Perang Dunia Timur. Jepang, Tiongkok, dan Korea/Bab 22

THE END OF HOSTILE OPERATIONS.

The Armies in Manchooria and their Actions in the Cold of January—Skirmish and Battle—Assault on Niuchwang and Capture of the City—Desperate Fighting in the Streets—Taking of Ying-kow—A Threat Towards Formosa—Attack on the Pescadore Islands—Capture of Hai-chow—The Island of Thao-hua—Peking thought to Be in Danger From the Japanese.

We left the Chinese and Japanese troops in Manchooria centered about the region around Niuchwang, trying to pass the cold weather with the least suffering possible. There was no considerable interruption of time between hostile encounters, possibly on the supposition that they could keep warmer by fighting than by remaining idle. On the morning of the 17th of January the Chinese under General Chang and General Twi began aggressive movements. Some twelve thousand strong they attacked Hai-tcheng, but were repulsed after a short struggle. Five days later, on the morning of the 22nd, the Chinese again attacked the Japanese position, but were repulsed by two o’clock in the afternoon with heavy loss. This was rather a long distance battle, with a good deal of artillery practice in it. The Chinese worked their guns fairly well, but could not compete with the Japanese gunners, who were the better protected and suffered little. When the Chinese began the retreat, the Japanese guns were moved forward and played upon the retiring enemy. The Chinese then became demoralized, and made speedy retreat towards Niuchwang. The Japanese loss was very slight.

On the same day as the last battle, simultaneously with the attack on Hai-tcheng, General Seh with ten thousand men and a strong force of artillery advanced from the port of Niuchwang against Kai-phing. An artillery engagement ensued on the 24th of January, which ended in a precipitate retreat of the Chinese.

General Nogi now moved forward his headquarters to Huntsai. The Chinese army under General Seh was considerably reinforced, chiefly by Tartar troops with large bodies of cavalry, and skirmishes with the Japanese scouts were of daily occurrence. The 644strength of the enemy in the immediate vicinity of Niuchwang was more than twenty thousand men. On the 30th of January it was found that the Chinese had occupied Liao-Yang in force, and that the western contingents were gradually advancing southward. General Hoi-Pang-Tao was on his way to Ying-kow with a large force. On the 1st of February the Viceroy Liu arrived at Niuchwang and assumed the supreme command of the operations in Manchooria. He brought with him an army said to number nearly twenty thousand, so that his whole force numbered probably twice that many. It seemed certain that the viceroy intended to advance against Hai-tcheng in full force. The Japanese armies were also united, or in close touch with one another, at Kai-phing and Hai-tcheng, ready for a decisive battle. February 16 a Chinese army of fifteen thousand men attacked Hai-tcheng from Liao-Yang and the Niuchwang road. The fighting lasted three hours, and extended over a considerable tract of country. The attack was successfully repulsed, one hundred and fifty Chinese being killed and wounded, and the Japanese loss considerably less than that number.

The news of the capture of Wei-hai-wei reached the Japanese and Chinese forces in Manchooria, and the Viceroy Liu was evidently disheartened, for there was an entire absence of activity during the next ten days. The incessant drilling in the neighborhood of Niuchwang was stopped, and the forces were steadily dwindling through desertion. On the last day of February, after a period of comparative inaction, the Japanese troops began an advance on Niuchwang and its port Ying-kow. On that day General Nodzu attacked the Chinese positions between the Liao-Yang and the Niuchwang roads. The Japanese artillery first opened a heavy fire upon the Chinese. This lasted over an hour, and then the fifth Japanese brigade threw itself upon the Chinese right wing with such impetuosity that the enemy scarcely made a stand in that part of the field, but broke and fled in disorder. While this was going on, the main Japanese column under General Nodzu marched against the Chinese center, which rested on the village of Chang-ho-tai. Position after position was carried by the Japanese infantry, and the enemy was finally driven in 645disorderly retreat northwestward towards Kinchow city, at the northern extremity of the Gulf of Liao-Tung.

The sixth brigade had been told off to clear the Chinese out of the villages along the Laio-Yang road. This it accomplished without loss, and then by pre-arrangement it joined hands with the main column, the combined forces thereafter occupying Tung-yeng-tai and all the villages and heights near that place, in the direction of Liao-Yang. General Nodzu’s division extended its line southwestward from Hai-tcheng, so that the army extended through a very wide front. The Chinese forces engaged numbered about eighteen thousand men with twenty guns. General Yih was in command. They lost one hundred and fifty men killed, and about two hundred wounded. The Japanese losses amounted to about half as many.

