Kuroki Completes his Plans--The Scene of Battle--General
Sassulitch's Defences--The Russian Dispositions--The
Attacking Army--Clearing the Islands--Guards Half-way
Across--Parallel Movements--The Searching Japanese
Fire--Bridging the Yalu--Confusion in the Russian
Councils--Kuroki's Consummate Strategy--Futile Russian
Opposition--Masked Batteries at Work--Serpentine Line of
Dark Forms--Two Thousand Deadly Thunderbolts--Inferno Let
Loose--Howitzer High-Angle Fire--Co-operation of
Gunboats--Miserable Array of Russians--Four Miles of
Japanese--A Moment of Tense Expectancy--The General Attack
Begins--Ridges Alive with Flame--Surprise of the
Russians--The Plunge Across the Ai--Overwhelming
Legions--The Circling Ring of Fate--Devastating Artillery
Bombardment--Black Mass of Human Figures--The Blood-Red
Banner--Fight Desperately Against Fate--General
Sassulitch's Retreat--The Japanese Chase--The Last Gallant
Stand--Rifle Fire and Cold Steel.
[Sidenote: Kuroki Completes his Plans]
The numerous small skirmishes between outposts which took place on the
Yalu and its tributaries during the earlier part of the month of April
need not detain us. They were mainly encounters between small
reconnoitering parties, and though there were losses on both sides,
fortune on the whole leaned in favor of the Japanese. The results of
these reconnaissances in locating the positions occupied by the
Russians, combined with the success of the Japanese transport
arrangements, which, as stated already, placed an army of 60,000 to
70,000 men at General Kuroki's disposal, enabled him to complete his
preparations for the great task before him by the beginning of the last
week in April. The night of the 25th found him ready at all points, and
on the morrow his army entered upon the preliminary stages of a series
of operations which, culminating in the crossing of the river and the
capture of the Russian position, first revealed to an astonished world
the hitherto undreamt-of potentialities of Japan as a military power.
[Sidenote: The Scene of Battle]
Some study of the map of the scene of battle is necessary for a perfect
understanding of the movements of the contending forces. It will be
seen on reference to our map (page 169) that just above Wiju the waters
of the Yalu are joined from the northwest by an important tributary,
the Ai River, the stream here taking the form of a fork. At the apex of
the triangular wedge of land which divides the Ai from the Yalu is
situated the Hosan, or Tiger Hill, an important strategical position
commanding the south bank of the main river. Opposite Tiger Hill, and
running some way past it up the Yalu, is the Island of Kulido, which
divides the river at this point into two streams, both of them
fordable. The Ai also is fordable at a point near the hill of
Yulchasan, which is north of Tiger Hill and on the same bank of the
tributary. Opposite Wiju itself the main river is two miles wide and is
divided into three streams by two islands. Of these the larger
Cheun-song-do, is near the right bank, and lies stretched alongside it
for a distance of about thirteen miles, starting from a spot close to
Antung, lower down the river, and finishing at a little distance up the
Ai. It can be reached from the right bank at this end by a ford, and
there is another ford lower down, opposite to Chiu-lien-cheng. The
stream dividing the other island from the left bank is also fordable
waist-deep, but the central stream can only be crossed by means of a
bridge. These islands are really low, flat, sandy deltas, with
occasional clumps of small trees and patches of shrub dotting their
surface, which provide some cover for the concealment of troops.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE ACTIONS ON THE YALU
APRIL 29TH-MAY 1ST.]
[Sidenote: General Sassulitch's Defences]
The Russian position extended for a distance of upwards of twenty miles
along the right bank of the Yalu and Ai, from Niang-ning-chin in the
south, to Yushukau in the north. Yushukau is a hill opposite to
Yulchasan, and lower down is another hill which General Sassulitch had
fortified, named Makau (or Potientzy). Then comes the village of
Chiu-lien-cheng itself, which formed the centre of his position,
standing at a height of about 180 feet above the river. From
Chiu-lien-cheng a road runs in a westerly direction to Hamatan or
Hoh-mu-tang, a distance of about five or six miles; and another road
runs down parallel with the bank of the Yalu to Antung. A further road
runs from Hoh-mu-tang in a northerly direction, the most important post
on which is Tang-lang-fang, almost due west of Yushukau. Westward of
Hoh-mu-tang stretches the main road to Feng-whang-cheng and Liao-yang.
