametric resonance will do. The effect is not widely known, the first promising observations were performed only recently, and the explanation of its theory requires some technical de- tails. But the result is simple: we can notice the effect of the gravitational radiation of the periodical sources like short-period binary stars with the help of regular radio telescopes, because the spectra of some space masers obtain specific periodic components. A couple of the suitable radio sources has already been found and their signals studied. When the data statistics of such sources is sufficient, it would be possible to investigate the geometry of our galaxy and compare the results with the suggested approach. Both special and general relativity theories are simple in their deep essence as it usually is with the fundamentals, they are really physical, despite the mathematical entourage that one has to overcome in order to understand them. Being a “land of possibilities” mathematics is very fasci- nating and meaningful especially when it comes to interpretations. That is why it could sometimes tempt one to go slightly too far and enjoy mirages - images that are surely related to certain physical properties and that are also “seen by everyone” - rather than other wonders of the real world that could appear none the less charming when it comes to the direct testing. Aren’t these “other wonders” also mirages but on the deeper level, will be hardly ever known. But this book is a humble attempt to bring relativity closer to the general physics to which it belongs and to focus on the short and simple ideas discovered by Newton, Maxwell and Einstein.
- 13. viii Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics It’s an honor and pleasure to mention those whose efforts made it pos- sible for this book to appear. The idea to write it was suggested by Peter Rowlands and supported by Louis Kauffman. Nicoleta Voicu and Vladimir Samodurov were my collaborators in obtaining some of the results. The es- sentials and general ideas were many times discussed with Sergey Kokarev, Michail Babich, Alexander Kazakov and Nickolay Razumovsky and also with colleagues from RI HSGP and its head (and soul) Dmitry Pavlov who does not share my views but supports my activity. The colleagues from the University of civil aviation (Department of Physics headed by Valery Arbuzov) took from me a part of my current job in spring semester. I am indebted to Edwin Taylor who long time ago asked me for the comments to the manuscript of his wonderful book ‘Scouting the Black Holes’ (written together with J.A.Wheeler), this book triggered the vague interest I had in this field before. Julia Hlynina helped me with the search in the electronic astronomical catalogues. And I would definitely be unable to cope with the editing problems in time without the help of Elena Ruchkova and especially of my elder kid George Laptev. I am really grateful to all these people. Some of the results presented in the text were obtained during the work supported by the RFBR grants No. 07-01-91681-RA a and No.08-02-01179- a, and also by the grant HC No.149. April 2011 Sergey Siparov
- 14. Contents Preface v 1. Classical relativity: Scope and beyond 1 1.1 Physics and mathematics: Long joint journey . . . . . . . 1 1.1.1 From Pythagoras to Kepler and Newton . . . . . 1 1.1.2 Curvature, forces and fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.2 Inertial motion, relativity, special relativity . . . . . . . . 8 1.2.1 Bradley experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1.2.2 Michelson and Morley experiment . . . . . . . . . 12 1.2.3 Lorentz contraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 1.2.4 Special relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 1.3 Space-time as a model of the physical world . . . . . . . . 29 1.4 Generalized theory of relativity and gravitation . . . . . . 40 1.4.1 Tensors: who and why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 1.4.2 Maxwell identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 1.4.3 Least action principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 1.4.4 Mass and energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 1.4.5 Field equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 1.4.6 Gravitational waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 1.5 GRT - first approximation - predictions and tests . . . . . 59 1.5.1 Newton gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 1.5.2 Classical tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 1.5.3 Gravitational lenses in GRT . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 1.6 Exact solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 1.6.1 Star: static spherically symmetric case . . . . . . 68 1.6.2 Universe: cosmological constant and expansion . . 71 1.7 Observations on the cosmological scale . . . . . . . . . . . 75 ix
- 15. x Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics 1.7.1 Rotation curves and their interpretation . . . . . 77 1.7.2 Break of linearity in Hubble law . . . . . . . . . . 83 2. Phase space-time as a model of physical reality 85 2.1 Preliminary considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 2.1.1 Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 2.1.2 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 2.1.3 Newton and Minkowski models for the intuitive space and time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 2.2 Interpretation dilemma, variation principle, equivalence principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 2.2.1 Dilemma: new entity or new equations . . . . . . 102 2.2.2 Comparison of methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 2.2.3 On the variation principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 2.2.4 On the equivalence principle . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 2.3 Construction of the formalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 2.3.1 Space and metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 2.3.2 Generalized geodesics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 2.3.3 Anisotropic potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 2.3.4 Field equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 2.3.5 Back to Einstein method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 2.4 Gravitation force in anisotropic geometrodynamics . . . . 132 2.5 Model of the gravitation source and its applications . . . 140 2.5.1 Center plus current model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 2.5.2 Flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies . . . . . . . 143 2.5.3 Tully-Fisher and Faber-Jackson relations . . . . . 145 2.5.4 Logarithmic potential in spiral galaxies . . . . . . 147 2.5.5 Classical tests on the galaxy scale . . . . . . . . . 148 2.5.6 Gravitational lenses in AGD . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 2.5.7 Pioneer anomaly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 2.6 Electrodynamics in anisotropic space . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 2.6.1 Weak deformation of locally Minkowski metrics . 162 2.6.2 Lorentz force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 2.6.3 New term - “electromagnetic” vs. “metric” . . . . 166 2.6.4 Currents in anisotropic spaces . . . . . . . . . . . 168 2.7 Approaching phase space-time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 2.7.1 Coordinate-free dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 2.7.2 Generalized Lorentz transformations . . . . . . . . 172 2.7.3 Geometry, groups and their contractions . . . . . 175
