The Battle of Motien Pass was a minor land battle of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, fought between the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

under General

Kuroki Tamemoto Count was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the head of the Japanese First Army during the Russo-Japanese War; and his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, the ...

and the Imperial Russian Army under General Count Fedor Keller over control of a strategic mountain pass on the main road between the coast and

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

on 10 July 1904.

Preliminary movements

General Count

Fyodor Keller Theodor Eduard Graf von Keller (, Fyodor Eduardovich Keller; 15 August 1850 – 31 July 1904), better known as Fyodor Keller, was a general in the Imperial Russian Army, noted for his role in the Battle of Motien Pass during the Russo-Japanese Wa ...

had assumed command of the Russian Eastern Force from General Zasulich after the Battle of Yalu River. His force of 25,000 men held Motien Pass, in the middle of

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River ...

, on the main road between Antung (modern

Dandong Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across th ...

, China) and

. Keller, a loyal friend of General

Aleksey Kuropatkin Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Куропа́ткин; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) served as the Russian Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field command ...

and a student of General

Mikhail Skobelev Mikhail Dmitriyevich Skobelev (russian: Михаил Дмитриевич Скобелев; 29 September 1843 – 7 July 1882), a Russian general, became famous for his conquest of Central Asia and for his heroism during the Russo-Turkish War ...

, observed that the Japanese strategy was similar to that of the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

(i.e. that the three Japanese armies would converge on Haicheng, as they had 10 years previously). Kuropatkin agreed, and in an effort to fortify his position at Haicheng, he began a series of complex and confusing troop movements as he endeavored to plug real or imaginary gaps in his defensive line. Keller, already weakened by the loss of men at the

Battle of Te-li-Ssu The Battle of Te-li-ssu ( '), also called Battle of Wafangou (russian: Бой у Вафангоу) after the nearby railway station, was a land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. It was fought at a hamlet some north of Port Arthur, Manchuria. ...

, was further forced to give up two more

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s to Kuropatkin's defenses at Haicheng. The Japanese 1st Army, under command of General

, paused at Fenghuangshan (modern Fengcheng,

Liaoning Province Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

) from 2–8 July to await supplies and reinforcements. Kuroki decided to attack on 9 July, which was, by coincidence, the same day that General Keller received orders from General Kuropatkin depriving him of yet another regiment to support the defenses of Haicheng. Guarding the strategic Motien Pass, the Russians had three

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiments, three

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

batteries and a

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

regiment. To the west was the reserve infantry regiment supported by a Cossack brigade. During the night of 8–9 July, a Japanese force moved along an unguarded path to the rear of the Russian right flank. This force was supported by Maxim machine guns and mountain artillery. Another group, clad in Japanese straw sandals to mask their movements, moved around the Russian left flank undetected.

Battle

The battle began at 05:15 on 10 July with a direct Japanese frontal attack. This attack faltered by 07:00 due to strong artillery fire from the Russian positions; however, by 08:00, the Russians found themselves all but encircled by the Japanese flanking attack. By 10:00, the Russians were in full retreat towards Hsimucheng (modern Ximu, Liaodong Province, China).

Aftermath

The Japanese moved in to occupy Motien Pass on 13 July. Casualties on both sides were relatively light, and later commentators have speculated extensively on why General Keller (otherwise known to be competent) abandoned such a strategic and easily defendable location with so little resistance. Keller, who perished due to

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

wounds from Japanese artillery in an ill-fated counterattack to retake Motien Pass, left no notes.

References

* Kowner, Rotem (2006). ''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War''. Scarecrow. * Connaughton, Richard (2003). ''Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear''. Cassell. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Motien Pass Military history of Manchuria Motien Pass 1904 in Japan Motien Pass Motien Pass