The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-09-23
.KuROPATkIN Tells OF
MASTERlY RETREAT
Official Report From the Com
manding General Is
Finally Issued.

FlnallY issued.
SAVED ALL HIS EQUIPMENT
His Recital Is Relief From the
AIarmist Reports of Great Loss
of Men, Guns. and Capture
of Commander.
| st. Petersburg. Sept. 16.--General
| kuropatkin's official report. which was
given out tonight, comes as a conSd-
! cradle relief. as setting at rest alarm
Ing stories of the loss of guns, the cut
| ting off of divisions and the death or
capture of prominent commanders,
which hnVe been freely circulated here.
The report. which is a very long one,
enters at corsidera BILE detail into the
| various phases of the battle of Lao
! Yang. and entirely bears out the dec
laration of the Associated Press at the
| time that General Orloff'S failure to
4 hold the vital position at the Yentai
| mines vas responsible for the breaking
| down Of the whole of General Kuro-
7 patkin's plan of battle and turned q
potential victory into defeat The
n inner in which the retreat was car
RE out in the face of the terrible con-
dition of the country and the deter
mined pressure of the Japanese armies
! does much to restore General Kuro-
i patkin's prestige in military circles
The war office is extremely reticent
regarding the present situation and
! future plans at the front. There has
been no raia the last two days. and it
! is probable The country will now dry
| of
weather for the fall campaign.
Many things may happen during this
period. hut the Associated Press is in
formed by high authority that prep
arations are being steadily pushed
looking to the wntering of the Russian
army at Harbin.
&c, eral kuropatkin's Report.
Under date of September II General
KurOpatkin reports to the emperor as
! follows:
1T is now possible from details of
| the battles since August 26, in which
various army corps participated, to fur
nish your majesty the following report
| OF operations:
"On August &c the Manchurian army
occupied three groups of position, the
first at Pettsu and AnpinG, on the left
flank: the second at L.iandiansian, in
the center. and the third at Anshan-
shan, on the right flank. On the same
day the Japanese assumed the Of
fensive along the whole front. At
| Liandiansian all their attacks We're re-
| pulsed and on the left we retained our
principal position at Anping. After a
| desperate battle the Japanese, however,
| succeeded in securing the position at
Pettsu. thus threatening the line Of re-
! treat of the corps along the Tau river.
Simultaneously a turning movement by
| considerable forces of Japanese was OBJ
l. ne 1,, tt<,,,
at Anshanshan.
Taking advantage of our positions
! at Liandiansian and Anping, in order
! to gain time and infiict severe loss on
| the enemy, I withdrew all the army
/ corps from advanced positions to Lao
| Yang.
I'm consequence of the mountainous
| nature Of the country on our front and
| the bad condition of the roads toward
! the south, the two days march toward
| Lao Yang was OF the most difficult
kind and the devotion of the troops
on the east front enabled it to be car
| ried out in good order. Only after in
! credible difficulties was it found pos
sible to drag ali the guns without ex-
ccption and all our baggage through
| the passes. Some of the guns We're car
/ ried through the mountains by in
| fantry Difficult as was the retreat
| through the passes under pressure from
| the enemy, the march across the open
country was still more arduous. The
left and center columns succeeded in
getting all their artillery and baggage
to Lao Yang.
Rains Hindsred Greatly
| THE march of the right column,
which was obliged to cross westward to
the railroad, where the country had
/ suffered most severely from rains, was
| especially difficult. Considerable forces
100 F.
which maintained a stubborn resist
ance. The guns of one of the retiring
| batteries began to sink in the mud.
Every effort was made to save them.
/ Twenty four horsese We're hitched to
each piece companies of infantry as
/ sisting with ropes. The horses and
| men. however. sunk so deep that 1t was
necessary for the comrades of the latter
| to haul them out. General Rutkovsky
/ remained SO long covering the eXtrica-
! ton of the guns that his force lost
/ heavily and the general himself and
/ Colonel RatSeil, commanding the Fourth
regiment of East Siberian sharpshoot-
ers, were killed. notwithstanding all
efforts, it was finally decided to aband-
on the guns.
"On August 20 the army concentrated
at Lao Yang. One corps took posi-
! ton on the right flank of the Taitse
/ river, while another held the left bank
"On August 80 and 81 the Japanese
| attacked our advance positions with
great energy, but everywhere We're re-
| pulsed with enormous losses There
\ was desperate fighting on our left and
center, accompanied by a number of
| counter attacks, resulting in bayonet
| fighting, and | was compelled to rein
1 force the fighting line with the special
reserves and the general reserves.
During August 81 it could clearly be
! seen that considerable force of Cen
i ~,,, ? ~J-st
right bank of the Taitse river. Owing
/ to attacks on our left on August 30
! and 81 it was to be supposed that the
/ main body of Kuroki's army had been
! taken off to turn the left flank of our
! position and attack our line OF COM
mun1cation In consequence / resolved
4 to Withdraw the advance troops from
/ the main position and concentrate a
! large force against kuroki and attempt
! to hurl his army back on the Taitse
/ river. Only at certain points was this
carried out successfully.
Crossed River on Bridges.
AT nightfall, undisturbed by the
| Japanese, we commenced the evac,,a-
/ ton OF our advanced positions, which
/ already had rendered excellent service
| in weakening the enemy by enormous
! losses. Thanks to the sufficient num-
| Der or bridges and the manner In
| which the roads leading to them had
| been laid out, all the troops destined
to take the offensive We're safely on the
right bank Of the river on the morning
| of September l.
THE enemy did not occupy GU,
abandoned positions until the evening
OF September l, when they opened an
| artillery fire on Lao Yang. No tro-
/ phies Of war fell into the hands OF
the enemy
Il adopted the following plan of OPP
| erations:
Having crossed to tbs. right bank
of the liver, the army had taken up a
/ position between the village of SvI-