Chapter 10 Russian Traditions

Appearing on the flank of the 3rd Siberian Army were the Japanese Guards Divisions. www.biquge.info Although the combat effectiveness of this division cannot be called the strongest among the several standing divisions of the Japanese army, its equipment must be the best.

The word "Konoe" originated in the Nara period. The "Konoe Palace", which guarded the Imperial Palace during the Nara period, is its etymology. During the Meiji period, the imperial soldiers of the three feudal domains, Satsuma (present-day Southern Kyushu), Choshu (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), and Tosa (present-day Kochi Prefecture), which were recruited to overthrow the shogunate and rebuild imperial power, were the predecessors of the Guards Division. In 1872, the Imperial Soldiers were renamed the Guards. On December 14, 1891, the Guards Division was born.

The soldiers of the Guards Division came from the four company districts of Hongo, Utsunomiya, Sakura, and Mito. After the Taisho period, infantry and cavalry were drawn from all over the country, and artillery, engineers, and baggage troops were drawn from the divisional districts (1st and 14th divisions) in the Kanto region. In order to protect the Imperial Palace, it was necessary to select as many excellent soldiers as possible to form the Guards Division. Therefore, the soldiers who were originally assigned to the Guards Division were also regarded as elites by the world. If there are relatives around you who serve in the Guards Division, then the family will have the feeling of "one person attains the Tao, and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven", and there is no need to say that kind of pride.

After the division was established, the first foreign expedition was the Sino-Japanese War. At that time, the Guards Division consisted only of the 1st to 4th Infantry Wings and the Guards Field Artillery Wing, and nothing else had yet been formed. But the division was mobilized 11 months before Li Hongzhang signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the Guards Division landed from Nampo on the Korean Peninsula and participated in the Battle of Liaoyang with the First Army.

As the 1st Division of the Imperial Japanese Empire, which was the guardian of the Emperor, the morale of the soldiers of the Guards Division was high. After breaking through one of the Russian fronts, they rushed directly through the torn front and moved to the flank of the Third Siberian Army, preparing to crush the Russian army in front of them with a classic flank offensive.

Relying on their fanatical spirit and incomparable bravery, these relatively short Japanese soldiers formed a formation in a very short time, and used their skillful skills and tactics to suppress the head of the Siberian Third Army. Because they had advanced to the rear of the first line of defense at a rapid pace, their attack had the effect of a surprise attack, causing confusion to the Third Army, which had not expected the Japanese to appear so quickly.

"What's up ahead?" Mardinzhov said to Grom, who had returned from reconnaissance: "Are the Japanese attacking?" ”

"Yes," Grom said casually on the ground with a twig, "here are our men, the Japanese here, in the open field in front of the sorghum fields...... Here were their artillery positions, there were no heavy artillery, only four rapid-fire guns. ”

"Where are their heavy machine gun emplacements arranged?" Mardyzhov asked about these details very carefully, "Is there infantry protection on the side of the artillery?" ”

"No, I don't see their heavy machine-gun positions," Grom said, "and they don't seem to have a lot of shells, and there are dozens of infantry on the side, probably a small squad." ”

"Well," said Mardinzhov, who pondered for a few seconds over the rudimentary image on the ground, "you said there was a sorghum field on the side?" ”

"Yes." Grom affirmed, "I'm just lying down inside and observing." ”

"You can lie down in it, the sorghum must be very tall?" Mardinzhov's eyes lit up, "You say, can we raid their artillery positions through here?" ”

"Surely," said Grom, "just bend down and you won't see anyone at all." ”

"Alright, let's attack from here!"

At the sound of the command, the furry bears began to move. The tsar's gray cattle, from the bitter cold and brutal and all-mitty, followed Mardinzhov and Grom and felt their way into the sorghum field.

With so many gray animals passing through the sorghum fields, it is natural that there will be no movement. However, the Japanese army was attracted by the battle ahead, and on the other hand, the sound of the Japanese position was not small. Four rapid-fire guns fired shells at a rate of two rounds per minute in the direction of the Russians, as well as the sound of rifle fire, the neighing of mules and horses, and the noise of humans.....

All of this was frozen in the roar of "Ula" from the hairy people who suddenly burst out.

"The bullet is a fool, the bayonet is a hero," Mardinzhov roared angrily, exhausting the breath in his chest: "Ulla! ”

"Ulla, Ulla!"

The woolly bears jumped out of the sorghum field and rushed to the Japanese positions with bayonets. The people in front rushed into the Japanese array, and the people in the rear casually knocked out the bullets in the chamber of the Japanese in the direction of the Japanese army, and rushed over with them.

“........ The regiment learned on the march that the Japanese had appeared on the flank of the 3rd Siberian Army, and Martinov, without waiting for an order, took the initiative to change the direction of action, turned to the west, and maneuvered covertly from the sorghum fields to the flank of the Japanese Guards Division, and suddenly repelled the Japanese Guards Division with bayonet white-knuckle combat, and the situation turned in favor of the Russian army. This is a rare example of the initiative of a Russian officer. However, the command of the Eastern Group of the Russian Army did not dare to take advantage of this favorable situation to expand the results of the battle, and the fighter plane was missed......"

On August 26, 1904, the 4th and 2nd armies began to attack and cover the Russian army, which had the shortest route to Liaoyang. After the middle breakthrough was blocked, the Japanese slowly detoured to the right flank of the Russian army. Kuropatkin, fearing that the Russian army was in danger of being completely surrounded, ordered the entire line to withdraw to the second line. After the Russian army withdrew to the second position, it still maintained its original deployment, most of its troops were used as reserves, and only 40% of the troops deployed on the front line were deployed, and the fighting method was still waiting for the Japanese attack.

The deployment of the Japanese army is also largely the same as before, and the attempt is still to encircle and annihilate the Russian army. However, accepting the lessons of the previous battle (the timing of the attacks of the various units was not uniform, allowing the Russian army to move its reserves freely), it launched a simultaneous attack with the full strength of the three armies on August 30. The Russians withstood the attacks of the Japanese from all directions with machine guns, artillery and bayonets. The two sides fought fiercely for a whole day, and the Japanese were forced to retreat.

The Japanese frontal attack was blocked, so on the night of the same day (30th), part of the 1st Army (18,000 people) was sent to smuggle across the Taizi River (to the right bank), and on the morning of the 31st, the left flank of the Russian army (more than 50,000 people) was detoured, and at the same time the attack on the right flank of the Russian army was intensified. All day on September 1, 1904, the Russian army prepared to counterattack the 1st Army, and for this purpose gathered 3 armies on the left flank, in an attempt to press the 1st Army to the Taizi River and annihilate it in a roundabout move.