Japan

by Walter G. Dickson

On May 7th, Kuroki captured another town, Feng-wang-cheng, the Russians retreating without giving battle. The first setback to the Japanese in the war came with defeat in an engagement with Cossacks north of Feng-wang-cheng, May 18th.

Eight days later (May 26), however, the almost monotonous succession of victories that characterized the movement of the Japanese armies throughout the war was resumed with a victory at the great battle of Kinchow and Nanchan Hill. This was the first really notable pitched battle of the war. After sixteen hours of continuous fighting, the Russians began a precipitous retreat, pursued by the Japanese.

The casualties on both sides were very heavy, those of Japan being estimated at between 3,500 and 4,300 killed and wounded. The Russians left 704 dead on the field at Nanshan Hill alone—the bodies being buried by the Japanese some two weeks later (June 12). Altogether the Russian total loss in killed and wounded was 2,600. The Japanese reported the capture (during the Kinchow and Nanshan Hill engagements and in the minor engagements that were taking place simultaneously), of 600 prisoners, 21 guns, 1,000 rifles, and 350,000 rounds of ammunition. This great victory was the first of the many to be celebrated in Japan with joyful popular demonstrations.

On May 30th, the Japanese attacked and defeated 2,000 Cossacks at Ai-pien-men; and on the same day, General Oku, commanding the Japanese Second Army, reported to his Government that he had occupied the port of Dalny, which the Russians had evacuated after destroying a large part of the town. General Oku reported, however, that the docks, piers, and railroad station, were not seriously damaged.

Meanwhile (May 23 to 26), the Japanese Third Army, under General Nodzu, engaged in a series of battles with the Russian forces (under General Fock) which General Stoessel had sent out from Port Arthur to attempt to restore the line of communication between the besieged city and Mukden.

Fifty thousand men of General Oku’s Second Army caught a large body of Russians under General Stakelberg in ambush, near Telissu, on June 14th, and a battle ensued in which the Russians lost 4,300 men and the Japanese 1,100. Thus the Japanese thwarted one more attempt of the Russians to move to the relief of Port Arthur, General Stakelberg having concentrated his troops on the line of railroad leading to the besieged city. The Russians now fell back upon Kaiping, but the Japanese drove them from that position, July 9th. Meantime, the Third Army under General Nodzu had effected a junction with Kuroki, and together the two armies advanced to Sunachen and there again defeated the Russians, after a two hours’ battle. A Fourth Japanese Army had taken the field, and Field Marshal Oyama was placed in supreme command of all Japanese operations.

Now came another notable defeat of the Russians. In a desperate attempt to prevent the separation of their forces, 20,000 Russians, under General Keller, unsuccessfully attacked the Japanese at Fenshiuling (July 17), and then retired to a strong position on the Yantze Pass. On July 23d, General Oku advanced to the attack on Yinkow, and compelled the Russians to abandon the place. Furthermore, on July 31st, the Japanese, after a desperate fight, drove the Russians under General Keller from their position on Yantze Pass. General Keller was killed and his men fell back to Liaoyang. Simultaneously, Generals Oku and Nodzu combined in an attack on the Russians at Haicheng (August 2), compelling the enemy to evacuate that place also. Thus with a loss of 2,400 men, the Japanese had within a few days driven the enemy back from the mountains into the Manchu Plains.

With 200,000 men the Japanese then renewed the attack on the Russians (who had 148,000 men), at Liaoyang. The First, Second and Third Armies began a general advance (August 26), and continued to push forward till September 3d, when the Russians were driven out of Liaoyang and compelled to retreat toward Mukden. By September 5th the Russian forces under General Kuropatkin were practically surrounded by the Japanese.

In October occurred one of the greatest battles of the war, that of the Sha River and Lone Tree Hill. This time the Russians took the offensive, advancing, 300,000 strong, upon the Japanese battle line along the Sha River. For a week, fighting night and day, the battle continued, the Japanese losing their commanding position on Lone Tree Hill. This battle also checked the Japanese advance and ended the campaign for the fall and winter. In this seven days’ fight each side lost about 45,000 killed and wounded.

Fighting was resumed on January 25, 1905, when the Russians again took the initiative, General Kuropatkin, with 400,000 men, ordering a general attack on the enemy near Liaoyang. For six days the battle lasted, with desperate fighting on both sides, but resulting in the repulse of the Russians. Then, from February 20th to March 15th, was fought the series of terrific engagements known as the battle of Mukden. Field Marshal Oyama’s four armies, consisting of 500,000 men, extending in line-of-battle over a semicircle 120 miles long, advanced in a general attack which resulted in the taking of Mukden on March 10th and the demoralized retreat of the Russians, March 15th. In these operations the Japanese lost 60,000 men, the Russians 100,000.