"203 Kōchi" (二〇三高地)

By November 1904, Japan's third frontal assault on the fortress had failed again, marked by the infamous "White Sash Team" battle. Nogi finally abandoned the frontal approach and turned his focus to Hill 203 — but it too was heavily fortified, and casualties kept mounting. Convinced this was the decisive battle of the war, Saneyuki watched anxiously. In a bold and potentially order-disrupting move, Chief of Staff Kodama traveled to Lushun and temporarily took command of the Third Army from Nogi. He overhauled the attack plan and threw full force at Hill 203. After a brutal, costly fight, Hill 203 fell. Japanese artillery immediately trained on the harbor below, shelling and destroying the trapped Lushun Fleet. Togo's naval blockade of Port Arthur — ten months in the making — was finally over.