I instructed General Dembovski to organize the defence of the Mandarin road at Ta-wa, and for that purpose to utilize the troops retiring along it. By 10 a.m. the distance between the portions of the enemy on the west and east of the railway was only seven miles. It was vital to stop any further contraction of the area of retirement of the 2nd Army. This might be done by blocking the Japanese advance to the railway from the west and north-west. As I was more anxious about the latter direction than any other, I moved out the eighteen battalions under Zarubaeff, which had joined my reserve from the 1st Army, on to the line Ma-kou-chia-tzu–Yang-tzu-tun, and ten battalions of the 72nd Division on the front Tung-shan-tzu–Hsiao-hsin-tun. The first force covered the railway between Hu-shih-tai and San-tai-tzu, and the second barred the enemy’s advance and supported the right flank of Artamonoff’s column. As a reserve to these troops, in case of pressure from the east, a brigade of the 1st Siberian Division was left near Hu-shih-tai station. By 4 p.m. the state of affairs on the Mandarin road became worse, as, immediately after General Levestam’s force had retired behind Pu-ho, Dembovski also abandoned his positions near Ta-wa, and moved off to the west. The fighting ceased as darkness came on. The last of the 2nd Army to fall back were portions of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Rifle Regiments under Lieutenant-Colonel Korniloff; they broke through near Wa-tzu in the pitch dark, though hemmed in by the enemy on three sides. We continued to retire during the night, covered by the rearguard under Muiloff and that of Zarubaeff’s column. On the 11th several units of the 1st and 3rd Armies collected at the village of Yi-lu; but the greater part of the 3rd Army fell back direct on Tieh-ling. Bilderling was unable to carry out his proposal of remaining on the River Yi-lu till the 12th, and, having taken command of Shileiko’s force, after slight opposition retired northwards from Yi-lu village. By doing this he placed the rearguards of the 2nd Army that were still south of this point in a very precarious position. The main bodies of all the armies began on the 11th to occupy a position eight miles south of Tieh-ling on the Fan Ho. The 2nd Army took up a line to the west and the first one to the east of the Mandarin road, the 3rd remaining in reserve. Everything possible was done to restore order amongst the troops, transport, and parks. On the 13th the enemy’s advanced troops reached our positions, and on the 14th they attacked, directing their main effort on the line between the sections held by the 2nd Siberians and 72nd Division. All their attacks were repulsed with great loss, and many hundreds of dead were left in front of our position. Our losses were 900.