132 



CHINA. 



21 knots they could scarcely go 14. The Japa- 

 nese loss of 1'ife was 10 officers and 30 men ; the 

 wounded numbered 160. 



Invasion of Manchuria. After the capture 

 of Pinir Ysin.jr and the whole of the effective 

 Chinese force in Korea, a flying column pushed 

 forward to secure the passes preparatory to an 

 onward march into Chinese territory. The 

 passage through the mountains with field guns 

 was difficult. When the advanced guard reached 

 Wiju they found it defended by 2,000 Chinese, 

 who were expelled after a short fight. Gen. 

 Suns; K'wei had posted along the Yalu about 

 15,000 troops, and held a reserve of 6,000 in the 

 walled city of Kiu Lien Cheng. The key to the 

 position oil the Yalu was Hu Shan, where about 

 6,000 men were posted behind intrenchments. 

 with parapets from 8 to 12 feet high, mounted 

 with nearly 100 guns. The Japanese, 17,000 

 strong, attacked at daylight on Oct. 25 in 6 

 divisions, of which 1 the artillery shelled Hu 

 Shan throughout the battle, 1 forded the river 

 at Suiken Chan and moved down the northern 

 bank, 1 attacked in front, and 3 executed a flank 

 movement on the left. The combinations were 

 carried out with precision, and in a few hours 

 Hu Shan was carried, the Japanese losing only 

 33 killed and 112 wounded, while the Chinese 

 left 700 dead on the field and retreated precipi- 

 tately to Chin Lien, 30 miles west of the Yalu, on 

 the high road to Mukden. All the Chinese had 

 evacuated Korea, and at Kiu Lien Cheng Gen. 

 Sung endeavored to stop the Japanese advance, 

 but could not keep his raw and terror-stricken 

 troops together. The Chinese fled after a slight 

 resistance when attacked by Marshal Yamagata's 

 army before dawn on Oct. 26, leaving behind 30 

 large guns and a great store of rice and other 

 food. There were 200 Chinese killed and 20 

 Japanese. Another stand was made at Feng 

 Huang Cheng. 



When Gen. Nodzu advanced upon Peng Huang 

 Cheng, on Oct. 28, the Chinese attempted a de- 

 fense, which speedily collapsed before the supe- 

 rior tactics and marksmanship of the Japanese. 

 They set fire to the citadel before their flight. 

 The inhabitants of Manchuria, plundered and 

 oppressed as they had been by the Chinese sol- 

 diery, welcomed the Japanese invaders, who paid 

 liberally for supplies and services. The undis- 

 ciplined Manchu braves fled before the flying 

 columns of the Japanese into the mountains, 

 where many perished from cold and starvation, 

 or to Chifu and other Chinese cities, arriving in 

 bands of 50 or more and spreading consternation 

 among the people. Lieut.-Gen. Knei Hsiang, 

 father of the Empress Consort, who assumed the 

 direction of the defense of Manchuria, hurried 

 troops to the front to take the place of the de- 

 sert ers, but they were like the rest, untrained, 

 poorly equipped, insufficiently fed, and unwilling 

 to fight without receiving their pay, which was 

 several months in arrears. The best troops were 

 retained to defend the province of Pechiii and 

 Mukden, the sacred Manchti capital. The Jap- 

 anese had almost denuded Korea of their troops 

 when their army advanced into Manchuria, but 

 the reserves were mobilized and sent to Korea to 

 hold the country, repress the Tong Haks, and 

 support the invading army. 



The Chinese troops, on retreating from Kiu- 



lien Cheng and Feng Huang Cheng, separated 

 into 2 divisions, 1 of which was held together by 

 Gen. Tsao, who conducted it along the Mukden 

 road to the town of Motien Ling, where he forti- 

 fied the passes in the mountains. The greater 

 part of the troops were thrown westward toward 

 New Chang, some holding together and some 

 breaking up completely. Gen. Nodzu separated 

 his force into 2 divisions. The right division 

 routed a body of cavalry and occupied Lien Dan 

 pass, whence it advanced upon Motien Ling, 

 which is 65 miles north of Feng Huang Cheng. 

 The left division occupied Taku Shan, and thence 

 marched upon Siuyen, where Gen. Ma was en- 

 camped with 20,000 Chinese. The advanced 

 guard under Gen. Oseko began an attack at day- 

 light on Nov. 11, and the Chinese evacuated the 

 place and retired to Hia Ching, leaving 5 guns. 

 The Taking of Port Arthur. Early in 

 September the Japanese seized a small island in 

 Society Bay, 40 miles northwest of Port Arthur, 

 and landed there a strong force of troops and 

 arms, ammunition, and provisions in quantities, 

 as if preparatory to a siege of the Chinese naval 

 arsenal. Near the end of the month an army of 

 30,000 men was collected at Hiroshima, where 

 tin- Emperor had established his headquarters 

 as commander-in-chief. This army embarked 

 on 38 transports, and sailed on Oct. 23, under 

 the escort of the fleet. On Oct. 26 a landing 

 was effected without opposition at Honen Ku, 

 85 miles northeast of Port Arthur, the force 

 consisting of 20,000 men, under Marshal Count 

 Oyama, who was released from his functions as 

 Minister of War in order to take command of 

 the second army. On Nov. 4 the fortifications 

 at Kinchow were carried by the Japanese, the 

 Chinese garrison of 1,500 men making only a 

 feeble resistance. The batteries of the fort 

 were badly served, and as soon as the outer 

 works were taken the defenders fled in a panic, 

 abandoning their guns, flags, and stores. As 

 they retreated toward Port Arthur they were 

 mistaken for the enemy by the Chinese 'in the 

 other forts, and several hundred were shot. On 

 the next day the six forts at Talien Wan were 

 bombarded, and on Nov. 6 the place was at- 

 tacked from the rear, and the works were carried 

 with a rush, the garrison of 3,180 infantry run- 

 ning away after firing a few shots throwing 

 down their firearms, drums, and standards as 

 they fled toward Port Arthur. The Japanese 

 war ships were in the bay prepared for action, 

 and the Chinese, expecting the attack from the 

 sea, were surprised on the land side. A Chinese 

 vessel appeared outside, but steamed away to 

 Wei Hai Wei, afraid of being attacked by the 

 Japanese ships. The Japanese captured 6 tor- 

 pedo boats in the harbor, and seized the tor- 

 pedoes that had been laid for the defense of the 

 place. The commandant of Port Arthur had 

 gone to Tientsin to ask for re-enforcements, as 

 his force of 15,000 men was unreliable. Prince 

 Kung, who after several years' retirement had 

 been recalled to Pekin and placed in charge of 

 the imperial preparations for defense, first as 

 Viceroy Li's coadjutor and afterward with su- 

 preme power, sent him back with 2,000 addi- 

 tional troops. Gen. Oyama advanced his lines 

 toward Port Arthur very slowly, as he could not 

 use the roads because every approach except in 