South of Antung is the hill of Antushan, and a continual ridge of hills
connects this eminence with Niang-ning-chin, already mentioned. It will
be observed that the high ground which the Russians occupied gives a
defending force a great advantage in meeting an attack from the Yalu,
as it easily commands the low-lying positions on the left bank. On the
other hand, Makau, Shiu-lien-cheng, and the positions to the southward
are commanded by Tiger Hill and Yulchasan, and it is therefore obvious
that if once the Japanese succeeded in occupying those heights they
must necessarily render the rest of General Sassulitch's defences along
the river bank untenable.
[Illustration: HAULING A JAPANESE HOWITZER INTO POSITION UNDER FIRE.]
[Sidenote: The Russian Dispositions]
As far as can be gathered from the Japanese accounts and from the more
obscure dispatches of the Russian Generals, the distribution of the
Czar's forces at the beginning of the operations was as follows: Tiger
Hill was occupied by part of the 22nd Siberian Regiment under the
command of General Kashtalinsky. The right wing, in the neighborhood of
Antung, was formed of the 9th and 10th Regiments supported by two
batteries of artillery; while the centre, at Chiu-lien-cheng, was held
by the 12th Regiment. The Reserve was formed of the 11th Regiment. The
artillery were distributed at carefully-chosen positions along the
whole front, but were massed in especial strength at Makau and
Chiu-lien-cheng. Advanced outposts drawn from the 22nd, 23rd, and 27th
Regiments of Eastern Siberian Sharpshooters occupied the islands of
Kulido and Cheun-song-do. A Russian regiment, it should be explained,
consists of three battalions, each of which, when brought up to its
full strength, numbers about 1,000 men.
[Sidenote: The Attacking Army]
On the night of the 25th the Japanese army was massed on the left bank
of the river in the following order: On the left, facing the island of
Cheun-song-do, was stationed the 2nd Division; the centre, occupying a
position to the north of Wiju, was composed of the Imperial Guards'
Division; and on the right, still further up the river, the 12th
Division was concentrated, in concealment behind some hilly ground, and
in readiness for an important move upon the enemy's left, which will be
described later.
[Sidenote: Clearing the Islands]
At dawn on the 26th a sharp rattle of musketry told the Russians that
the attack had begun. Detachments from the Guards' Division were firing
upon General Sassulitch's sharpshooters stationed on the Island of
Kulido. The Russians replied briskly, but the Japanese rifle fire was
heavy and well-directed, and at last their position became untenable,
in face not only of this infantry attack, but of a searching
bombardment opened by some batteries of Kuroki's artillery, which were
established on a hill in the rear of Wiju. They therefore retreated to
the mainland for shelter.
[Sidenote: Guards Half-way Across]
No sooner had this retirement been effected than the Japanese prepared
to cross over to the island in boats. These craft were all in
readiness, and before long a considerable force of the Guards had
landed on the island. When this movement was perceived the enemy
returned to dispute it; but they were not in large force, and were
easily repulsed. A squadron of Cossacks came to their assistance, but
the hot fire with which they were received by the Japanese infantry was
too much for them, and they were driven back in confusion to the bank
below Tiger Hill. The Mikado's Guards continued the pursuit across the
ford, and a smart encounter ensued beneath the hill. The fighting was
not of long duration, however; the Russians retired; and it became
evident that there was no intention seriously to dispute the possession
of the island. The attempt made by General Sassulitch's batteries to
drive the daring Japanese off the island by shrapnel fire was quite
unsuccessful, and the whole defence on this side revealed an unexpected
weakness. The Guards' skirmishers occupied all night the ground they
had so easily gained.
[Sidenote: Parallel Movements]
In the meantime, the advance guard of the 2nd Division had carried
through the same operations with equal success on the Island of
Cheun-song-do. The Russian sharpshooters were driven off in the
direction of Chiu-lien-cheng, and the Japanese seized the delta with a
small force preparatory to constructing a bridge over the central
stream for the passage of the main body of the division.
[Sidenote: The Searching Japanese Fire]
In these small but useful engagements the Guards suffered some slight
casualties, nine men being slightly and sixteen seriously wounded. The
2nd Division sustained no casualties at all. The Russians, on the other
hand, lost more heavily. They were seen to carry off a considerable
number of dead and wounded, and they left behind them ninety-five dead
horses, which, in itself, is significant of the searching character of
the Japanese fire. The body of Lieutenant Senyoloff, commanding the
Mounted Scouts of the 22nd Regiment, which his comrades had not time to
remove, was buried at Wiju by the Japanese themselves with all honor.
