The Russian Army and the Japanese War, Vol. 2 (of 2) / Being Historical and Critical Comments on the Military Policy and Power of Russia and on the Campaign in the Far East

by A. N. Kuropatkin

III.

The enemy’s army began to weaken in the moral as well as the material sense.

To drive back our army northwards to Hsi-ping-kai called for immense efforts and many sacrifices on the part of the Japanese. I have stated (in [Chapter VII.]) that our Headquarter Staff estimated the total peace establishment of their army at 110,000 men [of which 13,000 were always absent on furlough and leave], and the reserve and territorial forces at only 315,000, so that the total number available for service was, as we thought, not more than 425,000. But, according to the figures of the Japanese army medical authorities, more than 1,000,000 men were called up to the colours, which must have demanded a great effort on the part of the nation. It was found necessary also, during the war, to alter the existing laws so as to catch those men who had already completed their time in the reserve for a further period of service in the regular army, and to draft into the ranks in 1904 and 1905 the recruit contingent of 1906 as well as that of 1905. (Towards the end we began to find old men and boys amongst our prisoners.) Their casualties were very high; in the Cemetery of Honour in Tokio alone 60,600 men killed in battle were buried, and to these must be added more than 50,000 who died of wounds. Thus it appears from these two sources alone that they lost 110,000—a figure equal to the whole peace establishment of the army. Taking into account our standing peace army of 1,000,000 men, our losses were comparatively far lighter than those of the Japanese. In all some 554,000 men passed through their hospitals during the war, of whom 220,000[55] were wound cases. Altogether they lost 135,000 men killed and died of wounds and sickness. Their losses in officers were particularly heavy, and the men fought with such stubborn bravery that whole regiments, and even brigades, were on certain occasions almost wiped out of existence. This happened, for instance, in the fight for Putiloff Hill,[56] on October 15; also during the February fighting for the position held by the 3rd Siberians on the Kiao-tu Ling [Pass]; in the battle of March 7, at Tu-hung-tun[57] and other points. At Liao-yang and Mukden the majority of the enemy’s troops suffered very heavily in their frontal attack of our positions, and failed to take them. The fate of these battles was decided by turning movements. In the fighting on the Sha Ho they tried hard to force us back towards Mukden, and many of their units were again and again driven off our positions, and only occupied them after we had abandoned them of our own accord. The spirit of these Japanese troops who had thus seen no success attend their individual efforts could not but be shaken. Again, the ever-increasing determination displayed by our men must have affected their spirit. Their regulars had been placed hors de combat in considerable numbers, and however quickly the recruits might be called up and trained, it was not to be expected that they would be able to develop the same stubbornness in defence, and the same dash in attack, that their comrades had possessed in the first campaign. This was noticeable in the fighting in front of Mukden, but especially near Hsi-ping-kai. While our scouting parties, and the troops of the advanced posts, were pressing the enemy more and more boldly, we began to notice a comparative lack of enterprise on their part, coupled with a want of their former daring, and even their watchfulness. Perhaps the strain of war was beginning to tell on the Southern temperament. Indeed, for six whole months they gave us time to strengthen ourselves and fortify, without once attempting to attack and press us back on the Sungari, and so inflict a crushing defeat. While we remained at Hsi-ping-kai the number of prisoners taken by us began to increase, and they ceased to display the fanaticism shown by those captured in 1904. Many openly acknowledged that they were weary of the war, and from the nature of numerous letters from Japan found on the killed and prisoners, it was evident that this weariness was general. These letters also told of the heavy increase in taxation during the war, of the increased cost of the necessities of life, and of the dearth of employment. Once an entire company surrendered in front of the positions held by the 1st Siberians, a thing that had never happened before. Nor were the enemy well situated as regards material. Money became more and more scarce, while the requirements of the growing army increased. Particular difficulty was found in quickly replenishing artillery ammunition. This was very noticeable on the Sha Ho.

But what must have been the most serious source of anxiety to Japan was the indifference which Europe and America were beginning to show to her successes. At first it had seemed profitable to Great Britain and Germany that Russia and Japan should be drawn into war, for when they were exhausted the hands of both would be tied—ours in Europe, and Japan’s in Asia. Nevertheless, it was not to the interest of Europe generally to allow the triumph of the Japanese in the battlefields of Manchuria to become absolute. A victorious Japan might join with China, and raise the standard of “Asia for the Asiatics.” The extinction of all European and American enterprises in Asia would be the first object of this new great Power, and the expulsion of Europeans from Asia would be the end. There is already little enough room on the Continent of Europe. Without the markets of the wide world she could not exist, and the cries of “America for the Americans,” “Asia for the Asiatics,” “Africa for the Africans,” are of serious import for her. But the danger is approaching, and is so imminent that the Powers of Europe will be forced to sink their differences and unite in order to withstand the attempt of the young nations[58] to drive old Europe home into the narrow shell which she has long since outgrown. We might have taken advantage of this change in international feeling, and have tried to close the money markets of the world to Japan. Only one decisive victory on our part was wanted to bring about a very serious reaction both in Japan and in the army in the field. If we had exhausted her financial resources, and had continued the war, we might soon have compelled her to seek an honourable peace, which would have been advantageous to us.

At Mukden we fought with a shortage in establishment of 300,000 men; we began the war with inconsiderable forces; we conducted it under the most unfavourable conditions, and without the support of the country; we were, moreover, weakened by disturbances in the interior, and were connected with Russia only by a single-track weak line. In these impossible conditions we put 300,000 of the enemy hors de combat, and had 600,000 rifles ready at Hsi-ping-kai at a time when they were beginning to flag. If we attained such results, can it be said that our army accomplished but little? Is it fair to continue applying the epithet “Disgraceful” to the war? It cannot be denied that both the troops and their leaders did less in the time at their disposal than they might have done if properly supported by the country; but by the summer of 1905 conditions had begun to change in our favour. The conquered are always judged severely, and the leaders should naturally be the first to bear the responsibility for disaster to the troops under them. We can only be judged as acquitted because of our readiness to continue the struggle—a readiness which was created, and grew stronger in the army in spite of disaster. We believed in the possibility and certainty of victory, and if it had not been for the serious internal disturbances in Russia, we should have undoubtedly been able to prove the truth of our belief in battle.

Even the inhabitants of Moscow, where, in all the difficult times the nation has passed through, a manly and determined voice has always been raised in support of the honour and dignity of Russia, showed that their spirits had on this occasion fallen. It was with amazement and sorrow that we read of a certain action of the Moscow Town Council on June 7, 1905. The news had immense effect on the army, and on hearing of it I sent the following letter[59] to Prince Trubetski, the President of the Moscow nobility:

“An overwhelming impression has been produced throughout the army by the news which has reached us from home that many poor-spirited people are trying to bring about an early peace. It is forgotten that a peace made before victory has been won cannot be honourable, and will not therefore be permanent. Never has our army been so strong and so ready for serious battle as now. Victory is nearer than seems likely to those at a distance. The troops have great belief in the new Commander-in-Chief;[60] they are assured of everything necessary to their wants, and their health is excellent. We would welcome news of the enemy’s advance, and are ready to move against them, when ordered to, with full faith in our strength. The troops have become war-seasoned. Even those units which were for various reasons not as steady as they should have been in the early fights are now thoroughly reliable. Numbers of wounded officers and men are hastening to rejoin, though not completely convalescent. Though we have lost the fleet, the army remains to us, and, I repeat, it is more powerful than it ever was before. Our position is altogether stronger and, tactically, better placed than those we held at Liao-yang or Mukden, for the Japanese do not envelop us in the same way. Though their forces have also been growing in numbers, there are many indications that their strength is on the wane: their ranks are being filled with men who formerly would not have been accepted, and the whole spirit of the army has undergone a change. More men allow themselves to be taken prisoners than before; their artillery and cavalry are weaker than ours, and they are short of gun ammunition. Letters from Japan, which we have found on the men, show that a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the war is growing among the people, for prices have gone up, and they are enduring great privations. These are the conditions under which I to-day read in letters from Moscow that on June 7 the Town Council discussed the advisability of inviting the representatives of the people to consider the question of putting an end to the war. Last February, on my departure for the front, you, in the name of all the representatives of Moscow, bade me farewell with words full of courage and of faith in the might of Russia. I therefore consider it my duty to send this letter to you. If the Muscovites do not feel as able as before to send their worthiest sons to us to help us overcome the foe, let them at least not prevent us from doing our duty in Manchuria.

“Although there is nothing of a secret nature in this letter, its publication in the Press over my signature is very undesirable.”

In reply, Prince Trubetski wrote to me on June 14 as follows:

“I have handed over your telegram, which greatly touched me, to the Mayor and Zemstvo; I will communicate its contents to as many as I can, and I will do everything that is possible to get action taken on it. If it may be considered necessary by the Tsar to end the war, I do not think it should be discussed beforehand in committees. May God help you! My whole heart is with you.”

But the efforts of individuals were powerless to check the march of events. The serious state of Russia’s internal affairs and the hostile—to put the best construction on it—indifference of the people resulted in peace being prematurely concluded. The consequences of making such a peace, by which Japan was recognized as Russia’s conqueror in Asia, will have serious results not only for us, but for all the Powers who have possessions or interests on that continent. The “Yellow peril,” the appearance of which has only recently been foreseen, is now a reality. Notwithstanding her victorious issue from the war, Japan is hurriedly increasing her forces, while China is forming a large army under the guidance of Japanese officers and on the Japanese model. In a very short space of time she and Japan will be able to pour an army of more than 1,500,000 into Manchuria, which, if directed against us, could proceed to take a great deal of Siberia from Russia, and reduce her to a second-rate Power.

We have seen above how the absence of any previous diplomatic arrangements forced us to keep the greater part of our armed forces in European Russia during the war, which fact constituted one of the reasons of our reverses (the Guards and Grenadiers Corps remained in Russia, while the reserve troops fought in Manchuria). We have one consolation in that we now know that our Western neighbours are not pursuing any policy of aggression against us, for they had an excellent opportunity in the years 1905 and 1906[61] to alter the existing frontier had they wished to do so. We may hope, therefore, to be able to come to some understanding with the Powers of Europe by which, should we be again attacked in the Far East, we shall be able to throw the whole of our armed forces into a struggle with either Japan or Japan and China combined. Another reason for our failure is the fact that we were unable rapidly to make full use of such forces as were available, because of the weakness of railway communication between Russia and Manchuria. It is clear that, as matters now stand in the Far East, the laying of a second track over the Siberian line and the construction of a railway along the bank of the Amur are so vital for us that no time should be lost in doing these things. The mere construction of a line along the Amur can help us but little, while a double-track line, even with forty-eight trains in the twenty-four hours, cannot, of course, satisfy all the requirements of the great army we should have to put in the field in the event of a fresh war. In future we shall only be able to rely to a small extent upon the vast supplies of food in Manchuria, and shall be obliged to convey the greater portion not only of our munitions of war, but of our food-supplies, from European Russia and Siberia. It will therefore be necessary to make use of our water communications, for the failure of the attempt to transport supplies in 1905 by the Arctic Ocean and the River Yenissei cannot be considered final. Particular assistance also could be afforded to the army by increasing the population of Siberia, and so at the same time augmenting the local resources necessary for an army. The rich reserves of metals, coals, and timber in that part will assist us in bringing nearer to the Far East not only our food-supply base, but also our war base (for ordnance, ammunition, explosives, etc.).