Early the next morning the Japanese resumed their advance, this time without opposition of any sort. The Chinese retired before them, and when night fell the Japanese limit extended nearly to Maitzu. Throughout the advance upon Niuchwang 646there was no opposition offered worthy the name, and the annals of the march bring little fame to the Japanese defense.

The reconnoissances eastward and northward made by General Nodzu’s scouts on Friday, March 1st, brought the information that the main body of the Chinese forces had fled by the northern road, with the evident intention of rallying and making another stand at Liao-Yang, the only place of importance between Hai-tcheng and Mukden. Lieutenant-General Katsura’s brigade was ordered to pursue the enemy. By that evening the troops had covered about eight miles of difficult ground, and had got within a mile of Kan-thouan-phu, where several thousand Chinese were known to be ready to give battle. The Japanese advanced against the town at daybreak, only to find that the enemy had fled during the night. After resting his troops Katsura resumed the pursuit. It was thought that the Chinese would make a stand at Sha-ho-phu, a small town situated on the river Sha and commanding the high road to Liao-Yang, but the place was occupied by the Japanese on Sunday, March 3, without serious opposition. The next morning Katsura moved on until within five miles of Liao-Yang, which brought him within forty miles of Mukden.

While Katsura was driving the routed Chinese before him along the Mukden road, General Nodzu with all the remaining forces at his disposal was moving towards Niuchwang Old Town. The troops were under arms at dawn on Monday. The fifth division moved against the town from the southeast, while the third division came from the north. The movement was admirably timed, despite the difficulties of the ground. In three hours the men of both divisions were in position, and at ten o’clock a heavy shell fire was opened upon the Chinese fortifications. The Chinese appeared to be confused; their artillery fire was bad, and they kept massing troops at points which were never threatened. Many of their guns were dismounted, and after a two hours’ bombardment the Chinese abandoned the walls and retreated into the town. The Japanese infantry then poured into the place, both divisions forcing their way into the gates and over the walls almost simultaneously.

So far the Japanese had suffered very little loss. The leading 647brigade of the first division charged several Chinese regiments still standing their ground, and they at once fled precipitately towards Ying-kow, followed by the Japanese cavalry. Meantime, in the town the Japanese infantry were warmly engaged. The main body of the Chinese, when driven from the batteries and walls, had taken refuge in the narrow streets and houses. Every window and every housetop was occupied by sharpshooters. The fighting was of a desperate character. The Chinese seeing all hopes of escape cut off, fought until they were shot or cut down. The headway made by the Japanese was painfully slow. Each street had to be effectually cleared before an advance could be made to the next. Each house had to be assaulted and taken.

Throughout the day the fighting continued, but slowly the Japanese cordon was brought more closely around the center of the city, and by eleven o’clock at night all opposition had ceased. Many of the Chinese, after nightfall broke through the Japanese lines, and made their escape into the open country, but a large number accepted quarter and remained in the hands of the Japanese. The Chinese fought with desperate valor. Repeatedly they charged the Japanese troops in the streets, and hand-to-hand fighting was frequent. The officers too, encouraged the men by their own example, and the defense of the streets was conducted with some military skill. Nearly two thousand Chinese killed and wounded were found in the houses and streets, and six hundred prisoners were taken. The Japanese losses exceeded five hundred in killed and wounded. A large quantity of stores and provisions fell into the hands of the victors, beside eighteen cannon, and a large quantity of rifles and ammunition.

After the engagement of the 4th, Lieutenant-General Yamaji’s division of the second Japanese army advanced upon Peh-mia-totsu, where it had been reported that the main body of General Sung’s defeated forces had halted. The enemy, however, did not wait for the Japanese troops, but fell back upon Ying-kow. General Nogi, following close along the coast road, came up with the Chinese and attacked them. During the fighting which ensued the Chinese were reinforced from Ying-kow, but they were soon driven back under the protection of the town batteries, 648leaving many dead upon the field. Most of the Chinese retreated in a northeasterly direction, but General Sung and troops immediately under his command made another stand at Ying-kow. The Japanese artillery was well handled, and the infantry fought with great spirit, driving the Chinese before them. By the time the town was entered General Sung and his troops had fled towards Chen-sho-tai. Meanwhile the Japanese artillery had concentrated their fire upon the shore forts, which protected the estuary. The Chinese brought their heavy guns to bear upon the assailants, and held their own for some time, but finally the Japanese infantry under cover of the fire of their artillery, carried the forts one after the other, and by nightfall Ying-kow was in undisputed possession of the invaders.

