The battle developed into a struggle for possession of Mukden, the ancient Manchu capital, near which lie the Imperial Tombs of the founders of the Manchu dynasty, a spot sacred throughout the length and breadth of China. The battle lines around this city stretched for one hundred miles. The fighting began on February 19. On March 7th the Russians already seeing disaster in the advance made by the Japanese under General Nogi, toward cutting off the line of retreat north of Mukden, fell back from the centre along the Sha-ho River and on March 10 evacuated Mukden, beginning a retreat that was turned into a disastrous rout by the desperate flank attacks of the Japanese from both sides. The Russian losses to March 13, when the Battle of Mukden actually came to a close, were 175,000 men, killed, wounded and prisoners; 60 guns; 25,000 rounds of small arm ammunition and immense quantities of stores. The Japanese casualties to March 12 were 41,222 killed, wounded and missing and several hundred of the missing were recovered in the capture of Mukden. The Japanese sent 43,000 prisoners to Japan as one of the results of the victory. [Sidenote: The Ancient City of Mukden] Mukden, round which the greatest battle in history raged, is, without exception, the most interesting place in the whole of Northern China. In the eyes of all Manchurians it is the one holy city in the world, for it is here that the tombs of the founders of the Manchu dynasty are situated. For this reason the Chinese Government demanded that the sacred precincts of the Imperial Tombs must not be violated by foul warfare, and both sides engaged in the horrible work of killing, entered into solemn undertakings to respect the sanctity of the famous burial grounds. The great city stands in the middle of a vast alluvial plain, surrounded by rich and highly cultivated land. The population of Mukden is over a quarter of a million, and the city is modelled on a similar plan to that of Peking, presenting an imposing appearance, in spite of the decay into which many of the ancient buildings have been allowed to fall. The railway, which runs north to Harbin, does not pass within a mile of the city, the Chinese having refused to allow the neighborhood of the sacred tombs to be desecrated by the construction of an iron road in the immediate vicinity. The station is consequently about a mile away from the city, but on alighting from the train, one is immediately struck by the sight of the tremendous brick walls, 60 feet high, which surround the inner town. This is built in the form of a square a mile wide, and entrance is gained through eight enormous brick gates, surrounded by watch-towers and batteries. Outside this, suburbs extend for about a mile in every direction, and the whole is surrounded by a mud rampart from ten to twenty feet in height.