Japanese Offensive against Russia, 1920 (Part III)
By Jamie Bisher
The Battle of Nikolsk-Ussuriisk
During the night of April 4-5, there was an increased activity on the part of the Japanese noticed around the railroad station, particularly about midnight, when one of the daily express trains was leaving for Vladivostok and the other was soon expected. After the departure of the first train, the Japanese placed guards at all the entrances to the station, holding those present in the station in confinement and preventing others from entering. An automobile, sent by Andreev, the commander of the Russian military forces in Nikolsk and vicinity, to meet two ladies, was held up at the station and later prevented from returning to the city proper by Japanese sentinels posted on both the roads to the city at the bridges. I obtained admission to the station, located the two ladies, and, provided with a written pass from the Japanese major commanding at the station, escorted them in the automobile through the Japanese lines to Andreev's headquarters. Previous to this, a Japanese company had lined up in front of the station and marched off towards the city. We passed a strong Japanese outpost at the bridge and noticed several Japanese soldiers advancing stealthily along the streets in the general direction of the Russian headquarters. We saw no Russians until we reached the headquarters.
During the night of April 4-5, there was an increased activity on the part of the Japanese noticed around the railroad station, particularly about midnight, when one of the daily express trains was leaving for Vladivostok and the other was soon expected. After the departure of the first train, the Japanese placed guards at all the entrances to the station, holding those present in the station in confinement and preventing others from entering. An automobile, sent by Andreev, the commander of the Russian military forces in Nikolsk and vicinity, to meet two ladies, was held up at the station and later prevented from returning to the city proper by Japanese sentinels posted on both the roads to the city at the bridges. I obtained admission to the station, located the two ladies, and, provided with a written pass from the Japanese major commanding at the station, escorted them in the automobile through the Japanese lines to Andreev's headquarters. Previous to this, a Japanese company had lined up in front of the station and marched off towards the city. We passed a strong Japanese outpost at the bridge and noticed several Japanese soldiers advancing stealthily along the streets in the general direction of the Russian headquarters. We saw no Russians until we reached the headquarters.
In the inner room at headquarters were gathered Andreev and the officers of his staff. The general impression given was that they were all taken by surprise and were at a loss what measures to take. In fact, they had no intimation of what the Japanese were planning except a hurried message by wire from Vladivostok to the effect that there was firing in the city. [Japanese troops quietly began taking up positions and patrolling Vladivostok streets during the early evening of April 4, captured a Red armored train Edinenie Rossii and the cavernous train station without a shot about 9 p.m., promptly occupied the Red headquarters and central business district, then began fanning out to conduct massive arrests.] Andreev personally thought that the Japanese were making a show of force in order to lend weight to some demands. This opinion was shared by the other officers present. While there, Andreev sent two of his staff officers to the Chinese headquarters to ascertain what action they would take in case of open hostilities, and also ordered a battalion of Russians to take up a certain position. I could not understand what position was signified but believe it was the hill overlooking the city. Few other orders were given and it was apparent that no elaborate preparations nor dispositions were being taken.
Just at daybreak an automobile was spared to take me home. I expressed a desire to stay in case there was any action expected. Andreev stated that he expected no open hostilities, but if anything happened it would come within the next hour. In front of the headquarters were the following: a two-turreted armored automobile, a number of izvozchiks [drozhkii drivers], one machine gun with crew and a small detachment of cavalry. Driving down Nikolaevskaya [Ulitsa] we passed a strong Russian patrol slowly withdrawing just before arriving at the Grand Hotel. At the church, a distance of about 2,000 yards from the Russian patrol, the Japanese were in force. The Japanese officer who passed us through their lines told us to hurry up as firing was about to start. On the street paralleling Nikolaevskaya, about 200 yards distance, Russian cavalry were riding up and down in single file. On the cross-street between the opposing forces, but slightly nearer the Japanese lines, a few Japanese soldiers were lining up about fifty unarmed Russians apparently in uniform. Later on after the fighting started, a group of Russians of about the same size passed the American barracks on their way to the station under Japanese guard. These same men with others arrested at the station were later in the day sent into town, probably to the prisoner concentration camp established by the Japanese in one of the barracks of the Jaeger or 5th Cavalry Regiment. The Japanese were only gathered around the corner by the church. Farther along on Nikolaevskaya we passed single Russian sentries, as also on the West road leading from the city to the station. At the bridge was a Japanese picket consisting of one platoon. Immediately after our return, two companies of Japanese passed the American barracks on the West road, one of them at double-time.
