On February 19, 1905, the battle of Mukden began. This battle became the bloodiest and largest in the entire Russo-Japanese War. About 500 thousand people participated in that clash, and the losses amounted to 160 thousand, that is, about a third of the entire composition of the armies.
The situation before the battle
On the eve of the battle, the Russian army left Liaoyang and entrenched near Mukden. The Japanese troops were very close, because of which both of them began to strengthen their own positions. It became clear to the command on opposite sides of the front that a decisive clash was approaching. Therefore, each army diligently strengthened the rear and replenished its ranks.
Accompanying events favored the Japanese. Russian troops in other parts of the theater of operations retreated and surrendered their positions. This inspired the Japanese and raised their morale. Illusions appeared in the Land of the Rising Sun that the battle of Mukden would be won with little bloodshed.
The state of the Russian troops
At this time, rumors began to spread in the Russian army aboutthe revolution that began in the motherland. The events in St. Petersburg and Moscow greatly damaged the motivation in the army. In addition, a long retreat, alternating with monotonous sitting in trenches and trenches, had an effect. Card games and drunkenness spread among the soldiers. Deserters appeared. The officers had to organize special detachments that were engaged in catching the fugitives.
Intelligence did not work well. On the eve of the collision, the command did not know the exact number of the enemy. Everyone understood only one thing: the battle of Mukden under the command of Alexei Kuropatkin promised to be difficult.
HQ plan
As for tactics and strategy, the Russian command did not come up with anything new. The village of Sandepu turned out to be a key point that the army was supposed to capture while the battle of Mukden was going on. The commander at the headquarters, Kuropatkin, decided that this particular village would be the main Japanese position.
The attack on Sandepa was scheduled to begin on February 25th. For the operation, a frontal attack by the 2nd Army was being prepared, which was supposed to be supported by formations on the flanks. However, even before the battle, the command made several tactical mistakes, which later hurt the potential of the Russian troops. So, at once three armies turned out to be excessively stretched along the entire front, which made them extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks.
In the camp of the Japanese
The Japanese commander was Oyama Iwao. He considered his main goalencirclement of Russian troops. For the main offensive, the left flank was chosen, since it was there that the enemy units were stretched the most. In addition, diversionary strikes were being prepared. Such a deceptive maneuver was to be carried out by the 5th Army. She was being prepared for an attack on Fushun. She could divert the Russian reserves and make it easier for the main forces of the Japanese.
The Japanese did not have a significant advantage in the number of troops. It was not possible to defeat the enemy due to the numerical superiority. However, through reshuffles in the army, the Japanese command managed to achieve a slight superiority on the flanks, where the main hostilities were planned. Just in case, an auxiliary reserve was also preparing for the transfer to the same positions.
Everyone understood the decisive role that the battle of Mukden would play. Who commanded and who was sitting in the trench - it does not matter, because every soldier and officer was preparing for a decisive test. Interestingly, the Japanese army in that war was trained by German specialists. In Tokyo, they dreamed of their own victory at Sedan, following the example of Germany, when its army surrounded the French and forced them to surrender.
Start of battle
As mentioned above, the Russian command was going to attack the enemy on the 25th. However, in the enemy camp, they prepared for battle somewhat faster. On the night of February 18-19, the Japanese were the first to go on the offensive. Detachments of Kawamura attacked the vanguard commanded by Konstantin Alekseev. The advanced units of the Russian army had to retreat. The counterattacks undertakengave results.
A few days later, on February 23, a snowstorm began. The wind was blowing towards the Russians. The Japanese, using this gift of weather, launched another attack on Alekseev's positions. Parts of the commander of the 1st Manchurian Army, Nikolai Linevich, went to the rescue of their comrades. Similar attacks were repeated in the following days. They were supported by modern Japanese artillery.
Three-week slaughter
The long battle of Mukden didn't happen in one day. It dragged on for three weeks. The fighting was carried out over a large area and consisted of attacks and counterattacks in different areas. When the firing died down near one hill, shooting began on the other flank. This nature of the clash was a sign of a new, modern type of war. Battles that ended in one day are a thing of the past. The soldiers had to endure an unbearable marathon of many skirmishes, retreats and return to their previous positions.
The western flank was the first to waver in the Russian army. The Japanese units made an attempt to bypass the enemy troops, go to the rear and destroy enemy communications. To do this, the brigade under the command of Nambu occupied the small village of Yuhuantul, thereby diverting the main attack of the Russians. The defense of this position led to the death of almost the entire 4,000th detachment.
Breaking positions
By March 8, the Russian command realized the threat of defeat, which increasingly represented the battle of Mukden. The regrouping date was set for the same day. The army neededmaneuver to gather all the remaining forces into a single fist. But already on March 9, the Japanese organized their most powerful attack in the entire battle, which eventually broke through positions on the eastern flank. Enemy units poured into the gap. This endless stream threatened to cut off the road that was the only way to Mukden.
Two Russian armies ended up in a cauldron. There was a narrow corridor for a breakthrough. The retreat began on the night of March 9-10. From two sides the soldiers were fired upon by enemy artillery. And on the afternoon of the 10th, the Japanese, at the cost of huge losses, completely occupied Mukden. According to the memoirs of Anton Denikin, who participated in the battle, the Russian retreat was the first episode in the entire war when he saw natural panic and disorganization in the ranks of his army.
Results
For both countries, the battle of Mukden was a bloody meat grinder. Nobody achieved a decisive victory. For the Japanese, this was the last attempt to succeed on the battlefield (on land). Since a confident victory did not happen, the country faced a financial and economic abyss. Too many resources were thrown into this attempt. Things were no better in Russia either.
The Japanese military began to demand from the leadership of the country to find a political solution that could stop the conflict. However, a radical change in favor of Russia did not happen. Setbacks soon followed in Korea and northern China. In addition, Port Arthur was surrendered. The government in St. Petersburg was demoralized. Finally the war is overmajor concessions from the Russian Empire. The battle of Mukden became a vivid symbol of that campaign. The Russians killed 8 thousand people, the Japanese - 15 thousand.
