As the Russian forces departed Lüshun, Commander Kontrachenko ensured one thing above all: the machine guns and ammunition came with them. Cannons, deemed too cumbersome, were left behind. Instead, soldiers carried belts of ammunition crisscrossed over their shoulders like badges of survival. Every machine gun, even those ripped from fortress walls, was brought along.
This grim preparation bore fruit on the battlefield.
The combination of trench warfare and machine guns turned the ground into a symphony of chaos and death.
"AAARGH!"
"Please! Spare me!"
What seemed like a simple obstacle—a 60-centimeter-high stretch of barbed wire—became a death trap. Japanese soldiers who dared approach found themselves shredded by bullets or torn apart by hidden mines. The iron coils glistened red, soaked with the blood of the fallen.