As soon as the fort had been captured, guards were placed for the protection of the foreign settlement, and the streets were strongly patrolled. Scouts were sent out along the Niuchwang road to meet General Nodzu’s patrol. On the morning of the 6th, General Nodzu sent a brigade towards Ying-kow, which the second army was to attack that day. Tung-kia-thun was found destitute of Chinese troops, and the Japanese advanced nearly to Kao-khan without seeing anything of the enemy. Here they camped for the night, and before morning the outposts of the two forces had met and had exchanged the good news of the success of each. The retreating Chinese, under Generals Sung and Ma, were reported to have halted at Chen-sho-tai.

The occupation of Niuchwang and its port by the Japanese marked a distinct phase in the interesting campaign in Manchooria. For many weeks Niuchwang and Ying-kow had sheltered the Chinese army. From them a succession of feeble attacks upon the Chinese positions had been delivered. General Sung’s unwieldy forces were now broken up; the Japanese front was advanced to the river Liao; and the first and second armies had joined hands. The third important fortified harbor had fallen into the hands of the Japanese. The defense of Niuchwang was maintained with vigor, the Chinese fighting most bitterly to the very end, but uselessly. The coast defenses too at Ying-kow made some show of resistance, but being attacked in the rear had quickly fallen in accordance with all established precedents.

649The general situation in Manchooria was now entirely changed. The Japanese encouraged by the half-hearted attacks to which they had been subjected, had broken up the forces in their vicinity. The difficulties of movement in large bodies, combined with the incapacity of commanders, and general disorganization, had effectually prevented the Chinese from gaining any advantage from their superior numbers. Niuchwang, a city of sixty thousand people, a town with an immense annual trade, had fallen into Japanese hands, and its capture was unquestionably an important stroke. On the Japanese right Katsura had pushed forward until he was near Liao-Yang, and after the occupation of Niuchwang relieved some of the troops there, another brigade moved northward to his support. The country centering at Niuchwang was practically in undisputed possession of the Japanese. Thus, after a march of about four hundred miles, the troops of the first army which landed at Chemulpo were once again on the sea-board, and in possession of an important port.

On the 9th of March the first division of the first Japanese army attacked Thien-chuang-thai, on the western side of the river Liao, to which place General Sung fled after the capture of Ying-kow. A fierce engagement ensued, lasting three hours and a half. The main body of the Chinese force numbered seven thousand men with thirty guns, and the Japanese forces were but few less than that number. General Katsura commanded the Japanese center, and General Oku the right wing. The left wing was composed of Yamaji’s troops from Kai-phing. The Chinese 650fled towards Kinchow, leaving fourteen hundred dead on the field. For strategic reasons the village was burned, and the Japanese returned across the river.

A proclamation was issued by the Japanese commander at Ying-kow urging the inhabitants to continue their peaceful pursuits, promising all law-abiding inhabitants justice and protection, and warning them of the consequences should they commit any belligerent acts or create any disorders. The commanders of the foreign war ships in the river called on the Japanese general, and asked him to telegraph to their respective admirals that all the foreigners in the town were safe. The general complied with this request, as well as with that of the consuls who asked him to telegraph in the same way to their governments. All Chinese were strictly prohibited from entering the European quarter, unless employed by or having business with the foreign residents. Six hundred troops were told off to carry this order into effect and to patrol the streets. English and American officers united to express their thanks to the commanding general, for the elaborate precautions taken to insure the safety of foreigners.

It will be remembered that from the very beginning of the war a Japanese descent upon Formosa was one of the operations expected and frequently reported. To provide against this threatened danger, a large body of the famous troops from the south of China known as the Black Flags, were sent to the island to intrench themselves and arrange for its defense. They were scarcely settled in comfort when they began a series of outrages on the native population that made them feared and hated by every one, and justified their name. Early in February they extended their outrages from the native population to the British residents. Disturbances on the island increased, and affairs became so bad that foreign residents became alarmed and left in haste. The British consul at the chief treaty-port of the island, sent to Hong Kong an urgent call for assistance, which was furnished without delay. The war ship Mercury left for the island in haste, and its presence acted strongly to quell the disturbances and insure safety for the people. A Japanese squadron too, which was seen patroling the island on several occasions, acted as a damper upon the spirits of the rioters, and the Chinese authorities 651themselves were able to quell the disturbance. Twenty-five of the ring leaders were arrested and punished, and peace was restored.