Among the main reasons for our disasters must be mentioned the indifferent, even hostile attitude of the people to the late war; but the menace to our nation from the Far East is now so clear that all grades of society ought to prepare—in case of a fresh attack on Russia by Japan or China—to rise like one man to defend the integrity and the greatness of our Fatherland.

Thus, to attain success in any such future war, which is by no means an improbable contingency, we should strive—

1. To be in a position to make use of all our troops;

2. To have thorough railway communication between the Pri-Amur and Russia;

3.  To prepare the waterways of Siberia for the carriage of heavy goods in bulk from west to east;

4. To move the army’s base as far as possible from Russia into Siberia; and, what is most important—

5. To make ready to carry on a new war not only with the army, but with the whole of a patriotic nation.

History had apparently destined Russia to undergo a bitter trial from 1904 to 1906, both on the field of battle and at home. Our great nation has issued renewed and strengthened from still heavier trials, and let us not doubt now but that Russia, summoned by the Tsar to a new life, will quickly recover from the temporary blows which she has sustained, and will not fall from her high place among the other nations of the world. As regards the army, its bitter experiences should not on this occasion fail to bear fruit, and the most detailed, thorough, and fearless study of all its defects can only bring about a renewal and increase of strength. We must remember one point—and it is the main point: our officers and many of the men conducted themselves most unselfishly in most difficult circumstances. Given this, all our other faults can be comparatively quickly mended; but before all else, we must not be afraid of openly acknowledging them.

Strength lies—in the truth.

In this important work of rejuvenation which is now beginning in Russia for the good of the people and the army, we must remember the great words of the Tsar to the Army and Fleet almost two years ago:

“Russia is mighty. During the thousand years of her existence there have been years of still greater suffering—years when greater danger menaced. Yet she has every time issued from the struggle with fresh glory, with added might.

“Though we may be sore at heart on account of the disasters and losses that have befallen us, do not let us be discouraged. By them Russia’s strength is renewed and her power increased.

“A. N. KUROPATKIN, General.

“Sheshurino,[62]
“November 30, 1906.”

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END OF VOLUME IV. OF THE ORIGINAL

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CHAPTER XIII
INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION TO VOLUME III.[63]

When war seemed likely, the following scheme for the strategical distribution of the troops in the Far East in the event of hostilities was agreed to by the Viceroy, Alexeieff:

1. The major portion of the troops, consisting of 60 infantry battalions, 65 squadrons, 2 sapper battalions, and 160 guns (total, 65,000 rifles and sabres), were to be sent into Southern Manchuria. The main body was to be concentrated in the area Hai-cheng–Liao-yang, and the advance guard[64] moved forward to the Ya-lu.

2. The garrison of Port Arthur was to consist of the 7th East Siberian Rifle Division (12 battalions), 2 battalions of fortress artillery, and 1 company of sappers. The 5th East Siberian Rifle Regiment, consisting of 4 battalions with 6 guns, was also detailed for the defence of the Kuan-tung district, to augment the strength of the garrison if necessary.

3. The garrison of Vladivostok was to consist of the 8th East Siberian Rifle Division (8 battalions of infantry), with 2 battalions of fortress artillery, 2 sapper companies, and 1 mining company.

4. That of Nikolaievsk was to be 1 fortress infantry battalion, 1 fortress artillery company, and 1 mining company.

This scheme, by which the force detailed for the defence of Port Arthur and the whole Kuan-tung Peninsula was limited to sixteen battalions, was due to our exaggerated idea of the strength and invincibility of our Pacific Ocean Fleet. According to the Viceroy, it was founded on the following opinion, expressed by Admiral Witgeft, Chief of Alexeieff’s temporary naval staff:

“According to the present relative strengths of the two fleets, the possibility of ours being defeated is a contingency that need not be considered, and until it has been destroyed it is inconceivable that the Japanese can land at Newchuang or any other spot on the Gulf of Korea.”

FIELD-MARSHAL MARQUIS IWAO OYAMA.

But such an attenuation of our force in this quarter was contrary to the opinion of a committee—attended by me in my capacity of War Minister—which sat in Port Arthur in June, 1903. The Viceroy and senior commanders of the garrison were present at the meeting when it was resolved and recorded as “essential” that the 3rd Siberian Corps should be formed for the defence of Kuan-tung, in addition to the 7th East Siberian Rifle Division, its permanent garrison, and that this corps should be composed of the 3rd and 4th East Siberian Rifle Divisions, each of twelve battalions. In fact, it was considered necessary to have thirty-six battalions of infantry, exclusive of reserve battalions, for the defence of Port Arthur and the Peninsula. This formation of a special army corps for Kuan-tung was thought to be necessitated by the existence so close to Port Arthur of Dalny, a magnificently equipped port, connected by railway to the fortress, and a most convenient base for operations against it.

Feeling that the force allotted to the defence of the Peninsula was inadequate, on February 11 I telegraphed as War Minister to Alexeieff that I considered it imperative that the 9th East Siberian Rifle Division—then under formation—should be sent there in place of the 3rd East Siberian Rifle Division, ordered to the Ya-lu. The Viceroy did not concur in this view, but he temporarily retained the 13th and 14th East Siberian Rifle Regiments.

On February 20, 1904, I was appointed to the command of the Manchurian Army. In my first communication to the Viceroy (No. 1 of February 24) I again expressed the opinion that, in view of the possibility of it being besieged by four or five Japanese divisions, our first efforts should be directed to strengthening Port Arthur. And I further stated:

“If Port Arthur is weakly garrisoned, and should be besieged, I might be tempted by that fact to assume the offensive before there has been sufficient time to concentrate our forces. It is for this reason that I have already advised the concentration of the 9th Division in Kuan-tung to replace the 3rd.”

However, the Viceroy again disagreed with me, and wrote in a despatch of March 1:

“Separate operations against the fortress would only be really worth undertaking if the enemy could make certain of seizing it by a coup de main, and the moment for this has passed. The land front is becoming more formidable every day, and, though not complete, the works are now well advanced; 200 additional guns have been mounted in Port Arthur itself, and more than forty at Chin-chou; the strength of the garrison is being brought up by the reservists arriving from Trans-Baikalia, and the stocks of supplies are being increased. All the bays nearest the fortress, as well as the port of Dalny, have been mined, and for the rest—the oft-proved stubbornness of the Russian soldier in defence can be relied on.”

He had already reported to the Tsar that—

“Although separate operations against Port Arthur would threaten the fortress itself with all the hardships of a siege or blockade, they would be rather advantageous to our arms as a whole, for they would entail a division of the enemy’s forces.”

As regards my own recommendations upon the plan of operations to be followed against Japan, I drew up two memoranda, which I submitted to the Tsar on February 15 and March 4. In the former I stated:

“In the first phase of the campaign our main object should be to prevent the destruction of our forces in detail. The apparent importance of any single locality or position (fortresses excepted) should not lead us into the great error of holding it in insufficient force, which would bring about the very result we are so anxious to prevent. While gradually growing in numbers and preparing to take the offensive, we should only move forward when sufficiently strong, and when supplied with everything necessary for an uninterrupted advance lasting over a fairly long period.”

Against this the Tsar was pleased to note in his own handwriting the words “Quite so.”

SKETCH MAP OF AREA CONTAINING THE BATTLE FELDS
OF LIAO-YANG, THE SHA HO, HEI-KOU-TAI, AND MUKDEN
SHOWING SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT PLACES MENTIONED

I left St. Petersburg on March 12, and arrived at Liao-yang on the 28th. On this date there were collected in the concentration area in Southern Manchuria 59 battalions,[65] 39 squadrons and sotnias, and 140 guns. The distribution was as follows:

The Southern Force (under General Sakharoff) of the 1st and 9th East Siberian Rifle Divisions—20 battalions, 6 squadrons, and 54 guns—was in the area Hai-cheng—Ta-shih-chiao—Newchuang—Kai-ping.

The Eastern (Advance) Force (under General Kashtalinski) of the 3rd East Siberian Rifle Division—8 battalions, 24 guns, 8 mountain and 8 machine-guns—was moved to the Ya-lu.

The Mounted Force (under General Mischenko) of 18 squadrons and 6 guns was operating in Northern Korea.

The Main Body was divided into two groups:

At An-shan-chan: 5th East Siberian Rifle Division of 8 battalions and 24 guns.

At Liao-yang: 2nd Brigades of the 31st and 35th Infantry Divisions, 22nd and 24th East Siberian Rifle Regiments—21 battalions, 10 squadrons, and 24 guns.

In addition to these, the 23rd East Siberian Rifle Regiment—3 battalions and 4 guns—was allotted to the protection of the Viceroy’s Headquarters.

In Port Arthur were the 7th East Siberian Rifle Division—12 battalions, 2 reserve battalions, 3½ battalions of fortress artillery, and a sapper and mining company.

In Kuan-tung were the 5th, 13th, 14th, and 15th East Siberian Rifle Regiments, 1 battalion of the 16th East Siberian Rifle Regiment, 2 battalions of the 18th East Siberian Rifle Regiment, and 1 reserve battalion—12 battalions, 20 guns, and 1 sotnia of Cossacks.

On my arrival I approved the following scheme of engineering works: The fortification of the positions on the Fen-shui Ling (Passes), and at Liao-yang, Mukden, and Tieh-ling; the construction of roads across the passes to the Ya-lu, and of three parallel roads from Kai-ping to Mukden; the construction of crossings over the Liao River, and the hutting of three army corps. I at once took steps also to strengthen our advance guard on the Ya-lu, which was some 133 miles distant. Two regiments of the 6th East Siberian Rifle Division were sent there, in addition to the third battalions for the regiments of the 3rd East Siberian Rifle Division. By the time, therefore, that the enemy began crossing the Ya-lu, the Eastern (Advance) Force had been increased to eighteen battalions, besides which the 21st East Siberian Rifle Regiment had been moved towards Ta-shih-chiao. The advance guard was under General Zasulitch. Meanwhile the units of the 1st Siberian Division were detained by Alexeieff in Harbin, so that, from the middle of March to the middle of April, the Manchurian Army did not receive a single battalion from the rear.

