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LIEUT.-GENERAL NIKOLAI ALEXANDROVITCH TRETYAKOV,
COMMANDING 5TH REGIMENT.

[Frontispiece.

MY EXPERIENCES AT
NAN SHAN AND
PORT ARTHUR

WITH THE FIFTH EAST SIBERIAN RIFLES

By
LIEUT.-GENERAL N. A. TRETYAKOV

TRANSLATED BY
LIEUTENANT A. C. ALFORD, R.A.

EDITED BY
CAPTAIN F. NOLAN BAKER, R.A.

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON
HUGH REES, Ltd.
119 PALL MALL, S.W.
1911

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PRINTED AND BOUND BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

[PREFACE]

In 1909 there appeared in the Russian military journal, “Voenny Sbornik,” twelve articles from the pen of a distinguished Russian officer.

The writer—Lieutenant-General (then Colonel) Tretyakov—as commander of the Western Section of the Defences had taken a prominent and gallant part in the historic struggle for the possession of Port Arthur.

His narrative—of which this work is a translation—placed before his countrymen, in simple and intimate language, his experiences at Nan Shan and within the beleaguered fortress. The impression created throughout Russia was deep and immediate.

No more touching and direct appeal to judge its beaten heroes sympathetically and fairly has ever been made to a nation. Six thousand miles from the Fatherland the author’s regiment, the 5th Siberian Rifles—and many another—fought to the death for God and the Czar. This plain tale is a fitting record of their soldierly devotion. As such we offer it to English readers, assured that every page must bring home the conviction that here we have the actual history of the fighting line—as perhaps nothing else in our language gives it.

We follow the fortunes of the General’s own unit, we live with his men amidst the bloodstained wreck of their trenches on 203 Metre Hill, losing all thought of the general conduct of the attack and defence of the fortress—in a word, we are transported from the dry bones of military history to the living realities of the battlefield.

To the soldier these annals afford example after example, deeply interesting and instructive, of military cause and effect. In theory a specialist’s business, here we see laid bare the foundation on which stands scientific siege warfare. The infantry soldier’s readiness to die makes possible the rôle of the gunner and the sapper—his blood cements their work.

From the historical point of view these pages exemplify the rare incident of a writer of the beaten side giving to the world an opportunity of comparing his account with that of the victor—not years after the strife, but while the sword is yet barely sheathed. The student of war will doubtless fully appreciate the value of such contemporary history.

In Semenov’s “Rasplata” we have a bitter lament for “what might have been.” The psychological contrast is now before us—a commander who rarely criticizes, but, instead, shows us every one cheerfully doing his best to make bricks without straw.

In him the British soldier will recognize a brother-in-arms, whose unassuming character and cheerful self-restraint in the midst of adversity must appeal to his national instincts.

This is perhaps hardly the place to enter upon a critical discussion of the strategy and tactics of the conflict, but we cannot refrain from reminding the reader that in this great siege we beheld the remarkable spectacle of an army sacrificing itself to secure for its fleet the command of the sea. No more eloquent testimony to the value to an island power of that command has ever been presented.

In conclusion, we add a short biographical sketch of the author, and we take this opportunity to acknowledge with gratitude his most kind and invaluable assistance in the translation and illustration of the work.

* * * * *

Lieutenant-General Nikolai Alexandrovitch Tretyakov was born in the Simbirsky Government in 1856. Educated in Moscow, he passed through the Constantine Military School and the Engineer Academy before being gazetted in 1875 to the 6th Sapper Battalion as Second-Lieutenant.

On the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War he accompanied this battalion to the front, and, volunteering to serve in the 4th Battalion before Plevna, took part in that famous siege, and was the first to enter the Turkish stronghold by the Grivitsa road, which he did at the head of a company of sappers. He was rewarded for his services with the 3rd Class of the Order of Stanislav and the 3rd Class of the Order of Anne, together with the rank of Staff-Captain.

At the conclusion of the war Staff-Captain Tretyakov passed through the Nicholas Engineer Academy, and was then appointed to the command of a company in a sapper battalion stationed at Kiev. Retaining this post for eight years, he attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1893, and in the same year was sent to the Far East at the head of an East Siberian Engineer battalion. During the Boxer Rising he helped to fortify the Nan Shan position, and was present at the capture of the Ta-ku Forts, afterwards joining in the advance on Pekin. General Lineivitch marked his appreciation of the good work done in this campaign by Lieutenant-Colonel Tretyakov by recommending him for “the gold sword.” This honour was followed by appointment to the command of the 5th East Siberian Rifle Regiment, and for the next two years he was engaged in protecting the railway from Pekin against the attacks of the Hunhutzes, and was again decorated, this time with the 3rd Class of the Order of Vladimir.

On the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War the Czar conferred upon him the much-coveted “George Cross,” the 1st Class of the Order of Stanislav, the 1st Class of the Order of Anne, and the rank of Major-General. On his return to Russia he commanded the 3rd Sapper Brigade at Kiev until, on promotion to the rank of Lieutenant-General, he became Inspector-General of Engineers in the Kiev District.

F. N. B.

Note.—The notes and explanations throughout this work are by the Translator or Editor.

[COPY OF LETTER FROM GENERAL TRETYAKOV TO THE TRANSLATOR]

Jeliesnovodsk,
July 16th, 1909.

Dear Sir,

I have been rather long in answering your letter, as it was forwarded to me here from Kiev.

I hasten to inform you that, not only have I no objection to your translating my articles into English, but I am very glad of it, as it is to the interest of the Russian Garrison that all the circumstances of the defence of Port Arthur should be fully stated; and I take this opportunity of thanking you beforehand for undertaking the task.

I remain,
Your most obedient servant,
N. TRETYAKOV.

[CONTENTS]

CHAPTER I

Arrival of the 5th Regiment at Chin-chou—Rumours of war—Declaration of war—Restoring the fortifications on the Nan Shan position—Watching for the Japanese—First signs of the enemy—A reconnaissance in force—Fighting to the north of Chin-chou, May 16

[Pages 1–31]

CHAPTER II

Further account of the actions at Chang-chia-tun and Shih-san-li-tai—Preliminary skirmishes round Chin-chou—The battle of Nan Shan, May 26, 1904

[Pages 32–61]

CHAPTER III

Night alarm during the march to Nan-kuan-ling—Disappearance of the baggage train—Continuation of the retreat towards Port Arthur—Occupation and fortification of the “Position of the Passes”—Japanese attacks on the position on July 26, 27, and 28—Capture of Yu-pi-la-tzu and Lao-tso Shan—General retirement to new positions, July 29

[Pages 62–84]

CHAPTER IV

Retreat from Feng-huang Shan, July 30—Fortifying 174 Metre Hill—Capture of Kan-ta Shan—Attacks on the advanced hills, August 13, 14, and 15—Retreat to Namako Yama and Division Hills—Losses

[Pages 85–111]

CHAPTER V

The fighting round 174 Metre Hill—Capture of 174 Metre Hill and evacuation of Connecting Ridge—Fortifying 203 Metre Hill—Defence and capture of Extinct Volcano

[Pages 112–146]

CHAPTER VI

Continuing the work of fortifying the various hills—End of the first general assault, August 22 and 23—Attacks on Namako Yama from August 24 to September 19

[Pages 147–170]

CHAPTER VII

Continuation of the struggle for Namako Yama, and abandonment of the hill, September 20—The first attacks on 203 Metre Hill, September, 19–22

[Pages 171–194]

CHAPTER VIII

Making good damages, and strengthening and supplementing the works on the various hills

[Pages 195–211]

CHAPTER IX

Fortifying 203 Metre Hill—Situation at the beginning of November—Mining operations

[Pages 212–229]

CHAPTER X

Events on 203 Metre Hill from November 23 to 30

[Pages 230–252]

CHAPTER XI

The fighting on December 1—Reconnoitring at night—The “ideal officer”—The attacks on 203 Metre Hill on December 4—Events on Akasaka Yama from November 27 to December 4

[Pages 253–278]

CHAPTER XII

The author severely wounded—Final assault and capture of 203 Metre Hill on December 5—The hospitals—Death of General Kondratenko, December 15—Retreat from Interval Hill, December 25—Evacuation of Fort Erh-lung and part of the Chinese Wall, December 28—Japanese attack on the Chinese Wall, December 30—Destruction of Fort Sung-shu, December 31—Capture of Wang-tai, December 31—Surrender of the fortress, January 2, 1905

[Pages 279–301]

NOTES

[Pages 302–304]

INDEX

[Pages 305–312]

[LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS]

[PLATES OF TRENCHES]

[MAPS]

MY EXPERIENCES

AT

NAN SHAN AND PORT ARTHUR

[CHAPTER I]

Arrival of the 5th Regiment at Chin-chou—Rumours of war—Declaration of war—Restoring the fortifications on the Nan Shan position—Watching for the Japanese—First signs of the enemy—A reconnaissance in force—Fighting to the north of Chin-chou, May 16.

The Staff of the 5th East Siberian Rifles, with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Companies, arrived at Chin-chou on April 1, 1903. The regiment, for the past three years, had been stationed at various points on the Yellow Sea, engaged in guarding from the attacks of the Hunhutzes the railways rebuilt by our railway battalion in conjunction with the 1st East Siberian Sappers, the unit which I commanded during the Boxer campaign.

The regiment began to settle down at Chin-chou and to transfer its baggage there from Novokievsk, after which, the men having first been housed, some large buildings were run up for the accommodation of the horses and transport vehicles, both of which were in a splendid condition, notwithstanding the wear and tear of the campaign just gone through. Our two-wheeled carts were all in good repair; the horses I had bought from the Germans at Tientsin, when they offered for sale a magnificent lot of animals, brought at enormous cost from Austria and America, and, though costing us only about 80 roubles[1] per head, one could not speak too highly of them. I handed over our former small horses to our mounted scout detachment,[2] which, owing to some misunderstanding, was without any. Thus, the best-equipped unit of all our forces in China, we spent the whole of the summer of 1903 at Chin-chou.

Throughout that summer we were worried by the Hunhutzes, and not only were the scouts constantly engaged in encounters with these brigands, but we were also obliged to send out strong detachments, as the police and scouts combined proved insufficient to deal with them. The authorities at home knew very little about all this, since the local commanders refrained from sending in reports about the Hunhutze bands. Seeing that the police could not cope with them, I personally took all measures in my power against them; but when I spoke to the commandant about taking further steps, saying that I could not understand why he did not call in the help of the regular troops, the answer was always the same: “My dear Colonel, the authorities think that we do nothing at all, or else suspect us of pusillanimity; there has already been some unpleasantness about it, and the civil governor has flatly refused to make any report to the Viceroy.” So the people had to pay more and more tribute per head, and the Hunhutzes threatened our military posts as well as those of the Chinese police. In the end we had regular pitched battles with them, and the scouts and various regiments in the Kuan-tung Peninsula, as well as the 5th Regiment, lost a considerable number in killed and wounded.

“What’s their little game?” we asked.

“Ah!” said some; “the Chinese say that there are Japanese among them.”

“But what are the Japanese after?”

“They say they are going to fight us. Our people from Shanghai tell us that the Japanese officers speak to ours about nothing but politics: ‘You,’ they say, ‘must take Persia under your protection; but we will have Korea, which we have tried to obtain for centuries.’”