After this time, operations in the south were abandoned until early in the spring, when a fleet of Japanese transports moved down the west side of the island of Formosa, to the group of small islands known as the Pescadores, between Formosa and the mainland. The Chinese feared that an attack upon Canton was contemplated, but in reality there was at no time any considerable danger of this. The Japanese desired to be exceedingly careful of the interest of all foreign nations in the treaty ports, and so naturally avoided an attack on any city where they might be endangered. The real point of attack intended by this course, was the town of Makung, in the southwest of the island of Pong-hu, the largest of the group. Makung had a large and absolutely safe harbor, capable of affording accommodations for vessels of large draft, and was protected by its citadel and a line of defensive works. Admiral Ito was in command of the squadron, which numbered nine cruisers and two gunboats. Bombardment was begun March 23, from all the vessels of the fleet, the fire centering on the east fort, which dominated the others. A thousand troops from five transports landed simultaneously and attacked the same fort. The Chinese evacuated the place during the night, and the Japanese entered at 6:00 o’clock on the morning of the 24th, and turned the guns upon the other forts. One of the western forts blew up before it was evacuated. One thousand Chinese prisoners were taken, the rest of the garrison escaping in junks. Three thousand Japanese troops now garrisoned Pong-hu, securing a southern base of operations for the Japanese fleet. Within a few days the Japanese were in entire possession of the Pescadore Islands.

South of Yung-tcheng Bay, the Chinese coast line had remained inviolate up to this period of the war, in spite of frequent rumors from startled Chinese sources, of the appearance of Japanese squadrons and their threatened attack. The Japanese fleet had been profitably used to foster a continual state of nervous terror in all the Chinese coast cities, but attention was now turned suddenly in a very different direction, and actively developed towards the southward. Simultaneously with the attack on Pong-hu, the 652Japanese on the 24th of March made a descent upon Hai-chow, on the sea-board of the province of Chiang-su, some two hundred miles north of Shanghai. It was early in the morning when the Japanese squadron appeared off Hai-chow and at once opened fire upon the small forts there. Under cover of the bombardment a force of several thousand Japanese troops, landed and attacked the Chinese positions. After a few hours’ fighting, the stout resistance of the Chinese proved unavailing, and they abandoned their works, having lost some three hundred killed. The island of Yuchow, which lies off Hai-chow had already been occupied by the invaders. At Hai-chow the Japanese were less than fifty miles in a direct line from the Grand Canal connecting Nanking with Peking, which at this point approaches nearest to the coast. The canal had been the chief route by which supplies were conveyed to Peking, and had been of invaluable service for the movement of troops to the capital and to the front by way of Tien-tsin. The threatened dash of the Japanese upon this main artery of travel startled those who realized it. This sudden and unexpected descent upon the Chinese coast served to bring home the realities of war to a section of the population which probably had never heard of the Japanese successes. The Viceroy of Nanking awakened to his danger, and hastily ordered troops to the front to oppose the Japanese advance and recapture Hai-chow.

A third portion of the Japanese fleet, with war ships and transports, appeared simultaneously with these other operations, sailing past Taku into the neighborhood of Shan-hai-kwan. Passing the latter city, which marks the end of the Great Wall of China where it comes down to the coast, the fleet left terror behind, and moved upon the island of Thao-hua. This island lies but a few miles off the mainland, and fifty-five miles northeast of Shan-hai-kwan, at a point where the main highway from Manchooria to Peking lies close to the coast line. It was therefore about half way between Niuchwang and Taku, the port of Peking, and an excellent base for offensive operations against the capital.

The armies in Manchooria were practically idle during the latter part of March. The Chinese had nearly all withdrawn to Kinchow, in the north, while the Japanese contented themselves with restoring order in Niuchwang and Ying-kow, and in completing 653the military arrangements consequent on the junction of the armies. Snowstorms prevented an intended advanced towards Kinchow.

The first of April therefore found the Japanese ready to act on the offensive at several points, spread over a distance of one thousand two hundred miles, and extending from the Pescadore Islands in the south to Niuchwang in the north. On the Liao River the combined forces numbered nearly forty thousand men, with a further strength of some ten thousand men on the Laio-Tung peninsula at Kinchow, Talien-wan and Port Arthur. The whole of these troops could be transported to Shan-hai-kwan in twenty-four hours, as soon as the port of Ying-kow was free from ice. There were no troops to be spared from the garrisons at Port Arthur or Wei-hai-wei, but further levies would undoubtedly be brought from Hiroshima to these places to await transport. The distance to Shan-hai-kwan from all these ports were short so that the troops could be closely packed for the short voyage. In a few days therefore, at least seventy-five thousand men could be 654concentrated at Shan-hai-kwan and the transports would be available for maintaining a supply service. At the same time the possession of the island of Chao-hua would facilitate the cutting of the line of Chinese communications between Manchooria and Peking. With Hai-chow held by the Japanese and threatening the line of communication from south to north by the Grand Canal and Japanese forces threatening Formosa and the south, the possibility of the repulse of an advance in force on Peking seemed very slight. It was the approach of these dangers and the final certainty that nothing else could be done to avert them that brought the Chinese at last to humiliate themselves and sue for peace at the hands of the Japanese.