Notwithstanding the orders Zasulitch had received to avoid a decisive engagement with the enemy, who had the superiority in numbers, on May 1 part of his force became hotly engaged in what developed into a serious fight at the Ya-lu, and after a disastrous finish his eastern force was withdrawn to the passes of the greater Fen-shui-ling range, which they reached on May 7. In this action only nine of our eighteen battalions took any active part, those of the 11th and 12th East Siberian Rifle Regiments showing great gallantry and determination. When asked why he had disobeyed the orders repeatedly given to him not to become entangled in a serious engagement, but to fall back on Feng-huang-cheng, Zasulitch gave as his reason that he had hoped to defeat the enemy. On May 5 the Japanese began debarking at Pi-tzu-wo, and a small force of all arms under General Zikoff was detached from the southern force in order to reconnoitre and ascertain the importance of this landing. The advance of this column incidentally enabled us to repair temporarily the portion of the line which the enemy had destroyed, and so to run a train-load of mélinite shells, machine-guns, and ammunition through to Port Arthur. The Emperor was fully alive to the danger of the situation caused by the dispersion of the Manchurian Army, and on May 11 telegraphed his orders for an immediate concentration. This was completed by the 14th, and the force was grouped on two points—Hai-cheng and Liao-yang. The former group consisted of twenty-seven battalions, twelve squadrons and sotnias, and eighty guns; the latter of twenty-eight battalions, six sotnias, and eighty-eight guns. The passes over the Fen-shui-ling range were guarded by small columns of infantry with guns, and advance and flank guards were thrown out. The independent cavalry, operating on our flanks east of the passes, was divided in two bodies, under Mischenko and Rennenkampf. West of Liao-yang was a small force under General Kossagovski, while five and a half battalions of the 1st Siberian Division lay at Mukden. At this time also, when the Viceroy returned to Port Arthur (after Admiral Makharoff’s death of April 13), the weakness of the place began to be shown up, and Alexeieff’s apprehensions as to its safety became acute. In a despatch of May 16 he questioned whether the place “would be able to hold out for more than two or three months, in spite of all the steps taken to strengthen its defences.” On April 25 the Chief of the Viceroy’s Staff telegraphed to me that, owing to the inadequacy of the garrison, Alexeieff considered it essential that if the fortress were attacked, the field army should support it as energetically and rapidly as possible. Alexeieff was not singular in his pessimistic views, for Stössel also gave up hope of a successful defence of Port Arthur directly after he had so unnecessarily abandoned the Chin-chou position on May 27. On the 28th I received a telegram from him urging me to support him speedily and in strength. This opinion was again endorsed by Alexeieff, who telegraphed on June 5 that “Port Arthur cannot strictly be called a storm-proof fortress, and it is a question whether it can even stand a siege of the length indicated in my telegram of May 16.”

The result of this volte-face on the part of Alexeieff as to the powers of resistance of the place was that he pressed me to send part of the army at once to assist it, though we were by no means ready for such an enterprise. On May 21 he wrote that he considered the moment in every way favourable for the army to assume the offensive in one of two directions—either towards the Ya-lu, with the object of defeating and throwing Kuroki back across the river, detaching a force to contain him there, and then moving on to relieve Port Arthur, or else direct on that place.

It should be borne in mind that these instructions were given at a time when the position of only two of the hostile armies had been fixed. Of these, one—of three divisions and three reserve brigades—had forced the crossing of the Ya-lu, and the other—of three divisions—had landed near Pi-tzu-wo. Moreover, a landing, of the extent of which we had no information, was then being carried out at Ta-ku-shan. Consequently we did not know the destination of one-half of the enemy’s army, and were thus not in possession of two important pieces of knowledge which were necessary before any operations of a decisive character could be undertaken—namely, the position of the enemy’s main forces and their probable plan of operations. It was incumbent on us, therefore, to exercise great caution, and to keep our forces as far as possible concentrated, so as to be ready to meet the attack of two or even three armies. Concerning the two directions in which the Viceroy advocated an advance, the following few points suggest themselves. For any operations towards the Ya-lu—bearing in mind the necessity for guarding our flank and rear against one hostile force landing at Pi-tzu-wo, and possibly others landing near Kai-ping or Newchuang—not more than sixty to seventy battalions were available of the ninety-four which in the middle of May constituted the army; the whole of the food for these troops had to be brought up by rail, owing to the exhaustion of the local resources—never very plentiful—in the hilly country between Liao-yang and Feng-huang-cheng: we had not got the transport to do this, for our ten transport trains could only have carried a three or four days’ supply for a force of this size; the usual May and June rains would have made the movement of our guns and baggage at first difficult, and then impossible, and we had at that time no mountain artillery or pack transport; we were by no means well placed in the matter of artillery parks: the horses for those of the 5th, 6th, and 9th East Siberian Rifle Artillery Divisions were still en route to Harbin, while the 1st and 2nd Siberian Divisions had arrived without any. Finally, if Kuroki should fall back behind the Ya-lu without accepting battle, we should have been obliged to retire and leave at least an army corps to contain him. When the rainy season came on, this corps itself would have been obliged to withdraw, as with interrupted communications it would have been seriously threatened by Kuroki’s far larger force, well provided with both mountain artillery and pack transport. For these reasons an offensive towards the Ya-lu was impracticable.

Under the conditions laid down by the Viceroy as to keeping screens on the Fen-shui Ling (Passes), and leaving a reserve at Hai-cheng[66] until such time as fresh reinforcements had been received, a direct advance on Port Arthur could only be made with one corps of twenty-four battalions. In view of the possibility of Kuroki taking the offensive in superior force (after reinforcement by the troops already beginning to land at Ta-ku-shan) against our cordon, which extended along the Fen-shui-ling range for more than sixty-six miles, and in view of the possibility of the Japanese cutting off any detachment moving on Port Arthur by landing somewhere in its rear, the despatch of this corps 130 miles to the south could not but be considered a most risky and difficult operation.

As our numerical weakness absolutely precluded a general assumption of the offensive on our part, I pointed out that by such a movement for the relief of Port Arthur we risked disorganizing the whole army. I also drew attention to the fact that, according to the report of Captain Gurko, who had just arrived from the fortress, its combatant strength amounted to at least 45,000 men (including sailors), and that the enemy could not therefore have any very overwhelming superiority. My views upon the inexpediency of any movement towards Port Arthur were communicated to the War Minister in my telegrams (Nos. 692 and 701) of May 28 and 30. But in a telegram of the 31st the Viceroy urgently requested me to advance to the relief of the fortress, and expressed the wish that four divisions should be detailed for the operation; while on June 6 he quoted to me a message from St. Petersburg in which it was stated that the time was “ripe for the Manchurian Army to assume the offensive.”

At the end of May the first reinforcements—the 3rd Siberian Division—began to arrive in the concentration area. This enabled me to increase the force detailed for the advance into Kuan-tung up to 32 battalions,[67] 22 squadrons and sotnias, and 100 guns. As a reserve to this force, the 2nd Brigade of the 31st Division was placed in the area Kai-ping—Hsiung-yao-cheng, and to a brigade of the 3rd Siberians was allotted the duty of watching the coast from Newchuang to the latter place. To hold Kuroki and the troops under Nodzu that had landed at Ta-ku-shan in check, 40 battalions, 52 sotnias, and 94 guns were left on the Fen-shui Ling (Passes), distributed over a length of more than sixty-six miles. The general reserve consisted of the 5th East Siberian Rifle Division at Liao-yang, and a brigade of the 3rd Siberian Division at Hai-cheng. Early in June the force detailed under General Shtakelberg for the operations towards Port Arthur began to concentrate at Te-li-ssu, with its advance guard at Wa-fang-tien. On the 13th the Japanese themselves began to advance from Pu-lan-tien, and by the evening of that day we had been able to rail two regiments of the 9th East Siberian Rifle Division into Te-li-ssu. On the 14th the enemy’s attack of our position there was repulsed, and on the following day Shtakelberg proposed to make a counter attack, having been reinforced at noon by the Tobolsk Regiment. However, the battle ended in our defeat, and we were forced to fall back. General Gerngross, who was in command of the 1st East Siberian Rifle Division, was wounded, but remained in action. Shtakelberg’s orders gave him freedom of action, but he was instructed not to accept decisive battle if the enemy were in superior numbers. Simultaneously with the enemy’s advance from the south, Kuroki moved forward on the 14th to the Ta Ling[68] (Pass) from Hsiu-yen, where three (according to some reports four) Japanese divisions were concentrated. Their 12th Division and three reserve brigades were left to watch our eastern force, and a further movement on Kai-ping, Ta-shih-chiao, or Hai-cheng was quite likely.

In order to be in a position to check the combined advance of the two Japanese groups, I thought it advisable to strengthen our southern force, and therefore so rearranged our dispositions that 87 out of 110 battalions were massed on the southern front, in the area Kai-ping—Hai-cheng, against Oku and Nogi. Fortunately for us, the critical position of our eastern front during the operations at Te-li-ssu was not appreciated by Kuroki, which fact favoured Count Keller’s demonstration towards Feng-huang-cheng in the middle of June. Otherwise Kuroki might have seized Liao-yang. On the 25th the enemy’s advance against our eastern force was commenced. On the 27th Keller withdrew some of his troops from the Fen-shui Ling (Passes) without opposition, and by July 1 the main body was concentrated seven miles east of Lang-tzu-shan and twenty-seven from Liao-yang. On June 27, without any serious engagement, but under pressure from the enemy, we abandoned the Fen-shui Ling (Passes), which they at once occupied. A few days previously—on June 23—about a division of the enemy had been located by Rennenkampf to the east of Sai-ma-chi. Believing that Hai-cheng constituted our greatest danger, as the enemy might, if they gained a success there, cut off Shtakelberg’s force close by, on the 29th I concentrated forty-one battalions and eighteen sotnias under Zasulitch at Hsi-mu-cheng, intending with them to hurl back the enemy on to their Hai-cheng line of advance. However, on the same day we discovered that those of the enemy who had moved at first from the Ta Ling (Pass) along the Hsi-mu-cheng road had again retired to it.

This danger being temporarily averted, I ordered the 31st Infantry Division back to Hai-cheng. As the defence of Liao-yang from the east was the next most urgent matter, a brigade of the 9th Division, which had just arrived from Russia, was moved to Lang-tzu-shan to act as a reserve to the eastern force, which had been previously augmented by the return to it of two regiments of the 3rd East Siberian Rifle Division. The other brigade was sent, under General Hershelman, who commanded the division, to Hsi-kei-an village [at the junction of the Liao-yang and Mukden roads], so as to cover the left flank of the eastern force and guard the road to Mukden. Taking into consideration the considerable increase of the eastern force, I ordered Count Keller to take the offensive, so as again to get possession of the passes. He did so, but although he had forty battalions under his command, he advanced with only twenty-four. Though our troops were successful in the early hours of July 17, thanks to the gallant conduct of the 24th East Siberian Rifles under Colonel Lechitski, the result of the day’s action was not favourable. Keller stopped the advance before even bringing into action his strong reserves, with the result that at nightfall the eastern force was once more on its former positions on the Yang-tzu Ling (Pass). On the 19th the brigade of the 9th Division was driven from its position at Chiao-tou, and fell back towards Hu-chia-tzu.[69]

By the middle of July the disposition of the enemy’s forces was approximately as follows: Kuroki, with three field divisions and reserves, had captured the three Fen-shui Ling and Mo-Tien Ling (Passes), and, with his outposts thrown out on the roads to Liao-yang, had reached the valley of the Tang Ho, a tributary of the Tai-tzu Ho. Nodzu, with an army of approximately the same strength, had captured the passes on the Kai-ping, Ta-shih-chiao, and Hai-cheng roads, and had two divisions and a brigade in reserve on the Hai-cheng line of advance and one on the Ta-shih-chiao line. Oku, having moved up from Kuan-tung with his army of some four divisions, had driven back our outposts and occupied Kai-ping. Two brigades were left in reserve on the line Feng-huang-cheng—Kuan-tien-chang. Thus, according to our information, two armies of about 90 to 100 battalions had advanced against us from the east, and one of about 50 to 60 battalions from the south, whilst Nogi’s army of 3 divisions and 2 reserve brigades had been left to operate against Port Arthur. Our dispositions were briefly: 44 battalions against Kuroki’s army; 28 battalions on the line Fen-shui-ling—Hai-cheng against 2 divisions and 1 reserve brigade of Nodzu’s army; 48 battalions against Oku’s army, and 1 division of Nodzu’s; 16 battalions were in the general reserve at Hai-cheng, and four in garrison at Liao-yang. It must, however, be borne in mind that the effective strength of our battalions was very far short of the prescribed establishment.[70] From the beginning of the war up to July only 3,600 men were received in the way of drafts.