[Sidenote: Bridging the Yalu]
On the following day the work of bridging the stream both at Kulido and
Cheun-song-do was carried out, in spite of the intermittent fire which
the Russian guns maintained upon the corps engaged. So ineffective
indeed was this cannonade that the Japanese artillery did not even
reply to it, and their engineers pursued their enterprise calmly and
without substantial interruption. On the same day the naval squadron
under Rear-Admiral Hosoya rendered valuable assistance to General
Kuroki by its co-operation in the Yalu estuary. Two gunboats, two
torpedo-boats, and two armed steamers ascended the river as far as
Antushan and effected a useful diversion in the quarter by shelling the
Russian entrenchments. The bombardment must have proved destructive,
for after making a brisk reply for some time, which, however, did no
damage to the Japanese ships, the Muscovite batteries were finally
silenced.
[Sidenote: Confusion in the Russian Councils]
On Thursday, the 28th, the same tactics were displayed, and the
position seized by the Guards' Division and the 2nd Division on the
Islands of Kulido and Cheun-song-do was consolidated. Two companies of
the former, indeed, crossed over to the mainland and reconnoitred Tiger
Hill, encouraged by the silence of the enemy on that commanding
eminence. To their surprise they found that the post had been evacuated
by the Russians. No explanation has been offered of this remarkable
step; the only conclusion possible--a conclusion, indeed, strengthened
by subsequent events--is that confusion reigned in the councils of the
Russian commanders, and that no definite and coherent plan had been
thought out by them. For on the next day General Kashtalinsky was again
ordered to occupy the hill, which the Japanese themselves, having other
plans in view, were not yet in a position to seize effectively.
[Sidenote: Kuroki's Consummate Strategy]
On Friday, the 29th, General Kuroki began the important move on his
extreme right, for which the 12th Division had been all this time kept
in reserve. The operations of the Guards and the 2nd Division, useful,
and indeed necessary, as they were for the purposes of a general
advance, had acted as a screen for his consummate piece of strategy by
which the Japanese Commander turned General Sassulitch's flank and
finally captured the position. To the north of Wiju, about thirteen
miles higher up the stream of the Yalu, stands the small village of
Sukuchin. Here it was that the Japanese effected a crossing in October,
1894, in their war with China. On that occasion the movement enabled
them to outflank a force of 30,000 men, and it is one of the remarkable
features of General Kuroki's dispositions for attack that they repeated
in all essential particulars the tactics which proved so successful ten
years ago. Still more remarkable is it that the Russians appear to have
learned none of the lessons of the war of 1894, and to have fallen just
as readily into the trap as did the Chinese. Early then on the 29th the
engineer corps of the 12th Division started to construct two pontoon
bridges over the Yalu at Sukuchin. Here, as in every other department
of the Japanese arrangements, the organization was perfect. Not a
detail had been omitted and the work proceeded smoothly and with
dispatch. By the next morning both bridges were completed and the
troops prepared to cross.
[Sidenote: Futile Russian Opposition]
The Russian Commander, who had at last got wind of the manoeuvre
which was taking place at this point, had detached a small force to
oppose the passage of the river, and when at 10.40 the vanguard of
General Inouye's Division began to march on to the pontoons, a fierce
fire was directed upon it from the opposite bank. The Japanese,
however, retorted both with rifle fire and artillery, and the fusillade
of the Russians was soon checked, with the result that by the afternoon
the whole of the 12th Division had gained the right bank of the Yalu
with the loss of only two men killed and twenty-seven men wounded.
General Inouye then marched forward to seize Yulchasan and Tiger Hill,
which positions, after their first evacuation, had again been occupied
by the Russians under General Kashtalinsky.
[Sidenote: Masked Batteries at Work]
In the meantime, the Guards' Division, assisted by a heavy bombardment
from the batteries below Wiju, was pressing an attack upon Tiger Hill
from the Island of Kulido, an attack which successfully diverted the
attention of General Kashtalinsky from the advance upon his left, and
prevented him from offering it any formidable resistance. The Japanese
artillery in particular distinguished itself. Never was superiority of
generalship more strikingly displayed than it was by General Kuroki in
this case. The position was admirably selected by him; the work of
placing the batteries was carried out with such skill that the Russians
were kept in entire ignorance of their whereabouts; and finally when
they opened fire on the morning of the 30th the heavy character of the
guns employed took the enemy absolutely by surprise. On the delta
immediately below Wiju was a belt of trees of which the Japanese
General had at once seen the potentialities; and behind its screen his
engineers had constructed gun pits, in which were concealed several
batteries of howitzers. These pieces of ordnance did terrible execution
in the Russian lines in the course of the day.
