On Land
On the 14th Admiral Togo once more brought his fleet before Port Arthur, and by means of an indirect bombardment, silenced the new forts on Liau-tie-shan. He then retired again to prepare for a further attempt to cork up the harbor, which should finally reduce the Russian fleet to a state of ineffectiveness, and leave the sea clear for the transport of the great army which was to be launched against the Liao-tung Peninsula and southern Manchuria. Already General Kuroki, with the First Army, was encamped on the south bank of the Yalu River prepared for an advance upon the Russian position at Khiu-lien-cheng.
Chong-Ju
But before dealing with the momentous events which now occurred in rapid succession, both on land and sea, it will be necessary to return for a few moments to the earlier fortunes of the First Army, whose advance through Korea as far as Ping-Yang was described in Chapter III. It will be remembered that a small skirmish took place between Russian and Japanese patrols to the north of that town on February 28th. A month elapsed before the opposing forces came seriously into touch with one another again. During that period General Kuroki slowly but steadily continued his advance in the face of terrible difficulties arising from the weather and the state of the roads. The mud on these north Korean highways in the spring makes them almost impassable, but the Japanese had thought of everything, and brought large supplies of wood with which they practically relaid the road, and made it admit even of the passage of heavy artillery. The Cossack patrols retired before this persistent advance, and no real attempt to dispute it was made till the vanguard of the Japanese neared Chong-ju, a little town about thirty miles north of Anju and fifty south of Wiju. Here, on March 28th, they found six squadrons of Cossacks belonging to General Mishtchenko's Brigade, posted on an adjacent hill, prepared to dispute the forward movement. A brisk engagement ensued. The small force of Japanese which first appeared upon the scene, according to the testimony of General Mishtchenko himself, gallantly held their ground in spite of the commanding position occupied by the Russians and the raking cross fire which they maintained, and it was only after half an hour of fierce fighting that they gave way and fell back upon their supports which were hastening to the front. Reinforcements now rapidly arrived, and the Russians, finding their position untenable, retired along the road to the north, yielding up possession of the town to the Japanese. In this smart little affair the Russians, according to their account, lost three killed and twelve wounded, the Japanese casualties amounting to five killed, including one officer, and twelve wounded, including two officers.
The Advance to the North
After the capture of Chong-ju General Kuroki moved forward rapidly, finding no resistance. On April 2nd he occupied Syoush-kou, a place eighteen miles west of Chong-ju, and forty miles south of Wiju, and two days afterwards his scouts entered Wiju itself, an important town on the south bank of the Yalu. The Russians did not find themselves strong enough to oppose the Japanese advance in Korea, and determined instead to resist it on the north bank of the Yalu. General Kuroki therefore occupied Wiju without firing a shot, and set to work busily to consolidate his forces for the great enterprise of crossing the Yalu.
Concentration of Troops
The month of April was occupied by General Kuroki in the steady concentration of his troops and in the collection of war material. Pontoons were conveyed to the front in readiness for the operation of forcing the river; heavy guns were transported over the Korean roads with, in the circumstances, really marvelous rapidity; and masses of cavalry and infantry arrived at Wiju every day. By the end of the month the First Japanese Army had been brought up to its full strength, amounting probably to between 60,000 and 70,000 men of all arms. It was divided into three divisions, the 12th, the 2nd and the Guards. The 12th Division, it will be remembered, was the first section of the army to put foot on Korean soil, being landed at Chemulpo during the first days of the war, after the destruction of the Varyag had left that part of the coast clear for the Japanese disembarkation. It may be well to record its composition exactly, as it is typical of all the Japanese divisions. It was made up as follows:—Infantry, 12,000 (four regiments of three battalions each); cavalry, 500 (one regiment); artillery, 900 (one regiment, 36 guns, two field batteries, two mountain batteries); engineers, 700; transport corps, 600; hospital corps, 700; ammunition column, 500; post office corps, veterinary corps, pontoon corps and balloon corps, 1,000; total, 16,900. Attached to these combatant troops were a force of 5,500 coolies for transport purposes, bringing the grand total of the division, combatant and non-combatant, up to 22,400. The whole was under the command of Lieutenant-General Inouye, whose chief subordinates were Major-Generals Kigoshi and Otani.
RUSSIAN CONCENTRATION ON THE YALU.