 Although Yamagata and the main Japanese force did not arrive until 23 October, Japanese scouts and engineers had been present since early that month, surveying the river and laying a telegraph line to Pyongyang.Yamagata's strategy was to feint a frontal assault on the main Beiyang Army positions at Jiuliancheng, while his main forces turned the Chinese flank at Hushan.During the night of 24 October, the Japanese succeeded in placing a pontoon bridge over the Yalu River undetected, immediately in front of the Chinese fortifications.