With the above dispositions of the opposing forces, we should, according to the theory of the art of war, have been able to operate on “interior lines.” But for us this was extremely difficult, as, in the first place, we had not enough men to attain the necessary superiority over any one of the hostile groups without laying ourselves open to defeat by the other two; and, in the second, the rains had so seriously damaged the roads as to prevent the rapid movement (as we had heavy guns and baggage) necessary for successful action even on interior lines. Finally, as their bases (Korea, Ta-ku-shan, Pi-tzu-wo) were enveloping it was possible for each of their groups to refuse an unequal battle, and fall back without exposing its communications. Still, notwithstanding these unfavourable conditions, it was proposed to attack Kuroki, who menaced our communications most, at the earliest favourable moment. The troops which could be employed to strike him were distributed in two directions: twenty-four battalions of the eastern force on the main road from Liao-yang to Lang-tzu-shan, with its outposts on the Yang-tzu-ling heights; and twenty-four battalions of the 10th Army Corps on the line Liao-yang—Sai-ma-chi, with its outposts five miles short of Chiao-tou. Twenty-four battalions of the 17th Corps were told off to remain as a reserve to these two groups at Liao-yang, while to prevent our left flank being turned, and to cover the Mukden road, the 11th Pskoff and 2nd Dagestan Regiments, which had just arrived from Russia, were ordered to Pen-hsi-hu. But on July 23, when I inspected the 10th Corps, I found that it was absolutely incapable of operating in the hills, as it had no pack-animals. In fact, those companies on outpost duty on steep or high ground had actually to remain all day without food or water. As the units of the 17th Corps were in a similar condition, it was impossible even to think of at once assuming the offensive.

Meanwhile, on the 23rd and 24th, the enemy themselves took the initiative by attacking the 1st and 4th Siberian Corps south of Ta-shih-chiao. In spite of the fact that the position held by these corps was very extended (eleven miles), and was divided in the centre by a rocky ridge, and that its left flank could have been easily turned, all the enemy’s efforts were repulsed. The regiments of the 4th Siberians, who bore the heat and burden of the day, behaved splendidly, but “in view of the great superiority of the enemy and the development of an attack from the direction of Ta-ling,” Zarubaeff, who was given general instructions but allowed freedom of action, decided early on the morning of the 25th to withdraw his force towards Hai-cheng. On learning of this, I ordered General Sluchevski to make immediate preparations for offensive operations, and, if Kuroki should cross the Tai-tzu Ho and move towards Mukden, at once to advance, whether his troops were prepared for operating in the hills or not, and endeavour to strike Kuroki’s communications. However painful the abandonment of the port of Newchuang was for us after our tactical success at Ta-shih-chiao—for the enemy could now make use of it as a new base—the strategical position of our army was improved. With the departure of the southern force towards Hai-cheng, our greatly extended front was diminished by twenty miles.

On July 31 the enemy advanced all along the line. As far as our southern group was concerned, their blow was directed against Zasulitch, who was holding a position west of Hsi-mu-cheng, especially against his right flank, which was driven back in spite of the devoted efforts of the Voronej and Kozloff Regiments. As any further success on their part threatened to cut off the 2nd Siberians from the main body of the southern group, I withdrew Zasulitch’s force to Hai-cheng. On the same day, the enemy’s operations on the eastern front were directed against both our groups. In the action on the Yang-tzu Ling (Pass) General Count Keller was killed, and the unexpected death of this gallant commander, together with the abandonment without orders by the 23rd East Siberian Rifle Regiment[71] of the position which protected his left flank, greatly influenced Kashtalinski (Keller’s successor) in coming to his too hasty decision to withdraw the force to Lang-tzu-shan. At the same time the 10th Corps was taken partly by surprise,[72] and driven from its advanced posts towards Hu-chia-tzu. Sluchevski, learning of the retirement of the eastern force towards Lang-tzu-shan, and fearing for his right flank, then withdrew his corps to An-ping. In these operations the corps commander displayed a lack of energy, and several regiments showed great unsteadiness, especially the reservists, many of whom actually left the ranks during the progress of the fight.

The complicated nature of the situation now necessitated extreme caution on our part, lest anything should prevent our concentration in strength at Liao-yang, and there fighting a decisive battle against all three Japanese armies with some hope of success. From Liao-yang to our position on the eastern front, An-ping–Lang-tzu-shan, was twenty miles, and to Hai-cheng forty miles. In order to insure the movement of the troops on the southern front to their positions at Liao-yang in good time, it was necessary to move them from Hai-cheng to the position at An-shan-chan—fifteen miles from Liao-yang—which was fortified at the beginning of the war. The retirement began early on August 2, and on the following day the troops were concentrated on the position. In my report to the Tsar of August 4, I gave the following general reasons for withdrawing to the line An-shan-chan–Lang-tzu-shan–An-ping after the July fighting:

1. The Japanese superiority in numbers.

2. They were accustomed to hills and hot weather; they were younger, carried lighter loads, and had numerous mountain artillery and pack transport.

3. Their energetic and intelligent leadership.

4. The extraordinary patriotism and military spirit of their troops; and

5. The lack of such a spirit on our side (caused by general ignorance of what we were fighting for).

Every moment gained at the beginning of August was of great importance to us, as the units of the 5th Siberians, which the Viceroy agreed to send to the front—instead of into the Pri-Amur district, as was proposed earlier—should have been beginning to arrive in Liao-yang. Orders were therefore issued to fortify an advanced position half a march from Liao-yang in addition to the main position at that place, and for this time was required. Still, in spite of the obvious and immense importance of every day we gained by delaying the enemy’s advance, General Bilderling, who had taken over the command of our eastern front from July 31, wrote that it was necessary to withdraw his troops immediately without fighting to Liao-yang itself, while Sluchevski urged that the army should be concentrated still further north—in the area Liao-yang–Mukden. These officers reiterated the same opinions still more forcibly early in August, when the difficulty of moving their troops towards Liao-yang became greatly increased by the heavy rains. The Viceroy, who was much perturbed about the fate of Port Arthur by the news of the unfortunate result of the naval operations on August 10, and whose fears were increased by Stössel’s highly alarmist reports, was at the same time urging me (August 15) to assist the fortress and make an advance of some sort—though it were only a demonstration—towards Hai-cheng.

On August 25 the enemy again advanced, and on the 26th attacked us on the eastern front, but their onslaught on the 3rd Siberians at Lang-tzu-shan and the attempt made to turn our right flank failed. Ivanoff (who was in command of the corps) handled his artillery most skilfully, and all units of this corps behaved well. The reserves sent up by Bilderling arrived in good time, but the enemy obtained a position on the left of the 10th Corps which enabled them to menace the retirement of this corps along the Tang Ho. In the hot fight on the 26th again several units of the 10th Corps did splendidly. At this time a strong turning movement was discovered being developed against the left flank of our An-shan-chan position; but by delaying and inflicting heavy loss on the enemy on the Lang-tzu-shan and An-ping positions, all the corps were able to fall back on the advanced positions at Liao-yang, where the army was concentrated on August 29. At the beginning of the action there the army was short of its prescribed strength by 350 officers and 14,800 men. Excluding the men detailed for extra duty (on the communications, etc.), the average strength of our companies was only 140 to 150 rifles, and those companies that lost most heavily in the previous fights could muster less than 100.

The detailed account of the battle of Liao-yang has long ago been submitted to Headquarters. The following is a general description of it: On August 30 and 31 the enemy attacked our advanced positions with great determination, especially that of the 1st and 3rd Siberians, but were repulsed everywhere with heavy loss. In this fight the regiments of the 1st, 9th, 3rd, 6th, and 5th East Siberian Rifle Divisions rivalled each other in steadiness and gallantry, while the dispositions made by Shtakelberg and Ivanoff were good. Our success, however, was by no means lightly gained. Our artillery expended as much as 100,000 rounds of ammunition, leaving us with only 10,000 rounds in the army reserve. Moreover, excluding eight battalions furnishing guards and holding the works of the main Liao-yang position, on September 1 only sixteen battalions were left in the general reserve. During the 31st we observed that large bodies of Kuroki’s army were crossing on to the right bank of the Tai-tzu Ho. And, as the position held by the 10th Corps (against which Kuroki should have been operating in full strength) had not for two days been subjected to any such determined attacks as that held by the 1st and 3rd Siberians, there was every reason to suppose that Kuroki’s main body was moving round to operate against our communications. Accordingly a decision had to be made of one of two alternatives: either—

1. To contain Kuroki with a small force and advance to the south against Oku and Nodzu; or—

2. To fall back on the main Liao-yang position, leave as few troops as possible to defend it, and then attack in force that portion of Kuroki’s army which was moving round our left, and endeavour to crush it by driving it back on the Tai-tzu Ho, which at that time of the year was unfordable except at a few points.

As regards the first, even if we were successful against Oku and Nodzu, they could always fall back on their communications if in difficulties, and so draw us away from Liao-yang, while any success by Kuroki which might lead to an attack by him on our communications would threaten us with catastrophe.[73] In order to collect sufficient force to move against the two armies, it would have been necessary to have contained Kuroki with only such troops as were on the right bank of the river—namely, the 17th Corps and two regiments of the 54th Division (total, forty battalions) under Bilderling. But as these troops were not yet seasoned, it was impossible to rely on their performing such an extremely difficult task as that of holding in check Kuroki’s superior numbers on the necessarily extended position they would have to occupy [this fear was justified by subsequent events]. These considerations led to the adoption of the second alternative.