[Sidenote: Serpentine Line of Dark Forms]
To the onlookers standing on the hills behind Wiju the wide field of
battle spread before them presented a highly picturesque spectacle, and
as the attack developed the interest became intense. Hardly had the
advance of the Guards begun upon the Island of Kulido when a long
serpentine line of dark forms could be seen winding in and out of the
heights on the right bank of the river to the north of Tiger Hill. They
were the men of the 12th Division slowly but surely creeping upon the
Russian left. For miles they pressed forward without coming into view
of the Russian artillerymen on Tiger Hill, but at last the first
detachments, rounding the shoulder of one of the nearer hills, were
exposed to the enemy. Instantly a terrific burst of shrapnel fire broke
out from General Kashtalinsky's field batteries. Steadily, however, and
without a check the brave Japanese advanced from height to height, and
at the same time the batteries on the left bank above Wiju came to
their aid. The fire of the Russians had unmasked the position of their
guns on the hill, and the Japanese artillerymen rained upon them a
terrible hail of shells which soon reduced them to silence and
effectually covered the advance of the infantry.
[Sidenote: Two Thousand Deadly Thunderbolts]
But now the Guards, who were engaged in effecting a lodgement on the
lower slopes of Tiger Hill, came in for the attentions of General
Sassulitch's field batteries at Makau and Chiu-lien-cheng. Believing
that the Japanese possessed only guns of the same calibre, and totally
ignorant of the deadly engines of warfare which Kuroki had so
skillfully concealed behind the innocent-looking belt of trees on the
delta, the Russian Commander took no pains to mask his ordnance.
Therefore when his shrapnel swept the Island of Kulido and played havoc
among the Guards, his whole position in this part of the field lay
exposed. At once the howitzers on the delta close to the opposite shore
began to belch forth a terrible fire of shrapnel and common shell,
which tore up the ground all around the Russians, killing their gunners
and dismounting their guns. This bombardment was afterwards described
by General Kashtalinsky, in a dispatch to the Commander-in-Chief, as
"extraordinarily violent and prolonged," and he added that in its
course more than 2,000 shells were fired upon the defenders' position.
The fearfully destructive and demoralizing effect of this cannonade was
indeed patent at once to the observers upon the left bank of the river.
The Makau Hill was described by one correspondent as transformed in
appearance into an active volcano, from which belched forth clouds of
grey-black smoke.
[Sidenote: Inferno Set Loose]
It was Inferno let loose. The sides of the hill were riddled and
scored, solid rocks were smashed like crockery, as the screaming
missiles of death burst among the trenches and filled them with dead
and wounded. Yet amid it all the Russian artillerymen stood steadily to
their guns as long as their guns were left in their places, and as long
as any men remained to work them. But the best troop in the world could
not endure such a murderous fire for long. The heavy pieces of field
ordnance were knocked from their carriages like ninepins, the soldiers
fell around them in scores, and at last the batteries sank into silence
and the dark forms of the defenders were seen from afar fleeing for
refuge behind the further line of the heights.
[Sidenote: Howitzer High-Angle Fire]
This fierce artillery engagement lasted about half an hour, and while
it produced such deadly and demoralizing effects on the enemy it left
the Japanese practically unharmed behind their screen of trees. Their
howitzers, unlike the Russian field guns, could do the maximum of
execution by means of high-angle fire and their battery emplacements
were so carefully and skilfully masked that the shrapnel of the enemy,
effective as it may have appeared to be from the right bank, did them
scarcely any damage. Their casualties, indeed, were only two men killed
and twenty-five wounded. It was a remarkable triumph of scientific
warfare, and proved that in the artillery branch of the service at all
events the Japanese had nothing further to learn from European models.
[Illustration: RUSSIANS COLLECTING WOUNDED ON THE NIGHT AFTER THE
BATTLE.]
[Sidenote: Co-operation of Gunboats]
While this bombardment was engaging the Russian centre and diverting
its attention from the enveloping movement of the 12th Division on the
left, and from the advance of the Guards upon Tiger Hill, the gunboat
flotilla of Admiral Hosoya again operated with great effect against the
Russian lines lower down the river at Antushan and Niang-ning-chin.
