Thus Port Arthur fell, and in consequence the blockade over the coast of Liaotung by the Japanese navy was discontinued and a Naval Admiralty was established at Port Arthur with Vice-Admiral Shibayama as commander, and on 15 January General Nogi made the formal entry into the fortress.
The Battles of Heikautai and of Mukden.
— The Russian defeat at Liaoyang and the fall of Port Arthur made a great impression on European Russia. Russia, which had enjoyed the fame of being a great military power, must inflict at least one defeat on the Japanese in order to save her face. It was at this time that General Kuropatkin saw that the strength of right wing of the Japanese Manchurian armies, which were stationed in the direction of Heikautai, was comparatively weak. Here was a chance to score a victory. So General Kuropatkin ordered General Gripenberg to cross the Hunho and commence forward opera tions against the right wing on 23 Jan. 1905. Lieutenant-General Tachimi, who was com manding the Japanese troops at Heikautai, con fronted him and the battle was opened on the 26th. It was fought for three consecutive days and nights, and yet the fortune of war remained undecided. On the 29th all the Japanese regi ments, determining either to drive off the Rus sians once for all or be annihilated in the attempt, made a most fierce attack, and despite great losses caused by machine-guns pushed forward and on the following morning at last succeeded in compelling the enemy to retreat.
After the defeat at Liaoyang the Russians had been gradually concentrating their strength at Mukden, where they assidously prepared defense-works and attempted to check the ad vance of the Japanese toward the north. In the meantime the Japanese army was also greatly augmented, due to the joining of the Third Army after the capitulation of Port Arthur and that of the Yalu Army under the command of General Kawamura. Marshal Oyama now saw the opportune moment had arrived to take Mukden and ordered a general advance on the enemy's lines centring on Mukden. His gen eral, plan was: the central, left and right armies were to essay a frontal attack on the enemy by disposing themselves between Penh siku in the east and the left bank of the Hunho in the west; the Third Army was to be in the left of the left wing and the Yalu Army in the right of the right wing, so that the one might be between the right bank of the Hunho and its left bank and strike at Mukden from the northwestern direction by taking a round about way, while the other might work in con junction with the right wing from the direction of Hsingshing, attack the enemy in the direc tion of Hsingshing and capture at one blow both Mukden and Fushun. This plan was faith
fully and excellently carried out. The mem orable battle was opened 19 February. The ex treme right wing of the Japanese armies pushed northward after occupying Chinghocheng, pressed on the left bank of the Hunho and, occupying the entire neighborhood of Fushun by 10 March, drove off the enemy in that region northward. The Russian casualties in this direction were not less than 20,000, while those of the Japanese were only some 3,800. As for the extreme left wing, it commenced operations on 27 February, and advancing from the west toward the northwest emerged in the rear of the enemy, and while the Japanese central, left and right armies were still confronting the Russians along the Shaho, was menacing Muk den itself with the railway line between it and the city. These prompt actions of the Japanese two extreme wings greatly contributed to vic tory, for the Russians, already hard pressed in front, were thrown into utter confusion, find ing themselves attacked from the rear. By 11 March the Russians in the direction of the Shaho retreated to the right bank of the Hunho in disorder, and either by being hotly pursued or being surrounded, lost heavily. So great was the Russians' defeat indeed that in the direction of the Shaho their casualties were over 90,000. On the 15th Marshal Oyama made the formal entry into Mukden, and the office of the Tartar General of the city was made the seat of his headquarters. The battle of Mukden was prob ably one of the greatest battles since history began, its battle line having extended to more than 125 miles, while the armies confronting each other numbered probably 450,000 on the Russian side and 350,000 on the Japanese side. After that battle the Japanese armies continued the pursuit of the retiring Russians, and Tieh Kaiyuan, Changtu and other places fell into their hands one after another.