- 16. Contents xi 2.8 Cosmological picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 3. Optic-metrical parametric resonance - to the testing of the anisotropic geometrodynamics 185 3.1 Gravitation waves detection and the general idea of optic- metrical parametric resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 3.1.1 Space maser as a remote detector of gravitation waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 3.1.2 Atomic levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 3.1.3 Eikonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 3.1.4 Motion of a particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 3.2 OMPR in space maser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 3.3 Astrophysical systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 3.3.1 GW sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 3.3.2 Space masers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 3.3.3 Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 3.3.4 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 3.4 Observations and interpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 3.4.1 Radio sources observation methods . . . . . . . . 225 3.4.2 Ultra-rapid variability and signal processing . . . 228 3.4.3 Search for the periodic components in space maser signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 3.5 On the search for the space-time anisotropy in Milky Way observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 3.5.1 Mathematical formalism and basic equations . . . 238 3.5.2 Weak anisotropic perturbation of the flat Minkowski metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 3.5.3 Modification of the OMPR conditions . . . . . . . 244 3.5.4 Investigations of the space-time properties . . . . 246 Appendix A Optic-mechanical parametric resonance 249 A.1 Brief review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 A.1.1 Mono-chromatic excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 A.1.2 Poly-chromatic excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 A.1.3 Bichromatic fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 A.1.4 Mechanical action on atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 A.2 Force acting on a two-level atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 A.2.1 Dynamics of an atom in the bichromatic field . . 256
- 17. xii Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics A.2.2 Stationary dynamics of atom . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 A.2.3 Light action on an atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262 A.2.4 Groups of atoms in optical-mechanical parametric resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 A.2.5 Velocity change due to the force action . . . . . . 265 A.2.6 Main result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 A.3 Probe wave absorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 A.3.1 Problem and its solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 A.3.2 Assumptions and demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 A.4 Fluorescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 A.4.1 Calculation of the fluorescence spectrum . . . . . 284 A.4.2 Driving the TLAs by the bichromatic radiation . 288 A.4.3 Assumptions, demands and possible applications . 290 A.4.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Bibliography 295 Index 303
- 18. Chapter 1 Classical relativity: Scope and beyond 1.1 Physics and mathematics: Long joint journey 1.1.1 From Pythagoras to Kepler and Newton Two basic concepts of modern science – quantum mechanics and relativ- ity – are formalized very deeply. And this depth is not technical, that is, just mathematically complicated, but it is ideological, philosophical. Not paying attention to this circumstance, it is impossible to go beyond the spe- cific objectives, however important they may be; it is impossible to suppose what could be a fundamental error if suddenly the whole class of paradox- ical problems appears, or a whole series of observations contradicts the existing theory. And prominent scientists always paid attention to this cir- cumstance. The strangeness of some mathematical ideas and notions broke through into the world of observations and measurements, and the results of the last forced the researchers to build hitherto unknown speculative constructions. If we assume Pythagoras to be one of the forefathers of science, we can recall how having started with a simple “Egyptian” triangle, he proceeded to cut in half the square along its diagonal, and found out that the mea- surement of the diagonal has no numerical value in the usual sense of the word. This discovery shocked him so much that for the disclosure of this secret, for removing it outside the circle of associated “Pythagoreans” a person was subjected to the death penalty. “All is number” – Pythagoras believed, and this statement had profound meaning. And even though we live in a perceptible world, there is always some abstract mathematical ob- ject in the very basis of our understanding of the universe, for example, a number or a sphere – the most perfect geometrical figure. The Heavenly sky above the Earth also appeared to have spheres – each 1
- 19. 2 Introduction to the Anisotropic Geometrodynamics planet orbiting the Earth had its own one, and the biggest, all-encompassing sphere (by the way, the seventh one – “seventh sky” – since then there were only four known planets and also the Sun and the Moon) was the sphere with the stars that didn’t change their arrangement with time and com- prised the constellations. This is the absolute, this is Harmony, and no observed effect should shake the ideal mathematical figure – the locus of points equidistant from one. But how is it possible to explain the observed retrograde motion of planets moving among the unchanging patterns of con- stellations? Those spheres cannot rotate non-uniformly! And in addition to the “differents” – the circles in which the planets move around the Earth, Ptolemy introduces “epicycles” – small circles in which the planets move around the points circling along the “differents”. In order to fit more precise measurements, all the planes containing “differents” and “epicycles” had to be tilted at various angles. The calculation of the planets positions became a furious exercise, but, nevertheless, the most persistent researchers were able to find the result and reasonably predict the planets positions. Only in a few centuries there appeared a systematic error gradually increasing with time. However, when Copernicus twisted inside out the geocentric Ptolemaic system, placed the Sun into the center, and let the Earth move in a circular orbit around it like other planets did (and then Galileo let it rotate around its own axis), the calculation of planetary positions – greatly simplified and not demanding epicycles – gave even worse results than a complex Ptolemy’s model. Therefore, the Copernican Revolution at first step was an ingenious hypothesis, which caused an encouraging smile, but could be hardly considered relevant to reality. In his turn, Kepler, who analyzed the results of the 20-year long mea- surements of the planets performed by Tycho Brahe and himself, was also confident of world harmony based on mathematics. He hoped that those circles in which the planets were likely to move around the Sun had the radii corresponding to the concentric spheres, into which the regular Pla- tonic polyhedral were subsequently inscribed. And when he discovered that it was not so, moreover, the planets appeared to move not in circles but in ellipses, he probably survived the culture shock. But soon the ellipses measured by Kepler brilliantly came to calculations based on Copernicus hypothesis, eliminated the existing errors, and the world finally became heliocentric. The law relating the radii of the orbits and orbital period of planets discovered by Kepler as a result of observations and measurements, later led Newton to the law of gravitation in the form we know it now.
