Steadily indeed, and without pause, those flaming banners advanced upon the doomed Russian position. The swing round of General Hasewaga's troops to the left of Chiu-lien-cheng decided the fate of General Sassulitch's centre, and after four hours' fighting the Japanese, climbing up the ridges like cats, charged into the Russian trenches. All the defenders who remained to contest the charge were bayonetted or taken prisoners, but the main body of the 9th and 10th Siberian Regiments retreated stubbornly towards Hoh-mu-tang, contesting every inch of the ground. The heights, however, in this part of the field were won, and at 9 o'clock a great shout of "Banzai"--the Japanese form of "hurrah"--went up all along the line, as the banners of the Rising Sun were planted upon the ridge and waved proudly in the breeze. [Sidenote: Fight Desperately Against Fate] On their left the Russians under General Kashtalinsky were, as we have shown, making a more desperate resistance; but unable to obtain reinforcements in time, that gallant officer was compelled to retire before the advance of General Inouye's Division, which, by driving the battalion of the 22nd Regiment in rout before it at Yushukau, had completely crumpled up his flank. He therefore fell back slowly towards Hoh-mu-tang, fighting desperately against overwhelming odds opposed to him. It was not till noon, seven hours after the battle began, that reinforcements were at last sent to him. Then General Sassulitch ordered to his assistance the 11th Regiment, which all this time had been held in reserve well in the rear together with the 2nd Battery of the 6th Brigade of Field Artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel Mouravsky. [Sidenote: General Sassulitch's Retreat] With this new force General Kashtalinsky set about the heavy task of covering the retreat of the 12th and the 22nd Regiments, or as much of them as was left, and also of checking the Japanese advance if possible until the 9th and 10th Regiments had made sure of their communications along the road to Feng-hwang-cheng. It was now that the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the day took place, and that the Russians in particular suffered their heaviest losses. For no sooner had General Kuroki captured the whole ridge from Antung and Antushan in the south to Yukushan in the north than he ordered his force, strengthened by the reserves, to hasten at full speed along three lines in the direction of the Feng-whang-cheng road to cut off General Sassulitch's retreat. [Sidenote: The Japanese Chase]