The fire which was directed upon them from the Japanese lines was especially galling upon their left wing, and here, shortly before eleven o'clock, they began to give way, and ere long the whole force fell back in retreat. Their active enemy then sprang forward to the attack themselves and attempted to push the repulse home, but a strong rear guard held them in check, and prevented the reverse from becoming a rout. It afterwards became apparent that the reason for this retreat on the part of Count Keller's main body was the complete failure of the flanking movements which he had presumably intended to be conducted simultaneously. [Sidenote: Desperate Courage but Overwhelming Odds] But the attack upon their outposts upon the main road at three in the morning had put the whole Japanese army upon the _qui vive_, and both on the right and the left flanks preparations were made to meet such a manoeuvre as the Russian General had in view. On the left wing, as no enemy had appeared in sight by five o'clock, a company of the Japanese pushed forward towards Makumenza to wait for their approach. There it fell in with a Russian battalion and engaged it at once in a hot conflict. A second battalion came to the aid of the first, and for a time the little force of Japanese was in danger of being annihilated, but reinforcements quickly arrived, and though they were still numerically weaker than the Russians, they drove them back with heavy loss, and occupied the heights which commanded the approach from this point, completing the confusion of the enemy by directing a galling fire upon the main body which was now in full retreat along the road to Tawan. On the right flank the struggle was more obstinate and sanguinary. When the attack began at eight o'clock the Japanese were greatly outnumbered, and for a time one company had to hold its own against the onslaught of a whole battalion of the Russians, supported by a troop of cavalry. In the deadly conflict which ensued, every one of the Japanese officers fell upon the field, but notwithstanding their terrible losses the little band fought on with desperate courage against the overwhelming odds. The arrival of another Russian battalion seemed to threaten their complete destruction, but, fortunately, before long reinforcements were hurried up to the spot and the contest became more even. After a severe conflict, lasting for eight and a half hours, the Russians at length gave up the attempt to force the Japanese lines as hopeless, and fell back broken and defeated. [Illustration: MAP SHOWING TERRITORY ADJACENT TO LIAOYANG.] Thus at every point this attack, from which General Kuropatkin had hoped for so much, failed completely, and the superiority of the Japanese soldiery over their opponents was once more strikingly manifested. Kuroki's casualties amounted to about 300 killed and wounded, but the affair was much more expensive to the Russians, General Keller putting his losses at over 1,000 men.