On the 31st, under cover of darkness and without being pressed, we began the evacuation of the advanced positions, which had already been of value to us, inasmuch as the enemy had been weakened by the losses incurred in attacking them. By the following morning as many as 100 battalions, with artillery and cavalry, had crossed on to the right bank of the river. The Japanese did not occupy our abandoned positions till the evening of that date, when they began to shell Liao-yang. The general disposition of the army was as follows: 56 battalions, 10 sotnias, and 144 guns (under Zarubaeff) were still on the left bank; 30 battalions, 5 sotnias, and 84 guns were on the right for the defence of Liao-yang itself. In addition to the small columns detailed to guard our flanks and rear, the remainder of the army, totalling 93 battalions, 73 squadrons and sotnias, and 352 guns, were told off to attack Kuroki. But in making this calculation as to the number of battalions available, it is essential to explain a very important factor. During the whole period of the war from its commencement till August only 6,000 men had been received at the front as drafts to repair wastage, and, as I have said, we began the fighting round Liao-yang with a shortage of 15,000 men. The result of this, taken in connection with the great number of men that had to be detached for various non-combatant duties, and also our losses in the fighting that had already taken place in the neighbourhood, was that the actual strength of the ninety-three battalions was, on September 1, only from 50,000 to 55,000 rifles. For instance, the twenty-one battalions comprising the 10th Corps (which took part in the affair of September 2) only numbered 12,000 rifles, and the total of the twenty-four battalions of the 1st Siberians only amounted to 10,000. Kuroki’s army, on the other hand, was calculated to number approximately from 65,000 to 70,000 men. The plan of operations for the troops crossing on to the right bank was as follows: The force was to deploy between the position held by the 17th Corps near the village of Hsi-kuan-tun and the heights near the Yen-tai mines, which were to have been held by Orloff’s force of thirteen battalions. Using the Hsi-kuan-tun position as a pivot, the army was to throw its left forward so as to strike the Japanese in flank. The position for the 17th Corps near this village was chosen by Bilderling in preference to that which had been prepared for defence beforehand on the right bank on the line San-chia-tzu–Ta-tzu-pu, and sufficient attention was not paid to its fortification. All that was done was to dig a few trenches, and no field of fire had even been cleared in the kao-liang crops. The consequence was that, in the early morning of September 2, the enemy drove the 137th Niejinsk Regiment from the peak north-east of this place, which constituted the left flank position of the 17th Corps, and to regain this hill became the first thing we had to do. For this Bilderling was given forty-four battalions, with the 3rd Siberians in reserve, while the 1st Siberians and Orloff’s column were to assist by threatening the Japanese right. Both Bilderling and Shtakelberg had been instructed as to what was expected of them, but they were given an absolutely free hand as to their dispositions. Notwithstanding the large force under Bilderling’s command, the operations failed in their object. Although the peak was recaptured on the evening of the 2nd, we were again driven off during the night, and had to fall back some two miles, only halting on the Erh-ta-ho heights.

Orloff, on the other hand, moved from his position on the heights south of the Yen-tai mines before he ought to have done, without waiting for the arrival of the 1st Siberians. His troops became at once immersed in a perfect sea of kao-liang, and were fired on from front and flank; parts of the column were seized with panic, and the whole force retreated in disorder towards Yen-tai station. A large portion even went as far as the station itself. This sudden and unexpected departure from the field of 12,000 men had a disastrous result on this flank. We lost an excellent position, which should have served as the support for our advance from the left, and the enemy, spreading away to the north, had by 5 p.m., in spite of the gallant efforts of Samsonoff and his Siberian Cossacks, occupied the whole range of heights and the Yen-tai mines. With the occupation of these heights the whole of our left was endangered. At midnight Shtakelberg reported that, owing to his heavy losses in the preceding battles, he would not be able to take the offensive, or even to accept battle on the following day.

Meanwhile the armies of Oku and Nodzu had advanced in force against Liao-yang, but had been driven back by Zarubaeff. Here the main burden of the fighting fell on the 5th East Siberian Rifle Division, which behaved extremely well, as did the regiments of the 4th Siberians. On the night of the 3rd, however, Zarubaeff reported that, though the enemy had been repulsed, he had only three battalions left in reserve, and needed reinforcements and gun ammunition. At the same time a message came in from Lubavin, who was covering the Pen-hsi-hu–Mukden line, informing me of his retirement to the Tung-chia-fen Ling (Pass), sixteen miles from Mukden. From this it is evident that if, choosing the first alternative, we had marched against Oku and Nodzu, Kuroki could most certainly have driven back the 17th Corps and 54th Division, and have seized the railway in rear of our troops moving southwards. As we knew, however, that Kuroki was not operating against us with his main body during the battle of the 2nd, we realized it might have been sent to turn our left. Such being the situation, we had to decide whether to maintain our hold on the river, or to abandon Liao-yang and retire to the position on the left bank of the Hun Ho in front of Mukden, which had been already fortified.

As regards the first alternative, it seemed possible that we might, by an immense effort and skilful manœuvring, be able to hold on to Liao-yang and throw Kuroki behind the Tai-tzu Ho. But for this it was essential to draw in the force that had crossed to the right bank, and to deploy it on a fresh line farther to the north, so that we might be able to attack the enemy’s position on the heights near the Yen-tai mines from the north as well as from the west. Such a movement would have exposed our right, and would have isolated the position still held by the 17th Corps on the right bank of the river. The Japanese might drive it in and issue in rear of the troops at Liao-yang, for that place was only eleven miles distant from the position to which the 17th Corps would have had to retire if it were driven back. The defenders of Liao-yang, being then attacked by Oku and Nodzu combined, would be in a critical situation. As regards the second alternative, a retirement on Mukden presented great disadvantages and dangers. It increased the distance to Port Arthur; it would have to be carried out under pressure from the enemy in front and on the left, and the roads had been so much damaged by rain that it was doubtful whether we should succeed in getting our transport or even artillery to Mukden. The abandonment of Liao-yang could not fail both to depress the troops who had so gallantly defended it and encourage the enemy. But, on the other hand, we should be extricated by such a retirement from a situation in which we were threatened in front and flank. A successful withdrawal would also give time for the 1st Army Corps to come up, and, what was not less important, for us to replenish artillery ammunition, of which we were very short. Besides this, the banks of the Tai-tzu Ho were specially unsuited for our troops, as they were almost entirely covered with kao-liang. Our men were unused to this, lost their heads whenever they got into it, and were very liable to panic.

On the whole, our past experiences of the offensive did not inspire any confidence that we should be able to cope with the difficult situation implied by a retention of Liao-yang. I decided, therefore, on the retirement towards Mukden, which was carried out by September 7. The most difficult work, especially on the early morning of the 5th, fell to the lot of the 1st Siberians, who had to beat off Kuroki’s force attacking from the east; this they did with success, and without losing a single trophy, in spite of the difficulties in which we were placed.

A general account of the operations round Liao-yang, and a statement of all the considerations which led to our retirement, were telegraphed to the Emperor on September 11. On the 14th the army was made happy by the following gracious message, which I received from His Majesty:

“From your reports of the fighting at Liao-yang, I appreciate that it was impossible for you to have held that position longer without risk of being completely cut off from your communications. Under such conditions, and in face of the existing difficulties, the retirement of the whole force across country without the loss of guns or baggage was a brilliant feat of arms. I thank you and the gallant troops under your command for their heroic conduct and enduring self-sacrifice. May God help you all!”

Upon retirement, our troops were grouped in two principal bodies—

1. The defence of the main position on the left bank of the Hun Ho was entrusted to the 10th and 17th Corps under Bilderling, to whom was subordinated Dembovski’s force of 10 battalions of the 5th Siberians, which was guarding the near right flank of the main position. Altogether, the troops under Bilderling’s command amounted to 75 battalions, 53 squadrons and sotnias, 190 guns, 24 mortars, and 3 sapper battalions.

2. The protection of the left flank from Fu-shun to the west was entrusted to Ivanoff’s force, consisting of the 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 4th and some units of the 5th Siberians (total, 62 battalions, 26 sotnias, 128 guns, and 2 sapper battalions).

3. To keep touch between these two main groups were the 1st Siberians under Shtakelberg (total, 24 battalions, 10 squadrons and sotnias, 56 guns, and 1 sapper battalion). To his force was entrusted the defence of the portion of the Hun Ho from Chiu-tien to Pu-ling.

4. The general reserve was disposed in two groups—

(a) 4th Siberians (24 battalions, 6 squadrons, 96 guns, 12 mortars, and 1 sapper battalion) on the line Erh-tai-tzu–Khou-kha.[74]

(b) 1st Army Corps, which concentrated in Mukden early in September[75] (32 battalions, 6 squadrons, 96 guns, 1 sapper battalion), along the Mandarin road on the line Pu-ho–Ta-wa.

5. The protection of the extreme right was entrusted to Kossagovski (6½ battalions, 9 squadrons, 14 guns), the main body of which was at Kao-li-tun on the Liao.

6. A brigade of the 6th Siberians (8 battalions and 1½ sotnias) was concentrated at Tieh-ling to protect our communications.

7. The Trans-Baikal and Ural Cossack Brigades which did not belong to any corps were joined together under the command of Mischenko (21 sotnias and 8 guns).

Besides putting the finishing touches to the main position at Mukden, which had already been fortified, the defensive work consisted of strengthening the Fu-liang and Fu-shun positions, and throwing up some works on the right bank of the Hun Ho between Mukden and Fu-liang. The object of these was to check the enemy crossing until our reserves could come up. In addition to this, much was done to improve the communications towards Tieh-ling. On September 20 I learned by telegram from the Viceroy of the formation of the 2nd Manchurian Army. This was to comprise the 6th Siberians and 8th Army Corps, five Rifle brigades from Russia, a Cossack infantry brigade, the 4th Don and 2nd Caucasian Cossack Divisions, and three dragoon regiments of the 10th Cavalry Division. General Grippenberg was appointed to the command of this force on September 24.

Our position at Mukden had some very grave defects.

1. Its left flank (Fu-liang–Fu-shun) was, owing to the bend in the Hun Ho to the north-east of Mukden, thrown much too far back. If the enemy were successful on this flank, and came out on to our communications, we should be compelled to abandon the main position prematurely.

2. Almost immediately in rear of the position was the River Hun, which was at the time unfordable, and could only be crossed by bridges. Behind the river was the town itself.

3. The Fu-shun coal-mines, which were most necessary to us (for railway fuel), were right in front of the position.

These drawbacks, as well as our great desire to prevent any of the enemy’s forces being detached for the reinforcement of Nogi’s besieging army, drove us to try and take the offensive as soon as possible.

Meanwhile the drafts whereby to replace our losses were still arriving at the front very slowly; during July and August only 4,200 men were received. On September 29 the eight corps composing the Manchurian Army could only muster 151,000 rifles, the deficit in officers being 670. Besides these corps, the Viceroy put the 6th Siberian Corps[76] under my command, with the proviso that it should not be included in the army, and should not be split up.[77] It was concentrated at Mukden on October 8. My requests that the units of the 1st Siberian Division—some ten battalions—which were not included in the army, might be made over to me were not acceded to. But although we were really too weak, an advance seemed more advantageous than waiting for the enemy to attack, for there seemed little chance of our being able to hold our ground on the Mukden positions.