This simultaneous attack along the whole of his front placed General
Sassulitch in a position of the utmost difficulty. He was unable to
tell from which part of the field the real danger would come. It is
clear, however, from the dispatches of his subordinate, General
Kashtalinsky, that that officer appreciated the true nature of the
Japanese operations, and that he recognized the impossibility of
holding Chiu-lien-cheng after his flank had been turned by General
Inouye's Division. Early on the 30th he ordered the 22nd Regiment back
from Tiger Hill to the right bank of the Ai River and endeavored to
strengthen the position on Makau and Yukushau, and his dispatch to
General Kuropatkin indicates that he represented to General Sassulitch
the difficulty with which even that line of defence could be
maintained, and urged a retreat to Hoh-mu-tang. At night, however, he
received orders from his superior to remain and accept battle at the
hands of the Japanese, and he had nothing for it but to obey.
[Sidenote: Miserable Array of Russians]
It was with a miserably inadequate force that he was thus compelled to
oppose the advance of a foe which had already proved itself so
determined and so resourceful. At the ford on his extreme left he
stationed two battalions of the 22nd Regiment. The 12th Regiment of the
East Siberian Rifles held the hills behind, from Yukushan to Makau,
supported by the 3rd Battery of the 6th Brigade of Artillery and a
number of machine guns. General Sassulitch himself was in command of
the 9th and 10th Regiments occupying Chiu-lien-cheng and the chain of
hills stretching down to Antung, and the 11th Regiment was kept in the
rear as a reserve. General Mishchenko's Brigade of Cossacks, though in
the neighborhood, does not appear to have been actually engaged in the
battle at all.
[Sidenote: Four Miles of Japanese]
On the Japanese side all was in readiness for the great advance by the
night of the 30th, and General Kuroki telegraphed to the General Staff
at Tokio that the attack would begin at dawn. On the left, the 2nd
Division, under General Nishi, occupied the southern end of
Cheun-song-do; the Imperial Guards, under General Hasegawa, held the
northern end of that island, as well as Tiger Hill; and on their right
was stationed the 12th Division, facing the Ai, on a wide front
extending for over four miles. In these positions the Army bivouacked
for the night.
[Sidenote: A Moment of Tense Expectancy]
By five o'clock on the morning of Sunday, May 1st, the whole force from
north to south was on foot, and prepared to move like one mighty
machine to the execution of the great task before it. As the grey dawn
lifted the curtain upon the tremendous drama which was about to unfold
itself before them, the watchers behind Wiju saw the long lines of
black forms marshalling upon the islands and taking cover behind the
scrub and in the hollows of the low sand hills. Far out beyond Tiger
Hill and along the left bank of the River Ai the lines extended, moving
out of the shelter of the adjacent hills. It was a moment of tense
expectancy. Now for the first time were Japanese Infantry to be pitted
against European troops armed with modern weapons, in a conflict on the
grand scale. Would they come out of the ordeal with triumph? Would they
in their sphere of warfare rival the great achievements of their naval
brethren?
[Sidenote: The General Attack Begins]
But before the infantry could move forward it was necessary to search
the Russian batteries once more and reduce them, if possible, to
ineffectiveness. The howitzers and field artillery, therefore, again
opened their terrible fire of shell and shrapnel upon the heights
opposite, the storm raging with especial severity over Chiu-lien-cheng
and the Makau and Yushukau ridge. But to this the enemy made no reply.
After the awful experience of the previous day, they had been compelled
to withdraw many of their guns, and the front of their position was, as
it afterwards appeared, deprived of this defence altogether. General
Kashtalinsky, as already stated, had with him one battery of field
artillery, but taught by past lessons he declined to unmask its
whereabouts until the advance of the Mikado's troops made it absolutely
necessary. After half an hour, therefore, the Japanese ceased their
bombardment for the time being, and at last General Kuroki gave the
eagerly-expected order for a general attack along the whole line.
Gladly the soldiery of Dai Nippon answered the call, burning as one man
to plant the flag of the Rising Sun upon the soil of the territory from
which ten years ago they had been so contemptuously driven out by the
haughty Muscovite.
[Sidenote: Ridges Alive with Flame]
To the 12th Division fell the perilous glory of crossing first, in the
teeth of the Russian guns. The skirmishing line advanced first over a
wide front, keeping up a harassing fire upon the enemy's trenches. A
smart response was made, but the opportunity of the Russians was yet to
come; for it was apparent that the actual crossing of the river by
General Inouye's main body would have to be performed in much closer
formation, presenting an admirable target for artillery and rifle fire.