- 20. Classical relativity: Scope and beyond 3 Newton gave a start to a new era in the science development. He refused to follow the a priori mathematical statements based on a naive desire for harmony, made his motto “Hypotheses non fingo” and firmly established induction as the main scientific method. So, when Kepler’s measurements and law which Newton used when determining the ratios of planets acceler- ations, led him to the idea of the long-range attraction between the planets and the Sun (the force of attraction followed the inverse square law), New- ton postponed the publication of his result for two decades, because such a “hypothesis” seemed inappropriate. In his letter to Berkeley, Newton wrote “The idea that the ability to excite gravity could be an inherent, intrinsic property of matter, and that one body can affect another through a vacuum at a distance and without something that could transfer the force from one to the other, this idea seems to me so preposterous that, I think, it could hardly come to mind to any man able to think philosophically”. And when, reluctantly, he let the public become familiar with his achievements, he had no reason to assume that this “effect through the void” is not transmitted instantaneously, and the void itself which is just a “container” where it all happens, is not described by Euclidean geometry. Thus, until the 18th century, mathematics and science, alternating in the lead, participated in the development of increasingly accurate world picture which made it possible to predict and calculate the future events. In this picture, time was, in a sense, the fourth coordinate whose various values could not be measured using only the senses. An instrument was needed, and this instrument was mathematics. Like any other tool, it distorted the picture by the rules that were not always known. 1.1.2 Curvature, forces and fields At the end of the 18th century, Gauss was the first to constructively ap- proach the question of the applicability of Euclidean geometry to describe the world. He directly measured in situ the sum of internal angles of a triangle. The vertices of the triangle were at the tops of nearby mountains. Gauss did not find any deviation of his calculations from the Euclidean geometry within the accuracy of his measurements. At the beginning of the 19th century, Lobachevsky assessed the prin- cipal possibilities of astronomical observations and found the conditions in which it becomes impossible to assert anything definite about the geometry describing the phenomena. This inevitably led him to the creation of the first non-Euclidean geometry [Lobachevsky (1979)], whose applicability to
- 21. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
- 22. On the top of the hill solid shelters were built for the gunners and a round trench was made, with a considerable number of blinded traverses, which were not, however, very solidly constructed. The summit of the hill on the left flank (which we called the Connecting Ridge) was lined with trenches. On the reverse slopes of the hill a magazine, very solidly made, was constructed for gun and rifle ammunition, and cover was also provided there, sufficient for a whole reserve company. In rear of the hill (174 Metre Hill) there were four field mortars, and on the crest, for long-range firing, two long naval guns (I do not remember their exact calibre, but I think it was 150 mm.) with steel shields, in a well-constructed battery, and behind the crest four field quick-firers. On the saddle between 174 Metre Hill and Connecting Ridge were Lieutenant Tsvietkov’s two quick-firers. The garrison of 174 Metre Hill consisted of the 5th and 9th Companies of the 5th Regiment (about 300 men), while the 6th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Companies of the same, and one company of the 24th Regiment were on Connecting Ridge. There were on Namako Yama at this time: on the left flank, the 1st Company of the 28th Regiment under Major Sakatski, the 11th Company of the 13th Regiment, the 5th and 6th Companies of the Kuang-tung Battalion, and the 12th Company of the 13th Regiment. It must be admitted that the trenches here were not sufficiently strong to afford much protection against the Japanese Shimose and shrapnel, and heavy losses were expected. But what could be done? We had neither the time nor the tools necessary to deal with that rocky soil, and thus to improve matters. A battery had been placed on the top of 174 Metre Hill, instead of an infantry redoubt. This battery was in position before the 5th Regiment occupied the hill. I wanted to convert it into a redoubt, but my senior officers refused to sanction the proposal, as, in General Bieli’s[61] opinion, there was no other position for long-range guns.
- 23. How much time and trouble we spent on completing this battery, while the real defenders had to crowd into the small unfinished trenches! I may add that the guns posted in this battery had a large area of dead ground, and drew on themselves the fire of the Japanese heavy artillery, which considerably interfered with our work. I was nearly killed by a shell bursting near me, and escaped by a miracle with no greater hurt than a blow in the side from a large clod of earth. On the fall of the advanced positions the garrison of 174 Metre Hill had to live in the trenches, whereas before they had been encamped on the reverse slope of the hill. Field kitchens had been well built in a ravine, and others on the reverse slope. The men lived in large field tents, and the officers in an improvised barrack, built of planks. Strenuous efforts had been made to construct a road leading from the top of the hill, and an enormous amount of energy had likewise been expended in making roads to the principal hills—203 Metre, Namako Yama, and Akasaka Yama. To this end we had been working hard ever since the arrival of the 5th Regiment at 174 Metre Hill, at which time there existed only one small path over 203 Metre Hill. CONSTRUCTING THE ROAD ON THE REVERSE SLOPE OF 203 METRE HILL. p. 116]