Firing opened in the direction of the Russian headquarters at about six a.m. and continued until about nine a.m., gradually becoming more distant. Two three-inch field pieces opened up over the American barracks on the hill overlooking the city, and two one-pounders opened up from the street paralleling the railroad tracks. The latter was less than a hundred yards in front of the Czech echelon containing part of the Czech artillery regiment, and the former were even nearer to the station proper.
An estimate of the course of the engagement as gathered from all sources follows: General Adagiri, commanding the 15th Brigade (13th Division) with headquarters at Nikolsk, received a telegram from General Oi to disarm the Russian forces. He had four battalions of infantry and a battery of three-inch field pieces in garrison and received reinforcements in echelons (probably part of the 14th Division) from the north consisting of six companies of infantry and a half battery of artillery--altogether totaling between three and four thousand troops. Reliable estimates place the Russian forces at between six and seven thousand. The Russians did not want to start an engagement but the Japanese outposts kept pressing close upon the withdrawing Russians until the latter forced back to their headquarters [located] at the beginning of the so-called fortress or barracks area, and were forced to open fire or let the Japanese walk right in on them in force. As a result, the Japanese claim that the Russians caused hostilities by firing the first shot, though it is apparent that they did so under the most extreme provocation.
In the meantime, the Russians had occupied the hill, mentioned above, with about two hundred men and placed another at the foot on the other side away from town. A Japanese company, 95 men, approached from that side. The commander parleyed with the Russian commander, and, as a result, the two forces returned together to the top of the hill. The Japanese claimed that they had just come to occupy the top of the hill but not to fight. While the two forces were waiting within twenty yards of each other on top of the hill, firing commenced in town. A hand-to-hand fight ensued on the hill, as a result of which the Russians fled precipitately across the plain to the rear of the town. The Japanese lost six men killed, including the captain, and [had] some wounded. The Russians left a large supply of hand grenades and three-inch shells, and two three-inch pieces; also one Maxim machine gun, which the Japanese first lieutenant [later] stated [had] accounted for most of his casualties. For two days the Japanese did not allow the Russian sanitary men and nurses to gather their dead and wounded. They picked up six wounded on the outskirts of the hill. On the third day the Japanese permitted them to approach. They found 86 dead and no wounded. Some of the corpses had their hands clasped, others had their hands raised above their heads. Quite a number had both serious bullet and bayonet wounds, and almost all were badly cut up by bayonets. Chinese officers, whose barracks are near the hill, stated that they could distinguish Japanese killing the wounded. Russians living near the hill made similar statements, and showed one corpse with a roughly bandaged gunshot wound in the act of crawling under a veranda and with a mortal bayonet wound in the back. It is my personal opinion that the Japanese killed all the wounded they came across on the hill, due possibly to the heat of battle and in retaliation for the death of their captain.
