General Fyodor Keller had assumed command of the Russian Eastern Force from General Zasulich after the
Battle of Yalu River. His force of 25,000 men held Motien Pass, in the middle of
Liaodong Peninsula, on the main road between Antung (modern
Dandong, China) and
Liaoyang. Keller, a loyal friend of General
Aleksey Kuropatkin and a student of General
Mikhail Skobelev, observed that the Japanese strategy was similar to that of the
First Sino-Japanese War (i.e. that the three Japanese armies would converge on
Haicheng, as they had 10 years previously). Kuropatkin agreed, and in an effort to fortify his position at Haicheng, he began a series of complex and confusing troop movements as he endeavored to plug real or imaginary gaps in his defensive line. Keller, already weakened by the loss of men at the
Battle of Te-li-Ssu, was further forced to give up two more
regiments to Kuropatkin's defenses at Haicheng. The
Japanese 1st Army, under command of General
Kuroki Tamemoto, paused at
Fenghuangshan (modern
Fengcheng,
Liaoning Province,
China) from 2–8 July to await supplies and reinforcements. Kuroki decided to attack on 9 July, which was, by coincidence, the same day that General Keller received orders from General Kuropatkin depriving him of yet another regiment to support the defenses of Haicheng. Guarding the strategic Motien Pass, the Russians had three
infantry regiments, three
artillery batteries and a
Cossack regiment. To the west was the reserve infantry regiment supported by a Cossack brigade. During the night of 8–9 July, a Japanese force moved along an unguarded path to the rear of the Russian right flank. This force was supported by
Maxim machine guns and mountain artillery. Another group, clad in Japanese straw sandals to mask their movements, moved around the Russian left flank undetected. ==Battle==