Battle of Nanshan
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| Russo-Japanese War |
|---|
| Port Arthur (naval) Chemulpo Bay (naval) –Yalu River – Nanshan –Telissu – Yellow Sea – Ulsan (naval) – Port Arthur (siege) – Liaoyang – Shaho – Sandepu – Mukden – Tsushima |
The Battle of Nanshan was one of many vicious land battles of the Russo-Japanese War. It took place on 25 May, 1904 across a two-mile wide defense line across the narrowest part of the Liaotung peninsula, covering the approaches to Port Arthur and on the 116 meter high Nanshan hill, outside the present-day city of Dalian, Liaoning, China.
Background
The Japanese intention was to break through this Russian defensive position and lay siege to Port Arthur to capture the port. General Alexei Kuropatkin, the overall commander of the Russian armies in Manchuria, had given orders to Major-General Baron Anatoli Stoessel commanding the Russian garrison at Nanshan not to let the defenses fall , as that would place the city of Port Arthur and its harbor under siege. Stoessel had about 3,000 men dug into fortified positions in the defense line, where they planned to hold out despite knowing they would be greatly outnumbered. The Russians had field artillery, machine guns, and dug a network of trenches and barbed wire.
Japanese Field Marshal Iwao Oyama, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese armies in Manchuria, dispatched the 2nd Army, about 30,000 strong and commanded by General Oju Yasukata to capture the position.
The Battle
By mid-morning 25 May 1904, the Japanese attack commenced. The Japanese infantry assault was assisted by artillery from Japanese gunboats offshore. The Japanese quickly overran Russian outposts, but failed to secure the fortified village of Jinzhou.
The following morning, Jinzhou fell to the Japanese, and the main assault on the entrenched Russian forces on Nanshan hill began. The Russians, with machine guns and barbed-wire obstacles, inflicted heavy losses on initial Japanese assaults. Although the Russians were firmly entrenched, the speed of the Japanese attack placed them in a precarious position of being encircled, and the Russians inexplicably had no reserve force available for a counter-attack. By mid-afternoon, the Russians were forced to break off the engagement to avoid being surrounded, and fell back to the main defensive lines around Port Arthur.
Results
The Russians had about 1,400 casualties during the battle. Although the Japanese did not win lightly, having lost at least 4,500 killed, wounded and missing, they could claim victory. The Japanese victory opened the way for Oyama’s forces to lay siege to Port Arthur.
After Japan occupied Dalian, a memorial tower was erected on top of Nanshan Hill with a poem by General Oju. The tower was demolished after the Pacific War, and only the foundation is left. A portion of a stone tablet with the poem is now displayed in the Lushun Prison, Dalian.
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