Slowly but steadily the skirmishers pressed forward, taking advantage
of every scrap of cover, and soon the whole plain was dotted with puffs
of white smoke as the bullets sped on their way. Behind them came line
after line of the main storming force. At last the fords were reached,
and forming into two columns the 12th Division rushed forward to gain
their passage. At once the ridges opposite became alive with flame, and
a withering blast of shrapnel and rifle bullets swept across their
path. The column formation which the Japanese were compelled to adopt
gave the Russian marksmen every chance, and terrible loss of life
occurred at this point. The leading files were mown down like grass
under the sickle; for a moment the head of the column wavered under the
storm and stood still.
[Sidenote: Surprise of the Russians]
But now the Japanese artillery found the opening they wanted. The exact
position of the Russian guns was revealed, and at once they were
enfiladed by a demoralizing fire from the terrible howitzers near Wiju
while at the same time they were attacked by General Inouye's field
batteries in front. Once again the fierce and destructive character of
the cannonade is revealed by the dispatches of the Russian commanders.
Just as General Kashtalinsky, referring to the bombardment of April
30th, described it as "extraordinarily violent and prolonged," so
General Sassulitch used similar terms in regard to this new
bombardment. Before the day was over the Russian Commander had more
opportunities of appreciating the "extraordinary" quality of the troops
whose powers he, in common with more highly placed officers in the
service of the Czar, had so fatally despised; but it seems clear from
the use of the same phrase independently by the two generals that the
artillery tactics of General Kuroki caused them more surprise than
almost anything else in the whole of these surprising operations. It
goes to prove that the Intelligence Department on the Russian side was
not well equipped, for the possession by their enterprising foe of
heavy guns so far north in Korea seems never to have been suspected by
them.
[Sidenote: The Plunge Across the Ai]
Supported by this tremendous cannonade, the infantry of the 12th
Division pressed steadily forward. The survivors of the first line
melted into the second line, which was advancing quickly behind, and
careless of death, the gallant little Japs plunged into the waters of
the Ai up to their breasts, and waded across the ford. Notwithstanding
the raking fire, however, from General Kuroki's batteries, the Russians
stuck to their posts like heroes, and the field guns of the 3rd
Battery, assisted by a number of machine guns, ploughed up the ranks of
the Mikado's troops, doing terrible execution. But the Japanese were in
overwhelming force, and though men were falling on every hand, the main
body pressed resistlessly forward, crossed the river, and took up a
position on the right bank, at the base of the hills. Not a moment was
wasted. As the column reached the shore, it diverged regiment by
regiment to right and left, spreading out in wider formation for the
task of scaling the heights. The evolution was executed with great
speed, but with the precision and steadiness of parade; and if anything
could be more impressive than the gallantry of the Japanese rank and
file, it was the skill and coolness of their officers from General down
to company commander. Though it was exposed to a withering fire at
comparatively close quarters, the movements of the whole force were
executed like those of a machine.
[Sidenote: Overwhelming Legions]
It will be remembered that there are two fords over the Ai river, the
one leading from a position near Yulchasan, on the left bank, to a
position slightly north of Yukushan, on the right bank; the other
opposite to Tiger Hill, and a little to the north of Makau. It was
opposite to this latter ford that the bulk of General Kashtalinsky's
force was stationed, and here in consequence, the greatest losses
befell the Japanese. But while a fierce engagement was raging at Makau,
the decisive movement was taking place on the extreme left of the
Russians at Yushukau. The defence at that spot was entrusted to only
one battalion of the 22nd Regiment of Sharpshooters, and it was
impossible for such a small contingent, gallantly as it held its ground
for a time, finally to withstand the overwhelming legions which were
hurled against it.
[Sidenote: The Circling Ring of Fate]
For slowly but steadily the Japanese lines encircled the hills with a
ring of fate, creeping up the sides with infinite nimbleness and
dexterity, pausing now to take cover and return the Russian fire, then
up again and climbing from rock to rock with indomitable courage and
resolution. On the other hand, General Kashtalinsky bravely fought on
against his advancing foe. With the force at his command, it was
obviously a desperate undertaking, and he had sent for reinforcements.
But they came not, and for hours he had to do the best he could without
them. The fact was, of course, that General Sassulitch himself was so
busily engaged both on the right wing and at the centre that he could
spare little assistance to his subordinate.
