Two days later General Oku took up the running for the Japanese, and started to roll up the Russian forces from the south. Moving out from Erh-tau-ho-tse, which is 12 miles south of Kaiping, he marched upon that town along the road westwards of the railway, driving the enemy's outposts before him. By noon on the 9th he had forced the Russians, who were under General Zarubaieff, Commander of the Fourth Siberian Army Corps, back upon their main position at Kaiping itself, and here it appeared that General Kuropatkin had ordered a stand to be made. Upwards of 30,000 men, with numerous guns, were in the neighborhood at the disposal of Zarubaieff and Oku prepared for a stout resistance. But as a matter of fact the opposition offered to him turned out to be comparatively feeble. After an artillery duel lasting for four hours his troops advanced and seized the heights extending from Haishan-chai on the west to Shwangtingshan on the east, from both of which eminences they could command Kaiping. Reinforcements had been hurried up from the Russian rear, but they were soon ordered northward again, and the whole body evacuated the town under cover of heavy gun fire on the afternoon of the same day. The cause of this ineffectual resistance on the part of Zarubaieff was the advance of the Third Army of Japan from Fenshuiling, which acted in co-ordination throughout with General Oku's columns, and threatened to outflank the Russians. To avoid a great disaster General Zarubaieff was compelled to retreat, and as a consequence of this skilful manoeuvring, General Oku was enabled to occupy the important position of Kaiping with a loss which was almost negligible, another big step being thus gained in the progress northwards. [Sidenote: Field-Marshal Oyama]