From the valley the position looked unassailable save by a frontal attack against an entrenched precipice--an assault from which even the votaries of frontal attacks would shrink. But the Japanese are not easily deterred by appearances; they hold fast to the sound doctrine that every position, however strong, has its weak point, and that the first duty of a commander is to discover that weakness. So the day passed in desultory fighting and at night the real preparations were made. Among military experts in Europe there is a tradition that the Japanese avoid movements in the night. It is the part of wisdom to prefer the light; yet this theory, like many more affecting the Japanese, will bear revision. Under cover of darkness General Inouye made his disposition for the assault on the morrow. His command consisted of three infantry regiments, five mountain batteries and some cavalry. Two regiments were moved forward to the front of Chaotoa. They lay in the maize fields hidden from view by the broad green leaves of the rising corn and spent the night in making breastworks. This front line stretched from the North side of the valley across the stream and extended over the plain on the enemy’s front and right. The Japanese right flank was within 900 mètres from the Russian trenches and their left was only 1,200 mètres distant. Before them were the deep river and the precipitous side of Chaotoa. One regiment, commanded by Colonel Hiraoka, who was the Japanese _attaché_ in the Boer war, remained in reserve for a most important mission.