According to our information, the Japanese main forces had crossed on to the right bank of the Tai-tzu Ho, between Liao-yang and Pen-hsi-hu, and were disposed approximately as follows: In the centre, behind the line Yen-tai station–Yen-tai mines, six divisions with brigades in reserve; on the right, écheloned along the line Pan-chia-pu-tzu–Pen-hsi-hu, two divisions with brigades in reserve; on the left, more or less along the line San-de-pu–Sha-tai-tzu, two divisions with their reserves. The enemy had fortified their positions on the Yen-tai heights and at Pan-chia-pu-tzu. It was decided, therefore, that the first object of our advance was to hurl the Japanese back on to the left bank of the Tai-tzu Ho. To do this we were to deliver a frontal attack, and at the same time endeavour to turn their right, so that, if successful, we should dislodge them from the hills. Orders were issued for the forward movement to commence on October 5. The following was the plan of advance decided upon by me:

1. Western Force.—This force, under Bilderling, consisting of the 10th and 17th Corps (total, 64 battalions, 40 squadrons and sotnias, 196 guns, and 2 sapper battalions), was to make a demonstration in front against the enemy’s main force.

2. Eastern Force.—This force, under Shtakelberg, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Siberians (total, 73 battalions, 29 squadrons and sotnias, 142 guns, 6 mortars, 32 machine-guns, and 3 sapper battalions), was to attack the right flank of the enemy, moving round it from the east. The first objective of this force was the enemy’s positions at Pan-chia-pu-tzu.[78]

3. The General Reserve.—This, consisting of the 1st Army Corps and 4th Siberians, with Mischenko’s brigade (total, 56 battalions, 20 sotnias, 208 guns, 30 mortars, and 2 sapper battalions), was to move up in rear of the interval between the western and eastern forces.

4. The 6th Siberians (32 battalions, 6 sotnias, 96 guns, and 1 sapper battalion) was to remain temporarily in Mukden (with a brigade at Tieh-ling), so that it might either be moved to a flank or added to the reserve, according as the operations developed.

5. Flank Guards.—A force of 30½ battalions, 39 sotnias, 82 guns, and 1 sapper battalion was told off to protect the flanks. Of this, 19½ battalions, 25 sotnias, 64 guns, and the sapper battalion were to take part in the attack of the enemy’s position while keeping touch with Dembovski’s and Rennenkampf’s columns of the eastern and western forces respectively.

6. Should the enemy concentrate towards their right, an endeavour was to be made to break through their centre in the direction of the Yen-tai mines by the 6th Siberians, with Bilderling’s force and the general reserve.

The advance began on October 5, and meeting with no determined opposition, we on the 9th occupied the following positions:

Western Force.—The line Shih-li-ho–Ta-pu.

Eastern Force.—The line San-chia-tzu–Shang-shan-tzu–Ununin.

In the Centre.—By the range of hills south of Khaamatan (with the assistance of a portion of the general reserve).

The 4th Siberians, especially the Tomsk, Barnaul, and Irkutsk Regiments, did excellent work, as did Mischenko’s mounted force, reinforced by the 4th East Siberian Rifle Regiment. Rennenkampf’s column moved out into the Tai-tzu Ho Valley, and worked along both banks of the river towards Pen-hsi-hu. Though the independent regiments of the 1st and 3rd Siberians suffered heavily, overcame the difficulties of the locality, and made altogether a gallant bid for success, they failed in their object, mainly owing to the lack of co-ordination in the plan of operations, and of cohesion in its execution. On the evening of the 10th the Japanese themselves took the offensive, having concentrated their main forces opposite our right and centre. Bilderling’s western force, after fighting desperately against heavy odds and losing forty-six guns, fell back on the 12th on to the main position on the Sha Ho. Our centre, augmented by the 1st Corps, found itself, in consequence, too far forward, and was obliged on the evening of the 13th to commence a retirement on to the high ground near the position of the western force, and occupied the heights south of Erh-ta-ho. From the 10th to the 12th Shtakelberg’s eastern force made a gallant but vain endeavour to get possession of the almost inaccessible ridges to the north of the road from Pen-hsi-hu to the Yen-tai mines. His dangerous position, thirteen miles in advance, and the necessity for collecting enough troops in our centre to repulse the further attacks of the enemy’s main body, compelled me on the 12th to order him to withdraw to the high ground of the position occupied by the rest of the army, and to move a portion of his force in support of our centre. The enemy’s further attempts to drive us from the ground we were holding were unsuccessful, though we were hard pressed on the Sha Ho, and the general desire to retire on our Mukden positions became very great. In a night attack on the 15th the enemy succeeded in dislodging two regiments of the 22nd Division from the “One Tree Peak,” which they were holding on the left bank of the Sha Ho between the villages of Sha-ho-pu and Sha-ho-tung. The loss of this height, which commanded us on the right bank of the river, and constituted, so to speak, the key of our position, by no means improved the situation. On the evening of the 16th, therefore, I concentrated a force of twenty-five battalions under Putiloff, whom I ordered to attack the enemy in front and flank. After desperate hand-to-hand fighting, he succeeded on the morning of the 17th in driving them off the heights, and captured eleven guns, one machine-gun, many limbers and waggons. This episode put the finishing touch to the major operations of both sides, and we now proceeded to pass the winter in our respective positions in close touch with one another.

The reasons of the indecisive issue to the battle were:

1. Shtakelberg’s unskilful disposition of the large force put under his command, which was (as we discovered later) almost three times the size of that opposed to him.

2. The absence of proper control and generalship among senior commanders of the western force.

3. The abortive operations of, and lack of energy displayed by the officer commanding the 10th Corps. (Among other things, he not only retired quite unnecessarily on October 12 from his position on the left bank of the Sha Ho, but also neglected to warn his neighbour in command of the 1st Corps, who was in consequence placed in a critical position.)

4. The useless manœuvres of the officer commanding the 31st Division, who several times ordered one of his brigades to retire without due cause.

5. The unsteadiness of many units.[79]

6. The lack of cohesion in the operations of the 6th Siberians (on the right of the western force).

During this battle of the Sha Ho the senior commanders—Generals Bilderling and Shtakelberg—were given instructions as to what was required of them generally, but were left to make their dispositions independently.

As will be seen from the above brief sketch of events, the September fighting had no decisive results. The two sides suffered equally, and lost about 50,000 men each. Still, our assumption of the offensive, even with inadequate numbers, greatly improved our strategical position by moving our general front thirteen miles forward in front of Mukden, and afforded us a matter of four and a half months of time. As soon as we occupied the positions on the Sha Ho from Shou-lin-tzu on the right flank to Kao-tu-ling on the left, we set to work fortifying them. Besides ten battalions of the 1st Corps, the whole of the 1st Siberians and twenty-four battalions of the 6th Corps were moved into the general reserve in rear of the centre, and we were confident that we would be able to hold our ground. We still had, however, a very small number of men—indeed, in some units the shortage was alarming. The total strength of the 252 battalions comprising our army on October 25 was only 140,000 rifles, which works out at an average strength of 550 per battalion, while many battalions could not even muster 400 men. Not less disquieting was the lack of officers, which now amounted in the infantry alone to over 2,700, or an average deficiency per battalion of eleven. Meanwhile the drafts to repair wastage were still coming up in driblets. In October and November we only received some 13,000 men. It was not till December 8 that they began to reach us in any quantity; during that month and the first half of January 72,000 arrived. I reported upon this vital question in my letters to the Tsar of October 26 and November 5.

In his despatches of October 23 and 26 His Majesty was pleased to inform me that I had been appointed to the supreme command of all the forces in the Far East, that General Linievitch was appointed to the command of the 1st, and General Baron Kaulbars to the command of the 3rd Army.[80] My first act was to augment the army by adding to it the whole of the 1st Siberian and 61st Divisions, the latter of which was intended by Alexeieff for the Pri-Amur district. This at once added 20,000 rifles to the field army; the leading units also of the 8th Corps began to arrive at the beginning of November, and at the end of the month were concentrated at Mukden. But the main thing which still remained to be done was the improvement of our railway communication with Russia, which became more than ever necessary on account of the increased army to be supplied.

On November 28 the effective strength of all three armies, including the 8th Corps, amounted to 210,000 men. Our information as to the enemy put their strength at this date at about 200,000. Although we were rather superior in numbers, our superiority was too slight to insure a successful offensive under the particularly difficult conditions offered by the intense cold weather, and the fact that the enemy’s positions were strongly fortified. The low temperature rendered the lightest trench work practically impossible, and made the provision of a large amount of warm clothing an absolute necessity. Our preparations for the offensive, as regards making Mukden an intermediate base and our engineering work, began in November. In addition to the branch railway to the Fu-shun mines, which was completed that month, a branch was laid to the right flank of our dispositions,[81] and a field line to Rennenkampf’s force on the left.[82] But still, when December came we were not ready to advance, mainly owing to the delay in railway construction, largely caused by the weather. Although I was informed by the War Minister, in a communication dated November 8, that the running capacity of the Siberian and Trans-Baikal lines would from October 28 be brought up to twelve pairs of military trains, we never received as many right up to the end of the war. The result of this was that the expected drafts, as well as the three Rifle brigades, arrived about ten days later than we had calculated on receiving them, and there was great delay in the distribution of warm clothing to the men, particularly felt boots. Very great difficulty also was experienced in collecting the food-supplies necessary for the forward movement, and in organizing new transport units.

When, in the middle of December, I summoned a meeting of the three army commanders and consulted them as to the possible date of an advance, in view of the critical state of affairs at Port Arthur, they unanimously stated that it was essential to await the arrival of the whole of the 16th Corps. On receiving the news of the surrender of the fortress, I again asked their opinions as to whether—in view of Oyama’s armies being probably augmented by that of Nogi—they did not consider it desirable to commence an advance at an earlier date. But they still adhered to their former opinion, modifying it only to the extent that we should begin our advance while this corps was arriving, and not wait until its concentration was completed. As regards the actual plan of the offensive operations, the opinions of the three army commanders were the same—namely, that we should deliver the main blow with as large a force as possible at the enemy’s left, and envelop it. The only difference of opinion was as to the depth of this envelopment. The boldest and most original plan was that proposed by Grippenberg—namely, that he should undertake, with the 2nd Army, a wide turning movement—almost an envelopment—of the enemy’s left in the direction of Yen-tai station, and cut himself free from the 3rd Army. He considered it necessary to have seven corps under his command for this operation. This, however, was impracticable, as, even without leaving any troops as a general reserve, besides the 16th Corps then arriving, only four corps could be given him—namely, the 8th, 10th, 1st Siberian, and the Composite Rifle Corps. General Linievitch, who was apprehensive that the enemy might attack the 1st Army, thought it dangerous to give Grippenberg the 1st Siberians. Kaulbars, in his turn, thought it impossible, without grave risk of the 3rd Army being driven from its positions, to detach any portion of it to the 2nd Army. Finally, Grippenberg’s plan, though it promised great advantages in the event of success, seemed very risky, for it extended our already long front still more, and made it so attenuated that it would be liable to be broken by a determined attack at any point. Moreover, no general reserve would be left at my disposal with which to deal with any unforeseen emergency.

After proposing the above bold plan, Grippenberg suddenly went to the other extreme, and became pessimistic. For instance, on January 13, he informed me that the campaign was as good as lost, that we ought to retire to Harbin, hold on to that point and Vladivostok, and from thence move with two armies “in other directions.” On my asking him which were the directions in which we should move, he gave no clear explanation. The same idea was expressed also in a report received on the same day (dated January 2) from General Ruzski, the Chief of the Staff of the 2nd Army. In it was contained Grippenberg’s opinion that it was impossible for us to dream of being successful after Nogi’s arrival, and that—

“The officer commanding the Army accordingly inclines to the conclusion that, under the circumstances, the best solution of the question would be to fall back to Mukden, or further if necessary, and there to await a favourable opportunity to take the offensive.”

