The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-09-12

pulse. The advancing Japanese sl1ir-
mish line was half a mile below the
trenches steadily pushing the russians
back. The fire of the Japanese battery
had ceased when the enemy began to re-
treat, the mists had risen and the sun
was shining holly The uproar of Jap
anese rifles was like the popping Of hun
dreds of corks, while the Russian vol
leys cracked vie,ously and after each
volley came a crashing of tree tops as
though d gigantic axe cut swarth
through them.
The Russians were yielding the ground
slowly with their firing line spread out
across the fields and hillsides in an al
most solid barrier Behind the firing line
and sheltered by clump Of magnificent
trees-which must have concealed them
from the Japanese advanced regiment
was stopping in solid formation on
cross road The men were a long dark
mass blotting out the fresh green crops,
and their officers In white coats could
be seen riding up and down the lines ap-
parently trying to reorganize them. With
the regiment was a battery which had
fine opportunity tor effective action but
was huddled together in the field where
single well placed Japanese shell might
have worked great execution in its midst.
Further down the road more troops were
returning to their camping places slow
" and with them many wagons of bag
gage The whole attitude of the force be-
tokened indecision and lack of plans AL
though the japanese troops were nearest
they were so effectually concealed in
the trees and bushes that few could be
seen and their position could be inferred
only from the sounds of their rifles. At
tachees and correspondents pushed on
through wood 70 their left passing over
a reserve line lying ready for action and
encountering many wounded Russians In
every stage of suffering, whose plight at
other times would have excited sympathy
and ready aid put who were forgotten
in the important business of seeing the
battle. They pushed along the line of
the outpost trenches where companies of
japanese were shooting over the heads
of the men advancing below them, and
made their way to the vantage point
of a high hill sl lse to the right whose
summit afforded ouch a view of battle as
can be achieved but seldom.
Impressions OF Spectator.
This-.letter is not intended to describe
the engagement hut to give some of the
impressions of a spectator who could see
only a part of the field, and that, dur
ing the closing hours. By far the most
significant and interesting feature of the
spectacle was the appearance and meth
DDS of Japanese soldiers at the work to-
ward which all the drill and equipment
of soldiers is directed, and the COMPARE
son of them with tire Russians. The coun-
try afforded the best possible cover for
troops who knew how to avail them
selves of 1t, and the Japanese officers
and individual To Aa,
every point in rAe game at their wits
end. In addition to the irregular road
here elevated and there depressed, the
banks OF mountain brook running beside
1t and the clumps of trees and bushes
and also few low Chinese mud houses
gave shelter for rifemen.
The Japanese utilized all the cover as
they advanced while the Russian tao
tics of preserving close company forma-
tons sacrificed much of the natural ad-
vantages OF the ground That stiffness
and precision Of the German school
which some foreign officers noting in
the home maneuvres had thought might
handicap the Japanese in the field was
entirely abandoned, When a battalion
went into action the companies worked
most independently. Sections of COM
panies found positions separately where
the country and the cover favored them
without attempting to preserve long
straight lines, while the units displayed
great initiative and dash. The rolling
ground permitted them to advance by
rusnes effectively. After firing few
rounds they would dash ahead to another
hillock and dropping into the grass empty
their magazines again. Their uniform of
Khaki from cap covers to leggins made
them as inconspicuous as possible On
the Picking relief expedition Japanese
regiments took the field dressed entirly in
white duck which presented a cleaning
target across the corn covered plains of
Chill within any reasonable rifle range.
The Economy Of Lives.
Since that campaign. In the evolution OF
this most modern of armies, economy of
lives has come to be reckoned with SO
lar has the spectacular deferred to effec-
tiveness In nnlforming, that even the reg
mental numbers on shoulder straps are
abandoned, that the enemy may find no
distinguishing marks about prisoners or
dead to give clue to the identity of the
organizations which oppose them. The oc-
easional CLINT of an officers sword scab-
bard when the sun struck Il was the only
guide for marksman a few hundred
yards distant. The officers yet retain
their swords in the field because at close
quarters they WELD them with old fury
and skill of the Samuari fighting before
their clans.
How perfectly khaki fuses with an or
binary background was illustrated later
In the day when the Russian battery
with an unexpected burst of energy, drop
ped half a dozen shells over hill ia
the right of the temple. No one had no.
ticed soldiers there until, after the drop
ping of the shells, 1t suddenly seemed to
swarm with men and two or three compa-
niles scrambled down the slope running
for shelter. One of the shells fell short
almost on the crest of the Hill where
the attaches and correspondents had
been grouped until few minutes be,
fore, when they withdrew thinking that
the fighting was practically finished fol