Kuropatkin's Heavy Loss
The loss of Count Keller was a particularly heavy blow to Kuropatkin, for he was the most trusted of all his subordinates and was most deeply in the confidence of the Commander-in-Chief. His experience, too, of war was gained in the Russo-Turkish campaign, on the staff of the same famous leader, Skobeleff, and he actually succeeded Kuropatkin as Aide-de-Camp to that General when the present Commander-in-Chief was wounded at the Shipka Pass in 1877. Besides the signal misfortune he sustained by the death of this distinguished officer, General Kuropatkin had to add to his already heavy casualty list a further loss of 2,000 officers and men. It was an even more significant and discouraging fact, however, that among the troops opposed to the victorious Kuroki on this occasion were the most recent accessions to the Russian army, the 10th and 17th Corps. These forces, which came from European Russia and were greatly superior to the Siberian soldiery both in physique and discipline, had been counted upon to do much to stem the tide of disaster, but though they made a better appearance than the troops which had been in action previously, all their prowess was unavailing against the impetuous patriotism of the Japanese, who had by this time proved themselves to be among the finest infantry in the whole world.
Concentration at Liaoyang
It now became plain to Kuropatkin that the Japanese could not be stopped before Liao-yang itself was reached. He therefore concentrated all his available forces at that powerful and highly fortified position in preparation for a great pitched battle. During the months which had elapsed since the arrival of the Russian Commander-in-Chief at the seat of war, Liao-yang had been turned into a great place of arms. Its great natural defensive advantages had been skilfully improved upon. Every inch of suitable ground had been carefully fortified, and there can be little doubt from the character of the dispositions which had been made that Kuropatkin hoped to be able not only to make a stand here, but to hurl back the armies of the Mikado in disorder, save Southern Manchuria for the Czar, and perhaps even march forward afterwards to the relief of the beleaguered fortress of Port Arthur.
His armies, indeed, had been tragically reduced in numbers in every combat that had yet taken place. The arrival of the Tenth and Seventeenth Army Corps had put him in a better position; but against this had to be set the loss of nearly 30,000 men killed or wounded since the battle of the Yalu proved the magnitude of the task which lay before him. Yet he now possessed a force of about 132,000 men, with 400 guns, and he held a position of enormous strength. All of his troops, indeed, had tasted the bitterness and discouragement of defeat in the course of the fifteen engagements which had taken place since the outbreak of the war, but he himself had not yet been present in person upon the field of battle, and he might well hope that the failure which had attended all the efforts of his lieutenants would give place to victory when he took the direction of affairs into his own hands.
Kuropatkin's Urgent Motives
At all events, whatever the issue of the battle might be, there could be no doubt that a retreat from Liao-yang without fighting was for every reason impossible. The Court of St. Petersburg had already been rendered restive by the continual withdrawal of the main body of Muscovite armies to the north; his enemies were busy with their detractions; and the irrepressible Alexeieff was always near to make capital out of the difficulties, and to distort and misrepresent the actions of his abler rival. But beyond all these personal reasons, powerful enough in themselves in the eyes of a man holding such a position as Kuropatkin, there were more worthy considerations which weighed heavily in the scale in favor of boldly submitting his fortunes to the cast of the die and risking all in one mighty struggle. The honor of the Russian arms and the prestige of the Empire were at stake; a continued retreat without a supreme effort to roll back the tide of invasion was politically dangerous to a Dominion which owed its very existence in the East to the preservation of a haughty and determined front; and, more serious even than the growing restlessness of all those Oriental races who yield unwilling allegiance to the Little White Father, was the increasing discontent in Russia itself, and the uprising once more of the forbidding spectre of Nihilism and revolution. A pitched battle on a grand scale was, therefore, for every reason unavoidable, and, in spite of all the risks he ran, Kuropatkin faced the prospect before him with calm courage and resolution.
Oyama's Great Resources
The state of things on the other side was very different. Here there was nothing to discourage, but everything to inspire hope. Field-Marshal Oyama, who had now reached the scene of operations, found at his disposal three great armies upon whose banners victory had consistently rested during a now prolonged campaign. The organization of the whole of the forces was perfect, and though it was now far from its base, its supplies were ample and constant. The natural difficulties of the advance were, indeed, great, but they were no greater than those which had already been triumphantly overcome. His chief lieutenants were men of tried capacity. The subordinate officers had proved their efficiency in tactics on many a hard-fought field, and the rank and file were inspired, not only with a rare intelligence, but with a fanatical patriotism, which made them, perhaps, the most formidable instruments of warfare the world has ever seen. And after all the inevitable losses of the past three months, he yet had under his command a total field force (exclusive of the army of 100,000 men engaged in besieging Port Arthur) of 220,000 men and 600 guns. It was plain that only the most desperate resistance on the part of the Russians could prevent the crowning mercy of a great victory, and already foreign critics were anticipating a Russian Sedan upon the banks of the Taitse River.
