The Japanese Chargé to Acting Secretary of State Adee.

No. 42.]

Sir: I have the honor to inform you, under instructions, that during the battle of Mukden our First Army seized in the battlefield a copy of Order No. 3, issued at Shui-lo-tai village on February 9, 1905 (February 22), by Colonel Muller, in charge of the First Brigade of the Thirty-first Infantry Division of the Russian army, of which copies of the original Russian text and an English translation are herein inclosed. The attention of the Imperial Government have been especially attracted to the passage of the above order that “the noncommissioned officers and men shall beforehand be instructed to the effect that in advancing if they find en route any Japanese soldiers lying flat, especially those lying on the back, they shall not fail to kill them,” because they consider that such a measure is not only not warranted by the necessities of war, but is in direct contravention of the spirit of article 6 of the Geneva convention and article 23 of the “regulations respecting the laws and customs of war on land,” annexed to the Hague convention of 1899, which have been adopted by all the nations of the civilized world, with the object of mitigating the unnecessary horrors of war. Even admitting, as is stated in the order, that the Japanese are wont to assume the appearance of wounded and to fire on the Russian skirmishers after allowing them to pass by, there is no ground whatever for justifying the said order, for, without resorting to such drastic and comprehensive measures, there are ways, authorized by the international usage of civilized warfare, of dealing with the alleged cases.

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The Imperial Government, therefore, feel constrained again to ask the good offices of the United States in instructing their ambassador at St. Petersburg to call serious attention of the Imperial Russian Government to the grave infraction of the international conventions by the commander of their troops in Manchuria.

Accept, etc.,

Eki Hioki.
[Inclosure.]

Order No. 3 of the First Brigade of the Thirty-first Infantry Division of the Russian army. (Issued at Shui-lo-pa-tai village, February 9, 1905.)

In order to set up marks indicating the road leading from the first line of positions to the dressing station each régiment shall prepare small white flags with the greatest expedition, their poles to be of such height as not to stand higher than one and one-half arshine above the ground. The One hundred and twenty-second and One hundred and twenty-first Régiments shall erect these flag poles at various points between Huang-ti village and Erh-tai-tzu village, and between the latter place and Tien-shui-pao village, respectively.

Against the 11th instant ordinary rations shall be provided besides the midday meal and a pound of beef for each man. In the case of forward movement noncommissioned officers and privates shall each carry their knapsacks, a bag of hard biscuits, tea, sugar, a small pan, and a pair of warm boots. All other articles shall be left in the lodgings.

Each company shall carry at least four ladders not more than three arshines in length.

Each battalion in the reserve corps shall carry empty bags for making earthbags, which will be necessary when a village shall have been occupied. These empty bags may also serve the purpose of deceiving the enemy by putting them on our winter caps.

The noncommissioned officers and men shall beforehand be instructed to the effect that in advancing, if they find en route any Japanese soldiers lying flat, especially those lying on the back, they shall not fail to kill them, for the Japanese are wont to assume the appearance of wounded and to fire on our skirmishers after allowing them to pass by. Warning shall also be given in the sense that no faith is to be put in such voices as “Come on,” “Hitherto”, “Friend,” etc. (especially on a dark night), for Japanese soldiers are so crafty as not only to make these utterances but also sometimes to announce even the numbers of our companies. In order to distinguish friends from foes watchwords shall be used. Such watchwords shall contain one or two “l’s,” for example, “lyulka,” for this soft sound being absent in the Japanese language, the enemy is unable to pronounce it.

The régiments shall each offer prayers to-morrow.

(Signed)
Colonel Muller,
In charge of the First Brigade of the Thirty-first Division of Infantry.

Inspected by:
Lieutenant—— ——,
Acting Adjutant of the One Hundred and Twenty-second Régiment of Infantry.