At the end of the summer we received orders to prepare quarters for all the companies of our regiment (except the 6th, which was at Pi-tzu-wo), and in August they all arrived. From the first moment of the concentration of the regiment it became clear to us that relations with Japan had become strained, and that a rupture might be expected. Soon after we heard it rumoured that the 3rd Battalion was going to join us, and then we heard that they were forming a 7th Rifle Division in Port Arthur. The officers spoke of war, but as, according to those who ought to know, the Japanese could only put 300,000 men into the field, we all felt quite confident. However, when it became known that General Kashtalinski’s division was going to the Yalu, we did not feel quite the same assurance, since it would be very difficult to defend Port Arthur with only two divisions. French officers, we heard, were greatly surprised that we did not think seriously of war when we really were on the very eve of it. It must be admitted that, while contemplating the peaceful aspect of Port Arthur, we did indeed forget that we were living on the edge of a volcano.

The awakening came on the night of February 8–9, when I was roused up and given a telegram from General Glinski, on opening which I rubbed my eyes as I read:

“The Japanese fleet is fifty miles from the coast and making for Port Arthur. Be on the alert.”

“Well,” I thought to myself, “there is nothing to fear; our fleet will soon make an end of theirs.”

I do not know why, but we always believed in the invulnerability of our fleet, more especially since we heard that the Admiralty had refused to buy from Argentina the two splendid armoured cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga, saying that we were strong enough without them. (This may be a misconception, but I am speaking of what we heard at the time.)

Having sent for the commander of the 1st Scout Detachment, I told him to proceed to Kerr Bay and the Ta-ku Shan Peninsula, to keep a look-out on the shore. I then lay down, and was just dozing of! when they called me again. Another telegram from General Glinski; it only contained three words: “War declared. Glinski.” This did not worry me very much. “Let them come first and destroy our fleet, and then they can land in Southern Korea,” I thought to myself.

However, I sent the detachment, and with it ten mounted scouts to act as orderlies. Early in the morning I went out on to the Nan Shan position, where, as I had expected, all the trenches and batteries were in a ruined condition, and in the winter, when the ground was as hard as rock, it would be extremely difficult to restore the fortifications. Returning from the position, I met an officer coming out of Port Arthur, who told me that three of our battleships had been blown up suddenly by Japanese destroyers.[3]

This news was a great shock to me. A landing was now possible, not only in Southern Korea, but even in our rear, and it was absolutely essential to hurry on with the strengthening of the position. But now we had nothing whatever to work with, and so I had to collect all the tools available in the town, which, thanks to the help of Captain Preegorovski, a very smart and energetic officer, was done remarkably quickly. I told off working parties, who set to work to restore the advanced trenches, but the frozen earth would not yield, and the shovels only served for throwing up the lumps of soil loosened by the picks.

Our first recruits and reservists arrived on February 16, and had all to be thoroughly drilled. According to our mobilization plans all the companies of the regiment, except the 1st,[4] should be at the disposal of the officer commanding, and orders were given accordingly, and the 5th and 6th Companies immediately called in, the latter having all this time been engaged with the Hunhutzes. The town of Chin-chou became so crowded that I quartered about half the companies in barracks behind the Nan Shan position, and had the regimental baggage transferred to Port Arthur, where I had hired a private house for its storage, the authorities having refused to give us Government buildings.

Some mounted scouts were sent out to watch the shore under the command of Major Pavlovski, commandant of the Gandzalinski district, and a section of rifles was also allotted to him under Acting Ensign[5] Shiskin of the reserve, as he had complained that the Hunhutzes had become so daring as to be threatening his quarters. We ourselves watched Kerr Bay and the bays adjoining by establishing posts and a chain of mounted scouts, the practice of hunting up the Hunhutzes being abandoned.

Now began a period of activity such as I had never before experienced in the whole of my service. We fortified the positions, brought up stores, instructed the recruits and reservists, of whom more than half the regiment was now composed, and, lastly, kept a look-out for the enemy, for which latter duty two hundred men were required daily. All this made the situation of the regiment a very difficult one, the more so, as the enemy was free to effect a landing between Chin-chou and Port Arthur, and cut us off from the fortress. For these reasons I considered our situation not only difficult, but dangerous.

The 3rd Battalion arrived on April 2. They were a fine lot of men. I quartered them in the town, and disposed the old companies in the villages situated in front of the position.

Major[6] Schwartz, an engineer officer, was attached to us to help us with the fortifications, and had brought money with him for the hire of workmen. From this time, too, we began practising manœuvring on the position while yet the enemy gave us a short respite, which we endeavoured to make the most of.

Sixty versts[7] from Port Arthur, on the isthmus joining the southern part of Kuan-tung to the mainland beyond, and occupying half the breadth of the isthmus, is some high ground cut up lengthwise and crossways by a number of deep ravines, which mark the well-known Nan Shan position.

In the last China campaign,[8] there being a danger of Chinese troops moving on Port Arthur from the north, this position was turned into a vast series of fortified batteries by Colonel—now General—Kholodovski, and when the sapper battalion, of which I was in command at that time, came up to the position to complete its fortification, all the commanding points were found to be crowned by batteries, armed with heavy guns. We set to work at the time to build trenches for the infantry, a work already partially done on the right flank, whereupon we built two redoubts in front of the batteries in advanced positions, and one central one near Battery No. 13.

All these fortifications, now almost completely in ruins, had to form part of our present line of defence. I was put in command, and Schwartz and myself set to work to restore the forts. I was told that the 5th Regiment would have to defend the position against the Japanese, and I recognized at once that we had not sufficient men. Having carefully calculated the minimum numbers required to hold these works, I arrived at the conclusion that for a more or less successful defence it was necessary to have at least three regiments. (The peninsula was 3 versts across,[9] with 2 versts of shallow water on either flank, increasing to 8 versts at low tide.)

GUN-PITS.

p. 8]

In front of the position, and 2 versts from it, stood Chin-chou, a town surrounded by an old Chinese wall, 3½ versts in length, and proof against field-artillery fire. It would be extremely difficult to storm the wall in face of artillery fire from the main position, and as also it gave good cover from the enemy’s rifle and gun fire, it was decided to occupy the town as an advanced post. It did, in fact, cover the front of the position, and it would be a difficult matter to attack the heights beyond without having first taken it. The state of affairs became, however, more complicated, as at least two companies were necessary for the defence of the town, thus leaving us only nine companies for the main position.

We were ordered to defend ourselves to the last drop of blood. When I told General Fock of the difficulty of defending the position with one regiment, which was not even up to full strength, he replied: “Do you know, if I were in your place, I should say to my commanding officer: ‘Leave me only two companies, and I shall know better how to die with them, than with a whole regiment.’” From this I concluded that, instead of a successful defence, he had some other object in view, the nature of which I could not then fathom.

It was, in fact, impossible to defend this position successfully. The enemy’s fleet could make an appearance on both flanks and at the rear. Our opponent, moreover, had vastly superior numbers, and his batteries eventually spread out in a circle which commanded the crowded mass of our guns on the Nan Shan heights, while the absence of a sufficient number of bomb-proofs and cover for reserves completed the difficulties of the position of the defenders. We built field bakeries, and dug wells on the position, and, as the possibility of a landing in our rear was realized, we were ordered to fortify the rear as well as the front, which is really saying that the position assumed the nature of a fortress.

I had indicated the position lying immediately to the south of the Nan Shan position as being an incomparably better one. On it we could have met the enemy, while he was in the act of filing across the isthmus, on a broad front and with a numerous and well-placed artillery, our flanks on this position being protected from any action on the part of the enemy’s fleet. General Kholodovski’s idea, however, prevailed, perhaps because the work needed to carry it out was almost completed (they did not realize that to restore the fortifications and to build new ones was practically one and the same thing). Be this as it may, the constant talk about the Nan Shan position had made it so popular, that for many its very name became a “mascot.” The view and field of fire from it were certainly splendid, and I took good care to see that the defenders should feel that the position could be successfully held, and satisfied myself that they felt confident of their capability to do so.

Continuing incessantly to fortify the position, the 5th Regiment watched the shore 30 versts to the north by mounted and infantry Scout detachments, sometimes employing the regular companies on this service. We received orders every day by wire to be on the alert and to watch for a landing, and I did everything possible to prevent being taken by surprise. Half of the mounted detachment I sent to Pi-tzu-wo, the most likely point for a landing, and all the mounted scouts of the 14th Regiment were sent to the same locality to watch the coast. A section of a company, under an officer, and ten mounted scouts were sent to Godzarlin[10] to watch Terminal Point. In Kerr Bay and Deep Bay was Lieutenant Vaseeliev with the 1st Infantry Scout Detachment, and ten mounted scouts, and on a headland in Sulivan Bay a post of twenty-five sharp-shooters and six mounted scouts, while the shores of Chin-chou Bay were guarded by the men occupying the town. From Godzarlin up to the position I had distributed a flying post of the 2nd half of the Mounted Scouts, ten of whom I kept with me for orderly duties.

At this time the regiment was disposed as follows: in the town of Chin-chou, the 10th Company under Major Goosov, the 3rd Scout Detachment under Captain Koudriavtsev, and a mixed force of sixty men under Lieutenant Golenko, an officer who had distinguished himself against the Hunhutzes. The 3rd Company occupied the village of Lu-chia-tun, in front of the centre of the position, while the 2nd Company was in the village of Ma-chia-tun, in front of the right flank, and the 6th Company in the village of Ssu-chia-tun, behind the left flank, the remainder being quartered behind the centre of the position. Major Schwartz, with about a dozen men, was quartered in some shelters in the centre of the position. All the regimental and officers’ baggage was stored near the position and in Port Arthur. Lieutenant-Colonel Eremeiev, who had voluntarily joined the regiment from the reserve, and whom I had personally known at the Academy and the Engineer College, I appointed commandant of the town.

As soon as the men of the regiment had settled down in their various quarters, work on the position was pushed forward with feverish haste. Every day thousands of Chinese[11] and soldiers worked at it; they brought up building material, constructed obstacles, dug wells, and the soldiers concurrently underwent musketry and field training; and all this at a time when we expected a landing every moment either in front or in rear. As the regiment might have to withstand a regular siege, we set to work to make splinter-proofs for storing food, supplies, and small-arm ammunition, though the means at our disposal were very limited. We had in hand no more than 60,000 roubles, and so we only made two splinter-proofs, neither of them remarkably long or broad, and began the construction of four wells without, however, much hope of finding water. The cold weather hampered us sadly. The soil was frozen hard, and our shovels and picks, of which we only had a limited supply, kept on breaking. The companies occupying the town, too, worked hard at putting it also into a state of defence. It was proposed to strengthen the existing caponiers and the corners of the town wall, and to build bomb-proofs for the protection of the reserves against splinters.

The enemy was evidently waiting for something, and we felt more secure every day. We improvised an entertainment hall from one of the barrack rooms, decorated it as well as we could, and put a gramophone in it; hence our dinners and suppers went off in right merry style. We used to get a lot of people coming out to see the position, and gladly received them, as we got news from them of what was going on in the outside world. Of course, one could not be sure that the information was exactly correct, but, such as it was, it generally emanated from the staff. The majority of our informants held the opinion that we should never see a shot fired, and that the whole action of the war would be limited to sea fighting and the occupation of the southern part of Korea by the Japanese, as the latter could never raise more than 300,000 men, and, when our battleships had been repaired, we should smash up their fleet and they would have to make terms. No one doubted that our fleet would destroy the Japanese navy, because our naval commanders were more active than the Japanese, our sailors infinitely better at gunnery, and, finally, our ships’ armour was very much stronger, as it was “annealed.”[12] Our naval experts told us all this. No attention whatever was paid to the fact that the Japanese had five first-class battleships while we had only two,[13] and that torpedo craft, of which the Japanese possessed a hundred, had not yet proved their full power of independent action. Our informants did not say how they had come by their knowledge, but they always laid particular stress on the bravery of our sailors.

