The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-06-03
RUSSIAN DEFENSE AT YAlU
BATTLE AMAZINGLY STUPID.
Incompeency Careessnes King Davis Re
sponsibe Magnitude of the Brilliant Success Of
KurokGuns Capt nred of the Newest Design, but
Poorly Handled, Eartlw orks i Disgrace Army
of Am
BY OSCAR KING DAVIS.

BY OSCAR KING DAVIS.
Special Correspondent OF The st. Louis Re
public with General kuroki's Army
Antung, Manchuria, May .; by wire from
Victoria. British Columbia, June 2.-(Copy-
right, lSoi.-AN rights reseryed)-The more
one studies The battle by which General
kuroki won the crossing OF the Yalu River
and inflicted such Il severe blow upon his
enemy, the more evident 1t becomes that
there was something radically wrong
with the Russians. This is not detract-
ing In any way from the briiliance OF
magnitude of the Japanese success Cen
eral kuroki made ali his dispositions
upon knowledge which amounted to al
most a certainty. His preparations
were absolutely complete. There was
nothing lacking. 1t is all plain that the
JAPANESE knew and had and did. The
only question is. What was the matter
with the Russians?
A look ut the ground which they en-
deavOred 10 hold suggests at once that
they have not yet learned that their su-
preme contempt for their enemy is not
well founded. The sending Of the Va
riag To Chemulpo almost alone has had
the explanation that the Russians thought
that the mere presence Of SO powerful
cruiser would intimidute the japanese
and prevent them from attempting TO
land troops there.
Chu-Liang- -Cheng seems TO have given
another demonstration of the same folly.
The only other explanation. OF their course
here Is to be found i'll the utter lncom-
potency OF their commanders. I'he cOildi-
lions of their battle-ground prove it, In
"a lecture ON the tactics of the battle
Atat. al h.. NOS
Chief OF Stan, gave to the foreign CORE
spondents this afternoon. he said that the
Russians had "full leisure in which 10
prepare for the fight That was the plain
truth. They had time enough To make
their positions well-nigh impresnable.
Why did they not do SO? II can hardly
be that the officers have not heard OF the
skill of the Beers in making trenches i'll
which man can find complete shelter from
the most severe shell fire, and il is equally
unlikely that they have not studied those
trenches and learned how to duplicate.
them. Certainly. the japanese know all
about them.
The Boer commander prepared a trench
In which his men could and did lives The
dirt that lie removed was carried far
away, and either scattered over the
ground, so as to leave no trace of what
had been done. or piled up to look like
the parapet above trench several hun
dred yards IN the rear of the real work.
80 the British shelled ritise of earth
by the hour. with never man near it.
RUSSIAN TRENCHES WOULD
HAVE DISGRACED FILIPISOS.
II the Russians did not know all this
there is small excuse for them. II they
did. and made no use of II, there Is less
excuse. for them. They certainly never
undertook to construct about Chu-IAang-
Cheng any such earthwOrks as the Beers
would have had Srowning every hill and
20 fN Ii
pinos They looked, indeed, as If the Ri
slams expected to. meet antagonists about
the same caiiber as the Chinese or some
of the uuciviliZed tribes of Central Africa
with whom they have done most of their
recent warning.
The carelessness about the preparation
OF their trenches was shown in the making
of their gun emplacements. This work was
little more substantial. but nothing TO
compare with what the japanese did in
placing their guns. Some of the emplace-
ment5 We're single rows of sod with some
times little dirt thrown up against the
outside. They dug no ammunition pits.
but instead made a little wall of sod be-
mind; which they ran their ammunition
wagons. 1t was all the fiimsiest kind OF
proved.
across the open sand OF Ching Ping Island
In line that WAS meant for open order
but was still a close formation. there was
not shot from one of their Maxims. al
though that, II ever, was the time for their
use, and II they had been properly handled
then they would have done very great
damage TO the Japanese.
There seems TO have been no more plan
of battle on the Russian side than there
was preparation for 1t in the way of con-
struetion OF defenses. Their line extended
along the Yalu and the Al for fifteen Or
twenty miles. If one may call by the name
OF line the series of detached posts they
held
They seem to have been completely
fooled as 10 the japanese commanders $
plan for crossing the river below Win.
one was the open massing of bridge ma
teTial just west of the town, but ordinary
prudence ought TO have led them to sus-
pect, with a man who was making such
efforts as kuroki made 10 conceal most of
his movements. that this open showing of
material could only be ruse But the
appearance of two gunboats and four
armed steamers with fifty sampans tow
ing. all loaded with timbers and planking.
seems to have confirmed them In the be-
lief that the crossing would be attempted
below.
RUSSIANS DISPLAY SUPERIOR
ARTICLE OF DENSE STUPIDITY.
They had few scouts out far up on
their left, and on :he night when the
twelfth division sent the frs. Of its men
across these scouts had little skirmlsh
with them. Then an amusing thing hap
Dened. The scouts were withdrawn and
thereafter the twelfth division advancing
as 1t pleased, had no furth,H- Contact Wit,
the Russians until the Cpsnt1g Of the bat
tie Then IL was so lightly Gpp3Ss1 that
without trouble II advanced rapidly over
tl,H stiffest kind Of rough ,ountry until 1t
was well in the rear of the Russian line
aid the Russians had to run at top speed
In order to get away.
On the day of the artillery duel. April
%. the Russians saw a man scuiinE q
boat across the main stream of the Yalu
from Kinteito Island 20 Ching Ping, and
evidently took this to be the beginning OF
the forthcoming whiHn thew expected u be
best Il ey could, and the entire Twelfth
Division. with the exception of one battal-
ion, msrched down over the hills upon
their left unhindered. 1t is not necessary
tt be an expert military critic CT 10 have
been cn the winning side to see the 1ool-
ishness of all this.
man who had never seen a gun or
heard a rifle should have known better
Some Of the officers who were captured in