In the inner room at headquarters were gathered Andreev and the officers of his staff. The general impression given was that they were all taken by surprise and were at a loss what measures to take. In fact, they had no intimation of what the Japanese were planning except a hurried message by wire from Vladivostok to the effect that there was firing in the city. [Japanese troops quietly began taking up positions and patrolling Vladivostok streets during the early evening of April 4, captured a Red armored train Edinenie Rossii and the cavernous train station without a shot about 9 p.m., promptly occupied the Red headquarters and central business district, then began fanning out to conduct massive arrests.] Andreev personally thought that the Japanese were making a show of force in order to lend weight to some demands. This opinion was shared by the other officers present. While there, Andreev sent two of his staff officers to the Chinese headquarters to ascertain what action they would take in case of open hostilities, and also ordered a battalion of Russians to take up a certain position. I could not understand what position was signified but believe it was the hill overlooking the city. Few other orders were given and it was apparent that no elaborate preparations nor dispositions were being taken.
Just at daybreak an automobile was spared to take me home. I expressed a desire to stay in case there was any action expected. Andreev stated that he expected no open hostilities, but if anything happened it would come within the next hour. In front of the headquarters were the following: a two-turreted armored automobile, a number of izvozchiks [drozhkii drivers], one machine gun with crew and a small detachment of cavalry. Driving down Nikolaevskaya [Ulitsa] we passed a strong Russian patrol slowly withdrawing just before arriving at the Grand Hotel. At the church, a distance of about 2,000 yards from the Russian patrol, the Japanese were in force. The Japanese officer who passed us through their lines told us to hurry up as firing was about to start. On the street paralleling Nikolaevskaya, about 200 yards distance, Russian cavalry were riding up and down in single file. On the cross-street between the opposing forces, but slightly nearer the Japanese lines, a few Japanese soldiers were lining up about fifty unarmed Russians apparently in uniform. Later on after the fighting started, a group of Russians of about the same size passed the American barracks on their way to the station under Japanese guard. These same men with others arrested at the station were later in the day sent into town, probably to the prisoner concentration camp established by the Japanese in one of the barracks of the Jaeger or 5th Cavalry Regiment. The Japanese were only gathered around the corner by the church. Farther along on Nikolaevskaya we passed single Russian sentries, as also on the West road leading from the city to the station. At the bridge was a Japanese picket consisting of one platoon. Immediately after our return, two companies of Japanese passed the American barracks on the West road, one of them at double-time.
Firing opened in the direction of the Russian headquarters at about six a.m. and continued until about nine a.m., gradually becoming more distant. Two three-inch field pieces opened up over the American barracks on the hill overlooking the city, and two one-pounders opened up from the street paralleling the railroad tracks. The latter was less than a hundred yards in front of the Czech echelon containing part of the Czech artillery regiment, and the former were even nearer to the station proper.
An estimate of the course of the engagement as gathered from all sources follows: General Adagiri, commanding the 15th Brigade (13th Division) with headquarters at Nikolsk, received a telegram from General Oi to disarm the Russian forces. He had four battalions of infantry and a battery of three-inch field pieces in garrison and received reinforcements in echelons (probably part of the 14th Division) from the north consisting of six companies of infantry and a half battery of artillery--altogether totaling between three and four thousand troops. Reliable estimates place the Russian forces at between six and seven thousand. The Russians did not want to start an engagement but the Japanese outposts kept pressing close upon the withdrawing Russians until the latter forced back to their headquarters [located] at the beginning of the so-called fortress or barracks area, and were forced to open fire or let the Japanese walk right in on them in force. As a result, the Japanese claim that the Russians caused hostilities by firing the first shot, though it is apparent that they did so under the most extreme provocation.