[Sidenote: Devastating Artillery Bombardment]
For almost simultaneously with the advance of the 12th Division across
the Ai the Imperial Guards under General Hasegawa had forced the
passage of the stream on the left, at the foot of the slope which led
up to the village of Chiu-lien-cheng, while the 2nd Division, led by
General Nishi, crossed lower down and menaced the Russian right. Four
batteries of howitzers had been ferried across the stream from the left
bank of the Yalu to the Island of Cheun-song-do, and as the skirmishing
line of both divisions moved forward in a fan-like formation these
powerful pieces of ordnance opened a destructive fire upon the enemy. A
sharp rattle of musketry was the first sign that the Russians were
prepared to contest the passage of the river in this quarter, but their
field artillery remained silent, and it turned out afterwards that all
the guns which had survived the bombardment of the previous day had
been removed to the rear, or to strengthen General Kashtalinsky's
position. As it was, the rifle fire from the trenches was very galling,
and the Japanese lost a great many men, but the devastating effects of
General Kuroki's artillery bombardment were beyond anything that the
Russians could produce in return.
[Sidenote: Black Mass of Human Figures]
It was in one of these trenches on the ridge of the hills to the
northeast of Chiu-lien-cheng that the greatest damage was wrought. As
the Japanese infantry steadily advanced, General Sassulitch ordered
forward a body of his supports from the immediate rear to occupy this
trench. In order to obey this command they had to round a small spur of
the hill and pass across the open. Their appearance against the
sky-line provided a target which the Japanese gunners were not likely
to neglect. Instantly a rain of shell and shrapnel was directed upon
the black mass of human figures. Men were seen falling thick and fast
under this withering fire; but still the Russians pressed on
indomitably, and at the expense of great loss of life occupied the
trench, whence they in turn poured a fierce rifle-fire upon the enemy
below them. By this time, however, the Guards were swarming over the
lower slopes of the hills around Chiu-lien-cheng, and General Hasegawa
sent a strong force to the left of the Russian position to turn General
Sassulitch's flank. At the same time General Nishi's men were climbing
steadily up the ridge further south, and were threatening the Russian
right.
[Sidenote: The Blood-Red Banner]
It is interesting to note that the somewhat drab aspect of warfare
which many of the operations in the South African war assumed,
accustoming us to the idea that all picturesqueness had departed from
modern combat, and that the ancient gauds and trappings so dear to the
soldier's heart had been abandoned for ever, was entirely absent from
this great battle in the Far East. The opposing forces were not
separated from one another by illimitable distances of rolling veldt
and brown hills. They were, on the contrary, so near as to recall the
fighting in the Franco-German War, or the bloody combats around Plevna
in the great struggle between Turkey and Russia nearly thirty years
ago. And more remarkable still, the regimental colors which in our army
are kept for ceremonial purposes in times of peace, and do not
accompany the troops into the field, were carried by the Japanese in
the front of the fighting line. Their presence must have assisted the
fire of the enemy considerably; but there can be no doubt, on the other
hand, of the inspiriting effect on the Mikado's men of seeing the
blood-red banner of their race floating in the van and beckoning them
forward to victory.
[Illustration: A LAST GALLANT STAND OF RUSSIAN GUNNERS.]
Steadily indeed, and without pause, those flaming banners advanced upon
the doomed Russian position. The swing round of General Hasewaga's
troops to the left of Chiu-lien-cheng decided the fate of General
Sassulitch's centre, and after four hours' fighting the Japanese,
climbing up the ridges like cats, charged into the Russian trenches.
All the defenders who remained to contest the charge were bayonetted or
taken prisoners, but the main body of the 9th and 10th Siberian
Regiments retreated stubbornly towards Hoh-mu-tang, contesting every
inch of the ground. The heights, however, in this part of the field
were won, and at 9 o'clock a great shout of "Banzai"--the Japanese form
of "hurrah"--went up all along the line, as the banners of the Rising
Sun were planted upon the ridge and waved proudly in the breeze.
[Sidenote: Fight Desperately Against Fate]
On their left the Russians under General Kashtalinsky were, as we have
shown, making a more desperate resistance; but unable to obtain
reinforcements in time, that gallant officer was compelled to retire
before the advance of General Inouye's Division, which, by driving the
battalion of the 22nd Regiment in rout before it at Yushukau, had
completely crumpled up his flank. He therefore fell back slowly towards
Hoh-mu-tang, fighting desperately against overwhelming odds opposed to
him. It was not till noon, seven hours after the battle began, that
reinforcements were at last sent to him. Then General Sassulitch
ordered to his assistance the 11th Regiment, which all this time had
been held in reserve well in the rear together with the 2nd Battery of
the 6th Brigade of Field Artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel Mouravsky.