“Never mind if you do see drunken sailors on shore, nor how rudely officers may answer to any remark addressed to them—on shore; on their ships they cultivate an iron discipline.”

If any one stated that the Japanese fleet was considerably stronger than ours, our tellers of fairy tales would contemptuously answer, especially if the individual was a naval man: “A lot you know! Why do you think the Government refused to buy the Nisshin and Kasuga from Argentina? Because we are strong enough without them; otherwise they would not have refused such a purchase.” And we listeners, satisfied with such arguments, were quickly laughing and joking and telling stories. I always sat at the head of the table, and it was a pleasure to me to listen to the stories and watch the happy faces of those round me, many of whom felt no forebodings then of the destiny awaiting them.

While fortifying the position we made some experiments on the effect of rifle fire directed against targets sheltered by loopholed parapets, as compared with that against targets in the open. It always happened that at a range of 200 yards the effect was considerably greater against loopholed targets, while at longer ranges the latter suffered most. Since, in addition, we ran the risk of hostile shrapnel, we also experimented with this type of fire, and found that 20 rounds at a range of 1 verst put out of action half the defenders of the earth-work, when they stood in the open on the glacis. It was therefore decided to make loopholes everywhere and to provide the detachments with plank overhead cover, which, with General Fock’s approval, was carried out on the succeeding days.

Senior officers frequently visited the position. General Kondratenko came out before we started working, and said that we must occupy the town as strongly as possible. Generals Fock and Nadyein were frequently with us, sometimes staying two or three days. General Fock talked a great deal with the officers, giving his opinion on the way of defending the position and ground in front of it. He thought of meeting the enemy in front of the position, near the villages lying to the north of Mount Sampson, and we often went out reconnoitring with him, and thoroughly studied the ground, but though he insisted on the necessity of fortifying it, we had no means of doing so. The general, it seems, had not told off the regiments of his own division to any work. Only the 5th Regiment continued working, and the nearer the time of our meeting with the enemy approached, the further advanced and stronger became our field works. Judging from what I heard from superior officers, it was not intended to defend the Nan Shan position stubbornly; hence they would not let us have enough money for its fortification, and they sent up no artillery. But the closer our meeting with the enemy impended, the more I became convinced that the position would be stubbornly defended.

From certain remarks of General Fock it seemed as if it was not necessary to make a stubborn defence. The general, for instance, once said to me: “You know that less heroism is required to defend this position than to retreat from it. Those who do not understand the true position of affairs are beginning to call General Fock a traitor!”

Indeed, it was impossible not to fear a landing of the Japanese in rear of the position simultaneously with a landing at Pi-tzu-wo, and this was so obvious that the position was ordered to be fortified in rear. The regiment was in a bad way, and I felt downhearted at not being able to carry out many of General Fock’s suggestions as to the fortification of the position and the means of defending it.

Attaching great importance to the grazing effect of shell, General Fock insisted that the defensive line should be continued right down to the foot of the Nan Shan Hills. Without making a single exception, without taking into consideration that the slopes of the hills were long and gentle, and served as a most difficult obstacle to an attacker, and also completely losing sight of the fact that by carrying our trenches down to the foot of the hills we exposed our companies to fire from the opposite hills, and thus assisted the attackers, he stuck to his point and insisted on our extending our line to a total frontage of 8 versts. In speaking of them, he called our top tier of trenches “swallows’ nests,” and always added: “You, of course, are glad to put your regiment right up under the sky!” I at once pointed out to the general that he had completely ignored the fact that the heights formed a natural and difficult obstacle to pass, that every inequality in the ground below (of which there were many) gave the enemy cover from our fire, and that shot bursting on graze would not have any effect; that we had only one regiment with which to defend the position, and that we ought to make our dispositions with due regard to this unpleasant circumstance. Upon this, General Fock lost his temper, exclaiming that only traitors placed their men under the artillery fire of the enemy, and that the intervals between men in trenches should be 20 paces, or certainly not less than 10 paces, and then there would be no swallows’ nests for them to occupy. I answered that if we should place our unseasoned troops, the majority of whom were recruits and reservists, at 20-paces interval, each one would feel himself isolated and thrown out before an advancing foe without any support, and it might prove that in the moment of need he would be without the moral support of his commander. At the same time I did not lose the opportunity of saying that we had but eleven companies in the regiment, and that if they were spread out over a frontage of 8 versts I should have a very weak line of defence, liable to be broken through at the slightest pressure, and if I were to keep only one company in reserve, which was absolutely indispensable, I should then have a large gap in the line absolutely unoccupied; was a stubborn defence possible under these circumstances? Of course, I understood that General Fock, by throwing his firing line well forward, wished to lessen their losses from the enemy’s rifle and shrapnel fire. Granted, this was important, and was quite feasible at the beginning of the battle. If I had had only a few reserves with which to strengthen threatened points, I should have had nothing to urge against the 20-paces interval even. But there were no reserves told off for the 5th Regiment, although General Nadyein told me that I should be supported, and that the 15th Regiment would be posted near Ta-fang-shen[14]; but when I asked him, “Then, when they are needed, I can use them?” he said: “You want to command a whole division then, do you?” On the whole, therefore, the plan of action at Nan Shan was not very plain to me. One thing was at length clear—I had it from General Kondratenko—that we must defend the position to our last drop of blood, and to this end I prepared both officers and men. We began to make field kitchens in the trenches; we brought up provisions to the position and put them in bomb-proofs, cleared the ground for bivouacking in places covered from the enemy’s fire, and built shelters for the men in the trenches themselves and in the fortifications.

The enemy made no sign, the weather was splendid, and we peacefully continued our work of constructing cover from shrapnel fire and of preparing obstacles.

From the end of February the enemy’s ships constantly appeared in Deep and Kerr Bays; luckily we had already set up a telephone there and connected it with the Naval Observing Station, of which the gallant and enterprising Naval Lieutenant Ditchmann held charge. There was a certain amount of firing from the Japanese ships and an attempt to land from one of their gunboats, but our men drove them off. In view of this, the scouts under Lieutenant Kragelski were reinforced by the addition of some mounted scouts under Lieutenant Sietchko, and on March 7 Major Stempnevski (jun.), with the 7th Company, was sent to Kerr Bay. Two mountain guns, under Lieutenant Naoomov, were sent with the 7th Company. This detachment was formed from the 5th Regiment; the horses were taken from the transport, the guns we had brought with us from China, and the drivers were our own men, but the officers and gun detachments were sent out from Port Arthur.

General Nadyein wished to acquaint himself personally with the position of affairs in the two bays, and on March 23 I accompanied him to Kerr Bay. While still some way off, we saw three large Japanese ships and five destroyers. On arriving we found the 7th Company and our two guns on the position. They were so disposed as to be able to sweep the entrance to Kerr Bay and to oppose the enemy’s advance if he effected a landing on the end of the Ta-ku Shan Peninsula, where we had two weak advanced posts. The Japanese shells pitched as far up as the ravine behind which the company had taken cover, and the Japanese gunners fired even on single individuals if they exposed themselves for a moment.

We were told that our artillery (two small 32-mm. guns forming the section under the command of Naoomov) had done some excellent practice on the enemy’s destroyers, which had consequently retreated from the bay. General Nadyein came to the conclusion that the enemy intended to land in the bay, and gave me some orders in case this should prove to be the case. It was 12 versts from the bay to the position, and 24 to the end of the Ta-ku Shan Peninsula. In the event of a landing, I was to support the 7th Company and the scout detachments with a battalion. If, however, they had wished to force a landing in considerable strength, the whole of the 5th Regiment would not have been able to prevent it. To oppose a landing is a very difficult business, and here the rugged coast added considerably to the difficulties of the defender. The bays cut right into the coast-line, and the hills made intercommunication exceedingly difficult. Having enticed the defenders to some point off the shore by a small feint landing, or by threatening a landing in force, the attacker could, in a quarter of an hour, make a sudden rush from another point, where he could then land without any opposition on the part of the regiment defending the shore. For this reason we did not hope to prevent a landing, but thought that the defence of the position would considerably delay the enemy’s advance on Port Arthur.

More than all I feared a landing in Dalny Bay, which was eminently suited for such an enterprise. Such a landing would divide the strength of the garrison, and would free the enemy from the necessity of an attack on the Nan Shan position. Under cover of the great guns of the fleet a landing was possible at all places where the depth of water was sufficient for the large ships to come in close enough for effective gun fire.

Having inspected the bay and the detachment, we, accompanied by shots from large naval guns, returned to the position untouched. On the following day the 7th Company and scout detachments beat back a small attempt at a landing, for which the officers were recommended for high orders, which, however, they never received. Lieutenant Ditchmann sank one of the enemy’s ships; I myself went to Kerr Bay and saw two masts projecting from the sea.

About this time, i.e. March 24, the Nan Shan position was armed with artillery, and we awaited the enemy with light hearts, thinking that our artillery, consisting of 56-mm. and 6-in. short guns, were superior to the enemy’s field pieces. When, however, we continued to complain that one regiment was insufficient for defending the whole position, our commanders reassured us by saying that the enemy would not attack the position from all sides at once, but would choose one special point for the assault. I did not ask for explanations, as this view appeared to be sound enough. About April 2 General Smirnov came out, and, in a fearful rain-storm, inspected the whole position; he seemed surprised that the position was fortified to the south as well. I explained to him that we anticipated an attack from the rear, as the enemy could land behind Dalny. Having told me that I must construct a large redoubt behind the position, in order to cover a retreat, the general went to Dalny.

On the night of May 4 one of our scouts came up with a report from Major Pavlovski that a Japanese squadron had appeared north of Terminal Point,[15] and was landing an army. On the morning of the 5th, it was reported that a Japanese fleet of thirty-nine transports,[16] covered by three large warships, one of which flew the Admiral’s flag, was landing troops near the mouth of the Ta-scha River, and in a bay to the north; about a battalion was said to have already landed. We immediately reported this to higher authority, whereupon the regiment occupied its positions and did not leave them day or night.

Captain Andreievski was ordered to watch the movements of the enemy closely, and from this time forth to the end of the siege our mounted corps were in touch with the Japanese. A large force, with cavalry and guns, had been disembarked, and soon after we received a telegram to the effect that a landing had also taken place near Pi-tzu-wo.

On the night of May 5 three wounded men of the Mounted Scout Detachment, two of the 14th Regiment, and one of ours, were brought in. The enemy had sent out his magnificently mounted cavalry from the eastern to the western shore towards the railway. It was said that a battalion, to which had been added a mounted scout detachment, with which we never obtained touch, had detrained at Shih-san-li-tai station, having come from General Kuropatkin’s army.

General Fock decided to make a reconnaissance in force, as nobody knew the exact strength of the troops which had landed. The enemy’s cavalry, in very considerable numbers, strengthened by infantry and Hunhutzes,[17] completely screened from us the landing points and the early movements of the Japanese. It was reported that they were moving towards Shih-san-li-tai, and that their landing place had been strongly fortified.