In the meantime, the Russians had occupied the hill, mentioned above, with about two hundred men and placed another at the foot on the other side away from town. A Japanese company, 95 men, approached from that side. The commander parleyed with the Russian commander, and, as a result, the two forces returned together to the top of the hill. The Japanese claimed that they had just come to occupy the top of the hill but not to fight. While the two forces were waiting within twenty yards of each other on top of the hill, firing commenced in town. A hand-to-hand fight ensued on the hill, as a result of which the Russians fled precipitately across the plain to the rear of the town. The Japanese lost six men killed, including the captain, and [had] some wounded. The Russians left a large supply of hand grenades and three-inch shells, and two three-inch pieces; also one Maxim machine gun, which the Japanese first lieutenant [later] stated [had] accounted for most of his casualties. For two days the Japanese did not allow the Russian sanitary men and nurses to gather their dead and wounded. They picked up six wounded on the outskirts of the hill. On the third day the Japanese permitted them to approach. They found 86 dead and no wounded. Some of the corpses had their hands clasped, others had their hands raised above their heads. Quite a number had both serious bullet and bayonet wounds, and almost all were badly cut up by bayonets. Chinese officers, whose barracks are near the hill, stated that they could distinguish Japanese killing the wounded. Russians living near the hill made similar statements, and showed one corpse with a roughly bandaged gunshot wound in the act of crawling under a veranda and with a mortal bayonet wound in the back. It is my personal opinion that the Japanese killed all the wounded they came across on the hill, due possibly to the heat of battle and in retaliation for the death of their captain.
In the town, the Russian barracks lie within the so-called fortress area, which is roughly a truncated triangle, with the headquarters at the truncated apex near the center of the town and the base bordering on the marshy open plain behind the town. On the one side lay the barracks of the Japanese troops quartered in town and on the other the open plain. A mud wall encircled the apex and the sides except for the space directly opposite the Japanese barracks. Here lay the barracks of the Russian engineer battalion, well supplied with machine guns and protected to a certain extent by barbed wire. When the Russians discovered that the Japanese intended bringing on a general engagement, they carried on a delaying action to cover their retreat, apparently in conformance with the general policy dictated by the provisional government. Certain forces apparently attempted to escape across the mud wall bordering the plain but were flanked by Japanese fire from the apex. A considerable number of dead bodies were along the outer side of this wall. The Japanese forces from their barracks attacked the other side of the triangle but were held in check during the whole period of the fighting by the Russian engineer battalion. It was here that the Japanese incurred the heaviest losses--42 killed and 81 wounded according to General Adagiri. The engineer battalion was formed of trained soldiers and officers from the European front, and was assisted by some Hungarian machine-gunners. Reports are conflicting but apparently it must have suffered heavily. The Japanese brought field artillery to bear on the barracks occupied by the battalion and breached it but were themselves caught in machine gun fire and lost ten men killed besides wounded. The Russians claim the battalion beat off three bayonet charges with hand grenades, and that the remnants of the battalion, after having covered the retreat of the main force, themselves got away, leaving twenty-five men with a machine gun behind. These men later tried to escape themselves, discovered they were surrounded, and dispersed hiding in the different houses. The inside of the barracks was in indescribable confusion.
While the engineer battalion was protecting their flank, the main force fell back by echelons from the apex of the triangle to the base and then retreated out into the hills, across the plain. The Japanese captured two battalions, almost entire, of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, of about 1,650 men. These prisoners stated that they were mostly all raw recruits and that very few had been supplied with arms. The colonel of the regiment, who was also captured, was not very communicative, and merely intimated that he had not been warned in time to make the necessary preparations. There was certainly plenty of time for a well trained unit to get under way. Being raw recruits they probably herded like horses in a burning stall, and it is not improbable that the Russian staff was not very much concerned whether they accompanied them to the hills or not.
The Russians lost in all between two and three hundred killed, between one and two hundred wounded and 1,650 prisoners. The Japanese lost about 60 to 70 killed and about 100 wounded. The Japanese general estimates that about four thousand Russians escaped to the hills. Since then several hundred more have left the city, among whom are some of the prisoners, a few hundred of whom were subsequently freed by the Japanese. The Japanese are occupying the three hills nearest to the city, but have not established a complete cordon around it. A partisan force of about six thousand men is operating around Nikolsk at present, but avoiding encounters with the Japanese under orders from the central government.
