In 1884 … … 12 battalions In 1894 … … 20 „ In 1903 … … 63 „ In 1904 … … 140 „
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF EASTERN ASIA, SHOWING POSITION OF THEATRE OF WAR WITH REFERENCE TO NEIGHBOURING TERRITORIES.]
[43] [As chief of the Headquarter Staff.—ED.]
[44] [Russia is divided into thirteen military districts.—ED.]
[45] Besides the allotments for artillery re-armament and house allowance.
[46] 96 battalions, 57 squadrons, and 236 guns.
[47] [Of the thirty-six East Siberian Rifle Regiments in the Far East when war broke out, all had two battalions except those of one brigade, which had three.—ED.]
[49] The proposals as to Kronstadt were approved before I became War Minister.
[50] Of this number, 8 East Siberian Rifle Divisions, 96 battalions; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Siberian Reserve Divisions, 48 battalions; independent reserve battalions, 12; 2 brigades, 31st and 35th Divisions, 16 battalions—total, 172 battalions. All these troops were in April, 1904, in Siberia, in the Pri-Amur district, and in Manchuria. Of them, 27 battalions constituted the garrison of Port Arthur; 21 battalions the garrison of Vladivostok and the South Ussuri district; the 1st Siberian Division was kept in rear; while the independent reserve battalions guarded the railway. In April, 1904, of these 172 battalions, there were only 108 in the Manchurian army, distributed from the Ya-lu to Newchuang, and from Ta-shih-chiao along the railway to Omsk, as the 4th Siberian Corps was still on the way out.
[52] [In addition to the ordinary Quinquennial Budget.—ED.]
[54] [Literally, “A man’s own shirt is nearest his own skin.”—ED.]
The War Minister’s opinion on the Manchurian and Korean questions from the year 1900 to 1903—What he did to avoid a rupture with Japan.
Not only was the war unexpected; it was against our interests, and contrary to the wishes of the Emperor. Had it ended victoriously, those who were responsible for it would have found themselves national heroes for having laid the train for our success in the Far East with such sagacity; but the premature peace forced on us by our internal troubles prevented a continuation of the struggle till victory was ours. All classes of society were convulsed by our misfortunes, and are now insistent in a desire to hear the truth as to the causes of the war, and to learn the names of those who turned a deaf ear to the Emperor’s expressed wish for peace, and, by sins of commission or omission, so steered the ship of State as to bring about a rupture. The existing freedom of the Press has already permitted the publication of various opinions on these subjects, and amongst much fiction certain facts have now been revealed, the publication of which could only have been possible with the knowledge and permission of interested persons holding high appointments in the different Ministries.