Battle of Liaoyang

Battle of Liao Yang by Fritz Neumann

Date	25 August – 5 September 1904
Location	South of Liaoyang, China Coordinates: 41°47′44″N 123°26′53″E / 41.79556°N 123.44806°E / 41.79556; 123.44806
Result	Japanese tactical victory

Belligerents

Empire of Japan

Russian Empire

Commanders and leaders

Ōyama Iwao

Aleksey Kuropatkin

Strength

115 battalions, 33 squadrons, 484 guns 127,360 men

208.5 battalions, 153 squadrons, 673 guns, 245,300 men

Casualties and losses

22,922 killed, wounded or missing
Official report:
5,537 killed
18,603 wounded

19,112 killed, wounded or missing
Official report:
3,611 killed
14,301 wounded

The Battle of Liaoyang (遼陽会戦, Ryōyō-kaisen^?, 25 August – 3 September 1904) (Russian: Сражение при Ляояне) was the first major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, on the outskirts of the city of Liaoyang in present-day Liaoning Province, China. The city was of great strategic importance as the major Russian military center for southern Manchuria, and a major population center on the main line on the South Manchurian Railway connecting Port Arthur with Mukden. The city was fortified by the Imperial Russian Army with three lines of fortifications.

When the Imperial Japanese Army landed on the Liaodong Peninsula, Japanese General Ōyama Iwao divided his forces. The IJA 3rd Army under Lieutenant General Nogi Maresuke was assigned to attack the Russian naval base at Port Arthur to the south, while the IJA 1st Army, IJA 2nd Army and IJA 4th Army would converge on the city of Liaoyang. Russian General Aleksey Kuropatkin planned to counter the Japanese advance with a series of planned withdrawals, intended to trade territory for the time necessary for enough reserves to arrive from Russia to give him a decisive numerical advantage over the Japanese. However, this strategy was not in favor with the Russian Viceroy Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev, who was pushing for a more aggressive stance and quick victory over Japan.

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