Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1904-08-04
MORE DETAILS OF BATTLE.
kuropatkin's Army in Grave Danger Of
Division and Defeat.

kuropatkin's Army in Grave Danger Of
Division and Defeat.
st. Petersburg, Aug. 4.-The greatest
anxiety prevails here for news of the
general advance against the southern
and western positions of General Ku-
ropatkin's army. The public believes
that the decisive battle OF the campaign
is being fought. but this has not yet
been established.
Indeed, the Associated Press hears
from the keenest military attaches IN
st. Petersburg that for several days
the main body of the Russian army has
been moving north toward Mukden,
and when the present line TO the south
east is forced the Japanese will find
that they have crushed only the shell.
Should this prove 10 be so. Genera: Ku-
ropatkin will doubtless be Obliged to
destroy the immense quantities OF
stores accumulated ut Liao Yang.
Sure to Be Decisive.
Shrewd military critics, however. do
not believe that General Kuropatkin
can escape a general engagement. His
army forms Il wedge. with General
OlSu hammering away at the points.
and Generals Nodzu and Nuroki OPP
Grating With driving movements of
great force against the sides. If one
of the latter should break through. the
southern force would be doomed. The
general staff seems amazed at the inn
mense strength of these cooperating
Japanese armies. The Japanese evil
IDENTIFY have succeeded In concealing the
real number of their men and guns.
Which the general staff now believes
must be in excess of 100000 men. with
between SEQ and 400 guns.
While General Oku is holding the
Russian army at Hal Cheng in check,
General Nodzu is evidently trying TO
work around the vital point at Simou-
cheng. At the same time General ku-
roki is trying TO flank the First Siberian
army corps, which MAS commanded by
the late Lieutenant General Count Kel-
Ter, on the main Feng Wang Cheng
road. and is also pushing a strong coll
umn through direct toward LAO Chang.
OH the Samatzs;l road. There is a road
leading north from Simoucheng which
strikes the Feng Wang Cheng-Liao
Yang road west of Yunzalin. If Simou-
chens should be forced a rapid advance
along this road would pocket the First
Siberian army corps.
simoucheng Taken?
The report received from Toxic that
Simoucheng had been actually forced
did not become generally known. The
general staff remained in session UNI
I'll almost 2 O'Clock a. M, and on adj
lournment IL was stated that nothing
beyond the days official dispatches had
been received. 1t is thus impossible to
confirm or deny the Toxic dispatch.
but VI 1t is true, as pointed out i'm the
folegoing, it leaves the Russian forces
in an exceedingly serious position.
Lacking definite information and IL
the Russian formation has not been
broken by the capture of Simoucheng,
the authorities here say that if Kuro-
patkin accepts a general engagement
they believe it will be near AnchantZ-
chan, half way between Lao Shan and
Lao Yang, in which case the opposing
forces will fall back thther and the
Simoucheng force under Mitschenko
on the northward road to Yanznlin,
which is already fortified with view
to such contingency. YanZalin would
then become the advanced position for
Anchantzchan. the natural strength in
which is shown by the fact that it was
tie only position the Chinese defended
against the Japanese.
The Artillery Duel.
General Kuropatkins report of yes
:erday only carried the fighting up to-
Sunday night. when the Russians had
peen driven i'm from the left flank of
The Smoucheng position. The Rus
slams had repealed several attacks and
one bayonet charge in which was des-
perate hand to- hand fighting at Kang
va Heights. Elsewhere the Russians
are reported TO be holding their own.
General Kuropatllin's dispatches give
no figures of the last two days fight
ing. The main attack seems to have
been by the artillery, the favorable arm
of the Japanese. There was the great
est hope of further news from Russian
sources regarding the program of to-
days battle. Crowds hung around the
bulletin boards until a. M, and finally
dispersed disappointed.
The only real news of the days re-
suits was contained i'm a brief dispatch
to the Associated Press from Hal
Cheng. filed there at 5:45 o'clock this
afternoon, saying that an artillery duel
had ragged all day along the entire
front, but that the Russians at night
fall continued to hold their positions.
No news was received from Port
Arthur today. 1t has been learned that
Captain Won Essen commanded the
Vladivostok squadron during the re-
cent raid.