Battle of Tashihchiao The Battle of Tashihchiao ( Jpn . 大石橋の戦い " Taisekihashi no Tatakai " ) was a small - scale land engagement fought on 24 – 25 July 1904 , during the Japanese advance toward Liaoyang in first stage of the Russo - Japanese War . Tashihchiao ( modern " Dashiqiao " ) is located about 25 kilometers [ 16 miles ] southwest of the city of Haicheng , in present - day Liaoning Province , China . The town of Tashihchiao was of strategic importance in the Russo - Japanese War , as it was a railroad junction between the main line on the South Manchurian Railway and a spur which led to the old treaty port of Yingkou ( Newchwang ) . Control of both was essential for further advances by Japanese forces towards Liaoyang and Mukden . Preparetions . On the Japanese side were the 3rd , 5th and 6th Divisions of the Japanese Second Army under General Yasukata Oku . After the victory at the Battle of Telissu , General Oku rested for 4 days for re - supply , and to bring his 6th Division up to full strength . By 6 July 1904 , he was ready to move north again , and his four divisions reached the outskirts of Kaiping on 7 July 1904 , and through night movements , were into the hills behind Kaiping by the morning of 9 July 1904 . General Oku waited there for re - supply and was prepared for either combat or twenty additional days of marching on 23 July 1904 . On the Russian side was the First Siberian Army Corps under Lieutenant General Georgii Stakelberg ( consisting of surviving forces from the disaster at Telissu , which had retreated north towards Liaoyang , but which had received new orders diverting them to Kaiping , which they occupied on 20 June 1904 ) , and the Fourth Siberian Army Corps under Lieutenant General Nikolai Zarubaev , entrenched behind Kaiping to the north at the town of Tashihchiao . The total strength of the Russian forces was roughly 20 , 000 men . Battle . General Alexei Kuropatkin had personally overseen the defenses at Tashihchiao . Stakelberg ' s forces were on the right , with clear field of fire and isolated hills which provided strategically placed observation posts . Zarubaiev ' s forces were on the more vulnerable left , which was hilly and full of ravines . General Oku moved with uncharacteristic caution , as the geography did not favor his usual tactic of flanking maneuvers . Instead , he issued orders for the 3rd , 5th , and 6th Divisions to make a full frontal assault , with the 4th Division left out on far left as both a diversion and a reserve . The combat began at 0530 on 24 July 1904 , with a long artillery duel . As temperatures soared past 34 °C , the Russians began to suffer from the effects of the heat . A nervous Stakelberg repeatedly asked Zarubaiev about withdrawing . Japanese forces began probing attacks by noon . However , by 1730 , although the Japanese had suffered heavy casualties due to strong Russian artillery fire , they had not been successful in dislodging the Russians from any of their entrenched positions . The battle was determined at 2200 with a night attack by the 5th Division ; by the afternoon of 25 July 1904 , the town of Tashihchiao was in Japanese hands . Stakelberg had again conducted a brilliant retreat under fire . There are wildly varying accounts on the number of casualties at the Battle of Tashihchaio , but historical consensus indicates about a thousand on each side . Predictably , Viceroy Yevgeni Alekseyev was infuriated by Stakelberg ’ s withdrawal , and Kuropatkin supported his subordinate . General Oku remained at Tashihchaio until 1 August 1904 , when he again marched northward with 3 divisions , while the 5th Division was transferred to the new Japanese 4th Army under General Nozu Michitsura .