Qualla: Battle of Motien Pass https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:39 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/x/p/5/battle-of-motien-pass-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Motien Pass https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass Battle of Motien Pass: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass/ Photo credit Hermanus Willem Koekkoek, Public domain. General Fyodor Keller knew Motien Pass was the key to the Liaodong Peninsula. Sitting astride the main road between the coast at Antung and the interior city of Liaoyang, this mountain crossing controlled movement across the peninsula's spine. Whoever held it controlled access. On the morning of July 10, 1904, Keller's Russian garrison held it. By afternoon, they had lost it. The speed of the reversal, the manner in which it happened, and the mystery of why Keller abandoned such a defensible position have puzzled military historians ever since -- not least because the general himself was killed trying to take it back, leaving no explanation.

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Image: Hermanus Willem Koekkoek | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/x/p/5/battle-of-motien-pass-wp/wxp5-battle-of-motien-pass-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Motien Pass: Stripped for Someone Else's Defense https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass/ Photo credit Hermanus Willem Koekkoek, Public domain. The Battle of Motien Pass cannot be understood without understanding the dysfunction that plagued the Russian command in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War. General Alexei Kuropatkin, the Russian commander-in-chief, was fixated on defending Haicheng, which he believed was th...

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Image: Hermanus Willem Koekkoek | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/x/p/5/battle-of-motien-pass-wp/wxp5-battle-of-motien-pass-stripped-for-someone-elses-defense.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Motien Pass: Straw Sandals in the Darkness https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass/ Photo credit Hermanus Willem Koekkoek, Public domain. Kuroki's plan was elegant in its simplicity. His Japanese 1st Army had paused at Fenghuangshan from July 2 to 8, awaiting supplies and reinforcements. The attack, when it came, combined a direct frontal assault with two flanking movements designed to encircle the Russian position...

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Image: Hermanus Willem Koekkoek | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/x/p/5/battle-of-motien-pass-wp/wxp5-battle-of-motien-pass-straw-sandals-in-the-darkness.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Motien Pass: Three Hours from Confidence to Encirclement https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass/ Photo credit Hermanus Willem Koekkoek, Public domain. The battle opened at 05:15 on July 10 with a frontal assault that the Russian artillery initially repulsed. By 07:00, the direct attack had faltered under heavy fire, and it must have seemed to the defenders that their position was holding. Then, at 08:00, the flanking forces rev...

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Image: Hermanus Willem Koekkoek | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/x/p/5/battle-of-motien-pass-wp/wxp5-battle-of-motien-pass-three-hours-from-confidence-to-encirclement.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Motien Pass: The General Who Left No Notes https://qualla.com/battle-of-motien-pass/ Photo credit Hermanus Willem Koekkoek, Public domain. The Japanese occupied Motien Pass on July 13. Casualties on both sides were relatively light, making the Russian abandonment of such a strategic and easily defensible position all the more puzzling. Military commentators have speculated extensively about why Keller withdrew with ...

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Image: Hermanus Willem Koekkoek | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/x/p/5/battle-of-motien-pass-wp/wxp5-battle-of-motien-pass-the-general-who-left-no-notes.mp3 0:06 5 full