January 25–29, 1905 · Manchuria Theater
January 25–29, 1905
In the depths of a Manchurian winter, General Gripenberg's Second Manchurian Army launched a surprise offensive on the Japanese left flank at Sandepu. The attack initially achieved surprise and penetrated Japanese lines before Kuropatkin, fearing overextension and a Japanese counterattack elsewhere, halted the offensive just as it approached a breakthrough. Gripenberg, furious at the lost opportunity, resigned his command and returned to Russia, where he publicly blamed Kuropatkin for squandering the best Russian offensive opportunity of the war.
Commanders