However, it was finally decided, in accordance with the opinions of Linievitch and Kaulbars, and with the consent of Grippenberg, to take the offensive in January, on the condition that complete and direct touch was maintained between all three armies.

According to our information, the strength of the Japanese armies was approximately as follows:

Kuroki’s Army	…	68 battalions, 21 squadrons,
		and 204 guns
Nodzu’s Army	…	50 battalions, 11 squadrons,
		and 168 guns
Oku’s Army	…	60 battalions, 29 squadrons,
		and 234 guns

or a total in all three armies under Oyama of 178 battalions, 61 squadrons, and 606 guns. It was calculated that they could put 200,000 rifles in the field against us on January 14, 1905. As a matter of fact, we underestimated the number. From the prisoners we took we knew accurately what was going on in their 1st Army, but we were unable to ascertain with sufficient accuracy and in good time what was happening in the rear, or what reinforcements were being received. Their fortified positions were as follows: The left flank up to the village of Hsiao-tung-kou was held by Oku. In the centre was Nodzu’s army. On the right was Kuroki. Opposite Rennenkampf, on our extreme left, was a force under Kavamura amounting to about 15,000 to 20,000 men. Nogi’s army was estimated at 72 battalions, 5 squadrons, and 156 guns; but which units had reached Oyama, and how they were grouped, we did not know.

In order to induce the enemy to detach as many men as possible for their line of communications, and so weaken their front, to handicap their supply arrangements, and to stop the rail transport of Nogi’s units to the front, a raid by a mounted force[83] was organized against their line of communications. The objects of this raid, which was under Mischenko, were:

1. To seize Newchuang station, and destroy the large stocks of food-supplies collected there; and—

2. To blow up the railway-bridges and destroy the track on the portion of the line from Ta-shih-chiao to Kai-ping.

Neither object was fully attained, chiefly owing to the slowness with which the force moved. Individual episodes that occurred are, however, very instructive, and show that our cavalry is quite fitted to perform the most self-sacrificing duties.

The plan agreed upon for the main advance was explained in my orders of January 19. Just as it had been in September, our primary object was to drive the enemy behind the Tai-tzu Ho, and to inflict on him as much damage as possible. The force selected for our first attentions was Oku’s left-flank army, the left wing of which was to be enveloped. The advance of the 1st and 3rd Armies against the positions held by Nodzu and Kuroki were to be started and developed in accordance with, and depending upon, the measure of success attending the efforts of the 2nd and 3rd Armies to capture the enemy’s left-flank positions on the Sha Ho. The armies were given the following tasks:

1. The 2nd Army was to gain possession of the line of Japanese works San-de-pu–Lita-jen-tun–Ta-tai–San-chia-tzu, and then the line Tsun-lun-ian-tun–Ta-ta-san-pu along the Sha Ho. And, conformably to the enemy’s action and the success attained by the 3rd Army, it was, while throwing a strong containing force to the south, to develop its operations towards the line San-tia-tzu–Shih-li-ho, and on the heights south of the last village.

2. The 3rd Army was to capture the line of works Chang-ling-pu–Ling-shen-pu, and then the line along the Sha Ho from the latter point to Hun-ling-pu inclusive. And, conformably to the enemy’s action and the successes attained by the 2nd Army, it was to develop its operations towards the line Hei-te-kai Peak–Hung-pao Shan Peak.

3. The 1st Army was to co-operate in the capture of Hou-te-kai Peak, and seize the heights near the villages of Cheng-san-lin-tzu and Shih-shan-tzu. And according to the action of the enemy and the successes attained by the 2nd and 3rd Armies, it was, with the assistance of the 3rd Army, to develop its operations towards the positions near the villages Ta-pu, San-chia-tzu, Shan-lu-ho-tzu, which we had occupied on the 10th to 12th October.

In my orders of January 21 it was clearly defined that the above scheme would require modification dependent on the line of action adopted by the Japanese.

If, contrary to our calculations, the enemy preferred to contain our 2nd and 3rd Armies, and to fall with the rest of their forces on the 1st, or on the interval between the 1st and 3rd Armies, the position would call for a very energetic advance against their flank by the 2nd and 3rd Armies.

If they should at once fall back on their second line of positions without holding on to their first line, we should endeavour to turn their retirement into a disordered retreat.

January 25 was the day fixed for the commencement of our advance, but, owing to the action of Grippenberg, who should have started the movement, the arrangements had to be altered. Almost a fortnight before our operations began our chances of success had been unfortunately reduced by certain dispositions made by him. The corps to be attached to his army were disposed as follows:

8th Corps	…	South of the River Hun on
		both sides of the railway.
10th Corps	…	At Bai-ta-pu village on the
		Mandarin road.
1st Siberians	…	Behind the right flank of the
		1st Army.

The right of the 2nd Army between the 5th Siberians and the River Hun was only protected by cavalry, while a separate column of five battalions and two cavalry regiments under Kossagovski was on the right bank of the river. Notwithstanding the instructions issued that these dispositions were to hold good as long as possible, in order that we might conceal our intentions from the enemy, and also that the 10th Corps—intended to act as a reserve in the event of their striking at our centre—was not to be moved from its place without my knowledge, on January 14 Grippenberg transferred the 14th Division over on to the left bank of the Hun, and on the 16th, without letting me know, moved the 10th Corps closer to the right of the 3rd Army. These movements, of course, at once disclosed our intentions, and information soon came in that the enemy had, in their turn, commenced moving their troops westwards and fortifying opposite our new dispositions.

The strength of the army was:

	Bat- talions	Squad- rons and Sotnias	Field- Guns	Mortars	Siege- Guns	Mac- hine- Guns	Sapper Bat- talions
2nd Army	120	92	412	24	4	20	3
3rd Army	72	18	294	54	56	12	3
1st Army	127	43	360	12	—	8	5
General  Reserve	42	—	120	—	—	4	—
Total	36	153	1,186	90[84]	60	44	11

By the middle of January our numbers were, as regards rank and file, almost up to the authorized war strength, except in the Composite Rifle, 8th and 16th Corps, which had arrived short, so that the total of our forces was about 300,000 rifles. Although the establishment in officers was not fully complete, we now had some 5,600 in the infantry, which gave us on the average 15 per battalion.

The advance began on January 25, as ordered, the 1st Siberians first seizing the village of Huan-lo-to-tzu, and later, after a hot fight lasting all day, the village of Hei-kou-tai;[85] Kossagovski’s column gained possession of Chi-tai-tzu and Ma-ma-kai without much difficulty. San-de-pu was not attacked that day. Of the 14th Division, which was intended for this attack, three regiments were sent on the 22nd to join Mischenko’s force, in order to strike a separate blow at a small Japanese force of all arms, which, according to spies, was in occupation of A-shih-niu. Mischenko moved against this place with his infantry, but found no enemy there, and so the 14th Division was marched forty miles on a fool’s errand, and only arrived at Chang-tan on the morning of the 26th, thoroughly exhausted. The action of the 25th for the village of Hei-kou-tai, which we only seized with great difficulty and after heavy loss, in spite of our overwhelming superiority, indicated that such strongly fortified points as San-de-pu and Lita-jen-tun could not be attacked without proper previous preparation, for we could not afford to waste men. I particularly underlined the necessity for this in my directions—“For the operations of the 2nd Army in capturing the enemy’s fortified line San-de-pu–Lita-jen-tun–Ta-tai,” dated January 15, and also in my instructions with regard to the 2nd Army’s operations against the Lita-jen-tun portion, dated January 16. Notwithstanding this, in the orders for the dispositions of the 2nd Army on January 26, it was to operate on the line from Hou-leng-tai to the Hun—over a distance of ten miles against a fortified position—and to capture the two strongly defended points, San-de-pu and Lita-jen-tun. Grippenberg, moreover, came to no understanding with Kaulbars as to co-operation, and it was only upon a request made by the commander of the 10th Corps that the commander of the 3rd Army arranged to co-operate with his artillery, and so prepare the assault of the 5th Siberians. Being by chance in Hsui-tun just at the time when the 10th Corps was making ready to carry out its allotted task, I was able to avert a dispersed attack (over a stretch of thirteen miles), and to prevent the employment of troops in an unprepared assault on strongly fortified positions. The attack to be made by the left flank of the 2nd Army on the morning of January 26 was countermanded by Grippenberg himself, but the order was delayed in transmission, and if I had not been in Hsui-tun it would have taken place.

The attack of the village of San-de-pu by the 14th Division alone failed, and it could hardly have done otherwise in the absence of any artillery preparation. Neither the ground round it nor the fortifications of the place itself had been studied, and no sketch-plan of it had been made or issued to the troops. The result was that our guns shelled a village called Pei-tai-tzu, north-east of San-de-pu, all day instead of the place itself, which they did not touch, while the 14th Division attacked and captured Pao-tai-tzu (to the west of San-de-pu), and reported to me they had taken San-de-pu. The outer enclosure of San-de-pu village was mistaken by this division for that of a reduit inside the village, and acting upon the assumption that they were not strong enough to seize this reduit, they were ordered back to their former positions, and abandoned Pao-tai-tzu. Meanwhile, having received the report that San-de-pu had been taken, Grippenberg gave orders for the heavy guns and mortars with the 8th Corps to be sent at once to the 10th Corps, in order to prepare the assault of Lita-jen-tun next day. At the same time, as his men, who had had no sleep for three nights, were utterly exhausted, he asked permission to rest his army on the 27th. Accordingly, the 1st Siberians were ordered to halt in the area south-east of Hei-kou-tai; but as we had not yet taken this area, the order led to this corps having to fight a separate action on the 27th for the possession of Su-ma-pu and Piao-tsao. When it became known on the morning of the 27th that San-de-pu had not been taken, Grippenberg was obliged to give up all idea of repeating the attack on the 27th, as he had sent his heavy guns to the 10th Corps. The decision was also necessitated by the fact that the Japanese had sent up strong reinforcements. When Shtakelberg was informed that San-de-pu had not been taken, he did not consider it possible to carry out Grippenberg’s twice repeated order to cease his attack, and late in the evening, after a hot fight, he seized the greater part of Su-ma-pu by a disconnected attack with four regiments. But being counter-attacked at dawn on the 28th by superior numbers both in front and on the left, he was forced to fall back with great loss (6,000 men). By that evening the 1st Siberians were holding a position on the line Tou-pao–Chu-san-ho-tzu, which the Japanese continued to assault with great fury till the early morning. The despatch of troops towards Su-ma-pu in no way met the circumstances: it led to a needless digression from the main objective of the whole operations—i.e., San-de-pu—and generally to a still greater extension of the already too long front occupied by the 2nd Army. In order to divert the enemy’s attention from our right flank by a demonstration, the villages of Hsia-tai-tzu and La-pa-tai were attacked and seized on January 27 by part of the 10th Corps under Tserpitski; but as we were not ready to storm San-de-pu, these places were abandoned.

