From the wargames campaign of the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 being fought by the Reynella Private Wargames Group, South Australia. Korea, Saint Valentines Day, 14th of February 1904. After the initial shock of hostilities commencing suddenly on the 8TH RUSSIAN land forces had their first real encounter with the invading Japanese Army at the town of HO KUN PU on the river CHUN HO. Advance units of the Japanese First Army, under the command of General Baron Kuroki, had arrived on the 13th to find that a local Korean official had taken the initiative to destroy the bridge and deny it to either side, hoping his town would be left alone. The official was sought out and publicly executed by the orders of Major General Matsumaga, the first senior officer to arrive, but this momentary distraction could not bring the bridge back. Its value was not high during most of the year when the river was easily forded at almost any point. In the wet weather however, only the area immediately around the bridge remained fordable. In deep winter and during the Spring thaw, only the bridge itself was feasible as a means of crossing the icy water. As the winter was breaking early, the river was flowing fast and cold. By next morning Lt. General Baron Nishijima, commander of 2nd Division had arrived and took command of the field. The forces available to him were his own 3rd Brigade under Matsumaga, of which only three battalions of the 4th Regiment were present, 3 Batteries of his field artillery under Colonel Tada , a Pioneer Battalion and his Divisional Cavalry, the 2nd Regiment, of only 3 squadrons. These were also re-inforced by the Guard Cavalry Regiment of 3 squadrons, from the Guards Division and two batteries of mountain guns from the 12th Field Artillery Regt. under Lt.Col. Fujimuro. As intelligence showed the Russians fast approaching, Nishijima asked for more help which came in the form of 5 Battalions of the 5th KOBI (reserve) Brigade under Major General Aibara, which arrived on the evening of the 13th but he was advised that the GUARD KOBI (Reserve) BRIGADE, was sending four battalions under Maj. General Umesawa to assist and they should arrive on the 14th. Umesawa was bringing with him a single battery of 7cm ARISAKI fieldguns. The 2nd Cavalry Brigade commanded by Maj. General Prince Kan-Yi was also sent, this having with it a machinegun company and horse artillery of quite recent type. The Russian Western Army Group under the command of General of Cavalry Baron Bilderling, realised the importance of the bridge to the Japanese advance and ordered Lt. General Wolkov of XVII Corps to thrust forward the 1st Brigade of his 3rd Infantry Division and 2nd Independent Dragoon Cavalry Brigade of his Corps. Baron Bilderling attached the two Cossack Brigades of the Western Army Group cavalry reserve to the force, a Siberian Rifle Brigade and commandeered two batteries of heavier guns from 3rd Siberian Artillery Regiment of the Army Group reserve. One of these comprised useful British model 5" Howitzers, the other more doubtful old Krupp 9cm guns. The combined force was under the direct command of Major General Janshul, but both Wolkov and Bilderling also proceeded there with their respective staff. On arrival they were not entirely clear if the Japanese occupied the entire town of HO-KUN-PU, which comprised an 'Old village' and river dock area on the Eastern side of the river and a 'Walled town' on the Western side. Japanese cavalry could be seen to the west of the walled town, but these were only forming a skirmish screen covering the road along the Western bank of the river. Fieldguns could be seen East of and to the rear, of the small wooded hill near the bridge and it was suspected that infantry were in the woods. The sight of Japanese flags amongst the trees confirmed this. These troops were obviously covering the Japanese left and the western approaches to the bridge. The Japanese cavalry in sight, were therefore probably covering the right. It remained unclear it the Japanese centre was occupying the town on both sides of the river or not. Just after dawn on the 14th of February, the Russians moved off under plans laid during the night by Bilderling and Wolkov. 