The Battle of Hsimucheng was a minor land engagement of the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

. fought on 31 July 1904 near Hsimucheng, a hamlet about 20 kilometers [13 miles] southeast of the strategic junction town of Haicheng

Haicheng

Haicheng is a county-level city of central Liaoning province, Northeast China. It is located about southwest of Shenyang, the provincial capital, and is under the administration of Anshan City, the seat of which lies to the northeast....

, on the main road connecting Haicheng with the coast.

Background

On the Japanese

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 side were the 5th and the 10th Divisions of the Japanese Fourth Army under General Nozu Michitsura

Nozu Michitsura

-External links:...

 as well as a detachment from the Second Army. On the Russian

Imperial Russian Army

The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...

 side was the Second Siberian Army Corps under of Lieutenant General Mikhail Zasulich

Mikhail Zasulich

Mikhail Ivanovich Zasulich was a general in the Imperial Russian Army, noted for his role in the Battle of the Yalu River during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.-Biography:...

, supported by cavalry units under the command of Lieutenant General Pavel Mishchenko

Pavel Mishchenko

Pavel Ivanovich Mishchenko was a career military officer and statesman in the Russian Empire.-Biography:Mishchenko was born in 1853 in the Russian fortress settlement called Temir-Khan-Shura in Dagestan. He graduated in 1871 from Pavlovsk Military School as an officer in the artillery, and was...

.

Prelude

Following its defeat at the Battle of Tashihchiao

Battle of Tashihchiao

The Battle of Tashihchiao was a small-scale land engagement fought on 24 July - 25 July 1904, during the Japanese advance toward Liaoyang in first stage of the Russo-Japanese War. Tashihchiao is located about 25 kilometers [16 miles] southwest of the city of Haicheng, in present-day Liaoning...

, 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 0200 on 31 July 1904, with the Japanese 10th Division and reserve brigade making a direct frontal assault on the Russian positions, and the 5th Division moving 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 Japanese Army sent by General Oku to assist, and the Japanese were thus in a position to encircle the Russian force.　At 2300 on 31 July 1904, General Zasulich exercised his standing order from General Alexei Kuropatkin to withdraw to Haicheng, and the Japanese 2nd and 4th Armies were thus able to link up for the next push north towards Liaoyang

Liaoyang

Liaoyang is a city in China, Liaoning province, located in the middle of the Liaodong Peninsula. The city is situated on the T'ai-tzu River and forms with Anshan a built up area of 2,057,200 inhabitants in 2010....

.

Aftermath

The Battle of Hsimucheng cost the Russian forces 1,217 casualties, and the Japanese forces 836.