Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-08-15
THE CRISIS IN mAncHuRlA.

if'G ShloIo IN MANI HIA.
General KouropatlIin has under his
| Immediate command an army OF from
,uu. to l50U00 men. His base Is
| at LlaoYang His divisions occupy
three positions to the south and east
| of that city. Some are AT Anshan.
| shan. twenty miles sonth Some are
at Liandiansian, perhaps twenty miles
| southeast. The rest are at Auping
| tweleye miles east
Field Marshal Oyamn has from 2eO,
| 600 to 300, 600 men. One of his armies
| under General Oku. ~ advancing on
Anshanshan from the south. Another
| under General Kurold, threatens both
| Auping and Liandinnsian one wing
of this army is taking road little
| south of west to strike Auping.
Another wing Is moving northwest to
| strike Liandiansian Where the Jap
| anese Takushan army now iB we do
| not know. It won u famous victory at
Simoucheng southeast of Hai-Cheng.
week ago, and perhaps since then
has split up. part of 1t to re-enforce
General Oku. and part OF IL to strike
| Liandansian in the rear
Anshanshan, Auping and Liandian-
sian are the last positions which Gen
eral Kouropatkin can defend, short
of Liao-Yang Itself II the next for
ward movement OF the Japs drives
him out of them his entire army he
| concentrated on Lao. Yang and the
crisis of the campaign in Manchuria
viii have come. His positions are pre-
| cartons in the extreme. At Anshan-
shan he is greatly outnumbered, as
he probably Is at the other places al
so. If he is defeated at AupIng his
army al Llandiansan will be cut off
| and placed between two forces Of Jap
| anese; nor can the Linndianaian div
isions go TO the relief of Auping when
| 1t is attacked, becauac they have their
| own enemy to face Moreover, LAND
iansian can be attacked from two
| directions even before Auplng Is at
tackled
| Should these three Russian armies
be driven back TO Liao- Yang. General
| kuropatdn must either stand and
| fgbl against great odds or he must
send~his army in flight westward to
Chinese soil where II would be under
obligations to disarm, and where 1t
has stores nor means Of transporta-
tioa, A withdrawal along the rail
roao to the north seems now outside
" all possibility. General Kurod is
so strong to the east and northeast
OF Llao-Yang that he could easily
strike blow at the rail road north
of Liao-Yang that would block Rus
sian movement, Moreover. even II
kuropatkin could march his soldiers
away, he would be compelled to leave
his ten or fifteen thousand wounded
and his immense accumulation OF war
stores and ammunition behind him.
This description of the existing sit
nation will serve 10 make clear what
II was that the japanese accomplished
by their series Of victories on Satur-
day Sunday and Monday week ago.
These victories were at Hai-Cheng.
Simouscheng. Yangtsuling and Ushui
ikzu. At Hai-Cheng the Russians did
not stop to fight. At Simousheng the
Japanese literally walked all around
the Russians and showed superior
ity in strategy that even the tyro can
| appreciate The Russian losses here
| "'i' pipbablg GguuD as lneir ueuu
buried by Japanese after the fight
numbered 700. The Japanese lost
In killed and wounded $50. AL Yush-
hulikzu General KuroISi saw that the
Russians were concentrating their
forces and he determined to attack.
He was successful in forcing the Rus
slams back toward Auping.
Al Yangtsuling, west of Liandian-
sian. there was also severe fighting.
Kuroh places the Russian casualties
In these last two fights at 1000 and
gives his own as 970 He took ISL
prisoners. The sufferings of the sold
lers on both Sides have been severe
az the temperature has been most OF
the time 100 degrees Farenbeit
From Port Arthur the rtimors that
come to us are sufficient to assure
us that very heavy fighting has been
in progress, but that is all Whether
the fortress ls within week. or a
month. or many months of its fate
we cannot even guess. The japanese
may have lost 5000 men or 30. 900
In the two months lighting there
since the battle of Nanshan. for all
we know. Whatever the news from
Port Arthur may be. or whenever It
comes. it need not surprise us.-Chic.
ago Record Herald.