3 battalions of infantry would assault the river dock area and old village, while 3 others attacked the walled farm, then passed through there to assault the wooded hill. The heavier artillery and howitzers would shoot in support of the farm attack at first, but would then lift their fire and shell the woods. On the West bank of the CHUN-HO, the Cossacks were to drive back the Japanese cavalry seen the night before and sweep around the old walled town. The Dragoon Brigade and Rifle Brigade were to be held in reserve of the Cossacks to exploit any success they might achieve. The over-all plan was to drive the Japanese away from the bridge area to avoid a street fight in the walled town. At first light it was seen that Japanese Cavalry were still spread in a thin skirmish line to the West of the river and forward of the town. The battery was still in position to the east of the wood and cooking fires and flags indicated Japanese troops were still in the woods. Nothing had therefore changed as far as the Russian intelligence information was concerned. The Russian guns thundered out, joined by the horse artillery attached to the Dragoons. Despite the Japanese Cavalry being in skirmish order, success was achieved within the first few salvoes and casualties inflicted. The Japanese Cavalry concerned were Divisional cavalry of the 2nd Division, therefore comprising only 300 sabres in three squadrons of 100 each. Vastly inferior to the Approaching Russian cavalry where all regiments comprised 600 to 1200 sabres. After the initial surprise the Japanese artillery on the East side of the woods, returned fire, inflicting immediate casualties on the Russian Infantry columns approaching the farm. Unfortunately for the Russian infantry, these were some of the most modern artillery the Japanese had, being Krupp Model 00 weapons capable of rapid fire. Because of this, after inflicting some damage on the walled farm the Russian guns changed target. The howitzers still engaged the woods as planned, but the 9cm brought the Japanese guns under fire. Meanwhile the Japanese Divisional cavalry fell back and formed up in their two small Regiments to face the oncoming Russian formations. Both combined, equalled only one of the two smaller Cossack formations approaching and was half the size of the largest. At this time however they were heartened by the arrival of the Cavalry Brigade under Prince Kan-Yi which commenced to deploy on the west of the town in support of the Divisional cavalry regiments. None the less, the two regiments of this brigade were of only 400 sabres each. Great things were expected of them however as they were supported by a machinegun detachment and some very modern Krupp Horseguns. Unfortunately for them, the Cossack commander decided he was not going to wait for them to finish deploying and ordered his units to charge. The two small Divisional Cavalry regiments attempted to take the initial shock, but were ridden down and swept aside by the tide of Cossacks, which continued on, crashing into the two newly arrived regiments. The victorious Cossacks caught these two formations standing, having only just deployed and inflicted massive casualties. They also broke and fled. Just behind the main cavalry body, the machinegun unit had completed deployment, but due to the rapidly moving situation, had only a chance of a short burst of fire before the Cossacks were amongst them, cutting them down. In doing so they also rode down the HQ of Prince Kan-Yi , who was killed. Just beyond was a large Mountaingun battery that had not been visible behind the Cavalry screen. These fired devastatingly as the Cossacks approached, but were of an older type incapable of Rapid fire. After the initial success of heavy casualties on their attackers, they were unable to fire a second time before they were simply overwhelmed and sabred. Still not done, the Cossacks surged on, unopposed, through the back gardens behind the walled town, sweeping up the Japanese Horse battery before it could even unlimber. The mountain gun mules and HQ were similarly ridden down, adding to the captured booty. Meanwhile the largest Cossack formation sighted the first battalion of the 39th KOBI Regiment, behind the walled town in reserve with Major General Aibara present. The Japanese were in deep line, with their right flank to the Cossacks. Before they could do anything to prevent disaster, the Cossacks had charged through the gardens and crashed into their flank. The Japanese infantry were devastated, the attackers rolling up their lines with almost no resistance. In the panic that ensued, only a few escaped and the luckless General Aibara was forced to hastily climb the wall of the town to avoid being ridden down by hordes of victorious Cossacks. By now the Russian Infantry attacks on the old village and farm were proceeding and apart from a few Japanese snipers were found to be un-occupied. Russian Howitzer fire on the woods had been taking its effect however and many of the troops of 3rd Brigade had become casualties, including Major General Matsumaga who, with his staff, had taken a direct hit from a 5" howitzer shell which