- 24. By its fire, and by the posting of a detachment to prevent Height 426 from being outflanked from the left, 174 Metre Hill was a source of considerable annoyance to the Japanese, so, in attacking the advanced hills, they did not forget it. On August 14,[62] at 4.15 a.m., the enemy opened a tremendous fire on 174 Metre Hill, and kept it up till 5 o’clock in the evening. On this day Captain Andreiev, commanding the artillery on the hill, was wounded by four splinters. At 1.15 a.m. on August 15 the enemy advanced on 174 Metre Hill from the front and from the left flank. Firing continued till 3.15 a.m., when the Japanese retreated, but a heavy bombardment broke out again at 4.30 a.m. and continued till 9 o’clock. This bombardment was renewed at 4 p.m., continuing till 7 p.m. As a result some of our splinter-proofs were destroyed and also part of our trenches. On August 16 the Japanese did not fire at all, possibly through want of ammunition, we ourselves taking advantage of the occasion to rebuild our trenches. About 9 p.m. desultory rifle fire broke out under the hill, and the enemy’s skirmishing line appeared about 1,200 paces away, while behind, in complete silence, marched the storming columns. The defenders of the hills threw down their digging tools, stood to their posts, and opened fire in volleys. The storming columns moved away, now to the right, now to the left, and finally took cover in the defile on the left. This was at about 11 p.m., and our men sat in the trenches all night expecting another attack. We expended 12,000 rounds of ammunition. On August 17 and 18 our men rebuilt the trenches under heavy rifle fire. On the 17th the trenches were completed to the required profile, but a heavy bombardment was then opened on the hill. Our guns
- 25. tried to answer the fire from the hills, but could not locate the batteries that were destroying them, and the Japanese soldiers only showed themselves when out of range. Our field guns were therefore put under cover, and I still regret that it was impossible to put those 150-mm. guns under cover as well. On August 18 the firing upon the hill increased considerably in volume, and our trenches and splinter-proofs began to suffer severely. Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski, who was commandant of the hill, reported that he expected an attack, so I moved our reserves to 203 Metre Hill. At night fierce hand-to-hand fighting took place round the base of the hill between the Japanese and our patrols who were forming the outpost line—a sure sign of a coming attack. On the night of August 18–19 the Japanese moved in great strength up to 174 Metre Hill and lay down behind the crests of the nearest hillocks. Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski had the whole garrison on the alert, and opened fire as soon as the columns showed themselves over the crests beyond. The enemy made several attempts to come to close quarters, but without avail. On the alarm sounding, star-rockets were fired from 203 Metre and Division Hills, and our search-lights came into play for the first time. The scene was a terrible, but, at the same time, an exhilarating one. Discovered by the beams of light, the Japanese hastily retired over the crest, leaving a great number of dead in front of 174 Metre Hill. After several attempts they ceased their attacks, and the rest of the night passed in petty encounters and outpost skirmishes. Early on the morning of August 19, just as day was breaking, I was awakened by a fearful cannonade. Running out of my room, I saw a pall of smoke from bursting shrapnel hanging over 174 Metre Hill. In order to find out what was happening, I galloped over to Akasaka Yama. However, when I got there, I was no better off than before, so I went to the left flank of Namako Yama. A dense
- 26. skirmishing line was advancing on the right of 174 Metre Hill, and lines of skirmishers and columns of troops were moving towards the centre, occasionally taking cover in the valleys and then again appearing on the ridges. The rattle of rifle fire from our companies on Connecting Ridge could be heard on the left flank. The main attack was delivered against the left of 174 Metre Hill, but it was not within my field of view. The lines advanced so skilfully that our guns were unable to range on them, though they suffered heavily from rifle fire. Orderlies with reports were galloping away from 174 Metre Hill. In order to meet them, I again returned to Akasaka Yama, where Colonel Irman joined me. Wishing to be at the centre of the hills attacked, and within easy reach of orderlies, we changed our position to a hillock situated between Namako Yama and Connecting Ridge. We also thought that this would be a favourable point for making observations, but, as a matter of fact, it was rather the reverse, because all shell falling “over” landed in this very locality. We posted the reserve (the 7th Company of the 28th Regiment) behind the left flank of Namako Yama. From 203 Metre Hill we sent a telephone message to the officer commanding the artillery, directing him to concentrate every available gun on the slopes in front of 174 Metre Hill. In a quarter of an hour our guns boomed forth, and shells of every size began to fall on the ground indicated by us. The Japanese gun fire smothered 174 Metre Hill, and a continuous stream of wounded flowed back towards 203 Metre Hill, where the chief dressing station was situated. This fierce bombardment continued until about four o’clock. We had lost heavily. The whole of the rear of the hill attacked was literally strewn with shell. I was rather badly hit in the left side by a stone thrown up by a bursting shell.
- 27. Seeing that the right flank of Connecting Ridge was the most probable point of attack (there was a good deal of dead ground from our guns in front of it), and that a very heavy artillery fire was now being directed there, I sent the 7th Company of the 28th Regiment, under Major Frantz, to stand in reserve behind it. About four o’clock the firing reached its zenith. The Japanese advanced to the attack, not in columns but in large groups, but they failed to get up to the trenches. Hundreds of them were mown down, and it seemed to me that the attack had failed everywhere. What was our surprise, when we received a report from Major Astafiev, commanding the 10th Company,[63] that his half-company had been wiped out, save ten men, and that the Japanese had occupied his empty trenches during the attack. The remaining ten men, however, had not retreated (they were separated from the captured trench by a cliff), but had stuck to their trench. I then and there made a mental vow that the deeds of these heroes should eventually be put on record in letters of gold as a perpetual memorial to the 10th Company, and I now redeem my pledge. The trench occupied by the Japanese was under the cliff, and it was a very difficult matter to climb down into it. As we had no further reserves available, I sent to 203 Metre Hill for two half- companies (2nd and 4th of our regiment), hoping to drive the Japanese out of the trench with these men. I also sent to General Kondratenko for reinforcements. Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski reported from 174 Metre Hill that the Japanese had run up one by one, had established themselves within a few paces of the trenches, and were throwing stones at our riflemen, who returned the missiles. At about six o’clock we collected two companies of the 13th Regiment, and made an attack on about 100 Japanese then in the trenches of the 10th Company. The companies quickly reached the top of the cliff, but got no farther, as it was a big drop down below.
