Nothing could withstand so fierce an onset. The first position was won, but the enemy clung gallantly to the second line of trenches, and their artillery devastated the front. Colonel Ota essayed an assault from a valley to the right, but was slain with a hundred of his men. Lieutenant Nakamura, sword in one hand and the flag of the Rising Sun in the other, fell within a few paces from the Russian trench, and the narrow valley was heaped up with dead and dying. The assault had failed, but the enemy withdrew in the night. The way was now open for further advance, and after sunset two brigades marched North, and drove the enemy from the heights on which their guns were posted. These guns inflicted severe losses on the infantry, and delayed so long that they ought to have been captured. But the advance was not quick enough, and only ammunition wagons fell into our hands. Next day--the 14th--the enemy was retreating hurriedly on all sides, and strenuous efforts were made to close in the three loops. While the army of the West pressed hard upon the railway and fought with the object of turning the enemy’s right flank, the army of the Centre drove them back upon the Sandy river. Here the Russians did not escape without enormous losses. Across a broad cultivated valley North of the heights stormed on the previous day runs a low range of hills. Upon two of these eminences the enemy were entrenched, and had a strong rearguard of infantry to cover the retreat. Against this position the Japanese advanced in the afternoon. I watched them from a neighbouring hill as they approached from a flank and moved steadily forward in extended order under heavy rifle fire. But it was soon manifest that the _morale_ of the enemy had been shaken by the disasters of the preceding days, for the resistance was not great. The hill on the South-west was carried with a rush, while that toward the East was still defended. Pressing slowly onward, the infantry drove the enemy across the low saddle, over which two or three thousand Russians were retiring. Then began the slaughter. The retreating force was caught between two rapidly converging fires. From the summit of the Western hill the Japanese swept the saddle and the plain beyond with rifle fire, while from the East came advancing lines. Through this deadly pass streamed the enemy. It was a spectacle terrible to behold. Over a thousand dead bodies marked the path of the Russians, yet never a white flag was raised. Even on the plain they did not escape. Shrapnel pursued them beyond the banks of the river. On our right flank the pursuit was not so vigorous though the enemy suffered very severely, leaving many dead and wounded on the field. Our men were too exhausted to continue the carnage. They had fought without rest for seven days and the units had become mixed. On the night of the 14th hostilities were practically suspended. We were in possession of the South bank of