These fortifications consisted of deep trenches with hardly any parapet, placed at the very foot of the hills which lay behind them, in accordance with General Fock’s system. Right close up to the trenches grew high kao-liang,[49] which completely blocked the field of view from the trenches, and, like the plan of the trenches themselves, the positions selected for them afforded an example of the blind application of a principle[50] in itself sound enough. The man responsible for the defence of the right flank of Feng-huang Shan unhappily failed to apply this principle correctly.
In his anxiety to adhere to the principle of a flat trajectory he entirely lost sight of the fact that every small mound, if only two or three feet high, presents an impenetrable barrier to a low-flying bullet. He also quite forgot that the slope of the hill of itself affords an obstacle difficult to surmount; and he, moreover, ignored the difficulties of an eventual retreat from the trenches up the side of the hill, sometimes a very steep one, as was the case at Feng-huang Shan.
So the trenches on the right flank of Feng-huang Shan were placed at the foot of its northern side. In front of them grew kao-liang to the height of 5 feet. The regiments occupying this position were disposed throughout the trenches in question.
One of the officers of the 13th Regiment described what happened thus:
“Having retreated from the Shipinsin Pass, the regiment occupied part of the trenches on Feng-huang Shan, and began to cut down the kao-liang, but only had time to destroy a belt of about 50 yards of it in front of the trenches. They had supper and spent the night comparatively quietly. Very early in the morning there was a stir among the kao-liang, and before the men had time to seize their rifles, the Japanese were 20 paces from the trenches. Our troops, spread out over a wide front, were unable to withstand the rush of the Japanese columns and retreated up the hill and beyond. There were no trenches on the top of the hill. Seeing the retreat of the troops in the centre and the Japanese in possession of their trenches, the other regiments also began to retire on thus finding their flanks exposed. Thanks to our artillery, the Japanese were prevented from advancing any farther and stopped behind the hills which they had occupied. Only Ta-ku Shan and Hsiao-ku Shan[51] were left in our hands.”
Another officer of the 13th Regiment gave the following description of the fight:
“After the battle round Lao-tso Shan our men had to occupy another position, of which the left flank was Feng-huang Shan. The 13th Regiment occupied the section from the Great Mandarin road to 11th Verst on the railway. We had the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Companies in the first line, and the 9th, 11th, and 12th in the reserve, the 10th Company forming the artillery escort. The whole of the 14th Regiment was in reserve behind the 13th. The position occupied by us was fortified according to General Fock’s system, i.e. the trenches were dug at the very foot of the hill, so that they afforded but a very poor field of fire, and the Japanese could take advantage of cover behind every clump or mound on the ground in front. Besides this, in front of the trenches was kao-liang of such a height that the whole of the foreground was completely hidden from our men sitting in the trenches. We did all we could to destroy this vile stuff, but we had no time to cut it down for more than 50 paces from the trenches, and in some places to even a less extent.
“Colonel Prince Machabeli, commanding the left, considering that his reserve was too weak, decided to strengthen it by one company, and despatched accordingly the following order to the firing line: ‘Send back one of the companies from the position to the reserve.’[52] Captain R—— received this order. On either side of him was Major G——, commanding the 2nd Company, and Lieutenant L——, commanding the 3rd Company. Captain R—— decided that he would join the reserve. Unfortunately, Lieutenant L—— came to the same conclusion, so they both went back to the reserve. It is not known what Major G—— decided to do, but he also disappeared somewhere.
“The Japanese saw these companies going away, and, springing up to the attack, hurled themselves into the gap without firing a shot, the high kao-liang allowing them to come right up to our trenches unobserved. Having gained this unoccupied point, they worked round to the flank, and even the rear, of the other companies, and poured in a murderous fire. The 4th Company hurriedly evacuated its position, but the 1st and 5th held on for some time. At last, the 1st Company having lost 101 men and the 5th 105, they began to retire, and, following them, all the other companies climbed up the hill under a hail of bullets from the Japanese now occupying our trenches. There were no trenches at the top of the hill, so our men went on into the town. Colonel Machabeli was held responsible, and was removed from the command of the regiment in consequence.”
This gallant field officer was afterwards killed on the West Pan-lung Redoubt under the following circumstances. The Japanese attacked the redoubt and took the front glacis. Our men were lodged in the rear. Colonel Machabeli stopped those who were retreating and, having inspired them with a fiery speech, rushed forward, calling on his men to follow him. Another moment and the Japanese were driven out of the redoubt.