- 28. The Japanese artillery, noticing them, at once opened a heavy fire, and as it thus became impossible to remain there in the open the companies retreated again into the valley. At about seven o’clock General Kondratenko joined us, and four companies of the 13th Regiment arrived, the 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 9th, under the command of the battalion commanders Majors Goosakovski and Gavreelov. We decided that the Japanese must be driven out of the 10th Company’s trenches, and, with that object in view, I reinforced these men, who had already resisted several attacks, with one more company. The attack was repeated, but with the same result (it was a big jump down, right on to the bayonets of the Japanese, who were invisible from the top, while the guns from the heights beyond mowed down the attackers). This time half of the men lodged themselves behind stones on the top, and I now felt sure that the Japanese would not take the hill, as it would be very difficult for them to climb up the cliff. In order to minimize our losses from gun fire, I decided on a night attack, and sent one company, under Major Goosakovski, to carry it out. I ordered back half a company of the 5th Regiment to its original position. It transpired that the 7th Company of the 28th Regiment was not in its correct place, having for some reason retired behind 174 Metre Hill. I did not see when Major Frantz carried out this movement. All this time the firing and bombardment on 174 Metre Hill continued, and our forces dwindled away rapidly. Reinforcements being demanded, a Scout Detachment under Captain Osmanov, which had only just come up, was sent there. This detachment, with its commander at its head, steadily and quietly ascended the hill, five men excepted, who tailed off at the foot of the hill, evidently afraid to go on. I did not order them to ascend the
- 29. hill, knowing from experience that the presence of a few cowards may unsettle the very bravest company. The stream of wounded from the hill increased, and many of these poor sufferers expired while being carried across the shell-strewn ground. We saw one wounded man, who was being carried by two of our clerks, killed by a shell falling right on top of him. One of his bearers was killed too, but the other escaped as by a miracle. A large group of wounded now went past me, and behind them an officer on a stretcher. He was a very young gunner, and he kept waving his sword in a frenzy and muttering something. I do not remember what he said, as my attention was attracted by another stretcher, on which was an officer whom I thought I knew. When the stretcher came close, I recognized in the wounded man Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski, who had been commandant of the hill. He was covered with blood and dust. A bullet had shattered his lower jaw and tongue, and another had struck his hand. He could not speak from loss of blood. In his absence things might go badly on the hill. This seasoned warrior had always shown extraordinary energy combined with method. He was nicknamed “General Fock” in the regiment, which for some reason displeased the real general, so, instead of commanding a regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski was given the command of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Regiment. General Fock never recognized the great spirit animating this man, which showed up so prominently in the defence of 174 Metre Hill. The old Colonel was indeed a far finer soldier than many of the younger ones. He fearlessly walked about the hill, encouraging the men and directing their fire, closely following the movements of the enemy, and then, bringing up his small reserve just at the right moment, he scattered the thick columns of attackers like chaff before the wind by
- 30. a few well-directed volleys. When the men wanted to take him to the dressing station, he said: “Leave me alone, my lads; I want to die with you.” With a heavy heart I accompanied the stretcher, fearing that a stray bullet or shell might end the career of this magnificent old soldier. But, thank God! he got safely across the pass to 203 Metre Hill, which meant that he was out of harm’s way. In his place I appointed Captain Bielozerov, commanding the 9th Company of the 5th Regiment, one of the bravest of our officers. Towards evening more reinforcements were called for from 174 Metre Hill. The defenders were so worn out that they could not repair the damage done, which was considerable. The upper battery was destroyed, all the field guns were dismounted, and the gun-pits reduced to ruins. Nearly all the splinter-proofs in the trenches were destroyed, as well as half of the parapet. The whole of the overhead cover against shrapnel was also wrecked by shell fire. It is difficult to defend such places without casemated works. On a hill commanded from all sides what can riflemen do against heavy artillery, and the high-explosive shell of field guns? During this day the 5th and 9th Companies of the 5th Regiment lost half their strength. Gun fire slackened. The stream of wounded also ceased, and we breathed more freely. Our party on the central hillock was joined by some reserve officers, and eventually we even had something to eat. Meat, bread, and hot tea were supplied to the men in the lines, and the field kitchen on the other side of 174 Metre Hill, which had escaped untouched, got to work. General Kondratenko brought up two more companies to the reserve and sent two companies of the 13th Regiment to the hill to work at the trenches. We laughed at the Japanese who had taken the 10th Company’s trench, and must by now be feeling like rats in a trap. The half of
- 31. the 1st Company of the 13th Regiment who had been left there, and the ten men of the 10th Company, prevented them from spreading along the trench, while in front their road was barred by those standing on the hill, so that it appeared inevitable that they must all be killed that night. Meanwhile night had already fallen. The usual night firing had started between the outposts at the foot of the hills, and the resulting noise would cover the advance of our attacking companies. I sent to ask why the attack had not commenced, and was kept waiting for an answer for a very long time. The night was very dark. Everything was quiet, till now and again the enemy’s bullets, like birds of the night, hummed high overhead, or our star-rockets, strange hissing monsters, like fiery snakes shot up into the sky and burst into a thousand dazzling stars, brilliantly illuminating the dark hills and valleys. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This proverb was exemplified in us and in our men. How many times have we not been witnesses of the truth of it! how many times have not the Japanese taken advantage of the utter exhaustion of our troops, fallen upon them when they lay asleep, and captured important points in our position (as at Ta-ku Shan, Miortvaia Sopka,[64] and other places)! We realize now what it means to defend a fortress lacking a main line of defence and having an insufficient number of permanently fortified positions. Now I can clearly see that open field works, even though prepared for some time in advance, and with trenches strengthened with glacis parapets (as Glinka-Yarnchevski proposed at one time), will not give the defenders facilities for sufficient rest; and rest is a very important factor. We were so tired that day—a fact not to be wondered at—that we lay down where we were and went to sleep. Heavy rifle firing brought us to our feet again. Star-rockets shot into the air and lit up