The criticism of Andreev among the Russians is quite severe. Considering the recent happenings in Nikolaevsk, they think he should have been more foresighted and sent his military supplies out into the hills where they would be safe from capture. As it was almost everything fell into the hands of the Japanese.
During the attack, the Japanese rushed into the military hospital, located in the fortress area, and slashed around indiscriminately. Six of the hospital staff were killed, including one of the doctors, and several cut up. One nurse was stabbed in the back with a bayonet and others [were] severely beaten. The patients in the ward for eye trouble, being apparently in good health, were driven out and confined with the prisoners of war. Three shells exploded in the hospital, [and] it was generously besprinkled with machine gun fire and shrapnel.
The above is on the authority of one man only: an employee of the hospital, who was an eye witness and was himself cut in the head with a bayonet.
The 1,500 odd prisoners were confined in one of the barracks of the Jaeger Cavalry Regiment. They were so crowded that they could not lie down. A part would take their turn sleeping while the remainder sat crowded up together to give them sufficient room. The diet consisted of one loaf of bread a day for twenty-five persons and water--for those who were fortunate enough to get hold of a cup to get it in. Two days later, tea was added and the prisoners were allowed to go outside for an airing and talk with their friends, as the result of the visit of a Japanese officer. The bread was some stale bread that had been lying in the barracks for some time and was extremely hard. The Japanese guards cut it for the prisoners by putting it on the floor and using their bayonets. Member of the Japanese guard made a practice of eating in front of the prisoners, apparently with the intention of annoying them, and then throwing the remains of their meal in a dirty corner for the prisoners to pick up. Kolchak, or more accurately speaking, Kalmykov officers, who had been in hiding in the Japanese staff came and taunted the prisoners, especially the officers, with some of whom they were personally acquainted. Prisoners were very often refused exit to the water closet by sentries who could not get their meaning. In the first three days there were six deaths from typhus. Those wounded in the barracks were imprisoned with the rest. Russian Red Cross workers were not allowed to enter. A Japanese sanitary came and looked at them, then went away without doing anything. One man with a serious wound in the abdomen, roughly bandaged by his fellow soldiers, had lain for two days unconscious and in a fever. Fifty officers were crowded in a room about ten feet square with only a fortochka (a moveable pane of glass about a foot square) open.
The above I have only on the authority of one person: a young officer, formerly with Kolchak, who escaped from confinement on the third day.
Several proclamations were issued by the Japanese command to the effect that the partisans brought on the engagement by first attacking the Japanese, that hostilities only existed between them and the partisans, and that the people should return peacefully to their former occupations. The railroad men have absolutely refused to work. Those of the electric light station were forced to work under guard and threat of being turned out of their railway quarters.
The Japanese turned over the city government to the former municipal organization, complying with the demand of the mayor that he be given complete civil control and not hampered by activities of the former Kalmykov officials. The militia has not yet been re-armed, however, and two armed Kalmykov officers were thus enabled to enter the militia office, collect all the secret records, and take them to the Japanese staff. The mayor informed me confidentially that agents of his at work in the Japanese staff had ascertained that Kalmykov officers were endeavoring to get the Japanese to consent to his removal by execution or murder. The fear entertained by the populace regarding the Kalmykov officers is intense, but as yet the Japanese have given them very little rein, having only conducted a few arrests and searches under their direction.
A few civilians and two or three Chinese soldiers were killed accidentally, and some of the delegates to the Provincial Assembly staying in the barracks are reported to have been wounded. Some of the latter were arrested by mistake but subsequently freed. Others are in hiding.
In the battle zone, during and immediately following the fighting, plundering was rife. The Japanese soldiers took money and jewelry off the persons of captives and passers-by. One Russian lady was relieved of one ear-ring, and not being able to work the catch on the other, the Japanese soldier in question tore it out. Except for the above, cases of plundering and rape brought to our attention were exceptional and no more than could be expected.
Czech officers of long experience who watched the engagement were not much impressed by Japanese tactics. They advanced in column of squads over open stretches that could easily have been swept by the enemy.