Towards evening on May 8 all the regiments of the division, except the 15th which was with Stessel in Port Arthur, and I with my two battalions, moved out along the road leading towards the place of the landing, and all had to pass the night in positions detailed to them along that road. Having reached their allotted destinations, the regiments received further orders to continue their night march, the object of which was, apparently, to sweep the stretch of country to the south-east of Shih-san-li-tai station (this operation was termed “Manœuvre” in the order). The enemy, in unknown strength, was somewhere between Chang-chia-tun and Shih-san-li-tai. Up to the time our regiments had occupied their positions, our scouts had reported nothing trustworthy about the enemy, and I expected to meet them every minute. The 5th Regiment, like all the others probably, was ordered: “At 1 a.m. to move from its bivouacs and be at dawn at height No. so-and-so.” I did not know what to do; all our maps had the names of the villages defaced, the contours were scarcely marked, none of the heights of the various hills were given, and how to find, at night, a certain unknown height No. so-and-so, which might be a good 10 versts from where we were, was too much for me. I must add, too, that we had no guides with us; no amount of money could buy them. So I repaired to General Fock with my doubts. The staff had already settled down to sleep, and fatigue and the certainty of the forthcoming battle had made them all very irritable. Be it said, however, to the honour of the staff, they realized fully the difficulties of the night march, and an order was sent out immediately, postponing the time of the advance until 3 a.m., when they knew that the dawn would just begin to break, forgetting, however, that the dawn comes very quickly, and that it is quite dark till just before the sun actually rises. It was decided that the chief of the staff would himself guide the leading column. Returning to my staff, I gave the necessary orders, and tried to get some sleep, but I could not, as one alarming thought followed upon another. Should we succeed in reaching height No. so-and-so? What if the enemy suddenly fell upon our rear from Chang-chia-tun, or our flank from Shih-san-li-tai, or the surrounding country (all was quite possible)? It was doubtful if we could make good our retreat to our positions at Nan Shan, the more so, as the road from Chang-chia-tun to Chin-chou had been left absolutely unprotected by us. These thoughts were justifiable in view of the fact that the enemy had landed from forty transports north of Terminal Point, under our very noses, and, supposing there was a battalion in each, that meant forty battalions to our eleven or twelve.

At 2 a.m. I got up. Every one was sound asleep. Reaching the men’s bivouacs, I saw them served out with a pound of meat and a large quantity of bread; they had no tea, as orders had been given that fires were not to be lighted, and from this it was clear that General Fock expected a brush with the enemy. About 3 a.m. the battalions stood to arms, but, as it happened, there was some delay, and the chief of the staff did not turn up until 5 o’clock, when we at last made a start.

LIEUT.-COLONEL BIELOZOR, KILLED AT THE BATTLE OF NAN SHAN.

[p. 25

I was put in command of a detachment consisting of the two battalions of the 5th Regiment and a battery under Lieutenant-Colonel Romanovski. We started off well enough, but the trouble was that the horse of the chief of the staff was a particularly good one, and the column fell considerably behind him; the country was very intersected and covered by a regular network of roads, and very bad ones at that. The chief of the staff, leading the way with his map, forgot to leave guides at the cross-roads, the result being that the column stopped when it came to a cross-road, not knowing which direction to take. We lost a lot of time owing to these halts, but we nevertheless preserved the right direction. (I do not mention the order of march, as that was as usual: skirmishers, advanced guard with mounted scouts, and main body.)

To the north and north-west was our screen of scouts, and as they constantly showed themselves on the skyline we kept wondering: “Are not these the enemy’s scouts?” Two hours had already passed since we started, and we had gone down into a wide valley, when Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor, commanding the 2nd Battalion, came up to me and drew my attention to the peculiar movements of our artillery. Instead of following us, it had moved off to a height lying on the left flank of our line of march; behind it was a chain of skirmishers from the rear of our column, and behind this line compact companies. Not understanding its doings, I galloped up to the battery, and in the midst of the moving columns, unaccompanied by his staff, I saw General Fock. I had hardly got up to him, when he shouted to me: “What kind of a company commander have you got? See how he lets that battery get in front of him; he is a perfect fool! Such officers are a curse to us!” I answered that I would overtake the company at once, but I wished to know what was happening, as the battery under my command was going off somewhere, and I had not been informed of it. “That is its right position,” answered the general, pointing to the hill the artillery were making for. “Then we are going to stop there?” “No,” replied General Fock; “we are going on farther under cover of this battery.”

I then saw that, far ahead of the battery, our dense columns were advancing, apparently attacking some one. The regiment advancing on the left of my column had sent out a line of skirmishers to the flank on one side of our advance, and I learnt that they had noticed a hostile column in a hollow on our left flank. It turned out that this was a company of that regiment which had advanced on Shih-san-li-tai from the south, and occupied the position covering Chin-chou from the Shih-san-li-tai side.

“Form a reserve for the attackers, and with one company occupy the hill towards which the head of your column is moving,” ordered General Fock. I galloped off to comply with this order.

This advance went on for an hour. We occupied a succession of positions, but it was very noticeable that our men did not take full advantage of the ground, but rather tried not to lose touch with each other. It was all right when the officers were actually keeping them together, but what would happen when they were not there to do so? Our men are not accustomed to act on their own initiative, and a long skirmishing line does not permit of the officers directing their men by voice and example. It was lucky that we were the defenders and not the attackers!

While occupied with these thoughts, I heard the “assembly” sounded by our buglers; our men remained where they were, but the commanders hurried off to the general, who had called them by this signal. The enemy had not been encountered; he was at Chang-chia-tun, or perhaps to the north of Shih-san-li-tai. The operation had been thought out in great detail by the general. For me it was remarkable in that we had manœuvred under the enemy’s very nose, while contemptuously leaving him also in the rear. After a short halt we returned to the position with the men singing loudly.[18]

After this expedition we received an order which brought home to me the exactness with which General Fock gauged the situation. His directions were clear and fully conformed to the real state of affairs. Here are some characteristic paragraphs of the order: “God save us from those commanders who wait for orders in the heat of battle: they won’t get any given them, so let them get that idea out of their heads.” Or: “I ask all company and battalion commanders, as soon as they meet the enemy, to raise their heads, open their eyes, and keep their ears shut. Believe me, your eyes are everything: your ears won’t help you much, though, unfortunately, this is not a generally accepted idea. Even an old captain of twenty-two years’ service will, during manœuvres, begin to prick up his ears like a hare so as to catch some order from his commander; but his commander is dead, or is himself engaged with something else.” These golden rules are worthy of a place in every book on tactics, and in all regulations on the general direction of an action.

Immediately after our return our scouts brought us news that the enemy was near Shih-san-li-tai station in small numbers, and massed on the shores of the bay, a little to the south of Chang-chia-tun. This was about May 11, and from this time onward our scouts had daily skirmishes with the enemy.

General Fock remained true to his decision to meet the enemy in front of the Nan Shan position. We only roughly knew the enemy’s strength, so he decided to carry out another reconnaissance in force, and again moved his forces forward to the villages of Chang-chia-tun and Shih-san-li-tai, and thus blocked the line of the enemy’s advance southward along the Pu-lan-tien and Nan Shan road. All the regiments of the 4th Rifle Division, except the 15th, were employed; our eight companies were in the advanced guard; the 3rd and 4th at Shih-san-li-tai, and the 6th and 8th, and the 3rd Scout Detachment at Chang-chia-tun, our 3rd Battalion being placed in the interval between these two detachments. The positions to be occupied by us were well studied beforehand. The companies moved out and took up their positions. On the night of May 15, and the morning of the 16th, other troops with guns moved off, two batteries were placed near the railway bridge on the road to Pi-tzu-wo, and one (Romanovski’s) with the regimental half-battery under Second-Lieutenant Sadykov on the hills above Shih-san-li-tai. After our battalions had occupied their positions an order came from General Fock that our 3rd Battalion, under the command of Colonel Dounin, was to return to the position. In order not to give the enemy a chance of working round behind us, I was ordered to move the 7th Company and the scout detachment with Lieutenant Naoomov’s two guns through the space between the shore of Kerr Bay and Mount Sampson to the old Chinese fortifications, and to form half the 9th Company as a reserve to the 7th, but I myself was left on the position with three companies.

At daybreak on May 16 I went to Battery No. 13,[19] and had an excellent view of the engagement[20] and the movements of our troops. Our companies and guns were already in position on the left flank. The other regiments were moving round towards the foot of Mount Sampson in a south-westerly direction, and the head of the column had just reached the hill, when heavy rifle fire broke out, and Lieutenant-Colonel Romanovski’s and the bullock battery on the left began to speak. In five minutes the fire of these batteries had become awful, and thick smoke completely hid them from my view (this smoke was caused by bursting Japanese shells). After half an hour, when the tail of our main column had passed Mount Sampson, the batteries on the right flank opened fire. Firing continued for an hour from both flanks, and we followed the course of the fight most intently. I was very much afraid that the enemy would try to get round our rear, but the 7th Company was silent, and its commander reported that no movement was noticeable in his front. The fire on the left flank began to slacken, and carts and stretchers were seen moving from that direction. Half an hour later I noticed Romanovski’s battery on the road from Shih-san-li-tai, followed by our bullock battery, both moving towards us at a walk. An orderly from the left flank came up and reported that we were retreating, but he had not seen the Japanese infantry, having only observed that the Japanese had swept our battery with shells, thereby silencing it and compelling it to retreat behind the hill. At the same moment that the batteries on the left flank moved, I saw that the reserves had occupied a shoulder of Mount Sampson facing the village of Shih-san-li-tai. Dense lines of skirmishers quietly lay on the crest of this ridge, allowing the guns, and subsequently the skirmishers of our left flank, to pass through them. From this I concluded that the enemy was pressing our right and that General Fock thought that we could not hold our ground, and had, therefore, strengthened his left flank, which had, so far, not been assailed by the Japanese. After another hour had passed, our retreating lines came into view from behind Mount Sampson, and the guns near the railway bridge opened a terrific fire. The rifle and gun fire behind Mount Sampson continued, now weaker, now stronger, till at last the lines of reserves, passing through the left flank, quickly collected and began to retreat on our position. I expected to see the Japanese in pursuit, but none appeared. At last the batteries on the right flank retired and our companies followed in their wake, but still the Japanese did not pursue. It was now that I saw a picture of a truly wonderful retreat, in which our men marched in column as at manœuvres. The left flank had already reached our position, when General Nadyein came in wounded in the hand, and Lieutenant-Colonel Romanovski with a wound in the leg. The situation naturally gave rise to a good deal of questioning and surmise. It appears that Second-Lieutenant Sadykov, who commanded our bullock battery, had himself gone to the assistance of Lieutenant-Colonel Romanovski and commanded his half-battery to the end of the engagement.

[CHAPTER II]

Further account of the actions at Chang-chia-tun and Shih-san-li-tai—Preliminary skirmishes round Chin-chou—The battle of Nan Shan, May 26, 1904.

Our regiments went on to Ta-fang-shen, while the enemy’s troops found themselves facing the Nan Shan position, all ready and prepared to meet them with a hail of shell and bullets. However, they did not show themselves as yet, and everything retained its usual aspect. On the night of May 17 it was reported at the advanced posts that the enemy had occupied the pass near the railway bridge and was forcing back our advanced detachments with small bodies of infantry, a cross fire being kept up all that night. Next, a report came in from the left flank to the effect that the enemy was pressing the outpost line on that side; in proof of which a few wounded were brought in. It thus became evident that the Japanese were drawing closer round the Nan Shan position. Reports received in the morning made it clear that the Japanese had occupied all the heights lying in front of the Nan Shan position and were engaged in fortifying themselves on them. We could not, however, see any definite signs of them, as they were careful not to venture out from the shelter of the hills in front, save that towards midday we were able to locate earth-works on the hill near Shih-san-li-tai about 7 versts from our position. On closer examination we discerned certain works somewhat nearer, which were without doubt infantry trenches, and on which our long-range guns immediately opened fire. Our shells did not reach the more distant line, but at once succeeded in stopping work on the nearer trenches. Fire on the enemy’s works was kept up, off and on, all that day.

