In the early afternoon of March 12, a mob spearheaded by its military elements, successfully attacked the Arsenal; from then on virtually every revolutionary who wanted a rifle had one. Later the same afternoon the revolutionaries sacked the headquarters of the Okhrana, set the central court buildings on fire, and finally captured the seemingly impregnable island fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Czarist Bastille. Various jails were raided and the prisoners released. By the end of the day General Khabalov’s command had dwindled for all practical purposes to about 2000 loyal troops,
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