- 32. the place, and caused the firing to die down once more. We received word from those on the hill that they had been firing on the Japanese, who had destroyed some of the wire entanglements. There were not many of them, but they had nevertheless caused a good deal of damage, and then had crouched down near the line of wires. It was unfortunate that they had succeeded to such an extent. I sent orders for the damage to be repaired as far as possible, but I knew our men on the hill were handicapped owing to lack of barbed wire. This barbed wire was literally worth its weight in gold, and I was always delighted when we succeeded in getting some for the defence of this or that point, but there was great need of it everywhere. There were several of these alarms during the night, but all this time Major Goosakovski’s attack on the Japanese failed to come off. However, I received a note at last, saying that he had decided to attack at daybreak. Having quietly thought the matter out, I came to the conclusion that the Japanese might be left in the trench. These 100 men could not climb up and take the hill, which was defended by a whole company, neither could they be reinforced, as any reinforcements would be annihilated before they reached them. I told Colonel Irman, who was sitting near me, what I thought, and as he quite agreed with me, I sent an order cancelling the attack, and withdrew the companies, except the one behind the rocks, to a more sheltered spot between 174 Metre Hill and Connecting Ridge. One of these companies I placed in reserve behind 174 Metre Hill, so that there were now three companies in the reserve, i.e. at the immediate disposal of the officer in command on the hill. The two companies which had arrived in the evening I assigned to the general reserve. There were a few hours left till dawn, of which we took advantage to get some sleep, repairing to Namako Yama, so as not to be
- 33. disturbed by the groans of the badly wounded men as they were being carried along the road. Our bearers (bandsmen, regimental clerks, and volunteers from the town) sought them out during the night in the ravines, trenches, and ruined blindages,[65] and carried them to 203 Metre Hill. Before the sun had risen, the enemy’s guns began their work of destruction, the worst of it being that they did it without receiving any punishment in return. Little by little, rifle firing broke out. When it was quite light, the companies on Connecting Ridge noticed a Japanese battery coming into action at very close range. They opened fire in volleys, and the battery retired with heavy loss. Second-Lieutenant Bitzouk, who was for the second time wounded in the leg, was chiefly responsible for the destruction of this battery. After this battery had retired, the infantry commenced their attack, and towards seven o’clock there was very heavy rifle firing. All the company commanders on Connecting Ridge were placed hors de combat, and the three companies were commanded by Acting Ensign Agapov. I called for volunteers from the staff for the command of these companies, and in response to my call Lieutenant Vaseeliev and Second-Lieutenant Galileiev at once stepped forward. At 8 a.m. General Kondratenko arrived, and found that everything was satisfactory. But the firing and bombardment had not slackened. About 11 a.m. it was reported from the hill that the enemy was attacking from the left flank, and that Acting Ensign Shishkin had been killed. I immediately telephoned to the officer commanding the artillery to again concentrate his fire on the valley in front of 174 Metre Hill,
- 34. and soon our shells were streaming in the required direction. But still the Japanese guns vomited death. A report now came in from the troops on the hill that their trenches were absolutely destroyed. They asked for not less than one company to reinforce them, as there were very few of the original defenders left. I myself saw that their last reserves had been used, and a long line of wounded streamed down from the hill, amongst whom was the new commandant, Captain Bielozerov. When brought to my vicinity, he was in a fearful condition; a bullet had struck him on the right side of the chest and passed right through, his shirt being soaked with blood. He passed quite close to me and whispered to me: “Send up a company at once. Put Second- Lieutenant Ivanov in command.” Second-Lieutenant Ivanov was one of my bravest officers. When volunteers were called for to collect the wounded on Height 426, he said he would go with twenty-five men who had also volunteered under Lieutenant Alalikin of the battleship Poltava. When they reached the Japanese outpost line, they saw that it was impossible for the whole detachment to get through, whereupon Second- Lieutenant Ivanov crawled through the enemy’s lines alone and found a wounded artillery non-commissioned officer, whom he hoisted upon his shoulder and brought back. On his way back he met Serpukov, a lance-corporal of the 9th Company, who had got through safely, and between them they carried the wounded man to their detachment, and thence to 174 Metre Hill. I immediately sent an order to Second-Lieutenant Ivanov to consider himself in command on the hill. The loss of Lieutenant-Colonel Leesaevski and Captain Bielozerov was irreparable. The latter was a real hero. On August 20 there was a moment on 174 Metre Hill when the sections of the 28th and 13th Regiments[66] on the left flank wavered and turned their backs. Captain Bielozerov rushed in amongst the fugitives, and with a few
- 35. impassioned words, pointing out to them the shame they would bring on their regiments, made them return to their posts. Captain Bielozerov was wounded when he sprang out of the trench to see where the enemy was and what he was doing. It was only possible to hold the hill at the price of heavy losses, but we decided that it was worth it. Hence I resolved to go myself to the hill, and to send up our last reserves. At this moment E. P. Balashov, the medical officer in charge of the hospital, rode up with his assistant, M. Tordan, a French subject, and accompanied by General Fock. These unexpected arrivals put new spirit into us. We were all struck with the bravery and coolness of E. P. Balashov, who was a great favourite in the regiment. Bullets were whistling by in sufficient numbers to try the nerves of any man who had not previously been under fire, in spite of which our civilian general[67] and his companion did not appear to experience the slightest sensation of fear. General Fock did not fail to give us his opinion on the position of affairs, and he declared that the hill must be held anyhow till nightfall. This was already quite obvious to all of us. It is a very nasty thing to retreat by day under the fire of an enemy who is only a few paces off. But General Kondratenko expressed the wish to hold the hill for an indefinite length of time, notwithstanding the fact that it would be more than difficult to remain there under a hail of large and small shells without any cover from their murderous effect. About twelve o’clock a rifleman ran down from the hill with a note from Second-Lieutenant Ivanov. He demanded immediate reinforcements, and as many as possible, saying that both officers and men were beginning to waver; hence it was obviously necessary to send up help at once.