In view of the fact that one regiment was insufficient to defend the whole position, as well as the ground lying to the front of it, I asked General Fock to send me two infantry scout detachments from the 13th and 14th Regiments. My request being granted, the outpost line, on the following night, consisted of four infantry detachments and one mounted. All this night a cross fire was kept up with the Japanese posts, which pressed our men so hard that I had to strengthen the line on the right flank by a half-company (supplied by No. 2 Company). Our outpost line ran as follows: from the shores of Chin-chou Bay to the town wall of Chin-chou, with patrols out to some distance in advance of the wall, from the town to Nan Shan railway station, and from there to Hand Bay. During the night the Japanese drove us out of the old Chinese fortifications beyond Kerr Bay, inflicting some losses—a few killed and many wounded. Our opponents threw out such a strong screen that our men were not able to penetrate it at any point so as to see what they were doing behind, and, as we were thus left in complete ignorance as to their numbers and dispositions, I had to be guided by the knowledge gained at the time of the action of Chang-chia-tun, which information I cannot do better than give in the words of Lieutenant-Colonel Saifoolin, who commanded a portion of our right flank, and from whom I had the following story of the engagement:

LIEUT.-COLONEL SAIFOOLIN, COMMANDING 2ND BATTALION, 5TH REGIMENT.

p. 34]

“Our companies were disposed in the following order: I, with the 8th Company, occupied a hill near a ruined tower on the left side of the nullah along which runs the road to Godzarlin; the 6th Company occupied the crest on the right side of this nullah; and the 3rd Scout Detachment, under Captain Koudriavtsev, occupied a hill on the extreme right flank of the line and somewhat in front of the 6th Company. The mounted scouts were sent out in front as skirmishers. Hardly had day broken, when our scouts reported that the enemy was moving in considerable force along the road from Godzarlin and nearer; following hard upon this report there came in view, in front of out right flank, dense Japanese lines, with their left flank resting on Mount Sampson, and firing commenced at once at very long range. The enemy did not hurry in his advance, but developed such a terrific rifle fire that a great number of our men were placed hors de combat. Not having any companies in reserve, I sent for help to a battalion of the 14th Regiment, which was formed up in our rear, and one company of this battalion (commanded by Suvorov), posted by itself behind our right flank, started to move up to us, but halted and commenced firing without joining our line. This continued for an hour, during which time the enemy’s troops advanced without check until they were 400 paces, or less, from our scouts and the 6th Company; their strength being about fifteen companies. Meanwhile about forty Japanese companies were turning our left flank. Our losses in the 6th Company and among the scouts were already considerable. In the former the commander was wounded and the sergeant-major and thirty men were killed; while of the latter about one-half were hors de combat, including the commander. Not seeing any sign of reinforcements, we sent to ask what was to be done. At this time the enemy began to turn our right flank also. No one came to our assistance, our companies were melting away, and the enemy was continuing to advance. I gave the order to retire, and, under a terrific fire, we got back almost to the railway bridge, where our artillery covered us, opening such a deadly fire on the enemy’s lines that they came to a standstill and then took cover in the folds of the ground. The order was then given for a general retreat, whereupon we retired behind the town and ultimately to the main position.”

At Shih-san-li-tai, on the left flank, a fearful artillery fight took place with rather disastrous results for us. In Romanovski’s battery all the officers were put out of action, and he himself was wounded, as were also nearly all the men of the gun detachments, so that there was no one to bring up ammunition, and volunteers from the 3rd Company had to be called for. Things reached such a pass that Romanovski himself loaded a gun; the adjutant of the brigade, who had been sent off with an order, was killed by a shell. But the enemy not being strong in infantry on that flank, did not press an advance, so that our losses in the 12th Company were only four men, and in the 3rd but a few more.[21]

There seems to have been some misunderstanding about this retreat. The following day I went to the divisional headquarters with my report, and, while there, General Fock sent for General Nadyein, who commanded the detachment engaged at Shih-san-li-tai.[22]

“Why did you retire?” said General Fock, turning to him.

“On your order, your Excellency,” replied General Nadyein.

“What order? I never gave any order.”

General Nadyein thereupon produced a note, signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Romanovski, in which it was clearly stated that General Fock had himself ordered the retreat. Lieutenant-Colonel Romanovski, having been sent for, stated that General Fock had actually ordered him to write the note. General Fock was quite at a loss to understand this, but gave orders that for the future, on important occasions, only orders signed by him in person were to be obeyed.

GENERAL STESSEL INSPECTING ONE OF THE FORTS.

p. 36]

On May 21 General Stessel came out to the position. He was apparently very dissatisfied with the result of the late engagement, and when he heard that Major Gomsiakov, the commander of the 6th Company, had been left wounded on the field of battle, his displeasure knew no bounds; he addressed the 6th Company in severe terms, removed the next senior officer, Captain Sichev, from the command of the company, and said that he was not to be recommended for any reward.

As a matter of fact, neither the company nor the officer was at all deserving of this rebuke. Major Gomsiakov had been taken away in a Chinese cart, and subsequently a horse had been procured for him on which to ride to the dressing station. Being, however, unable to mount, an ambulance wagon was sent for, but meanwhile he sent back the men who had brought him, saying that they were needed in the firing line, and he awaited the arrival of the wagon with a soldier of the Medical Corps. About this time the retreat commenced, and Major Gomsiakov gave his sword to the man and told him to go away, saying: “You can’t help me, and if you remain they will kill you, and perhaps they want you in your company.” Major Gomsiakov was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and died from his wounds.

The engagements at Shih-san-li-tai and Chang-chia-tun cost us about 100 men in killed and wounded.

Having inspected the position, General Stessel went on to Chin-chou, which was already being attacked by the enemy from the northern side. When we rode into the gates bullets had begun to whistle along the streets, but the general, having gone as far as the old Chinese temple, turned back and reached the position again without hurt.

Our men slept in the trenches and batteries, the outpost line consisting of a screen of scouts and a line of sentries detailed from the companies occupying the trenches. I dreaded a night attack, which might very well be successful owing to our lack of defenders, and I was the more afraid because the enemy did not hurry himself, but seemed to be minutely studying the defences. We thus had to be keenly on the alert.

Early in the morning of May 22 we heard heavy rifle fire opening under the walls of the town.[23] We could not see the enemy from the position, but the town commandant informed me by telephone that the Japanese were preparing for an assault. I had no fear of the town being taken, since we had 400 men there and had filled sixty sand-bags with powder ready to explode when the enemy got close to the walls. Besides this, at the request of the commandant, I had reinforced the garrison with half the 9th Company under its commander, Major Sokolov. Though it would be impracticable to take the town without a heavy artillery preparation, it would be quite feasible to pass round it and proceed to attack the adjoining position from the right flank. So we quietly followed the course of the action and watched for targets for our artillery, but none appeared. The first attack on the town was beaten back easily, but the enemy effected a lodgment on the north-western side, where he was completely covered by the town wall from fire from the direction of the position. From this time the rattle of rifle fire round the town did not cease. As an advanced point of the position the town certainly began to fulfil its intended rôle in the operations.

It is a great pity that we did not take steps with a view to the stubborn defence of the Nan Shan position. Even assuming that such determined defence was risky, as the enemy’s troops could effect a landing to the south of the position, and so cut us off from Port Arthur, they would, on the other hand, have had to run considerable risk themselves in landing under our very eyes. They had, indeed, already thrown considerable forces against us from the north, and it would, perhaps, have been difficult for them to have sent another force (about two divisions) against the Port Arthur garrison. Therefore, I say with the greatest assurance that, had we decided to defend the Nan Shan position stubbornly and had armed our batteries with heavy guns, supplementing our guns of position with, say, a brigade of field artillery, we should have held the enemy before Nan Shan for a long time and perhaps have compelled him to have recourse to sapping operations. During the time thus gained, the garrison of the fortress would have been enabled to put its works into a better state of defence than that in which they actually were left in consequence of lack of time.

The enemy made constant assaults on the town, but always without success.[24] Once the Japanese sappers brought up a huge charge of gun-cotton to the gates, but our marksmen killed those who tried to place it, and brought the charge into the town. Continuing his operations, the enemy placed a battery on the slopes of the hills overlooking the town, and fortified the heights near Shih-san-li-tai. The care displayed in doing this surprised us. We tried to impede the work by fire, but the range was far too great for our guns.

On the evening of May 22, a 6-inch Schneider-Canet gun was brought on to the position, and I decided to place it in the central redoubt, where it would command the bays on both flanks. Starting at once to get it into its allotted position, a whole company worked day and night on the 23rd and 24th mounting the gun, and on the 25th it was just ready to be placed on its carriage, when a heavy bombardment commenced and greatly hindered the work.

From the time of our retreat from the positions at Shih-san-li-tai and Chang-chia-tun to the Nan Shan position we hardly had a moment’s peace; constant small night affairs in the outpost line, and the nightly expectation of a big attack, compelled us to have half our men on the alert. I never once undressed, or took off my boots; messages kept on coming in, and hardly gave me a chance of closing my eyes. Such was the strain that we were quite worn out.

On the morning of the 25th the enemy began a terrific bombardment. We were all at our posts, and replied with heavy artillery fire, suffering, however, little damage during this bombardment; none of our guns were touched, though it was impossible to work at mounting our big gun of position. We had several hit, including Boochatski, commanding the 11th Company, who was severely wounded.

I must mention an incident with a kite. Why it was brought on to the position, I do not know, as we could observe the movements of the enemy perfectly from the top of our hill, and without incurring the risk of being dashed to the ground. The party who brought it, with Mr. Kourelov, a very brave man, decided to fly it at the very height of the bombardment. The kite reached a great altitude, and, of course, immediately attracted the attention of the Japanese, with the result that a hail of shrapnel burst over the heads of the daring detachment, and, to avoid unnecessary losses, I ordered them to bring the kite down. Thank God! neither a man of the detachment nor Mr. Kourelov was touched.

The Battle of Nan Shan[25]

I spent the night of the 25th–26th with my adjutant and orderly officer on Battery No. 13 in a bomb-proof, which was placed high up, but nevertheless capable of protecting us from the enemy’s field-artillery fire. Everything was quiet in the evening, but at about midnight the enemy began to move; our outposts reported that they heard guns moving, and our posts on the right flank were driven back by advancing infantry. The weather was shocking—it was pouring with rain and there was thunder in the air. Foreseeing that the enemy would make an attack on our right flank and, if successful, would surround the town, and not wishing to make him a present of the four hundred men in it, who were indispensable to me on the position, I sent an order to the commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel Yermeiev, not to allow himself to be surrounded, but to retreat from the town on to the position while the southern gates were free, and to man the trenches on our left flank. The enemy attacked the town about 3 a.m., but, being unsuccessful, began to surround it, when the commandant passed out through the south gate and fought his way back to the position. One section, which was late in getting through the gate, jumped down from the wall, a height of 9 feet, and effected its retreat. But in the darkness the men did not reach the positions to which they had been assigned, and, instead of the whole of the 10th Company, only two sections, under Second-Lieutenant Merkoulev, reached the point they had been ordered to defend. The remaining half-company,[26] under Major Goosov, and half of No. 9 Company, under Major Sokolov, occupied the empty trenches near Redoubt No. 8. Some of the 3rd Scout Detachment occupied the lower tier of trenches of this redoubt, but the majority of them got to their proper positions on the left flank.

