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LIEUT.-GENERAL NIKOLAI ALEXANDROVITCH TRETYAKOV,
COMMANDING 5TH REGIMENT.
[Frontispiece.
MY EXPERIENCES AT
NAN SHAN AND
PORT ARTHUR
WITH THE FIFTH EAST SIBERIAN RIFLES
By
LIEUT.-GENERAL N. A. TRETYAKOV
TRANSLATED BY
LIEUTENANT A. C. ALFORD, R.A.
EDITED BY
CAPTAIN F. NOLAN BAKER, R.A.
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
HUGH REES, Ltd.
119 PALL MALL, S.W.
1911
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED AND BOUND BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
PREFACE
In 1909 there appeared in the Russian militaryjournal, “Voenny Sbornik,” twelve articles from thepen of a distinguished Russian officer.
The writer—Lieutenant-General (then Colonel)Tretyakov—as commander of the Western Section ofthe Defences had taken a prominent and gallantpart in the historic struggle for the possession ofPort Arthur.
His narrative—of which this work is a translation—placedbefore his countrymen, in simple and intimatelanguage, his experiences at Nan Shan andwithin the beleaguered fortress. The impressioncreated throughout Russia was deep and immediate.
No more touching and direct appeal to judge itsbeaten heroes sympathetically and fairly has everbeen made to a nation. Six thousand miles fromthe Fatherland the author’s regiment, the 5thSiberian Rifles—and many another—fought to thedeath for God and the Czar. This plain tale is afitting record of their soldierly devotion. As such weoffer it to English readers, assured that every pagemust bring home the conviction that here we havethe actual history of the fighting line—as perhapsnothing else in our language gives it.
We follow the fortunes of the General’s own unit,[vi]