[Sidenote: General Sassulitch's Retreat]
With this new force General Kashtalinsky set about the heavy task of
covering the retreat of the 12th and the 22nd Regiments, or as much of
them as was left, and also of checking the Japanese advance if possible
until the 9th and 10th Regiments had made sure of their communications
along the road to Feng-hwang-cheng. It was now that the fiercest and
bloodiest fighting of the day took place, and that the Russians in
particular suffered their heaviest losses. For no sooner had General
Kuroki captured the whole ridge from Antung and Antushan in the south
to Yukushan in the north than he ordered his force, strengthened by the
reserves, to hasten at full speed along three lines in the direction of
the Feng-whang-cheng road to cut off General Sassulitch's retreat.
[Sidenote: The Japanese Chase]
A strong detachment from General Inouye's Division, therefore, crossed
westwards to Tan-lang-fang; the Imperial Guards marched rapidly along
the main road from Chiu-lien-cheng; and the 2nd Division spread out
towards Antung and pursued the retiring 9th and 10th Regiments. It was
the Guards Division and the 12th Division with whom General
Kashtalinsky had to deal in this last brave stand. He ordered the 11th
Regiment under his chief of staff to assume a commanding position in
the rear, from which they could fire upon the enemy from two sides.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mouravsky's battery he held in reserve; and then he
ordered the wearied troops of the 12th Regiment, the 22nd Regiment, and
the 3rd Battery of the 6th Brigade to retire under cover of the fire of
the 11th.
[Sidenote: The Last Gallant Stand]
But before this manoeuvre could be effected the fierce pursuit of the
Japanese had gained its object. Both the Guards and the 12th Division
reached the spot by 1 o'clock, and approaching from opposite sides,
surrounded the hapless Russians. An enfilading fire made it impossible
for the 3rd Battery to retire. Its horses were killed, and, therefore,
Colonel Mouravsky, who assumed the command, ordered the gunners to take
up a position where they stood and return the Japanese fire at close
quarters. This they did with the greatest gallantry. They fought on
steadily till not a man was left standing, their brave commander,
Colonel Mouravsky, himself being among the last to fall. In the
meanwhile, a company with machine guns had been ordered up to the
assistance of the 3rd Battery. The officer in command, seeing the
difficult situation of Colonel Mouravsky, took up a position, in the
words of General Kashtalinsky's dispatch, "on his own initiative." He
was no more fortunate than his superior officer. He, too, had entered
the fatal ring of fire, and half his men and horses were shot down
before he could render any effective service. An attempt to bring away
his guns by hand and to take them under shelter of the hills under the
terrible cross fire to which he was exposed, was no more successful,
and the guns ultimately fell into the hands of the enemy. The case
being evidently hopeless, the 2nd Battery, which had been brought up as
a reinforcement to the 11th Regiment, was ordered back to rejoin the
reserve by another road, but half its horses, too, were killed, and,
finding it impossible to ascend the slopes without them, the officer in
command brought his guns back to their original position, and there
bravely, but unavailingly, received the Japanese attack.
[Sidenote: Rifle Fire and Cold Steel]
Now ensued a fierce and bloody hand-to-hand combat, in which the utmost
heroism was displayed on both sides. Closer and closer pressed the
Japanese till the opposing forces were almost looking into one
another's eyes, and rifle-fire was abandoned for cold steel. Again and
again the Japanese desperately dashed themselves upon the serried ranks
opposed to them, and again and again, in spite of the fearful execution
wrought by each charge, they were hurled back. But bayonet charge
followed bayonet charge, and at last the devoted band of Russians could
hold out no more. In some quarters of the field the white flag was
hoisted and numbers of men surrendered. But the main body, shattered as
it was and a mere shadow of its former strength, fought its way
through. A broken remnant of the 12th Regiment cut its way through and
carried off the colors in safety, torn and riddled indeed, but not
disgraced. The same fate befell the 11th Regiment, a small body of
which, after several hours' fighting, forced a passage out of the melee
and retreated to Hoh-mu-tang with its colors preserved. But the losses
of this regiment were enormous. Colonel Laming, the Colonel Commandant,
Lieutenant-Colonels Dometti and Raievsky, and forty subordinate
officers were left dead upon the field, and 5,000 non-commissioned
officers and men were killed or wounded. More than 30 officers and 400
men surrendered. The casualties sustained by the Japanese were nearly
1,000 killed and wounded.