Meanwhile, in the northern sector of the war, following their victory at Tashihchiao, the Japanese Army continued to advance north into Manchuria. In late July 1904, the Japanese 4th Army and units of the 2nd Army, numbering some 34,000 troops, clashed with the Russian 2nd Siberian Corps, which totaled 33,000 troops, at Hsimucheng. Again, the Japanese used a flanking attack to break through a weak section in the Russian lines. Threatened with encirclement, the Russians retreated north to Haiching. The stage then was set for the first of a series of major battles for control of southern Manchuria.
(Taken from Russo-Japanese War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia: Vol. 5)
The Japanese Army now eyed Liaoyang, a major population center along the Mukden-Port Arthur railway line, and assembled three field armies comprising 130,000 troops and 500 artillery pieces to advance to the city. General Kuropatkin, the commander of all Russian forces in Manchuria, had organized three lines of defense at Liaoyang, which were manned by several Russian Army Corps, the total Russian strength numbering 160,000 soldiers and 670 artillery pieces. The battle for the city, which took place on August 25-September 5, 1904, saw repeated Japanese attacks being thrown back by strong Russian artillery fire. However, General Kuropatkin, wrongly believing that the Japanese forces greatly outnumbered his own, repeatedly ordered his units to abandon their positions and retreat to the inner defensive lines, which dismayed his subordinate generals who pressed for a counterattack. With Japanese units soon breaking through and threatening to encircle the city, General Kuropatkin evacuated his forces from Liaoyang, and retreated north.
As the danger to Mukden, southern Manchuria’s main city now loomed, the Russian high command became determined to stop the advancing Japanese Army (which now comprised 170,000 troops), before it reached the Shaho River, south of Mukden. Russian forces, totaling over 200,000 troops, moved south along three sectors in a 60-kilometer front, with the eastern prong of the offensive acting as a feint for the main attacking force in the east. The Russians advanced rapidly, and by October 8, 1904, had gained a distance of 25-35 kilometers, meeting only light resistance. But the Japanese command fortuitously secured a copy of the Russian battle plan from the body of a dead Russian officer. By modifying their own battle plan, the Japanese struck at the Russians’ weaker western flank, while attempting to hold down the main Russian attack in the east. Both sides suffered heavy casualties (a combined 60,000 killed, missing, and wounded) at the Battle of Shaho, fought on October 5-17, 1904, with the Japanese succeeding in stopping the attack and then pushing back the Russian flanks. By the end of the battle, Japanese forces had gained 25 kilometers toward Mukden. A lull in the fighting ensued which lasted four months. The two sides then settled down for the coming Manchurian winter.
Meanwhile, in the battle for Port Arthur, by November 1904, the Japanese Third Army had received fresh reinforcements, as well as powerful artillery guns capable of firing 500-pound shells a distance of nine kilometers. By this time, the Japanese were focused on taking the high ground called 203-meter Hill (Figure 23), which was strategically situated overlooking Port Arthur. The Russians also were determined to hold this vital hill, and fortified it with artillery and machine gun positions, trenches, steel railings, and barb wire obstacles. Repeated frontal assaults by the Japanese were thrown back, with the attackers suffering heavy casualties. But in late November 1904, the Japanese finally gained control of the hill. Bitter fighting continued for several days, and possession of the hill changed hands many times. But by December 5, 1904, the Japanese had secured full control of 203-meter Hill, throwing back the last Russian counter-attacks.
The battle for Port Arthur now took a decisive turn, as Japanese forces hauled up and positioned their powerful artillery guns atop 203-meter Hill. The Japanese then opened fire on the Russian fleet at the harbor below. Four Russian battleships and two cruisers were destroyed, while one battleship that moved out of range of the Japanese fire eventually was scuttled by her crew to avoid its capture by the Japanese.
Also by December 1904, the ever-widening trenches and tunnels which the Japanese were building soon threatened the Russian fortifications. The Japanese detonated powerful explosives on the fortifications, bringing down the walls of Fort Chikuan (on December 18), Fort Erhlung (on December 28), and Fort Sungshu (on December 31). The Russian commanders of these garrisons were forced to surrender. On January 1, 1905, the Russian commander of Port Arthur offered to surrender, which was accepted by the Japanese. Four days later, the Japanese Third Army entered Port Arthur. The nine-month battle and siege of Port Arthur had cost the Japanese 58,000 casualties. But with its victory, the Japanese Army now controlled the whole Liaodong Peninsula. Furthermore, the Japanese Third Army was now free to move north to join the continuing battle for southern Manchuria. Port Arthur’s fall demoralized the Russian Army in Manchuria, and shocked the Russian population.
Meanwhile, at Mukden, General Kuropatkin and his commanders hastened plans to launch another offensive at the Japanese Army which was now positioned just south of the city. General Kuropatkin wanted to attack before the Japanese Third Army from Port Arthur arrived to join the three other Japanese field armies in the north. However, the Russian battle plan was leaked to a foreign news outlet. This information about the planned Russian attack soon reached the Japanese Army, a fortuitous development as the 220,000 Japanese troops in Manchuria who were occupying a 160-kilometer front along Mukden did not expect any battles to take place in the harsh winter conditions. The Russian offensive and ensuing major armed clash, known as the Battle of Sandepu (January 25-29, 1905), was fought south of Mukden, in and around the villages of Sandepu, Heikoutai, and Paotaitzu. The Russian attack was poorly executed, and also handicapped by obsolete maps, bad weather, and limited information on enemy positions. Even then, the Russians succeeded in partially breaking through the Japanese defenses at Sandepu. Unexpectedly, however, General Kuropatkin called off the offensive, allowing the Japanese to launch a counter-attack. The Japanese Army then recaptured the lost territory and gained a strategically advantageous position. Thus, once again, the Russian attempt to reverse the tide of the war failed miserably.
By early February 1905, the Japanese Army, now totaling 230,000 troops after being joined by its Third Army, prepared to attack Mukden to deal a major defeat on the Russian forces, which numbered 340,000 troops. By this time, Japan was beset with many political and economic problems at home. In Manchuria, the Japanese Army was experiencing serious logistical problems. Thus, the Japanese military high command faced considerable pressure to achieve an overwhelming victory at Mukden, and not allow the Russian forces to escape, as in previous battles.
The Battle of Mukden (February 20-March 10, 1905), which was the last major land battle of the war, opened with the Japanese main offensive aimed at the Russian flanks, with minor attacks at other points. Again, Russian military planners miscalculated the Japanese plan, believing that the main enemy thrust would be along the eastern flank, when in fact the Japanese focused their offensive in the west. There, the Japanese Second Army comprised the main attacking force and the Japanese Third Army was tasked with advancing in a wide arc in the northwest to the other side of Mukden.
Soon realizing the threat of being encircled, General Kuropatkin moved units from the eastern flank to the western flank, which was badly executed. The Japanese now attacked in force along the weakened Russian eastern flank, breaking through. In the west, the Japanese soon threatened to encircle the Russians. Faced with annihilation, on March 9, 1905, on General Kuropatkin’s orders, Russian forces abandoned Mukden, and retreated north first to Tiehling. The Russians soon also evacuated Tiehling, which they burned to the ground, and retreated further north to Hspingkai. In the Mukden battle, a combined total of 165,000 soldiers were casualties (Japanese: 75,000, including 16,000 killed; Russians: 90,000, including 9,000 killed).
In the aftermath, Japanese forces occupied Mukden and gained control of the entire southern Manchuria. But they had failed to annihilate the Russian Army (which remained relatively potent despite the high losses). Because of serious logistical problems, the Japanese Army decided to abandon plans to advance further north.