This movement would enable the Japanese 12th Division at Svagena to continue their deployment behind our screen, and if the enemy continued his outflanking tactics would involve the Japanese in the fighting whether they willed it or not.

The retirement was carried out as arranged in perfect order, with the loss of very little material and not more than a dozen men taken prisoners.  The French were the last to entrain.  The whole movement was covered by the two armoured trains under the command of Captain Bath, R.M.L.I.  Before retiring the bluejackets blew up the bridge on our front and otherwise destroyed the line in a very workmanlike manner.  If we had been supported, the retirement would have been quite unnecessary; it was the result of lack of confidence in our Allies after the first let-down.

The new line was held as follows:  On the left of the railway one company of Czech infantry; the two British armoured trains occupied the railway, and a Middlesex machine-gun battery of four maxims occupied the right, while the wooded slope leading to Dukoveskoie was held by the French, and a battalion of Japanese infantry extended beyond the village.  The right of the village was very sparsely held by a reduced battalion of the 5th Czech Regiment and Kalmakoff’s Cossacks.  The whole force was under the personal command of Major Pichon.

The enemy quickly repaired the bridges and the line, and within forty-eight hours his armoured trains were observed moving cautiously into Kraevesk, my old headquarters.  Simultaneously his patrols advanced from Antonovka and came into touch with Kalmakoff’s scouts on the right, and three days from our retirement his advanced elements were testing our line from end to end.

On the morning of August 22 the Japanese 12th Division began to move up from Svagena to Dukoveskoie and deploy immediately behind the new line.  As is usual in all Japanese tactics, they pushed their right out far beyond the enemy positions, and early in the evening began to envelop his left with their usual wide turning movement.  Their right was supported by two heavy batteries, and from the centre, near Dukoveskoie church, their units, now acting as a reserve, were in position before sunset.  Large bodies of Japanese troops were in bivouac immediately behind the centre of the village near their headquarters ready to deploy in either direction.

On the evening of August 22 orders were received to push forward the observation post of our armoured trains to a spot indicated, which proved to be six hundred yards ahead of our positions and near enough to be easily raided from the enemy lines.  Lieutenant T.E.  King, my machine-gun officer, was at the same time ordered to move forward two maxims, with a reduced company of Czech infantry in support to protect this advanced post.  The night was enlivened by constant skirmishes between British and Terrorist patrols until about 8.30 A.M., when it was observed