The cavalry of the 2nd Army, under Mischenko, made a bold dash at the enemy’s rear, and succeeded in killing and capturing a good many; but their success would have been far greater had the Don regiments under Teleshoff not been late in arriving. Mischenko, who was at the head of the advanced sotnias, was severely wounded, and Teleshoff, who succeeded in the command, failed to carry out the task entrusted to him. He neither sent word that the Japanese were receiving reinforcements, nor helped the Siberians when they were fighting for Su-ma-pu.

By evening on the 28th the situation in the 2nd Army was roughly as follows: The positions north of San-de-pu, along a front of eight miles—from the positions occupied by the 3rd Army up to the River Hun—were held by the 10th Corps and 15th Division; sixteen battalions of the former had been brought closer to the river, and behind them was the reserve of the 3rd Army, a brigade of the 17th Corps. The Composite Rifle Corps and 1st Siberians were distributed along a front west of San-de-pu, on the line Chan-chua-tzu–Tou-pao. Kossagovski’s force was at San-chia-tzu. The reserve of the 2nd Army consisted of only one regiment of the 14th Division,[86] and Grippenberg had (26th to 28th) three times asked for reinforcements to be sent him from the general reserve. The front of the 2nd Army was spread over twenty miles. Thus, by the evening of the 28th the greater part of that army was separated from the 3rd Army by San-de-pu village, which was still in the enemy’s hands, and was dispersed over a long line fronting south-east. Whilst so distributed, not only was it difficult to assist it with troops from the 3rd Army in the event of its being attacked, but there was the danger, if the enemy reinforced heavily, of their being in a position to employ San-de-pu as a pivot, force back the Rifle Corps, and break through on to the communications of the 1st Siberians. Meanwhile reports came in which showed that only a portion of the enemy’s available forces were operating against Grippenberg, while the movement of Kuroki’s and Nodzu’s troops to the west showed that the enemy could still throw another six divisions into the fight. They might be moved against the weakened and extended front of the 3rd Army, thrust into the interval between the 3rd Army and the Hun Ho, or used as reinforcements to the troops operating against our positions west of San-de-pu.

About 7 p.m. Kaulbars reported to me that the enemy had at 4 p.m. begun a movement in great strength towards their advanced positions. At the same time this movement became disclosed, and we opened artillery and rifle fire. As the reserve of the 3rd Army had already been given to the 2nd, I was obliged, as a temporary measure, to give Kaulbars the 72nd Division from my reserve. This left me with only thirty battalions of the 16th Corps, which had just arrived. Although the positions held by the Composite Rifle Corps and 1st Siberians had behind them an ice-covered river with steep frozen banks that hindered the crossing of all three arms, and were therefore inconvenient, yet the situation of the 2nd Army—enveloping San-de-pu, as it did—offered us certain advantages if we could only drive back the troops attacking the 1st Siberians and succeed in storming that place on the 29th. When, therefore, the above report came in from Kaulbars, the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Army was asked on the telephone when it was proposed to start the assault on San-de-pu. To this Ruzski replied that it certainly could not take place next day, as it had not been properly prepared by artillery, and that it was impossible then to fix a time for it. On account of the vagueness of this reply, he was instructed to report to Grippenberg the information sent in by Kaulbars, and also the orders in which the 2nd Army was instructed to take up a more concentrated position in the early hours of the 29th, assuming as their first task the defence of the line Ssu-fang-tai—Chang-tan—Ta-man-ta-pu. Grippenberg, who was in a neighbouring apartment with a telephone, did not say a single word to this message,[87] and these orders were carried out. All the enemy’s attacks on the positions Tou-pao–Chu-san-ho-tzu were repulsed by the 1st Siberians before retiring.

Thus ended our first attempt at the offensive, and it cost us 10,000 men. The chief cause of our failure was, of course, our neglect to prepare properly the assault on San-de-pu, which again was a sign that we did not yet sufficiently respect our foe. Though a contempt of the enemy was all through the war evinced by the senior officers when they first arrived at the front, yet after our first actions it was generally, and perhaps unfortunately, replaced by an exaggerated idea of their merits. The absence of proper touch between Grippenberg and the corps under him was also responsible for much, as, owing to it, the transmission of orders and of information was greatly delayed. The whole of the 8th and Composite Rifle Corps, again, did not shine in action. For instance, on the 28th, certain units of the 15th Division, though not at all pressed, began to retire without permission. By doing so they exposed the siege battery they were covering, which was preparing to destroy its guns and blow up its ammunition preparatory to retiring itself.

On January 30 Grippenberg reported himself sick by letter, and by the Tsar’s permission left on February 3 for St. Petersburg. This action of his set a fatal example both to those under him and to the rest of the army, and was most harmful to all discipline. The opinions, also, that he had expressed, to the effect that the campaign was virtually over, and that we should retire to Mukden and Harbin, had a dangerously disturbing effect on our weaker members. It was in the long-run more harmful than any single defeat of a portion of our force would have been.

When the right flank of the 2nd Army fell back, the army held a line from Fu-cha-chuang-tzu to Ssu-fang-tai. The enemy made several unsuccessful attempts to drive us from those of their advanced positions that we had captured, their main efforts being directed towards the recapture of Pei-tai-tzu and Chang-tan-ho-nan. We, on our side, made energetic preparation to continue the advance we had begun so unluckily. Fresh siege batteries were brought up, the approaches to the enemy’s defended posts were carefully reconnoitred, and detailed plans were made. On February 16 we received some drafts, which were used to make good the casualties in the 1st Siberians and the Composite Rifle Corps, both of which had suffered so heavily at Hei-kou-tai.

On February 10 General Kaulbars assumed command of the 2nd Army, and Bilderling temporarily took over command of the 3rd. Meanwhile, early in this month, information kept coming in that large bodies of Japanese cavalry with guns, together with bands of Hun-huses, were collecting in Mongolia, especially near the portion of the railway between Kung-chu-ling and Kuang-cheng-tzu, and early on the morning of the 12th the enemy raided the line north of the station of the former name and blew up a railway-bridge. The same day a reconnoitring party of the Frontier Guards suddenly came on a Japanese force of two cavalry regiments, a battalion, and some 2,000 Hun-huses near the Mongolian frontier. In the ensuing action we lost a number of men and one gun. General Chichagoff continued to report with great insistence that large bodies of the enemy—over 10,000 strong—were collecting in Mongolia for the purpose of cutting our communications. Believing these reports, I detailed a brigade of the 41st Division and the whole of the Don Cossack Division to reinforce our protective troops on the railway itself, upon which, of course, we were dependent for supplies, drafts, and reinforcements. In addition to this, I also put some 15,000 reservists[88] under the command of General Nadaroff, to strengthen the Frontier Guards and the line-of-communication troops generally.

The rumours that we heard at this same time also of the landing of a large Japanese force in Northern Korea (assumed to be in connection with the liberation of Nogi’s army by the surrender of Port Arthur), part of which might be detailed for operations against Vladivostok, compelled me to take in hand the strengthening of our forces in the Primorsk district, and of the Vladivostok garrison in particular. With this end in view, a mixed brigade of six battalions, formed from men of the 1st Army, was sent to the fortress. In order to enable this brigade to be expanded into a division, and each of the Rifle regiments in the Primorsk district into regiments of four battalions, it was necessary, first of all, to divide the drafts which had come up for the army between the field army and the troops in the Primorsk district. Although forced to reduce the strength of the field army to the above extent, I made a mistake in not insisting upon a sufficiently strong general reserve being formed. To do this I should have taken the whole of the 17th Corps into my reserve, though such a course would have been against the opinion of General Bilderling (who considered it dangerous to weaken the 3rd Army, as he had no reliance in the steadiness of the reserve troops of that army, the 5th and 6th Siberians). Instead of the thirty-two battalions, which would have been thus obtained, only one division, the 6th Siberians,[89] was added to the general reserve.

In my orders issued after our disastrous action at Hei-kou-tai, it was laid down that as many units as possible should be taken out of the firing-line, so that strong army reserves might be formed. In order to render this possible, it was pointed out that defensive positions should not be held in equal strength along the whole front; that it was sufficient to prepare and hold the most important portions of a line as strongly as possible; and that, by holding on to these at all costs, time would be gained in which reserves could be pushed up to any threatened section. Unfortunately, I left too much to the experience and discretion of the army commanders, and did not sufficiently insist on exact compliance with my instructions.

Adhering to the original plan of offensive operations decided upon in accordance with the opinions of all the army commanders, I requested Kaulbars to fix the first day for the advance. He first chose February 23, but owing to the troops of the 2nd Army being worn out with the very heavy work they had done in connection with the fortification of the positions, the advance was, at his own request, postponed till the 25th. On the 24th, however, Kaulbars heard that the date for the assault of San-de-pu was known to the enemy. He therefore lost hope of success, and asked that the assault might be indefinitely postponed. Meanwhile, on the 23rd, the enemy advanced in force against the Ching-ho-cheng column, and this body fell back from its fortified position next day after fighting an unsuccessful engagement.

At the commencement of the Japanese advance our armies were distributed as follows:

Right Flank.—2nd Army, consisting of the 1st Siberians, Composite Rifle, 8th and 10th Corps, a brigade of the 3rd and a mixed brigade of the 5th Siberians (total, 126 battalions), occupying the line Ssu-fang-tai–Chang-tan–Hou-lien-tai, a length of sixteen miles.

Centre.—3rd Army, consisting of the 5th Siberians (less two regiments), 17th Corps, and one division of the 6th Siberians (total, 72 battalions), occupying the line Hou-lien-tai–Ling-shen-pu–Sha-ho-pu–Shan-lan-tzu, a length of eleven miles.

Left Flank.—Here were the 1st Army (less one regiment), 4th, 2nd, and 3rd Siberians (the latter less one brigade), 71st Division, Independent Siberian Reserve Brigade, and two Trans-Baikal infantry battalions (total, 128 battalions), occupying the line Shan-lan-tzu–Lu-chiang-tun–Erh-ta-kou–Lia-cheng-wu-tun, and further along the right bank of the Sha Ho, having its left flank three miles east of the Kao-tai Ling (Pass), a length of thirty miles. The 1st Army also had independent columns at Ching-ho-cheng and Hsin-tsin-tin.

The General Reserve consisted of forty-four battalions—namely, the 16th Corps (less one brigade) on the railway six miles south of Mukden station, 72nd Division, and 146th Tsaritsin Regiment, behind the right flank of the 1st Army at Huang-shan.

On February 23 the shortage in the infantry (rank and file) of all three armies was 49,000.

A “Short Account of the Operations round Mukden in February, 1905,” was submitted to His Majesty the Tsar with a letter from me dated May 13, 1905. A detailed description of these operations has been completed, and has now also been submitted to His Majesty. The whole of the Mukden operations can be divided into three phases:

1. From February 23 to 28, till the turning movement against our right flank developed.

2. From February 28 to March 9—the period of our concentration on the right bank of the Hun Ho, and our attempts to drive back the enemy who were enveloping us.

3. From March 9 to 16—our final attempt to hold on to Mukden, and our forced abandonment of it.