Battle of Liaoyang

Battle of Liaoyang

Part of: Russo-Japanese War

The Japanese general Kuroki Tamemoto and his chief of staff Shigeta Fujii

date	August 24 to September 4, 1904
place	Close to Liaoyang , Manchuria , on the Mukden-Port Arthur railway line
output	Draw; Russian retreat
consequences	Port Arthur, besieged by the Japanese, cannot be appalled by the Russian army

Parties to the conflict
Russia	Japan
Commander
General Alexei Kuropatkin	Field Marshal Ōyama Iwao General Kuroki Tamemoto
Troop strength
208 battalions 153 squadrons 673 cannons 245,300 men total strength	115 battalions 33 squadrons 484 cannons 127,360 men total strength
losses
19,112 total losses 3,611 dead 14,301 wounded	22,922 total losses 5,537 dead 18,603 wounded

The Battle of Liaoyang ( Japanese 遼陽 会 戦 , Ryōyō-kaisen ) was from August 11th ^jul. / August 24th ^greg. until August 22nd ^jul. / 4th September 1904 ^greg. between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Russian Army near the Manchurian city ​​of Liaoyang . It was one of the great land battles of the Russo-Japanese War .

preparation

While the Japanese army was preparing for the siege in front of Port Arthur , a large contingent of troops under Field Marshal Ōyama moved north to secure the strategically important railway junction at Liaoyang, which connected the railway line of the Chinese Eastern Railway between Mukden and Port Arthur.

Field railways

The Russians had to connect their vast positions by field railways . Three lines were built: The first from the main train station in the direction of Fönghuangtschöng did not extend beyond 22.5 km of substructure and 2 km of superstructure . The second, which was to connect the positions northeast of Liaojang with the railway, was built over a length of 15 km with a branch line to a heavy battery on a pass. It was operated with horses and also used to transport the wounded. When the Japanese advanced, they had to be given part of the field railway equipment. The third stretch led from Liaojang south to the main fighting position. It was made operational in 2½ days with a length of 9 km, but was not put into operation, but had to be dismantled immediately after completion.

course

Contemporary map of the battle

42-line guns captured by the Japanese at the Battle of Nanshan are used against their former owners at the Battle of Liaoyang

The battle began on August 25, 1904 when 158,000 Russian soldiers advanced and tried to roll up the flanks of Japanese 1st , 2nd and 4th Armies. The Japanese facing them had a total strength of 127,360 men.

The next day, August 26, 1904, the Japanese 1st Army occupied the Kosarei Heights and the Hung-sha Pass southeast of Liaoyang after heavy fighting. General Alexei Kuropatkin , commander in chief of the Russian troops, believed to have been defeated and withdrew from the front Russian defenses, closely followed by the advancing Japanese.

Russian observation balloon during the battle

From August 29-30, 1904, the Russian Army repulsed heavy Japanese attacks on their main line of defense, which was south of Liaoyang. Around August 31, 1904, the Japanese 1st Army crossed the river northeast of Liaoyang.

After a few days of unsuccessful counter-attacks, Kuropatkin decided on September 4, 1904, to evacuate Liaoyang and to retreat to Mukden. The hapless city was sacked first by the Russians, then by the Chinese and finally by the Japanese.

losses

The Russian Army in retreat after the lost battle, Le Patriote Illustré , October 2, 1904

The Russian Army had total casualties of 19,112 men, including 3,611 dead and 14,301 wounded. Although the Japanese Army had suffered the heavier losses - a total of 22,922 men (including 5,537 dead and 18,603 wounded) - it had managed to maintain the battlefield.

consequences

The victory at Liaoyang, which was won with heavy losses, and the fall of Port Arthur shortly afterwards cast its shadow over the Battle of Mukden, which took place a few months later .

literature

• Rotem Kowner : Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War. The Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2006, ISBN 0-8108-4927-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Victor Freiherr von Röll: Encyclopedia of the Railway System. Second edition, Volume 5, Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin, 1914, p. 57.