- 36. I knew that Second-Lieutenant Ivanov would not ask for reinforcements without good reason. I reported this to General Kondratenko (we had one company left in the reserve), and it was decided to send the required reinforcements. But General Fock heard the order given, and fired up at our “inexperience.” “What does this mean?” said he. “You want to hold on until nightfall, and yet you send up your last reserve?” “It is absolutely necessary,” I answered. “It is not at all necessary,” declared General Fock. “All right, Nicholai Alexandrovitch,” said General Kondratenko, turning to me; “we will wait a little longer.” I saw that General Fock’s assurance had overruled General Kondratenko’s judgment, and I had not the moral courage myself to contradict him and insist on the despatch of the last company, the more so, as Colonel Irman, my immediate superior, did not give me any support. About half an hour passed since the reinforcements had been asked for. Balashov and M. Tordan departed saying that they had had quite enough of it, and General Fock also rode off. Meanwhile the struggle grew fiercer and fiercer, and now the first signs of wavering became evident. I noticed three riflemen running away from the hill, and three men without rifles behind them. I drew General Kondratenko’s attention to them, and he evidently realized his mistake, for he said to me: “Ah! now it is too late!” Then behind the second group of three men there quickly followed about twenty others, and soon an entire company poured down the hill after them. On the hill itself men were running in all directions, like ants whose hill has been disturbed, but a group of about fifty men rushed
- 37. into the upper battery, stood upon the breastwork, and fired straight down on the enemy below. In front of this group, holding his naked sword in his hand, I saw our Acting Ensign Shchenakin, and my heart swelled with pride for the 5th Regiment. All these men belonged to the 5th Regiment, and they had not lost hope of holding the hill, although every one else had fled. At this moment the enemy opened a hellish fire on this group of heroes, wreathing the hill in clouds of smoke; the Japanese, by the way, never thought twice about firing over the heads of their own men. I did not see what was the end, for we all—General Kondratenko, Colonel Irman, and myself—galloped off to stop the retreat, and, though the task was not an easy one, we nevertheless succeeded. I placed the reserve near our central hill, and the troops who had retreated occupied a position in touch with this reserve, from Namako Yama to Connecting Ridge. A telephone message was sent off at once, ordering the artillery to direct as many guns as possible on 174 Metre Hill. The yellow-caps had already shown themselves on the crest and opened a fairly heavy, though not very accurate, fire on us. At this moment the crest of the hill was swept by such a terrific storm of our shells, that everything living was destroyed in a few seconds, and the Japanese did not dare to show themselves even after the firing had ceased. It is a very difficult matter to hold ordinary field trenches against siege artillery placed at short range. With the fall of 174 Metre Hill we saw that it was impossible to hold on to Connecting Ridge, which had, therefore, to be evacuated. General Kondratenko gave the order to do so, and then went home, as he was utterly worn out and could hardly stand, Colonel Irman going away with him.
- 38. Taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese did not dare to show themselves on 174 Metre Hill, I quietly withdrew the companies from Connecting Ridge, and posted them for the time being behind Namako Yama and Division Hill. On August 19 and 20 the 5th Company lost 62 killed and wounded, about half its then strength. The 9th lost 120 men, and had only 48 left in the ranks. Our companies were the last to retreat. Our losses during the defence of 174 Metre Hill amounted to 1,000 men, of whom about one-third were killed. Considering that this loss was incurred chiefly on 174 Metre Hill and Connecting Ridge, where only four companies (800 men at the most) could act at a time, the loss of 1,000 men at one point will give some idea of the volume of fire developed at this spot by the Japanese. If we had decided to retake the hill, it would not have been a difficult matter, but it would have cost us more than 500 men a day to hold it, as we should not have been able to reconstruct the trenches to keep pace with the amount of damage done day after day; my regiment would only have sufficed for four days, since, including the details from the 28th Regiment, our strength was no more than 1,800 men. As is evident from the foregoing narrative, when necessity arose, units from other regiments were sent to me, but they were often required for other positions of the defensive line. Besides 1,000 casualties, we lost 2 long 150-mm. guns, 4 field guns, 2 machine guns, and 4 field mortars. However, two of these were recaptured by us during the final attacks at the foot of 174 Metre Hill. With the fall of 174 Metre Hill it became immediately necessary to strengthen the trenches on Division Hill, Namako Yama, Akasaka
- 39. Yama, and 203 Metre Hill. These trenches were far from complete, except those on 203 Metre Hill, where they were made with splinter-proofs and light cover from shrapnel shell, and were furnished with wire entanglements. But our experience on 174 Metre Hill had taught us how weak our earth-works were in comparison with the destructive power of the enemy’s shells, and so it was evidently necessary to strengthen considerably all the fortifications on 203 Metre Hill. All this should have been done earlier, but want of tools and men had prevented us during the defence from working at any but the advanced positions. 203 Metre Hill was an exception, as, being one of the most important points if not the most important, on the defensive line, it had received my special attention. We had to set to work again night and day. This is what I proposed to do: to throw the four trenches on Namako Yama into one long trench the whole length of the hill; to make several communication trenches back to the rear of the hill, where splinter- proofs were to be built and tents erected for those defending the hill; to build kitchens and establish a dressing station at the foot of the hill close to the battery of long 6-inch guns; to construct a magazine for small-arm ammunition, shell, and cartridges, and also make a dug-out for the commandant. I furthermore proposed to convert the trench on the top of Akasaka Yama into a redoubt, and to make several trenches in front of it along the hill; to strengthen all the splinter-proofs on 203 Metre Hill; and to place solid timber baulks to hold up the head-cover, so that the splinter-proofs would remain standing, even though the parapet was blown away. We set to work on our task the first night after the capture of 174 Metre Hill.
