depôt, was of immense importance to us. Large bodies of Japanese and Hun-huses were also reported as moving in the direction of Tsit-si-har with the intention of blowing up the important railway-bridge across the River Nonni, and thus cutting our railway communication. One of the large bridges near the station of Kung-chu-ling was, after a skirmish with our guards, destroyed. In the face of such “circumstantial evidence” as the loss of guns and the destruction of bridges, it was impossible not to credit General Chichagoff’s reports (the extent of their exaggeration we did not find out till later), and to refuse him assistance. The security of our communications was literally vital, for even their temporary disorganization meant catastrophe. Not only the flow of reinforcements to the front, but the collection and distribution of local supplies would have ceased. As we were over 5,300 miles away from our base (Russia), we had been forced to form a local supply base, and the loss of this would have threatened the army with starvation. As, therefore, the actual numbers guarding the railway were small, I increased them by one brigade of the 16th Army Corps and four Cossack regiments. My staff inclined to the opinion, indeed, that six Cossack regiments should have been sent. In February the Japanese moved forward in strength, carrying out a frontal attack combined with simultaneous turning movements against both our flanks. To carry out such an operation successfully implies great numerical superiority on the side of the attackers, or else great attenuation along their front; and relying, apparently, on the strength of their positions, the Japanese did weaken their front to a very great extent. Our best plan would accordingly have been to have attacked them in the centre in the hope of breaking through there, and then operating afterwards against the outflanking movements. But this might have been disastrous, for if they succeeded in holding their frontal positions with comparatively small numbers stiffened by extra artillery and machine guns and well reinforced by reserves [which were in their case splendidly organized], we might still have been outflanked by the turning movements.