As operations continued we made corresponding progress in our tactics. We learned how to attack and make use of the ground, and how to employ artillery, and learned by heart the lesson of keeping strong reserves in hand [at the Hsi-ping-kai position the reserve of the 1st Manchurian Army alone consisted of eighty battalions]. We also learned how to obtain intelligence of hostile forces. At the close of the war our knowledge of the Japanese dispositions was more complete than it had ever been; indeed, we had accurate information of the exact whereabouts, not only of their main bodies, but also of many individual units. (This was chiefly obtained from prisoners.) We received as reinforcements 300,000 regular soldiers then with the colours, most of whom had volunteered for the front, and the 1905 recruits. These young soldiers were ready to face any danger; they arrived in the highest spirits, and their cheerfulness and evident keenness to see some fighting did one’s heart good. The older reservists were mostly employed on duties in the rear. As a result, volunteers were always forthcoming for the numerous raids and reconnaissances made by the 1st Manchurian Army from the Hsi-ping-kai position, or for any other adventurous work. The mainspring of the improvement in our spirit, however, was the more careful selection made of the officers appointed to command units. Many of these now began to display military qualifications of a high order. The fighting round Mukden had produced generals of a calibre upon which we could have fully relied in any subsequent battles. As regards the general question of the readiness of the 1st Manchurian Army for renewed fighting after the Mukden battle, I concluded my report on this force as follows: “With the occupation of the Hsi-ping-kai position the army found itself confronted with a great work. “No map of the neighbouring country existed, and the little information we had of the enemy was chiefly remarkable for its absolute vagueness. There were no roads to the rear, no local depôts for the supply of the army, and no fords over the Sungari River, which was a standing menace, as the usual Spring floods were still ahead of us. “The co-ordinated and willing efforts of all ranks, however, soon changed all this. The fortified line of works from Hsi-ping-kai Station to the village of Kung-chu-ling became practically invincible, and the order was given to use it as a _place d’armes_ and accumulate strong reserves there. In May there were eighty battalions in reserve behind the left flank; practically one-half of the five army corps was located here. “A two-verst[54] map was made, showing not only the country in our rear, but the strip of ground right up to the enemy’s positions.