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....

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

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 obe

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 attac

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 occup

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

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. Early on the morning of July 31, I learnt that our men on Feng-huang Shan had hurriedly retreated into the fortress without offering any serious resistance to the enemy. This was extremely unwelcome news, for now we should have to come into direct touch with the enemy round the fortress itself. Major Saratski

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. We had to work absolutely under the enemy’s very nose, mostly at night, although we took the opportunity of working in the daytime whenever the enemy’s fire slackened a little. It was a good thing that the 5th Regiment had learnt something about trench-making, so that the officers, and even the non-commissioned officers, knew exactly how

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. As soon as Extinct Volcano had been surrendered to the Japanese, I determined to strengthen our present defences by means of trenches and wire entanglements, and had the trenches on Namako Yama and Division Hill extended and deepened accordingly. I placed the 10th Company in the valley between Extinct Volcano and Division Hill, hoping there

Continuation of the struggle for Namako Yama, and abandonment of the hill, September 20—The first attacks on 203 Metre Hill, September 19–22. On the morning of September 20 the cannonade commenced very early, reaching its zenith at about midday. Our men kept low in their trenches during this veritable hell of fire, which continued for about two hours. “Will they hold on, or not?” I thought to myself, looking towards the right flank of Namako Yama, which was being subjected to the full fury of th

Making good damages, and strengthening and supplementing the works on the various hills. The following morning (September 24) the damage done to our trenches and batteries was thoroughly surveyed, and we at once eagerly set to work to renew those that had been ruined, and to complete those left untouched. Several bomb-proofs had been shattered by heavy shell, while some had collapsed owing to the shells striking the parapet on which the baulks supporting the roofs rested. The trenches themselves

Fortifying 203 Metre Hill—Situation at the beginning of November—Mining operations. On my inspections now I had to run and jump like a goat from traverse to traverse, and even crawl on all-fours. I had indeed good reason for complaining more often perhaps than any one else of the inaction of our artillery. Not long before this the Japanese smashed up our water-cart as it was wending its way to Division Hill. Well, we ate the horses, but the cart itself was shattered to pieces, and all because ou

Events on 203 Metre Hill from November 23 to 30. By about November 23 the saps made by the Japanese against the left flank of 203 Metre Hill had reached nearly as far as the lower line of the wire entanglement, but those in front were still very far off. We thus concluded that there was no likelihood of an attack on the hill yet awhile; and as to an attack on the centre of our positions, in General Gorbatovski’s section, we certainly anticipated none, since it would be more advantageous for the

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. December 1 ran its course in the usual way, until it had grown dark, when something rather serious occurred. Owing to the constant alarms, and my fears for the safety of the hill, I could not think of eating, but, taking advantage of a period of comparative quiet, and hoping that the Japanese would take some time to recover from

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. Having finished tea and exhausted our conversation, we decided to have a rest, b

No. 1 ORGANIZATION OF AN EAST SIBERIAN RIFLE REGIMENT No. 2 GENERAL REFERENCE OF NAMES OF COMMANDERS AT THE BATTLE OF NAN SHAN (pp. 41–61 ) Company Commanders Scout Detachments Guns 13th Regiment 14th Regiment No. 3 According to our Official History none of the Japanese divisions landed near Terminal Point itself, but in the first place made use of Pi-tzu-wo and Hou-ta-shih, and afterwards Dalny. There are two Ta-scha rivers, 15 miles apart, the most northerly one being that indicated in the tex