324           A Staff Officer's Scbap-Book
The right column of the Imperial Guards was commanded by the refined and intelligent Watanabe. It consisted of five battalions, one and a half troops of cavalry, five batteries of field artillery, and two companies of pioneers. Two battalions and two batteries of this force moved byBihorei (Lipolin) and emerged into the Yamorinza valley, opposite Suitechansa. Three battalions and three batteries moved by Shinkwairei to Makumenza. Thus it will be seen that Watanabe's right column was again subdivided into two distinct forces. As my description moves from left to right I shall call the force which issued from the Motienling range opposite to Suitechansa the Bight Guards, Column A, and the force opposite Makumenza the Right Guards, Column B. The order given to Column A was to attack Suitechansa and Chinchaputsu. Column B was to keep touch with the Second Division on its right, and to hold the enemy lining the ridge due west of Makumenza. At 8 A.M. the two batteries with Column A came into action against the Kussian batteries perched 500 feet up above them on the lofty ridge 1500 yards south-east of Yoshirei. For this purpose they took up positions in the bottom of the valley opposite Suitechansa, and as the ground was very limited in width one battery opened fire 300 yards behind the other. The two batteries had hardly begun to range when the Russian batteries, who had the range already, turned on them and reduced them to silence within twenty minutes. Several times during the day these two batteries pluckily tried to resume the contest, but on each occasion they were similarly silenced in a few minutes by the superior accuracy and command of the entrenched Russian batteries, which at 5500 yards  firing  well  within  their  own  shrapnel  range,