Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1904-09-09
BATTLE OF LIAoYANG.
The Longest and the BIoodiest of His
tory.

/
tory.
The battle of Liaoyang, which begar
with the japanese advance on August
"a, the day of the christening of the
czarevitch, and concluded Saturday
| September 8, with the retreat of Gen
eral Kuropatkin, is believed to have
been the longest and the bloodiest OF
history.
Numerous incidents in the fighting
upset the theory evolved by expert
ences in the Boer war that modern
battle must necessarily be fought at
long range. Both sides repeatedly
came to hand to hand encounters in
bayonet charges, and the men on both
sides were often so near each other
that they could distinguish features
and hear words of comment. In one
instance they were separated only by
the width of the railroad, and actually
heroism of the Japanese and the stub
born tenacity of the Russians have
not been paralleled anywhere save in
some desperate encounters of the Am
erican civil war.
Correspondents state that several of
the bayonet attacks made by the jap
anese throughout the battle were fore
ed by the depletion of ammunition, of
which modern arms entail such ex-
travagant expenditure. The Japanese
no xIyith T,fx with
hopes of finishing the attack with cold
steel, but it was proved at their own
cost that such attacks could not be
driven in the face of breech loading
guns.
The Russian artillerymen suffered
terribly in the prolonged fighting south
Of the Taitze river. One battery lost 40
men killed, and the remainder of it
were wounded, and when fresh bat
terry was brought up into position the
survivors protested with tears at their
being removed, begging to be allowed
to die beside their own guns.
The work of the Red Cross, which
throughout the war has been devoted
On both sides, has proved almost as
dangerous to the nurses and doctors
Is has the work of the combatants.
Many bearers and their assistants
nave been killed or wounded in at
ending to injured under fire. A sister
If mercy was killed and a surgeon
in the final assaults on Lao
yang.
The telegraph operators and CORE |
pondents have suffered severely. Two
correspondents of the Associated press
lave been shot and one has been dec
rated for bravery.
1t is wonderful that the commissary
made it possible to con-
inue to supply the men during such
continuous battle. The Russians
we're better fed, being nearer their
wn base, but the terrible strain of
he continuous fighting caused some
f them to fall asleep in the midst of
and even on the firing
me.
The defeat of the Russians at Lao
ang and their retreat toward the
orth by no means signifies that an
vacuation of Manchuria is contem-
lated. The Russian frontier is yet
long way off. Mukden, which is re-
lily in southern Manchuria, is so miles
way, and if the Russians were beaten
here they could withdraw to Hardin,
'hich is between $50 and 400 miles
orth of Mukden. Even then the Rus
ans would not be half way to the
'ontier, for trip of about 700 miles
n the Siberian railroad would be re-
uired to put the army on Russian
,rritory.
Manchuria is larger than France, or
ermany and is twice as large as Italy.
is larger than all the New England
ates, with New York, Pennsylvania,
ew Jersey, Ohio and Indiana. 1t is
rger than Washington, Oregon and
laho. 1t is traversed by a river
100 miles long, and is one of the
chest agricultural countries in the
orld. And in addition to being a |
'untry of magnificent possibilities on
rming lines, it has mines of gold,
'pper, lead, iron and coal that are
slieved to be equal to those of the
nited States.