Our dispositions were as follows: the 2nd Company held the extreme right flank from No. 2 Redoubt; the 2nd Scout Detachment was near the railway and in Redoubt No. 1; the corner beyond was unoccupied; the 12th Company was near the quarry, and the 3rd farther on in the trenches; behind them the 8th and 4th Companies and the 1st Scout Detachment, and the 6th Company in Redoubt No. 8; farther behind the ravine were the 5th, 7th, and half the 10th Companies; and towards the shores of Chin-chou Bay two Scout Detachments of the 13th and 14th Regiments were in trenches. Near No. 15 Battery were the 3rd Company 14th Regiment, and a section of our 7th Company; the ground between the scout detachments and No. 15 Battery was absolutely undefended. Four machine guns under Second-Lieutenant Lobyrev were at the disposal of the 7th Company on the cliffs near the shore, and four naval machine guns, under Midshipman Shimanski, were placed behind our 1st Scout Detachment. The forts inside the position, which could have been fought individually, and so have increased the obstinacy of the defence, were without defenders: the central redoubt, Battery No. 13, and many trenches were absolutely unoccupied for want of men. I had in the reserve the 11th Company 5th Regiment, and two companies of the 13th Regiment, while I had detached the following officers to command sections of the position: right flank up to No. 1 Battery, Major Stempnevski; the centre—12th, 3rd, 8th, and 4th Companies;—Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor; left flank—6th Company, 1st Scout Detachment, 5th and 7th Companies, and the whole of the left flank—Lieutenant-Colonel Saifoolin. The artillery consisted of guns placed in fifteen batteries, as on [Map I.]; No. 1 Battery being armed with eight 8·7-cm. field guns.

MAJOR STEMPNEVSKI (SEN.), COMMANDING 2ND COMPANY, 5TH REGIMENT.

[p. 43

From daybreak on the 26th the enemy began to bombard the position; and shells flew thick and fast, more especially on No. 13. When it was light enough, I looked at the enemy through my glasses. His batteries extended in an unbroken line from Chin-chou Bay to Hand Bay, and some batteries—apparently of heavy guns—stood on the slopes of the hills behind the town. The enemy did not husband his ammunition. Four gunboats, and perhaps destroyers with them, came close inshore in Chin-chou Bay, and two large ships lay near the entrance to the bay in the rear of our position. These ships fired very heavy shell. There was no sign yet of the enemy’s infantry, but the gun fire was so terrific as to compel us to retire into our bomb-proofs. Near by stood a bucket of water; being afraid of its being blown to bits, I ordered it to be placed under cover, and one of the men had just reached it, when a shrapnel burst close to him, and the water poured out over the floor, Bombardier Ptooski being wounded in the head, and I myself getting a scratch on my leg. As the shelter was filled with smoke, we found some difficulty in breathing in it, and the majority of us therefore went out into the redoubt. From there I saw the lines of the enemy’s skirmishers round our right flank; our 4th and 8th Companies had opened fire, but the lines nevertheless advanced slowly on us, leaving on the ground behind them small black dots. Our fire was apparently very effective; we had not measured all our ranges in vain. At eight o’clock a large ship appeared in the bay on our own right flank; “Well,” I thought, “the 2nd Company will be able to reach her.” Imagine my joy when I saw that she was firing on the enemy and I recognized our Bobr, though, unfortunately, she did not keep up firing for long, but put out to sea again. It was about 9 a.m. when the enemy’s skirmishing line was seen near Nan Shan station and behind the mounds close to the nearest villages, right in front of all the companies from the 2nd to the 8th. The rifle fire resolved itself into one continual rattle and roar. An orderly from Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor came to me with a report, in which he had written as follows:

“The enemy is in front of us and is attacking, but do you know that there are 700 yards of trenches near us absolutely unoccupied? We must have help.”

I myself saw that the Japanese were directing their attack on our 8th Company. The line had come to a standstill before all the other companies, so I sent half of the 11th Company to the threatened point. At this time I had three companies in reserve, the 11th of my own regiment, and two companies of the 13th. The enemy’s companies got up to the wire entanglements in front of the 8th and 4th Companies, but, finding their advance barred, they retired in disorder, taking cover in the folds of the ground and thence opening a tremendous fire. I was now certain that we had nothing to fear from the Japanese infantry. Just then another orderly arrived from Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor, asking for immediate reinforcements, but, having already sent him half the 11th Company, I felt sure that that was sufficient. At this moment the enemy’s skirmishing line in front of the 2nd Company occupied the southern extremities of a small village, and as this place afforded excellent cover, I saw that there was a danger of the enemy collecting considerable forces behind it and overwhelming the 2nd Company, the more so, as it was only 400 paces from the village to the position. On seeing, however, that such an attack would be taken in flank by the fire of the 2nd Company, I felt somewhat easier. The enemy’s infantry was now spread out round the whole position in a semicircle, like his artillery, and the crackle of rifle fire was absolutely incessant. Besides this, we saw that the troops composing his right flank had gone down into the water in the Bay of Chin-chou and were effecting a turning movement through the water; but this advance was checked after the lapse of a few moments by our gun and rifle fire (at very long ranges, however). In all probability the men of this column were nearly all killed, as no movement could be detected among the Japanese bodies lying in the water—all were still.[27] The enemy’s skirmishers kept closing in and then again retiring; but meanwhile our men, after beating back the infantry attack, suffered severely from artillery fire. I received word that Lieutenant-Colonel Radetski had been killed.

About eleven o’clock the commander of the 6th Company reported to me that his advanced trench was completely wrecked by artillery fire from the sea and from the front, and that it was impossible to obtain any cover in it. This was grave news. I noticed considerable movement among the enemy’s troops before our left flank, and a mass of men began to move from the centre to the left flank. The troops of the enemy’s right flank, which had been sitting in the water of Chin-chou Bay for some time, began to move forward. To defend this (left) flank I had: the 7th Company, half of the 10th Company, the larger half of the 3rd Scout Detachment of our regiment (the remainder had retreated into the trenches near No. 8 Redoubt), two Scout Detachments of the 13th and 14th Regiments, under the command of Lieutenants Bandaletov and Roosoi, and near No. 15 Battery the 3rd Company of the 14th Regiment, under Captain Ushakov, with one section of the 7th Company. We had sufficient men to beat back an attack, but the losses of the 5th Company had caused me some anxiety. In order, therefore, to reinforce the 5th Company, I sent the remaining half of the 11th Company into the trenches to the left of No. 8 Redoubt, so as to enfilade the troops of the enemy attacking the 5th Company, and earlier still I had sent Captain Rotaiski’s company into a so-called deep trench near by. These measures were sufficient to prevent the enemy from breaking through at the point held by the 5th Company. I built great hopes on our four machine guns, posted behind the 7th Company’s left flank (see [page 43]). They constituted a tremendous power, practically equalling a whole company, and they were, moreover, cleverly concealed in some small pits. I immediately sent in a report. (I had forwarded reports of everything that had taken place on the field and also the reports of the different commanders.)

About twelve o’clock the enemy’s rifle fire suddenly ceased, and his artillery also grew silent. Taking advantage of this, I went down to the road from No. 13 Battery to meet two gunners coming from the position. We noticed General Fock and his adjutant on the road. Major Visoki reported that the gunners had suffered severely, and that the ammunition supply was exhausted. As they had no rifles, I sent them away from the position, and thus, from twelve o’clock, we were left without artillery. Just before this sudden temporary cessation of fire I had already noticed from the hill how our artillery fire was dying down and how cruelly the enemy’s shells blew our gunners to pieces; indeed, the helplessness of our guns became apparent as soon as the enemy’s cannonade commenced.

It is impossible to imagine what such a fire is like. An unceasing stream of shells burst over each battery and over No. 13 Battery, where it was only possible to sit right up against the earth-work, now and then venturing to glance over it to observe what was going on. When the fire had become positively fiendish we took cover in the upper bomb-proof, a relic of the Chinese war. It gave us sufficient cover from small shell, and it was possible to write there, send reports, and receive reports from orderlies, but the fire from the ships made us fear for our safety. A single shell would have been sufficient to bury us all under the ruins of our shelter. All the ravines were literally pitted with shell splinters. Our unfortunate artillery was so occupied in its struggle with the enemy’s guns that it paid no attention to the ships threatening the fortifications on our left flank. However, this was not surprising, as the batteries did not themselves feel the fire of the enemy’s ships. From their front guns roared also, so from a feeling of self-preservation they returned that fire at first as energetically as they could. The order I had sent to No. 4 Battery to direct its fire on the enemy’s ships had evidently not got through to the battery commander. Our fire began to slacken, and finally ceased, owing to losses and, in many batteries, for want of ammunition. In No. 9 Battery every man was killed but one, and he continued to fire by himself from each gun in rotation. He loaded the guns in turn and fired them until a shell put an end to this hero. In spite of all my efforts I have been unable to learn his name. “Peace to your ashes, unknown hero, the pride and glory of your regiment!”[28]

The greater number of our guns was unharmed, though two pieces in the centre of the position were dismounted, as were also all the guns of No. 15 Battery, against which the enemy’s ships were firing.

A deathlike stillness now reigned along the whole position for an hour. Going down to the lower line of trenches, I tried to get to General Fock, who had been seen, as I have said, on the road to No. 10 Battery, but he had gone off somewhere, and I did not see him again; possibly he went along the ravines to Ta-fang-shen station.

Soldiers of the 5th Company who had fallen to the rear said that it had gone badly with that company, and that it had vacated the advanced trench and occupied No. 9 Redoubt and the ravines near it. The men in all the other trenches and forts gallantly stuck to their posts. After an hour of silence, firing began again, rifles cracked, and guns roared. I went to my observing station. The enemy literally swept us with a hail of shrapnel. One shell burst right over the heads of two of my orderlies standing behind me, killing one outright and wounding the other in the head. A short time after, our small-arm ammunition magazine near No. 10 Battery caught fire.

Soon after there were some distressing signs of disorder on the left flank (the section defended by the 5th Company)—men were retiring and going back, without stopping, to the rear of the position; but I received no report from the commander of the 5th Company. I then noticed that the enemy’s fire was concentrated on the 5th and 7th Companies. Though I had foreseen an attack on these points I was not afraid that the enemy would break through there, as Rotaiski’s company and Redoubt No. 8, with its trenches, made it impracticable. Nevertheless, I felt the need of a larger reserve, and I reported to General Fock that I should have no men with which to renew the battle if the enemy should beat us back out of our advanced positions. I earnestly asked for reinforcements; but General Fock, guided, I suppose, by the general supposition that reinforcements are always asked for before they are needed, and thinking, perhaps, that I was making mountains out of molehills, did not pay any attention to my request, or else did not wish to satisfy it, and our position became critical. Our scouts on the left flank, as also the 5th and 7th Companies, were demoralized, especially the 5th.

