The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1900-07-31
The Chinese Situation.

The Russian government having de-
cided on military operations on large
scale in Manchuria and northern China
in consequence of the attempt of the
Chinese to interrupt the navigation of
Amur at Blagovestchensk, some details
of the forces likely to be brought into
play will be useful. Taking the Chinese
| first, there have been a great variety of
estimates of the fighting force at the i'm
mediate disposition of the Chinese gov
eminent, and it is difficult to arrive at
any definite conclusion as to it's numbers,
On paper the Chinese army is divided
into three lines, the regular army, re-
serves under arms, and the reserves be-
tween 16 and GO years of age who are
trained for only few days each year.
The regulars and reserves under arms
form what may be termed the imperial
standing army and are reckoned at 10000
cavalry and 1884, 900 infantry and artillery.
Major A. E. j. Marshall, British officer.
who is perhaps one of the best authori-
ties on the subject, recently prepared a
memorandum containing the following
details: The fighting troops he classed
as: Manchurian field force, $1,000; Man
churian irregulars, 10000; fighting
braves, 125,OOO; and CHEN chun, or dis
ciplined troops, 10000. The reserves
under arms he described as: Pekin field
force, 1900; banner troops in Pekin,
$4,000; banner troops in provinces, 5000;
and the luh ying or green standard regi-
ments, 10000. The militia reserves
could not be calculated, but each viceroy
has certain number of more or less
trained troops under his personal control
for local service. The armament of the
infantry is for the most part the Mauser
rifle and the artillery has large number
and great variety of weapons, comprising
ordinary breech- leaders, quick firers and
machine guns. The cavalry is the least
effective portion of the Chinese army.
AS regards the Russian army in eastern
Siberia and Manchuria, at the beginning
of the present year there was already
considerable force distributed in the lat
ter territory. The regular troops in
eastern Siberia, that is, east of Lake
Baikal, comprised forty one battalions of
infantry, Twenty-Five sotnias of cavalry
and Cossacks, eight field, two mountain
and two howitzer batteries, two Cossack
batteries, six companies of fortress artil
lery, six companies of sappers and engi-
neers, six railway companies, one tele-
graph section and one coast torpedo
company. This force was distributed
all over the country from Port Arthur
and Vladivostock to the Amur and Lake
Baikal. In addition there were many
thousands of troops that were sent round
from Russia by sea and an unknown
quantity that have been arriving by the
Siberian railway.
The proclamation of a state of war
throughout eastern Siberia and the U.s.
surf district from Vladivostock to Khab-
arovsk will make it difficult to obtain
accurate information as to the number
and movement of Russian troops from
now out, but the recent mobilization in
eastern Siberia and the reinforcements
pouring in from European Russia by rail
should soon bring the force that is al
ready moving toward the great wall and
the coast up to quite 100000, if not more.
The principal strategic points in Man
churia are already occupied in greater or
lesser force, and owing to the facilities
afforded for the transport of troops into
the very heart of Manchuria by the Sun
gari river and its principal tributaries,
those points reported to be in danger
should soon be reinforced or relieved.
With regard to the military situation
around Pekin, no advance from Tien
Isin seems possible until the arrival of
| considerable achievements now on their
way, but there seems possibility that
when the co operating forces reach the
capital they will not find the court and
government there, it having been more
than once limited of late that they might
IN view of eventualities be moved to 81
an.tu, QUO miles southwest of Pekin, the
chief city of the province of Shensi, that
was for nearly 1000 years the capital of
the empire. 1t is the next most impor-
tant city to Pekin politically, and the
valley OF the Wei river, in which it
stands, has, for military reasons, been
more closely connected with the fortunes
OF the Chinese race than any other por-
ton OF China. The general tenor of the
latest news makes it apparent that the
Chinese authorities are making extern
sive military preparations.