had actually fallen beyond its point of aim. In the artillery duel, the Japanese had also been coming off badly, despite the antiquity of the 9cm guns opposing them. It was obvious that under direct assault this force may have some difficulty in holding the wood. Infantry casualties had reached 50%, artillery casualties 75% and the Russian Infantry had not yet attacked. On the Western flank the horse artillery with the Russian Cavalry had come up and deployed to fired along the trench in which a battalion of the KOBI Brigade were sheltering. It was obvious that the Russian Cavalry did not have the strength to take the walled town by themselves, and with the casualties they had suffered, despite their massive victory, would be incapable of attacking a determined Infantry force which was no longer surprised and would be able to bring rifle fire against them. As the GUARD KOBI Brigade were now arriving on the Pu-Lin-Ho Road, it was decided that a General withdrawal should be carried out at once. The desperate situation of the Japanese was helped only by the fact that neither the Russian Dragoons or Siberian Infantry had followed up in support of the Cossacks. If that had happened it is unlikely any of the Japanese of the Western side of the river could have escaped. Lt. General Baron Nishijima issued orders accordingly, signalling to the 3rd Brigade that they should retire along their side of the river bank before the Russian Infantry closed, while the 5th KOBI Brigade fell back on the GUARD KOBI Brigade along the Pu-Lin-Ho road. This then brought the battle to a close. The action had been over in a mere three hours and the victorious Russians surged forward to occupy the field. Japanese casualties had been severe. Their *only* Cavalry Brigade had been routed with loss of 60% of its troopers, but had also lost their machinegun company and an intact Horse Battery to the enemy. The death of their Brigade Commander, Prince Kan-Yi in defeat, would also be questioned by the Emperor who would need re-assurance that his relative had died in the true traditions of Bushido and the Samurai spirit. The KOBI Brigade had one battalion destroyed and the large Mountaingun battery attached, captured by the Cossacks. The 3rd Brigade had suffered 50% loss and 75% of its artillery as well as its commanding officer Major General Matsumaga. A total of 3,250 killed and wounded of which many of the wounded were captured. Another 300 were captured unhurt. They lost 2 modern fieldguns, 2 modern horse guns, a Machinegun section and a large Mountaingun battery. The fieldguns had to be abandoned, because Russian shrapnel shells had killed all the crews, although the guns themselves were intact. The breech blocks were removed before they were left to the enemy. The Horseguns had been captured intact, including draught horses and ammunition train. The train and ammunition of the Mountainguns and Machinegun section had also been captured. Casualties to the Russians had been restricted to a few units. The Ojarovski Regiment of Terek Cossacks, had suffered by far the worst, having taken full brunt of the barrage by the Japanese Mountainguns. Their casualties were more than 60%. The Kavkassy Cossacks had suffered almost 33% loss, but the largest regiment of all, the 5th Don Cossack Regiment had suffered negligible casualties. The 1st Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment had been severely handled by the Japanese artillery until the Russian guns could help. It had lost 75% of its men in the attempt to advance across open ground. One of the sections of 9cm guns had also suffered serious casualties. A total of 1,900 Russian killed and wounded. No prisoners or guns were lost to the enemy. This battle was a wargame fought out in 15mm, using "Birth of a Century" rules by Mal Wright with assistance from Les Hunt. It was the preliminary action to a campaign for Manchuria 1904-05 and intended to familiarise all players with the rules and forces involved, their orders of battle etc. There was no real battle of HO-KUN-PU, the above was purely fictional. Playing time was, co-incidentally three hours in both actual time and tabletop time. Because the author of the rules was commanding the Japanese and took a thorough 'drubbing' his fellow wargamers took great delight in referring to it as "The Saint Valentines Day Massacre." It having taken place on the evening of that day in real life. The campaign continues and the Japanese are now seeking revenge and restoration of their honour! BANZAI !! RUSSIAN INFANTRY OCCUPYING THE OLD TOWN OF HO KUN PU ON THE RIGHT OF THE RIVER. Back to The Gauntlet No. 16 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com