The Battle of Hsimucheng (; ) was a minor land engagement of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. It was fought on 31 July 1904 near Hsimucheng, a hamlet in today's Ximu Town (析木镇) about southeast of the strategic junction town of Haicheng, on the main road connecting Haicheng with the coast between elements of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

and the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

Background

The Japanese 5th and 10th Divisions under the command of General

Nozu Michitsura Field Marshal The Marquis was a Japanese field marshal and leading figure in the early Imperial Japanese Army. Biography Nozu was born in Kagoshima as the second son of a low-ranking ''samurai'' of the Satsuma Domain. He studied Japanese sw ...

's 4th Army as well as a detachment from the 2nd Army were advancing north towards

Liaoyang Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) 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 hom ...

. This advance was opposed by the Imperial Russian Second Siberian Army Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Mikhail Zasulich, supported by cavalry units under the command of Lieutenant General Pavel Mishchenko.Kowner, ''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 151.

Prelude

Following its defeat at the Battle of Tashihchiao, the 2nd Siberian Corps under General Zasulich retreated to the village of Hsimungcheng. General Zasulich had a total of 33 battalions and 80 artillery pieces, but was in an exposed position in mountainous terrain. The two forces collided at 02:00 on 31 July 1904, with the Japanese 10th Division and a reserve brigade making a direct frontal assault on the Russian positions, and the Japanese 5th Division flanking left to threaten the Russian line of retreat.

Description of battle

The Russian forces held out tenaciously through the day and into the night against superior forces. The Japanese 5th Division joined forces with a detachment of the 3rd Division of the 2nd Army sent by General Oku Yasukata to assist, and the Japanese were thus in a position to encircle the Russian force. At 23:00 on 31 July 1904, General Zasulich exercised his standing order from General Alexei Kuropatkin to withdraw to Haicheng, and the Japanese forces were thus able to link up for the next push north towards Liaoyang.

Aftermath

The Battle of Hsimucheng cost the Russian forces 1,217

casualties A casualty (), as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, missing, capture or desertion. In c ...

, and the Japanese forces 836.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Hsimucheng Hsimucheng Military history of Manchuria 1904 in Japan Hsimucheng Hsimucheng July 1904