- 40. The troops on the positions occupied by us were disposed as follows: On Division Hill, the 5th, 7th, and 11th Companies of the 5th Regiment, with the 2nd and 3rd Scout Detachments of the 5th Regiment and the 9th Company of the 27th Regiment, under Major Beedenko. On Namako Yama, two companies of Marines, under our own officers, Afanaisev and Siedelnitski, both companies under the command of Lieutenant Shcherbachev; the 7th Company of the 28th Regiment and the 2nd Scout Detachment of the same regiment, under Major Sokkatski; also one company of the 13th Regiment and the 9th Company of the 5th Regiment.[68] A section of Marines defended Extinct Volcano. On 203 Metre Hill, as before, there were the 2nd and 4th Companies of the 5th Regiment, and I had three companies of the 4th Reserve Battalion in reserve. All worked at night, and slept during the day. We were very much stronger now that our defensive line was so much smaller, and I no longer feared sudden attacks. But the following regrettable incident again disturbed my peace of mind. Early on the morning of August 23, I was awakened to hear a report that the Japanese had taken Extinct Volcano in the night. EXTINCT VOLCANO: TAKEN FROM THE RIGHT FLANK OF NAMAKO YAMA. p. 136] I would not at first believe it, as the firing must have been heard, and the night had passed absolutely quietly.
- 41. When I said so to the orderly, he told me that there had been no firing, as the Marines had been caught asleep. It turned out afterwards that they were not asleep, but were working, and had been taken by surprise because they had failed to put out outposts. Extinct Volcano had two trenches on it—one near the foot, for a half-company, and the other on the crest, for a section. Three days before, I had sent half a company of Marines to this hill for work and defence. Owing to their ignorance of outpost work, they had put out no standing sentries by night, but were content with a few sentries on the trenches themselves. Noticing their negligence, a small body of Japanese had crept up to the drowsy sentries, surprised them, and sprung into the trench. Our Marines only grasped the situation when the majority of them had already been killed. The remainder fled to the upper trench, where there was one sub-division of riflemen (I do not now remember to whom they belonged—possibly the 7th Company of the 28th Regiment, as they occupied the right flank of Namako Yama). The Japanese ran up behind them and burst into the trench at their very heels, thus taking Extinct Volcano without noise or firing. Major Zimmermann—a hero in the true sense of the word—in command on Namako Yama, hearing what had happened, immediately organized a counter-attack, and when the men had somewhat recovered themselves, set them an example by rushing forward with drawn sword. The soldiers followed him to a man, and Extinct Volcano was retaken. Unfortunately, Major Zimmermann was wounded in the arm and breast, and had to relinquish his command. Ten minutes after the recapture of the hill, the enemy’s artillery opened a terrific fire on it.
- 42. By this time I had reached the scene of action, having with me one of the reserve companies, which I ordered to remain on the site of the former bivouacs of the regimental staff, near the graves of Colonel Petrov and Major Schiller. Reaching the top of Namako Yama, the nearest point to Extinct Volcano, I saw that the yellow-peaked caps were on its summit. This meant that the enemy’s fire had driven us off the hill, which proved, indeed, to be the case. I sent a report to that effect. At this moment Colonel Irman arrived with his adjutant, and told me that he had sent for three companies from the general reserve. But at least an hour would pass before they could arrive, and in that time the enemy would be able to dig himself in, and it would be very difficult to drive him out again. We therefore decided to attack the hill without delay, and with this object I ordered the 1st Scout Detachment to come to me immediately (it was stationed near Fort Yi-tzu Shan). Everything was quiet there, and I felt I could withdraw troops from that position without the fear of any hostile attacks. Colonel Irman telephoned to the officer commanding the fortress artillery to open fire on the top of Extinct Volcano with as many guns as he could get to bear. Our guns thundered out, and a hail of shell swept the top of the hill. In a moment the hill was wreathed in smoke, and the yellow- peaks disappeared. In order to see what was happening on the reverse side of the hill, I went into a ravine in front of the left flank of Division Hill. Our cannonade continued.
- 43. Just as I reached my new point of observation, I had a very alarming experience. I heard the shriek of a heavy shell over my head, and a moment later it fell about 10 paces from me; the earth shook from the deafening reverberation of the explosion, and I was thrown heavily to the ground, covered with sand and lumps of clay. It was some time before I recovered from the shock and could continue my way. This was due to one of our own 11-inch guns on the coast forts. It was laid on the hill occupied by the enemy, but the shell dropped near me—by no means the first instance of our coast-defence guns giving us an unpleasant surprise. An 11-inch shell once landed in the 6th Company’s trench on Division Hill. Luckily, there were no serious consequences from these mishaps.[69] On reaching the left flank of Division Hill, I found that the valley was not visible to me. I shouted up to Division Hill, telling those there to inform me if there was anything to be seen behind Extinct Volcano, and soon received the answer that there were no hostile troops in the valley. The Japanese, however, caught sight of me from their trenches and lost no time in firing at me, which was pleasant indeed. They even started shelling me with their field guns; they had, seemingly, an enormous supply of rifle and gun ammunition, and certainly used it freely. When I returned to Colonel Irman, our scouts had already arrived, and we decided to attack without delay. The scouts, with one company from the reserve (the 5th of the 27th Regiment), were to advance directly on the hill, while one company from the garrison of Namako Yama moved from the flank. It was a hard climb up the high steep hill, and continued for some time without the enemy firing a shot, our guns meanwhile sweeping the summit. When, however, the scouts got close up, and likewise the company from
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