This company consisted of 5 officers, 85 combatants, 13 non-combatants, 10 saddle horses, 29 draft horses, and eight guns. The latter were mounted on high carriages, and were protected by steel shields. Of the ammunition, 1350 rounds, in belts holding 450 rounds each, were carried on each gun carriage, and 4500 rounds on each of the six two-wheeled ammunition carts. The field train consisted of nine one-horse carts. The loss of the machine gun company at the Yalu was probably due to the fact that the guns, mounted on high carriages, were quickly deprived of their mobility in their second position, after they had, from their first position, effectively flanked the advance of the Japanese infantry. Immediately after this first lesson, the high wheeled carriage was apparently abolished, and the tripod adopted. On September 26th, 1904, the machine gun companies were reorganized. There were (old) wheeled, and (newly-organized) so-*called "mountain machine gun companies," the latter having pack animal transportation. These companies were assigned to infantry and Rifle divisions and were designated by the numbers of their divisions.
On December 12th, 1906, the machine gun organization was again changed, because it was asserted that the assignment of machine gun companies to divisions hampered the division commander; that the employment of 8 guns at one point was injudicious; and that so large a machine gun battery actually induced a scattering of the guns. Infantry, Reserve, and Rifle regiments are each assigned a machine gun organization consisting of 4 guns, mounted on tripods, equipped with 6 mm. steel shields, with pack animal transportation.
Complement: 3 officers, 7 non-commissioned officers, 46 privates, 7 non-combatants, 10 saddle horses, 21 pack and draft horses (8 of these for carrying ammunition), 4 ammunition carts, and 5 train wagons. The personnel is drawn from a regiment in which the men to be detailed for machine gun duty are trained.
According to an officer who commanded a machine gun company in the battle of Liao Yang[1], his company went into position on August 30th, on the right flank of its division behind an earth embankment at the south edge of the village of Gutsealing, and 300 m. from the railroad running in a southwesterly direction. This position was taken up with the object of preventing the envelopment of the right flank of the division. Sufficient time was available for cutting down the kaoliang crop for 650 m. Beyond this range the kaoliang fields continued for several hundred meters. Directly in front of the position of the company there was a hill, upon which several mounted men showed themselves toward 10 A. M. As soon as fire was opened on them, they threw themselves down in a field covered with tall kaoliang. When these mounted men had reached a fairly open space, about 900 m. from the machine gun company, they could be clearly seen. In rear of them was observed a mountain battery of artillery, which endeavored to go into position on the hill mentioned, apparently with a view of directing a flanking fire on the Russian skirmishers farther to
- ↑ Russian Invalid, October 1904.
