From east to west the five Japanese armies were assigned under the following commanders—Kawamura, Kuroki, Nodzu, Oku, and Nogi. Field Marshal Oyama’s plan was for these five armies to form a crescent nearly one hundred miles in length, the cusps of which would gradually draw together, the western cusp being finally thrown forward so as to form a closed curve with the eastern. The plan thus outlined worked with perfect success. Kawamura, in the eastern sector, began the attack first on February 22, driving the Russians back toward Tita. For over a fortnight the fiercest sort of fighting continued in this part of the field, in the midst of zero weather and almost continuous snowstorms. It ended with the Russians driven across the Hun River and the right horn of the crescent having reached its final position opposite Mukden. Meanwhile, Kuroki broke through the formidable works which guarded the road to the Hun River from Pensihu, and arrived on March 5 in line with the general advance. Nodzu, to the left of Kuroki, drove the enemy from his last outworks south of the Sha River, and on March 6 paused to await the other turning attacks on east and west. Oku, between the Sha and Hun Rivers, rolled back the enemy’s line until its superior numbers and strong intrenchments near Patishu, about ten miles from Mukden, forced him to await the final turning movement of Nogi’s men on the extreme west. These men of Nogi’s were Port Arthur veterans, who looked upon this work as a mere picnic. On March 1 they reached Sinmintung, thirty-three miles west of Mukden, where they wheeled to the right. They carried position after position, assisted Oku’s attacks against the enemy’s position southwest of Mukden, swinging eastward in an arch-shaped line with a front of fifteen miles. The crisis of the fight had come. On March 7 Kuropatkin gave the order to retreat. All along the hundred-mile line the Japanese closed in. The whole stupendous structure of the defence fell to pieces in an instant. The Russians poured northward almost in a rout, and on March 10 the Japanese occupied Mukden. The Russians had left more than 30,000 dead on the field, lost 50,000 prisoners, and they had over 100,000 wounded. The total Japanese casualties, as reported by Oyama, were 50,000. [Illustration: TYPICAL SCENE DURING THE RAINY-WEATHER CAMPAIGN ALONG THE HUN ] [Illustration: GETTING THE RANGE THROUGH THE HYPOSCOPE FROM 203-METER HILL ] [Illustration: CHINESE DIGGING GRAVES FOR RUSSIAN DEAD AT HIGH HILL ] VIEWS AT PORT ARTHUR AND WITH A RUSSIAN BATTERY ON THE HUN RIVER [Illustration: TENTH RUSSIAN DRAGOONS SCOUTING NEAR MUKDEN ] [Illustration: ON THE MARCH ALONG THE ROAD NEAR MUKDEN ] [Illustration: CHUNCHUSE BANDITS RIDING THROUGH SINMINTUNG ] RUSSIAN CAVALRY AND NATIVE HORSEMEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF MUKDEN [Illustration: MUSTER OF ONE OF KUROKI’S DIVISIONS AFTER THE BATTLE OF MUKDEN ]