Battle of Yalu River (1904)

Battle of Yalu River
Part of the Russo-Japanese War
Japanese Cavalry Crossing the Yalu River
Date 30 April – 1 May 1904 Location Near Wiju, border of Korea and Manchuria Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Empire of Japan	Empire of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Major General Kuroki Tamemoto	Lieutenant General Mikhail Zasulich Lieutenant General Nikolai Kashtalinsky
Strength
42,000	about 25,000
Casualties and losses
1,036 killed, wounded or missing	593 killed 1,101 wounded 478 Missing

The Battle of Yalu River (Russian: Бой на реке Ялу, Boĭ na reke Yalu) (Japanese: 鴨緑江会戦, Ōryokkō Kaisen) lasted from 30 April to 1 May 1904, and was the first major land battle during the Russo-Japanese War. It was fought near Wiju (modern village of Uiju, North Korea) on the lower reaches of the Yalu River, on the border between Korea and China.

The Russian commander in the Far East, General Alexei Kuropatkin's strategy was to only engage the Japanese in defense stalling actions, while waiting for enough reinforcements to be brought up to the front via the single-track Trans-Siberian Railway to take the offensive. He had estimated that it would take at least 6 months to build his forces up to suitable levels. He also had received strict orders not to hinder the Japanese progress through Korea from Viceroy Yevgeni Alekseyev, but to hold the line at the Yalu River to prevent the Japanese from crossing into Manchuria.

On 22 April 1904, Kuropatkin dispatched the "Eastern Detachment" under the command of Lieutenant-General Mikhail Zasulich with 16,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and some 62 artillery pieces to fight a static delaying action at the north bank of the river. However, this force was spread out piecemeal over a 170-mile front, whereas the Japanese Army could concentrate its efforts on any single point of its choosing. Furthermore, General Zasulitch did not hold the Japanese in a very high regard. Most of the Russian forces were deployed near Wiju, blocking the main road from Korea to Manchuria. Small detachments guarded the bank up and down the river.

After the success of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay on 9 February 1904, the way was clear for the Imperial Japanese Army to deploy the 2nd, the 12th, and the Guards Divisions of the Japanese 1st Army, commanded by Major-General Baron Tamemoto Kuroki, into Korea. The total strength of Japanese force was about 42,500 men. The Japanese 1st Army advanced quickly northwards from Chemulpo (modern Incheon), with advance units entering Pyongyang on 21 February 1904 and Anju by 18 March 1904. Learning their lessons in logistics and transport from the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army hired some 10,000 local laborers at wages well above the local norms, and paid also for any food and supplies procured locally. This contrasted greatly with the behavior of the Russian troops previously in northern Korea.

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