RUSSIANS AND THE BAYONET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2651, 4 January 1905, Page 25

RUSSIANS AND THE BAYONET.

Ever since the war began the Russians have been talking about what they would do when, they got at the Japanese^ with the bayonet. They went further; at. the battle of the Yalu and in many a subsequent fight they have stated that the Japanese would not face the Russian bayonet. And this in spite of the memorable passage of the Yalu and the even stronger testimony of Nan-Shan to the contrary. A month ago General Dragomiroff, in his letter to the 14th' Infantry Division farewelling to the Far. Easi>, said that the bayonet was the weapon par excellence of the Russian, and bade the men to make the' utmost use of it, for no enemy would stand before the" Russian bayonet. » - , Mr Bennet Burleigb, smarting from what he considers treatment derogatory to his acknowledged standing, and rather prone to fault-finding with' the senior Japanese' officers, had a chance of seeing what >the Russians could do with the bayonet. It was in the fighting round Liao-yang:, when the Japanese infantry of the Third Division took Scrub Hill, a part of the Shushan defences. Thi9 is what he writes: — "At the east end of Scrub Hill there was a Russian work, about 75yds in diameter, which had been dug and blasted into the loose earth and rock. It was protected by outer trenches, and on the foot of the slope, 150 yds or so away, there were double lines of rifle pits, banked wire entanglements, and cheval de frise. The 6in guns (taken at Nan-sha-n) had breached . the parapet of -the fort in two places. Watching the work on the.JScrub Hill I saw the sight of the day, the"" greatest achievement of men in war. Groups of little shortlegged Japanese soldiers started up and began moving down the range towards the neok which separated them from the Scrub Hill. Many dropped. Those left ran on. The wounded men who iver«, hit and could not run on helped their comWdes by shooting at the Russians, who wore now showing above the works, firing rapidly and hurling a sheet of leaden rain at the dauntless stormers. In open formation, in squads of ten, twenties, and forties, the cotton-khaki-clad Japanese ran, those in the rear hasjeiiihg to catch v?p with the foremost. The getting through the entanglements and crossing the pitfalls took a fearful time. It made even the onlookers' flesh creep as the troops strove to pick their way, though shells burst in their faces, bullets whipped the dust, and most of the men were knocked over violently and fell to rise no more. But the weak remnant, not more than 40, afc last got through, and ran without pause. The Russians despatched about a dozen of them before they had covered 50 yards, but the scattered handful of men never !Y&Y.er.e4 flev^r locked back, but strove. tQ

T run faster than ever straight for th*» breach. Then I saw another curious spectacle. After the first three or four had got , in, instantly a stream of Russian soldiers jumped out from the rear of the works, and, throwing down their rifles, sprinted for their lives along the Scrub Hill to the rear, dodging down the reverse slopes, scurrying like rabbits in all directions. The Muscovites ran wildly in search of cover. The Japanese, without pausing, dashed in, and very few of the Russian soldiers, I b&lieve, waited to cross bayonets or swords with them.., Still, the trenches did showthat some of them tarried and met their fate with soldierly courage." Here v r as an admirable and striking instance when everything was in favour of the defending Russians. They had successfully repulsed several previous attacks. They were fresh, in a selected position, and had plenty of time to make up their minds what to do. What they did not do was to beat the Japanese at bayonet fighting.