BRIDGING THE YALU.
It is always an interesting and instructive spectacle to behold the
inventive genius of man engaged in a struggle with mighty forces, and
to observe courage, skill and endurance overcome obstacles that seem
insurmountable. The situation in which the Japanese found themselves on
the banks of the Yalu called for the exercise of all these qualities in
a supreme degree. How they made a passage over this net work of rivers
in face of an enemy entrenched in the heights and within range of
artillery will be memorable in the history of war.
The work of reconnaissance was undertaken by officers and men, some
of whom swam the rivers and brought back reports as to the places
suitable for bridging, the exact locality of fords and their depth,
the positions available for artillery, and the nature and strength
of the forces on the islands and in the hills to the north of Tiger
Hill. Many of these brave men lost their lives, but they did not die
in vain. The engineers, who had worked without rest for thirty-eight
days, and had worn their spades and axes down in the wood, displayed
daring and energy that seemed to be inexhaustible. The sappers of the
Second Division, who, since their landing in Korea, had constructed
one hundred and fifty miles of road, discovered two or three old
canoes which the Russians had broken up and left as useless. These
they repaired, and with them navigated the river at night in search of
places that might be bridged for heavy guns and field guns.
The howitzers, whose presence was unknown to the Russians, were to be
taken across the branch stream to the island of Kontonto. A suitable
place was found about two thousand mètres West of Wiju, where the
stream was only seven mètres wide, and the bank on each side was
high enough to screen the pioneers. In this work none of the regular
bridging material of the army was to be used, and pontoons had to be
made from material collected five miles away. Six boats and several
rafts were built, and were supplemented by a few old boats that were
water-logged in the river. On the night of April 27th the bridging
of the stream was begun, and at five o’clock next morning it was
completed. Next day while some repairs were in progress the Russians
opened fire on the pontoons, but did no damage, and on the night of the
29th the heavy artillery passed safely over to Kontonto island, where
they were cleverly concealed in empalments screened with trees and
brushwood.
For the field guns a second bridge was built at a point two hundred
and eighty mètres West of Wiju, also from material gathered in the
neighbourhood. Here, in some parts, the stream was two mètres deep
and icy cold. The work was begun on the night of April 25th, and at
four o’clock next morning seven men were so benumbed that they had to
be rescued from drowning. In three hours they recovered and resumed
their labours. On the morning of the 26th the Russians discovered the
bridge, and bombarded it for three hours from Tiger Hill. No harm was
done until nine o’clock, when the batteries on Conical Hill opened
fire, and one shell struck the bridge, wounding an engineer. Despite
the cannonade the work went on without interruption until an order
came from head-quarters to stop during the day time. Anxious that the
enemy should not think that his men feared shell fire, the officer in
command told the sappers to withdraw slowly one by one. After this the
material was prepared during the day behind the hills, and the work
of construction was resumed under cover of darkness. The bridge was
finished by the morning of the 27th, and on the night of the 29th the
field guns were transferred to Kontonto island.
Next morning it was decided that these guns must be carried over the
main stream of the Yalu. Bridging was impossible, for the river was
four hundred and fifty mètres wide, and within three thousand mètres
of the Russian position. The order was given at nine o’clock, and
eight hours afterward twenty-one pontoons were collected on the river
North of Wiju where they could not be seen by the enemy. As soon as
it was dark this fleet of pontoons dropped silently down the stream,
keeping intervals of fifty mètres in case the Russians opened fire.
At seven o’clock they were in front of the island Chonchagtai, and
one officer and one private landed in order to find a suitable place
for disembarking the guns. Three stages were erected on each side of
the river, and at half-past nine o’clock the infantry guard of the
guns began to cross the broad and swift stream. Each pontoon carried
thirty-two men, and the boats took from fifteen to seventeen minutes
in making the journey. A hasty reconnaissance showed that the island
of Chonchagtai had been abandoned by the enemy, and the guns were
ferried over in the pontoons. At three o’clock the work was completed
without accident, and before dawn pontoons, tools, and material had
vanished. Seven hours later some pontoons again crossed the river with
ammunition for the guns and were fired upon. Two pontoons were struck
by fragments of the same shell, and appeared to be sinking under a
cloud of smoke, out of which rang triumphant shouts of “Banzai!” Help
was sent instantly, and the boats were brought safely to shore. One of
the pontoons had nine holes in it, and one of the planks was smashed
to pieces; the other had seven holes--all, fortunately, above the
water line. Two of the rowers were wounded, one severely and the other
slightly. Neither left the oars for a second, though both fainted as
soon as they were carried ashore.
Another bridge was ordered to be thrown across the main stream in
front of Tiger Hill, where the water was very deep, the river bed too
hard for piles and the current so swift that two or three anchors
were required for each boat. Neither nails nor anchors were in store
and the pontoons had to be made from material collected about two
thousand mètres further up stream. An ingenious officer ordered his men
to search the Korean houses for ploughshares, horse-shoes, sickles,
hatchets, and any metal tools. The ploughshares were turned into
anchors and the rest into nails. The work began on the night of April
28th, and by noon on the 30th seventy-five pontoons were ready to span
the river, which at that point was three hundred and thirty mètres
wide. West of Tiger Hill the branch of the Ai-ho is very deep, and here
another bridge was made, two companies of infantry having been sent to
drive the enemy from Tiger Hill and to select positions for a battery
of field guns.
It was of vital importance that the enemy should not discover the
point at which the Twelfth Division, which was to make the flanking
movement, would cross the Yalu. Suikochin, to the North-east of Wiju,
was the place selected, and was bridged with the greatest secrecy and
in the shortest possible time. Material was collected higher up the
river and floated down stream in the darkness. As the road from Wiju to
Suikochin was visible to the enemy the utmost care and vigilance had to
be exercised, and the bridges had to be put together under cover of the
hills.
Before the battle began ten bridges were constructed. Their united
length was 2,126 mètres; half of them were made from material found in
the neighbourhood; the other half were the regular pontoons of the army.
The positions of the bridges are shown on the accompanying map.
These elaborate preparations were made with remarkable speed and
secrecy. The terrain was on the whole favourable. The low hills about
Wiju concealed the movement of troops and the work of engineers.
Every part of the road under the enemy’s observation was screened by
artificial avenues of firs and arches of maize straw which, from a
distance, looked like natural growth, so that neither battalions nor
batteries could be seen and counted as they descended the higher ground
towards Wiju.
It must not be imagined, however, that these plans altogether escaped
the vigilance of the Russians or were effected without opposition.