Captain Lubeemov’s company of the 13th Regiment, which was with me in the reserve, had disappeared somewhere, so that Captain Teemoshenko, who was sent by me to take it to the place where I had decided it should go (on the left flank, in the interval between our 7th Company and Captain Ushakov’s company, near No. 15), could not find it, and came back. Thus I now had not a single company under my hand.[29] Afterwards it became known that Lubeemov’s company had received by an orderly an order purporting to come from me, and had taken up a position near our 5th and 7th Companies on the left flank. It had failed to reach its correct position (see [last page]), as no one was there to direct it. I do not, however, blame Captain Lubeemov; he had obeyed his orders, but went to the right, instead of the left, flank of Captain Ushakov. Captain Teemoshenko should have pointed out the right place, but he failed to find the company. Where Captain Lubeemov was wrong, was in altering his position without my orders.

Shortly after, about four o’clock, an officer came up and reported that the 6th and 7th Companies of the 14th Regiment were coming to my assistance. I received a note from General Fock, in which he ordered me to use these companies only to cover a retreat, and not to employ them in the trenches. Then I understood that General Fock was not going to help me to hold the position, which he might have done without much difficulty, since I only required one additional battalion in reserve.

Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor now sent to ask for reinforcements. Although I could see no attack on his side, in view of the urgency of the request, and so as to be quite safe on our right flank (where an adjoining village was strongly held by the Japanese, and the railway embankment could screen large numbers of the enemy), I decided to send half a company of the 14th Regiment under Captain Kousmin, an excellent officer, well known to me.

About six o’clock bullets began to whistle over our heads in No. 13, and, my trumpeter being wounded, I took him myself into the bomb-proof to be attended to. On the left flank men in yellow jackets[30] were moving about in groups, and five minutes had not passed before Second-Lieutenant Sadykov came into the shelter and reported that the left flank was retreating. I rushed out and saw that the yellow-coats were streaming up, and shrapnel bursting over the 7th and 5th Companies, while a heavy cross fire was being kept up. The Japanese skirmishers had lain down in their places and there was no warning of their sudden advance. Seeing that our scouts were retreating, and that all the others might retreat with them, I, not having any orders to retreat from the position, galloped off to the reserve and ordered the one-and-a-half companies of the 14th Regiment, sent by General Fock, to move against the Japanese appearing near Work No. 10. As we rode down, we came into a hot fire from the neighbouring hills.

I thought that I could arrest the retreat and deliver a counter-attack from behind the reserve, and then, having taken No. 10 Battery, re-organize the left flank.

At the subsequent court-martial General Fock declared that I could not have ordered the reserve to meet the Japanese; but he was mistaken, being misled by Captain Rotaiski, who, giving evidence, declared that he saw the Japanese pursuing me and saw me escape from them through the window of a shed. I never got through any window, but I mounted my horse and galloped off to stop those retreating. The Japanese then fired on me from the hills above the shed. It was not I, but a Japanese officer, who jumped through the window, and was overtaken by four men from the reserve and killed in the shed, as a proof of which his sword was presented to the commander of the 14th Regiment.

The order to attack was given by me, for the commander of the reserve rushed up to me and asked: “What are we to do?” “Attack,” I answered, and pointed out to him whom to attack and where. After that I galloped after the retreating soldiers and made myself hoarse shouting “Stop, stop, my men!” But they in their turn shouted out to me: “Your Excellency, we have been ordered to retreat.” I could not imagine who had given this order. As, however, at this moment the Japanese saw us retreating from behind the Nan Shan hills, and opened a terrific shrapnel fire, it was absolutely impossible to stop the men. A shrapnel bullet struck my mare’s ear and wellnigh maddened her. I managed to rally my men in a position in rear, chosen earlier by me, about a verst from the Nan Shan hills, and when they had halted, I looked back towards the hills and saw two bodies of men running down into the valley; they were probably the 5th and 7th Companies.

No. 13 was in the hands of the Japanese, who were to be seen on the heights above, firing down on the retreating men, who quickly hid themselves in the deep ravines. I now occupied the above-mentioned position in rear, brought up a battalion of the 14th Regiment, and lengthened the line as far as Ta-fang-shen station. I found the battalion in question in a ravine behind the position. Of the rest of the 14th Regiment I saw no signs; probably they were somewhere in rear under cover. The commander of our scouts came in to me here with our colours.

Awaiting on this spot the enemy’s attack, we heard heavy firing on the right of the Nan Shan position, and the enemy’s guns ranged on us and on the right flank. Our companies on that flank passed across towards Ta-fang-shen, and I ordered them to concentrate 1 verst in rear of Ta-fang-shen on the road. For some reason the Japanese decided not to attack us. It was already quite dark when I went to the burning station of Ta-fang-shen to see to the dispositions of our troops there. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion, and I was covered with fragments of burning planks, beams, and hot bricks. How I and my comrades escaped death passes my understanding. The station was blown up at the instance of General Fock’s staff—probably by his orders. One officer—Major Saliarski—and twenty men were killed by this senseless explosion.

Night had set in, when the 14th and 5th Regiments received the order to retire, and I, leaving some mounted patrols to watch the enemy’s movements, went with the Mounted Scouts to Nan-kuan-ling. While moving along the road, I met our 7th Company and saw the whole of the 4th Division encamped in the wide valley. There I found the companies of the 5th Regiment which had retreated, and ordered them to report their losses. Very many of our comrades did not answer the roll-call, the first return showing a loss in killed and wounded of 75 officers and 1,500 men. It was awful to see the thinned ranks of my gallant regiment; my heart bled for my officers, who had brought up the rear in the retreat, but the spirit of those left seemed to be as fine as ever. I feel bound to pay tribute to our comrades who fell in the battle and mention some of their heroic deeds.

Lieutenant Kragelski refused to retreat, and bade each one of his men farewell as they passed him. Captain Makoveiev, commanding the 8th Company, had declared that he would never retreat, and he was true to his word, for he remained in the trenches, and was killed only when he had expended all the cartridges in his revolver. Major Sokolov, commanding the 9th Company, also refused to retreat, and sabred several Japanese before being bayoneted to death.

The whole of the left flank attributed the retirement to the receipt of an order, and consequently I set to work to sift the matter to the bottom. About six o’clock General Fock sent an officer with the order to retire. Though he did not come to me personally, this officer probably sent an orderly—who failed to reach me—and himself went to the left flank and conveyed the order to retire to the scout detachments of the 13th and 14th Regiments. This order reached the commander of the 7th Company through Second-Lieutenant Merkoulev, besides which the former saw the orderly on a black horse shouting and waving his sword towards the rear, and only then ordered his company to retire. The fact that this order to retreat was given, was confirmed by all the officers and men, and also by Ensign Kaminar (5th Regiment).

I placed the letter sent to me by Lieutenant Sadykov relating to this point before the commission which assembled to investigate General Stessel’s conduct. It was there shown that Second-Lieutenant Moosalevski was present and heard General Fock give the order to retreat to my orderly officer, Lieutenant Glieb-Koshanski, who galloped back with the orderly on the black horse to see the general’s order carried out. When I stopped the retreating scouts, Lieutenant Glieb-Koshanski and his orderly galloped as far as the Nan Shan hills, and the latter reached No. 10 Battery by a ravine when the Japanese were already in the position (this hero never returned). Our 7th Company and Captain Rotaiski’s company were still at their posts, and began to retire only after the receipt of the order.

When those who had been in Port Arthur were assembled in St. Petersburg from all over the Empire to give evidence at General Stessel’s trial, I only gave details of the Nan Shan fight in answering the questions put to me. The conclusion arrived at was this: the scout detachments of the 14th Regiment, shaken by the hasty retirement of those of the 13th Regiment at that moment, began to abandon their trenches about four o’clock, the time when I saw them retreating in a body. Lieutenant Roosoi had only ten men left in the trench, but the other companies—i.e., the 7th and 5th of our regiment, and Captain Rotaiski’s company—remained on the position. Lieutenant Glieb-Koshanski and the orderly galloped up with a report to General Fock just as I was leaving No. 13 and had mounted my horse, and it was thus quite possible for the orderly on the black horse to have really galloped up to the position and given the order to retire before I had stopped the retreating scouts. Anyway, it was proved conclusively that the Japanese appeared in No. 10 Battery, and the other inner works of the position before the 7th and 5th Companies began their retreat.

And it was in this way. When the Scout Detachment of the 13th Regiment, under Second-Lieutenant Bandaletov, and part of the Scouts of the 14th Regiment began to retire (in consequence of the flanking fire from the gunboats, and not because of the rifle fire of the Japanese, whose skirmishers did not come closer than 600 yards), the enemy, taking advantage of natural cover, pursued them and, passing along the ravines and watercourses, occupied the trenches we had vacated, together with No. 10 Battery and farther points. As, however, the Japanese were not in great numbers, they could not break through the centre, the 5th Company being in the deep ravine, the 6th in No. 8 Redoubt, and Rotaiski’s company in a deep valley. These companies could not have let the Japanese pass, and I repeat that the Japanese lines were in full view from where I was and did not move until the scouts appeared in our rear.

From accounts given by officers, this is what happened on the right flank. After the attack on the 8th and 4th Companies had failed, the enemy kept up a furious gun and rifle fire, but did not approach our trenches. This continued until the retreat of the 5th and 7th Companies had actually begun. When the retreat of the left flank was noticed from No. 8 Redoubt, and the Japanese began to sweep our right flank from No. 5, Major Goosov assembled all the officers there for a consultation as to what should be done. After some hesitation it was decided to retreat; and word of that decision was sent to other companies. However, the 4th and 8th Companies, remembering the order that there would be no retreat, refused to act on the decision. Our gallant Colonel Bielozor was in command, the company commanders being Captain Shastin of the 4th Company, and Captain Makoveiev of the 8th. On the retirement of the 6th Company from No. 8 Redoubt, the 3rd, 4th, 8th, and part of the 12th Companies, found themselves in a hopeless position. There were Japanese in their rear, Japanese machine guns on No. 5, and a large body of Japanese in front, ready to attack, which they soon did. Seeing their comrades on the heights, where our batteries had been, and also in No. 8 Redoubt, the enemy in front advanced to the attack, but our gallant companies momentarily stopped their desperate rush by a volley, which covered the ground with hundreds of the enemy’s killed and wounded. Then, facing round on the enemy who was attacking their rear, they compelled him to take cover behind the hills. The Japanese on the hill signalled with white handkerchiefs to the companies to surrender, but they only received volleys in reply. Taking advantage of the indecisive action of the Japanese in their rear, Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor decided to try and extricate his men from this unequal fight, and gave the order to retire. Under a heavy fire the men moved along the trenches to the rear of the position, suffering severely from the marksmen on the hills. In some places the men had to come up out of the trenches, which were filled with dead and dying, but eventually the companies succeeded in reaching No. 1 Battery. From that point, too, Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor and Captain Shastin saw some Japanese columns trying to cut off our companies retreating from the centre of the position.

The enemy was advancing from the shores of Hand Bay. Our brave officers at once thought of covering our men by preventing this turning movement, in spite of the enemy posted on the hills, and to this end they collected their men, stopped them, and opened volley fire on the Japanese. The latter retaliated, and in their turn poured in a hot fire from rifles and machine guns. This fearful struggle continued for some time until not a single one of our men was left alive. They all fell in this unequal fight, defending themselves finally not only with their bayonets, but even with their fists. Lieutenant-Colonel Bielozor lost consciousness from loss of blood, and fell; while Captain Shastin also fell, dangerously wounded in the chest. Both were picked up by the Japanese Red-Cross men, and saved, thanks to a Japanese officer, who gave orders that they were not to be killed.[31] Our right flank retreated simultaneously with our left at the moment when the Japanese began to enfilade them from the hills.

