Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-09-22
T0DAY'S WAR NEWS IND|.
Gates FIGHTING NEAR
At HAND

TOXIC. Sept 2l-News reaches
here at noon that an engagement will
take place at Mukden within two
days Kuropatllin has arranged a de-
termined resistance and has an i'm
mense force available. Military ex-
perts think he would make a defense
better at Tie Pass. but the Russians
are unwilling to suffer the loss Of
prestige which would be involved by
the abandonment of Mukden.
TOXIC, Sept. 21-The Japanese
are convinced that Kuropatkin intends
to offer determined resistance at Muk-
den The cars troops are strongly
entrenched there in great numbers. A
big battle seems imminent General
Oyama. 1t is stated will press Kuro-
patkin till operations are stopped by
snow. Then he will guard the advance
positions and be prepared in the
spring TO resume work where he left
off.
ST. PETERSBURG. Sept. 21.-The
Japanese effort to flank Kuropatkin's
army was frustrated Monday. accord
ing TO a report from Kuropatkin, re
ceived today. The Japanese were OBJ
served east Of Daling Pass. Two at
tacks on the pass followed promptly
while several companies attempted to
flank It, The Russians went into ac-
tion with cavalry and machine guns.
and the Japanese were beaten back
These attacks probably caused the re-
port that Kuroti had crossed Hun
river, and turned the Russian lett
with one hundred thousand men.
ST. UETERSBURG, Sept 21--A
report has Just been received from
General Kuropatkin. that the Japan
ese infantry twice attacked a portion
of his command at Sin Yeintin but
were repulsed by the Russian cavalry
with machine guns.
LONDON. Sept. 21-It begins to
look like another week of aggressive
fighting is at hand. For the past ten
days inactivity has prevailed Oyama
has been engaged in bringing up fresh
supplies of ammunition and food to
Lao Yang, and Kuropatkin has either
.Ebeen fertifying Tierling or else max
ing a pretense of fortifying it. as ii
he intended to make stand there.
By far the most interesting fact that
has transpired concerning the battle
of Lao Yang is that the Russian loss
es at that place were actually larger
than the Japanese losses. With the
Russians in position behind admirably
constructed defenses, where they had
the most favorable opportunities to
use their largest artillery. and with
the japanese army under General Oku
attempting to carry these defenses by
direct frontal assaults, it was taken
for granted that the Japanese losses
would greatly exceed and might even
be double the Russian.
Now however, with the official fig
ures from Toxic which place the
japanese casualties from Aug 26 on
at n. .539 officers and men. This is
practically complete, because the OPP
erations of Aug "a and 25 consisted
merely of light skirmishing while the
japanese were moving into position
around Anping.
The Russians delayed giving out
their list of losses till after the Japan
ese list had appeared, and then they
announced that from Aug. 2S to Sept.
5, their casualties were between 16.-
500 and 1900. The two days for
which they do not give figures. Aug.
&c and 27 cost them, according to their
own reports at the time, 2.100 men,
and there are reasons to believe that
these first reports placed the figures
too low. This would make their to-
tai loss some 10000 The st. Peters
burg correspondent of the Paris Jour
nal reports the Russian calendar dates
which are two weeks behind ours, and
his figure is very probably the true
one for the whole of the fighting
around Lao Yang.
Absolute confidence can be placed
in the accuracy OF any statement Of
ficially given out by the Japanese
government. for no errors or decep-
tions in any such statement have been
pointed out by anyone since the war
began. Putting various statements of
casualties together 1t is konwn be
yond any doubt that the total Japan
ese losses in the field. exclusive of
Port Arthur. but inclusive OF Lao
Yang, have been $4,000. The Russians
have lost this many men at Liao Yang
and Telissu alone. and when their
losses at the Yalu. at Nanshan, at
Molten Pass and In the many other
battles and skirmishes are taken into
Account thaIr fatal uxill douhflaaa h~