s. The combat thickened till, on August 24, cannon thundered
along a line of forty miles. Outflanked by his assailants, the
Russian general, perceiving that he must secure his communications
on the north or sustain a siege, abandoned his ground and fell
back on Mukden.

In this, the greatest battle of the campaign thus far, 400,000
men were engaged, the Japanese, as usual, having a considerable
majority. The loss of life was appalling. The Russian losses were
reported at 22,000; and those of Japan could not have been less.
Yet Liaoyang with all its horrors was only a prelude to a more
obstinate conflict on a more extended arena.

Without hope of succour by land, and without a fleet to bring relief
by sea, the Russians defended their fortress with the courage of
despair. Ten years before this date the Japanese under Field-marshal
Oyama had carried this same stronghold almost by assault. Taking
it in the rear, a move which the Chinese thought so contrary to
the rules of war that they had neglected their landward defences,
they were masters of the place on the morning of the third day.

How different their reception on the present occasion! How changed
the aspect! The hills, range after range, were now crowned with
forts. Fifty thousand of Russia's best soldiers were behind those
batteries, many of which were provided with casemates impenetrable
[Page 188]
to any ordinary projectile. General Stoessel, a man of science,
courage and experience, was in command; and he held General Nogi
with a force of sixty or seventy thousand at bay for eleven months.
Prodigies of valour were performed on both sides, some of the more
commanding positions being taken and retaken three or four times.

When, in September, the besiegers got possession of Wolf Hill, and
with plunging shot smashed the remnant of the fleet, they offered
generous terms to the defenders. General Stoessel declined the
offer, resolving to emulate Thermopylae, or believing, perhaps, in
the possibility of rescue. When, however, he saw the "203 Metre
Hill" in their hands and knew his casemates would soon be riddled
by heavy shot, in sheer despair he was forced to capitulate. This
was on the first day of the new year (1905). His force had been
reduced to half its original numbers, and of these no fewer than
14,000 were in hospital.

General Stoessel has been censured for not holding out until the
arrival of the armada; but what could the armada have done had it
app