after pounding the two hills from 04:30 in the morning until 19:30 at night, general nogi launched a frontal infantry assault, which was hampered by heavy rain, poor visibility and dense clouds of smoke. the japanese were able to advance only as far as the forward slopes of both hills, and many soldiers drowned in the ta river. even night attacks resulted in unexpectedly high casualties, as the russians used powerful searchlights to expose the attackers to artillery and machine gun cross-fire.