| Battle Of Yalu River (1904) |
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The Battle of Yalu River took place from April 30 to May 1 , 1904 , and was the first major land battle during the Russo-Japanese War . The Battle of Yalu River was fought near Wiju on the lower reaches of the Yalu River , the dividing line between Korea and China . PREPARATIONS The Russia n commander in the Far East, general Alexei Kuropatkin was aware that the Japan ese were advancing from their forward army bases at Chemulpo (Inchon) to advance north and cross the river to invade Manchuria . Kuropatkin dispatched the Eastern Detachment under the command of Lieutenant-General M.I. Zasulitch with 15,000 Infantry , 5,000 Cavalry and some 60 Artillery pieces to fight a delaying action. However, General Zasulitch did not hold his opponent in a very high regard and was content to ignore Kuropatkin's phased withdrawal order (confirmed by Kuropatkin's chief of staff, General V.V. Sakarov). PRELUDE The advancing Japanese 1st Army, commanded by major-general baron Tamesada Kuroki , which consisted of three divisions; the 2nd, the 12th, and the Guards, altogether, about 42,500 men. The 1st Army knew from the forward scouts the exact location of the Russians because they had made no effort to conceal their positions. The prelude to the major action took place on the night of April 25-26, 1904 when the Guards division seized two islands in the Yalu River. The forward Russian observation post was withdrawn to the main Russian lines on the north shore. The Japanese continued to gather intelligence on the Russian positions, their scouts disguising themselves as Korean fishermen, the Russians none the wiser. In full view of Russian positions, the Japanese began constructing a causeway. This bridge across the Yalu was almost immediately brought under fire by two Russian batteries. With the Russians so engaged, the Japanese prepared nine other bridges that could quickly be moved into position for a rapid assault across the river. The bridges were used by the Japanese to cross a number of 4.7 inch howitzers, custom made by Krupps. The Russians were unaware that the Japanese even possessed these weapons. Once the islands midstream were secured, Kuroki ordered a feint on the lower Yalu when Japanese gunboats engaged Cossack detachments at the mouth of river . This had the effect of convincing General Zasulitch that the main Japanese attack would fall on the vicinity of the town of Antung . Here, the Eastern Detachment was concentrated. It allowed for Kuroki to maneuver against the weak Russian left, anchored on the Ai River , a feeder stream into the Yalu. While the Japanese were still involved with the feint against the Russian right, Kuroki began to deploy elements of the 12th Division across the Yalu at a fordable point at Su-Ku-Chin . The Russians were able to observe these movements with trepidation. The on-scene commander informed Zasulitch that the enemy was about to assault the position in force and his position was in danger of being flanked. The Eastern Detachment commander received the information with continued indifference and still ignored Kuropatkin's order to merely delay while keeping the lines of communication open. Zasulitch was convinced that the hammer would fall at Antung and that is where he, the bulk of his force and his reserves would remain. Retreat was not an option. BATTLE The Japanese began their main attack in the early morning hours of April 27 . By 03:00, the balance of the 12th Division was across the river at Su-Ku-chin and was advancing in three columns. Zasulitch, still convinced that this was the feint redeployed only a single battalion and four additonal guns. With the 12th Division advancing on the 1st Army right Guards division was moving into position in the center. By 04:00, the artillery of the Guards division was placed and sighted on the exposed Russian lines while maintaining their placements concealed. The 2nd division took its position on 1st Army's left, in place to advance on the newly erected causeways leading from the town of Wiju . As the Japanese began to make their way forward, they drew fire from two Russian batteries. At that moment the entire Japanese line exploded as over 90 guns and howitzers opened up on the exposed Russians. Russian counterbattery fire was also ineffective and was suppressed just as quickly. In light of these developments, Zasulitch was encouraged to pull back to a more defensible position. The general would not concede. He was looking to win, sending a message to the Tsar back in Saint Petersburg informing his emperor that victory was all but his. Far from retreating to better defensive terrain, Zasulitch ordered the detachment to hold in place. First Army, for its part, continued its three division advance. Far from Zasulitch's scenario for victory, the Japanese were in fact across the Yalu by midnight of the April 29 . Limited visibility masked the Japanese movements from Russian observation. When the fog finally lifted about 05:00, with the 1st Army arrayed in front of the Russian formations, the Japanese artillery opened up. Again, the Russians attempted a feeble play at counterbattery fire and again it was silenced just as quickly. General Kuroki had planned to continue the advance of 12th Division to envelopment of the Russian left. However, now that enemy artillery had by and large been neutralized, he decided to engage the Guards and the 2nd Division in a simultaneous assault. The 1st Japanese Army advanced on the Ai River. It was at this point, as the three divisions were attempting to ford the Ai that they encountered the first serious resistance from the Russian lines as fire poured from the Russian trenches. This fire was intense enough to disrupt the advance of the 2nd division for a time. Had there been anything left of the Russian batteries, then some serious damage could have been inflicted on the 1st Army. However, the Russian artillery had long been destroyed and so in the end, the advance continued. The Russians were driven from their lines and in the attempt to reach the second position, the one some had encouraged Zasulitch to fall back to earlier, the Russian troops were eviscerated. An effort to counterattack by an element of the 12th East Siberian Rifle Regiment, in order to better protect the withdrawal, was itself cut to pieces and far from stemming the Japanese tide, it opened further the breaks in the line. The Russian position finally became wholly untenable. The formations that had remained in the line now were themselves in danger of being encircled. At the appearance of the Japanese 12th Division spread panic among the Russians and precipitated the rout of the Russian left. This development was initially unknown to central command on the Russian right. As the operational picture was sharpened, Zasulitch and his command staff were faced with a veritable flood of the Japanese army with limited or dwindling resources to deal with the crisis. What remained of the Eastern Detachment was forced off its line and into a narrow gorge where upon the advance of the Guard and 2nd Divisions, coupled with arrival of 12th Division, and the Russians found themselves penned. At 17:30, May 1 , 1904, the remnants of the Russian Eastern Detachment surrendered and the Battle for the Yalu River came to an end. The fighting had cost the Japanese 1036 dead and wounded out of the total 1st Army strength of 42,500. The Russian Eastern Detachment suffered some 2700 casualties overall. IMPORTANCE This was the first serious land campaign of the Russo-Japanese War. The destruction of the Russian Eastern Detachment removed the perception that the Japanese would be an easy enemy, that the war would be short, and that Russia would be the overwhelming victor. Russia had already suffered much at the hands of the Japanese with the attack on Port Arthur the previous February, the landing of Japanese troops at Chemulpo after the destruction of two additional Russian vessels. And the war was barely five months old, and though unknown at this stage, Imperial Russia was to still suffer worse reverses. But for the immediate future, the road to Manchuria from Korea was open. General Kuropatkin's strategy failed, largely because subordinates like Alexiev and Zasulitch ignored their orders. Reinforcements were on the way, but the passage along the tenuous Trans-Siberian railroad made that process time consuming. |