The feeling among all foreigners and over 99% of the Russian population was that the action taken by the Japanese was unwarranted and dastardly. Their subsequent actions seem to have been judged, insofar as they are able, with the intention of reconciliating [sic] all concerned.
The Russians I talked with stated that if Japan did not accept the demands of the Provisional Government in their entirety, they would go to the hills and fight to the last man. The accompanying circumstances and the tone it was said did not give me the impression that it was an idle boast. From conversation with Soviet and Russian delegates one gained the distinct impression that if compromising cannot succeed and Japan throws down the gauntlet, the Moscow Soviet will come to the aid of the partisans. The Japanese are having a rather annoying time chewing Shantung. [A wave of boycotts and large public demonstrations began in mid-1919 in Shanghai, Peking and other Chinese cities to protest Japan’s annexation of Shantung Province.] Will Siberia prove more than annoying?
A well-informed Japanese states the present Japanese force in Nikolsk to be as follows: 2 infantry battalions, 1 engineer battalion, 1 battery [of] light artillery, 2 companies [of] machine guns, 1 troop cavalry, and some railroad troops. Altogether the above would total about two thousand men.
(signed) H. Van Vechten Fay
While the engineer battalion was protecting their flank, the main force fell back by echelons from the apex of the triangle to the base and then retreated out into the hills, across the plain. The Japanese captured two battalions, almost entire, of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, of about 1,650 men. These prisoners stated that they were mostly all raw recruits and that very few had been supplied with arms. The colonel of the regiment, who was also captured, was not very communicative, and merely intimated that he had not been warned in time to make the necessary preparations. There was certainly plenty of time for a well trained unit to get under way. Being raw recruits they probably herded like horses in a burning stall, and it is not improbable that the Russian staff was not very much concerned whether they accompanied them to the hills or not.
The Russians lost in all between two and three hundred killed, between one and two hundred wounded and 1,650 prisoners. The Japanese lost about 60 to 70 killed and about 100 wounded. The Japanese general estimates that about four thousand Russians escaped to the hills. Since then several hundred more have left the city, among whom are some of the prisoners, a few hundred of whom were subsequently freed by the Japanese. The Japanese are occupying the three hills nearest to the city, but have not established a complete cordon around it. A partisan force of about six thousand men is operating around Nikolsk at present, but avoiding encounters with the Japanese under orders from the central government.
The criticism of Andreev among the Russians is quite severe. Considering the recent happenings in Nikolaevsk, they think he should have been more foresighted and sent his military supplies out into the hills where they would be safe from capture. As it was almost everything fell into the hands of the Japanese.
During the attack, the Japanese rushed into the military hospital, located in the fortress area, and slashed around indiscriminately. Six of the hospital staff were killed, including one of the doctors, and several cut up. One nurse was stabbed in the back with a bayonet and others [were] severely beaten. The patients in the ward for eye trouble, being apparently in good health, were driven out and confined with the prisoners of war. Three shells exploded in the hospital, [and] it was generously besprinkled with machine gun fire and shrapnel.
The above is on the authority of one man only: an employee of the hospital, who was an eye witness and was himself cut in the head with a bayonet.