Having received the order to follow the regiment to Nan-kuan-ling, I bivouacked with the 4th Rifle Division, leaving my mounted scout detachment there. This was at 10 or 11 p.m.

On my way I learnt from certain artillery officers that General Nadyein had, at the critical moment, sent me two battalions (if only they had reached me!), but that General Fock had ordered them to return. At the court-martial this fact was not proved.

If, however, General Fock had decided to attack the left flank of the enemy, where they were already running out of shell and were engaged with our companies, with even his two regiments, and had brought up the whole of his artillery against this flank, the enemy would, without doubt, have been checked and the victory might have been on our side.

It is said that at the court-martial General Fock stated that he wished to attack. What a pity that this wish came too late!

One must watch for the first sign of wavering in the soldier in order to be able to judge the proper moment for throwing in the reserves, instead of keeping them miles behind the firing line, as seems necessary according to General Fock’s principle—“Keep back your reserves as long as you possibly can, as they are always asked for and sent up too early.” That is all right as far as it goes, but at the same time reserves must be used exactly at the right moment. I understand the meaning of this principle, but in order not to be misled in adopting it, it is essential to follow the course of the action very closely.

To see detail, click on map to display a larger version.

MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE NAN SHAN POSITIONMap N^o. 1.

Enlarged from a Russian Map.London: Hugh Rees, Ltd.

Reproduced at Stanford’s Geogl. Estabt., London.

It was stated at the court-martial that the whole of Lieutenant-Colonel Golitsinski’s battalion of the 14th Regiment was sent to the position, by General Nadyein, but never reached it, occupying instead the trenches made by me beyond Ta-fang-shen on the seashore, in case the enemy tried to make a turning movement through the water of Hand Bay. This was more than a verst from the position, in rear of its right flank. What they wanted a battalion there for, I really do not understand. I know nothing about this strange manœuvre, and I never saw the battalion, but it would have played a great part if I had had it with me in the centre.

There cannot be two commanders in one part of a field of battle, and we had three—General Fock, General Nadyein, and myself.

[CHAPTER III]

Night alarm during the march to Nan-kuan-ling—Disappearance of the baggage train—Continuation of the retreat towards Port Arthur—Occupation and fortification of the “Position of the Passes”—Japanese attacks on the position on July 26, 27, and 28—Capture of Yu-pi-la-tzu and Lao-tso Shan—General retirement to new positions, July 29.

I had hardly gone two versts from the bivouac, when we heard firing behind us. A moment afterwards a vague noise reached us, soon distinctly recognized as the rumbling of a baggage wagon. In another minute it had rattled past us at full speed. Behind it galloped a field battery scattering or destroying all that came in its way, and after the battery came a hurtling mass of wagons, mounted men, riderless horses, and unarmed men, and, to make matters worse, somebody raised the alarming cry of “Japanese cavalry! Japanese cavalry!”

The din and confusion were awful, and from the bivouacs behind us shots and volleys were heard. Together with the other officers near me I rushed to the rear of the column to restore order. I also ordered our band to strike up a march, and, thank God, its martial strains restored confidence among the fugitives—the noise ceased, and the men became quite calm and collected.

The band played all the way to Nan-kuan-ling,[32] and we were saved further panics in consequence.

Having been shown where to bivouac, I sent to the baggage train for bread, tea, and sugar, but alas! the baggage was not to be found. What was to be done? Our men had had neither food nor drink all day. Tents and great-coats had been left on the field of battle, so that the men had nothing but their rifles and cartridges with them. We started to hunt for food.

I sent, of course, to the railway station. We saw through the window that all the rooms were packed with officers of every regiment, and the staff of the 4th Division was there too. Having forced my way into the buffet, I approached Lieutenant-Colonel Dmetrevski, the chief of staff of the 4th Division, who, in answer to my question, “Where has our baggage train been sent?” told me that it had been sent straight into Port Arthur by General Fock’s order, and he could not say where it was now. The commanders of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Regiments were there too. I asked the first of these for 200 poods[33] of bread, a quantity of which I saw loaded up on some wagons standing close at hand. In an hour we had unloaded them and distributed the bread, each man getting about 4 lb. I had a piece about that weight, as had also all the other officers; of meat, there was absolutely none to be had.

All available articles of food in the buffet had been eaten before our arrival, but I succeeded in getting some salt wherewith to flavour my bread.

Having slept for three hours on the bare ground, we got up to resume our march. No one molested us during the night; the morning broke cold and foggy.

According to the “order of march” we should have been at the head of the column, but some regiment forestalled us, and we had to wait nearly an hour before making a start.

At about midday we reached a pass in the hills, well lined with trenches, and, after making a short halt in the pass itself, we pushed on, marching at a good pace.

At the instance of General Fock the mountain road had been repaired at an earlier date, and now did us sterling service, but, hard as we went, we did not overtake our baggage, and the whole of that day we had nothing but the bread procured at Nan-kuan-ling from the 14th Regiment. We spent the night in a picturesque defile, and perforce lay down to sleep on empty stomachs.

On May 28 we overtook an enormous train of baggage from Dalny,[34] accompanied by the male inhabitants of the town, with their women, children, and household goods. As the horses in the wagons were wretchedly small, the train had to come to a standstill, blocking the road from end to end.

We went round by a narrow side road, and in the evening reached the great Shipinsin Pass,[35] where at last we overtook our baggage.

Now in high spirits, we bivouacked, cooked our suppers, ate them ravenously, and slept the sleep of the just.

On the following day, May 29, we began to ascend the pass, which, thanks to our excellent horses, our baggage train speedily traversed, and although at midnight we lost our way, owing to bad maps, we eventually reached the outskirts of Port Arthur and halted at the village of Pa-li-chuang, where we had been ordered to rest for three days.

General Stessel visited the regiment the following day. The companies quickly formed up near the bivouacs, and the general rode round them all and thanked them for their splendid behaviour. The men felt tremendously encouraged, many of them having laboured under the dire impression that we had committed a crime by surrendering Nan Shan to the enemy.

General Stessel called to the front all those wounded who had remained in the ranks, in order to address them, and to bestow praise and rewards in the shape of the Cross of St. George. There were, however, so many of them (more than 300) that the general thought it was impossible to get so many crosses; he therefore ordered the doctor to inspect them and separate the badly from the slightly wounded. There were sixty of the former category, and they were given St. George’s crosses accordingly. These were the sole recipients of rewards for the Nan Shan battle, those slightly wounded receiving nothing for their bravery—and the number of such was great.

I have already mentioned the fact that our men came away with only their rifles, most of the tents and great-coats having been left on the field of battle. It was fortunate that just before the battle we had transported the bulk of our stores into Port Arthur, where they had been deposited in Captain Preegorovski’s house, which had been hired for the purpose. We brought all we wanted out of Port Arthur without delay, and distributed the necessaries among the men. At the same time we drove out with us a large herd of cattle, amounting to about 200 head.

I forgot to mention that our ordinary military anxieties on the Nan Shan position had been augmented by the worry due to an order to collect all the cattle belonging to the inhabitants and to drive them to the rear of the position. Some officials, supplied with money, were sent out for this purpose, but as they could not effect their object without the assistance of the regiment, the whole burden of the work fell upon us.

Unfortunately, the order was given when the enemy was already in touch with us, but we managed to collect about 1,000 head and drove them to the rear of the army, almost into Port Arthur.

After three days’ rest we moved into Port Arthur and stopped in a village near Serotka Hill,[36] forming the reserve of the 4th Division, which took up the position Shuang-tai-kou, Yu-pi-la-tzu, Chien Shan, and Lao-tso Shan.[37]

VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AT THE POSITION OF THE PASSES. IN THE DISTANCE ON THE LEFT ARE SEEN THE
PEAKS OF CHIEN SHAN.

p. 66]

The 4th Division had been reinforced by a detachment of mixed companies of the 7th Division, under the command of Colonel Semenov, and it was this detachment that occupied Lao-tso Shan. I do not know exactly what they had done amiss, but I remember it was commonly said that the mixed companies were not to be depended upon, which is not to be wondered at, seeing that they had no stiffening of seasoned troops. The commanders of the companies did not know their own men, nor had the men any knowledge of their commanders. No one felt responsible for the actions of the different units. This organization was considered a huge mistake on General Kondratenko’s part; but, however that may be, the position in question was held by us from the time of its occupation, on May 31, till July 28, in spite of the fact that it had not previously been fortified.

During this time the 5th Regiment was divided into two parts, and I was put in command of the left flank of the defence, and began to fortify the position on 174 Metre Hill and the country in front of it, as also the western side of Feng-huang Shan[38] from the Great Mandarin road to Eight Ships’ Bay. Stationed along the shore of the latter was Captain Sakatski’s detachment, and two other detachments were on the banks of Louisa Bay, both under my command, the former having with it four small naval guns under Midshipman Doudkin.

Our 6th and 7th Companies occupied and fortified Feng-huang Shan from the Great Mandarin road up to Major Sakatski’s detachment. Our three scout detachments occupied and fortified the 174 Metre and Headquarter Hills, and also Height 426.[39] The 3rd and 9th Companies occupied 174 Metre Hill, while the 2nd and 4th held 203 Metre Hill. They all worked hard at their fortifications under the supervision of their officers, in accordance with orders given by me.

174 Metre Hill had to be fortified as strongly as possible, as, having once captured that, the enemy could sweep our extremely weak western front, occupy the valley stretching in the direction of the New Town, and command the latter and the bay.

The other companies of the regiment were quartered in various positions near. At times when the advanced regiments behind Feng-huang Shan were threatened, the 5th Regiment served as the reserve for the different sections of the advanced line.

Our work advanced slowly, because we had very few tools.

Besides fortifying the position, I had to build shelters for the reserves and stores for small-arm ammunition in the fortress itself.

I detailed two companies of the 7th Division for this work, utilizing all the material we could find in the town. Having no sapper officer with me, I had personally to supervise everywhere—on the advanced positions as well as in the town. It was a great help that the officers of the 5th Regiment were, thanks to constant practice, excellent sappers.

We could only obtain tools with great difficulty and from various sources. Most of them we got from Colonel Grigorenko, commanding the Engineers in the fortress, and from the railway authorities.

The number of men given me to carry out the work which I had been ordered to do was insufficient, so I asked if I could employ the whole of my regiment. I received permission early in June, and moved the regimental staff to Division Hill, where we made ourselves very snug, pitching a huge marquee and getting our field kitchen into working order.

Generals Kondratenko, Smirnov, and Stessel came out to us fairly frequently. Our work progressed rapidly, as we had got over the tool difficulty, but we had very few barrows, etc., for transporting the earth.

A stubborn defence having been determined upon, it was necessary to construct a great number of splinter-proofs as well as shelters for ourselves and our kitchens; and for this we needed an abundant supply of beams and planks.

Besides this activity we had constantly to send detachments to the advanced positions held by the regiments of the 4th Division.

Other regiments continually borrowed the tools I had collected, but did not return them.

I frequently went on long personal reconnoitring tours, during which I made myself acquainted with the advanced positions and their fortifications.

It seems that General Fock expected that the Japanese would most probably attack our position across the flat stretch of country between the hills and the sea. In any case, he paid most attention to fortifying this particular part of the position. To me, however, it was very clear how difficult it would be to attack a fortified position across the open under effective gun and rifle fire. Not even taking into account the Japanese love of hill-fighting, it was obvious that the hills were by far the best point of attack, and these General Fock wished to have defended only by the scout detachments.