The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-09-03
Russian General Must Fight
All the Way to Mukden.
JAPS ON EVERY SIDE
Gears Commander Making One
of The Greatest Struggles
in History.

LONDON, sept 3.-From the latest
dispatches it would seem that General
Kuropatkin, the Russian commander,
has effected a partial retirement. plac-
Ing the river between himself and the
main body of the japanese and at the
same time establishing position that
will enable him 10 oppose the force
under General KnrokL which has sue
ceeded in crossing the river and is
now attacking the Russian left
The fate of the great bulk of the re-
treating Russian army hinges, there
fore, upon the bravery and fortitude
Of its left flank.
1t is the hope of the Russians to
check General Kuroki'S advance
around General KurOpatkin's flank so
rs to protect their line of retreat. de
spite the fierce assaults of the Japa-
neSe. If the latter should succeed in
striking hard blow at the flank of
the retreating Russian army it may
place the forces Of the car in n pre-
dicament from which it will be diff
cult Tor them telescope.
The greater portion of Kuropatkin's
protecting force seems to have been
massed in the neighborhood of Hell
yingtai. twelve miles northeast Of
Liaoyang, where it is being tiercely
assaulted by General Kuroh.
Advices from Tokyo say that Gener-
al Kurokis right Is continuing to press
the attack at Heiyingtai. seeking
ground whence their guns win doni-
nate the railroad. The troops under
General Kurold are jaded and weary.
They have been marching and fighting
since Aug. %, but in spite Of this they
attacked with spirit The Japanese
are confident that they have already
swept back the strong Russian force
with which they have been engaged
and it is probable that when the details
are known it will be found that great
tragedy has been enacted along the
Taitse river.
The river is flooded and cannot be
forded. General Oku, in command of
the Japanese left army, has directed
his. energies to forcing the Russians to
the Taitse, and it is probable that
many We're drowned there.
Dispatches lately received report
that great fires are raging at Liaoyang.
The fires are believed TO result from
Japanese shells or from the Russians
attempts to destroy their stores with
the hope of injuring the city as a fu-
ture japanese base.
Unofficial estimates place the Rus |
sian forces in the vicinity of Liaoyang
at fifteen divisions of $1,000 men each. |
These are probably excessive. but it is |
evident that numerically the Russians
exceed the Japanese.
The opinion that the Russian casual |
ties in sthe recent fighting will reach |
10000 is confidently expected in high |
quarters here Neither Field Marshal |
Oyama nor the japanese army com
have yet estimated the Rus
sian losses
II seems that the Japanese avoided |
direct assault upon Liaoyang itself. |
but devoted their energies to the troops |
outside the city and an effort to cut off |
the Russian retreat. Iiaoyang is |
strongly fortified, and the Japanese did
not attack the city directly until they
had succeeded in isolating It,
Nemir0vitch Danchenko, the well
known Russian correspondent, in dis
patch from Liaoyang says:
THE Russian balloon corps has been
IF the greatest service throughout the
several days fighting in locating the
Japanese advance.
"The Japanese are using lyddite and
Chinese powder The latter is ter
'tfic in its effects, and its brown haze
S easily distinguishable on the cur
ain slopes of the hills, where hundreds
If japanese guns all day long pour in
deadly rain of fire. In some of the
batteries 1t was impossible to remove
he killed or wounded for three days"
There seems to be an air of consid-
srable confidence at the Peterhof pal
ice. An official who saw the emperor
'aid that his majesty is extremely con-
ident and in good spirits.
Experts who are familiar with the
nature of the intricate and powerful