The 1,500 odd prisoners were confined in one of the barracks of the Jaeger Cavalry Regiment. They were so crowded that they could not lie down. A part would take their turn sleeping while the remainder sat crowded up together to give them sufficient room. The diet consisted of one loaf of bread a day for twenty-five persons and water--for those who were fortunate enough to get hold of a cup to get it in. Two days later, tea was added and the prisoners were allowed to go outside for an airing and talk with their friends, as the result of the visit of a Japanese officer. The bread was some stale bread that had been lying in the barracks for some time and was extremely hard. The Japanese guards cut it for the prisoners by putting it on the floor and using their bayonets. Member of the Japanese guard made a practice of eating in front of the prisoners, apparently with the intention of annoying them, and then throwing the remains of their meal in a dirty corner for the prisoners to pick up. Kolchak, or more accurately speaking, Kalmykov officers, who had been in hiding in the Japanese staff came and taunted the prisoners, especially the officers, with some of whom they were personally acquainted. Prisoners were very often refused exit to the water closet by sentries who could not get their meaning. In the first three days there were six deaths from typhus. Those wounded in the barracks were imprisoned with the rest. Russian Red Cross workers were not allowed to enter. A Japanese sanitary came and looked at them, then went away without doing anything. One man with a serious wound in the abdomen, roughly bandaged by his fellow soldiers, had lain for two days unconscious and in a fever. Fifty officers were crowded in a room about ten feet square with only a fortochka (a moveable pane of glass about a foot square) open.
The above I have only on the authority of one person: a young officer, formerly with Kolchak, who escaped from confinement on the third day.
Several proclamations were issued by the Japanese command to the effect that the partisans brought on the engagement by first attacking the Japanese, that hostilities only existed between them and the partisans, and that the people should return peacefully to their former occupations. The railroad men have absolutely refused to work. Those of the electric light station were forced to work under guard and threat of being turned out of their railway quarters.
The Japanese turned over the city government to the former municipal organization, complying with the demand of the mayor that he be given complete civil control and not hampered by activities of the former Kalmykov officials. The militia has not yet been re-armed, however, and two armed Kalmykov officers were thus enabled to enter the militia office, collect all the secret records, and take them to the Japanese staff. The mayor informed me confidentially that agents of his at work in the Japanese staff had ascertained that Kalmykov officers were endeavoring to get the Japanese to consent to his removal by execution or murder. The fear entertained by the populace regarding the Kalmykov officers is intense, but as yet the Japanese have given them very little rein, having only conducted a few arrests and searches under their direction.
A few civilians and two or three Chinese soldiers were killed accidentally, and some of the delegates to the Provincial Assembly staying in the barracks are reported to have been wounded. Some of the latter were arrested by mistake but subsequently freed. Others are in hiding.
In the battle zone, during and immediately following the fighting, plundering was rife. The Japanese soldiers took money and jewelry off the persons of captives and passers-by. One Russian lady was relieved of one ear-ring, and not being able to work the catch on the other, the Japanese soldier in question tore it out. Except for the above, cases of plundering and rape brought to our attention were exceptional and no more than could be expected.
Czech officers of long experience who watched the engagement were not much impressed by Japanese tactics. They advanced in column of squads over open stretches that could easily have been swept by the enemy.
The feeling among all foreigners and over 99% of the Russian population was that the action taken by the Japanese was unwarranted and dastardly. Their subsequent actions seem to have been judged, insofar as they are able, with the intention of reconciliating [sic] all concerned.
The Russians I talked with stated that if Japan did not accept the demands of the Provisional Government in their entirety, they would go to the hills and fight to the last man. The accompanying circumstances and the tone it was said did not give me the impression that it was an idle boast. From conversation with Soviet and Russian delegates one gained the distinct impression that if compromising cannot succeed and Japan throws down the gauntlet, the Moscow Soviet will come to the aid of the partisans. The Japanese are having a rather annoying time chewing Shantung. [A wave of boycotts and large public demonstrations began in mid-1919 in Shanghai, Peking and other Chinese cities to protest Japan’s annexation of Shantung Province.] Will Siberia prove more than annoying?
A well-informed Japanese states the present Japanese force in Nikolsk to be as follows: 2 infantry battalions, 1 engineer battalion, 1 battery [of] light artillery, 2 companies [of] machine guns, 1 troop cavalry, and some railroad troops. Altogether the above would total about two thousand men.
(signed) H. Van Vechten Fay
> Go to Part IV - Legacy of Japan's 1920 Offensive in Russia... >>>
Copyright 2020, Jamie Bisher