After the outbreak of war, the organization of combat (or troop) reconnaissance by special mounted or foot patrols of scouts and by trained orderlies faced various obstacles.

First, those groups of volunteer scouts, recruited from officers and other ranks, lacked experience in monitoring realignments of the Japanese infantry and cavalry units on the mountain terrain of Manchuria, so unfamiliar to Russian plain-dwellers. The alternation of high cone-shaped hills and narrow, deep canyons alarmed not only peasants dressed in military uniform but regular officers as well. In addition, the Manchurian kaoliang (sorghum) of two metres height from May to October, hindered reconnaissance patrols from observing the enemy.