Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1904-11-03
PRO PROGRESS C5RESS OF THE MAR MAR

The battle Of Shakhe River, as Mar
shat Oyama officially names it, wore
Itself out on Oct. 90 The hard fight
ing began on Oct . with an attack on
kuroki, commanding the japanese
right. The battle lasted eleven days.
The Russians, by their own reports,
lest 1000 killed and $1,000 wounded.
The Japs casualties are not known
Strategically, according to the Chi
caSo Tribune's view, the battle was an
unqualified triumph for the Japs. XII
ropatkin started south from Mukden
on Oct. with the ayOwed purpose Of
rolling back the Japanese and reliev-
ing Port Arthur. His exact words
were: Now the moment to go to meet
the enemy has come, and the time has
arrived for US to compel the japanese
TO do our will, for the forces of the
Manchurian army are strong enough
for forward movement"
The outcome of the Russian attempt
was that they failed to gain rood Of
ground toward Port Arthur. Indeed,
northward than were on the day of
kuropatkin's proclamation. Kuropat-
KIN $ purpoSe-to relieve Port Arthur
was utterly defeated. Oyamas pur-
posc-to prevent the relief of Port Ar
thur-waS entirely successful. Stra-
logically, therefore, the victory indubi-
1ably rests with the Nipponese.
Practically the result was not so de-
ciSivc. On Oct 9 and 10 Kuroki gave
ground after n slight resistance. On
the 18th the battle ragged six miles
north of 1entai and hung in the bal
ance. Hard fighting continued on the
18th. On the 18th the operations dis
tinctly favored the Japanese. Oyama
reached his high water mark on the
18th, when the Japanese defense
stormed across the Shakhe and the
Russians seemed about to retreat TO
the HIN, several miles north.
Up to this point the Japs had cap
tured large number of guns. vari-
'ously reported at from seventy to liz,
and had lost none. Gen. Oku, in COM
mand of tie Japanese left, was doing
the hardest and most successful fight
ing. Opposite him lay the Russian
right, which was desperately clinging
TO the railroad. If Oku could shove
this Muscovite flank off the railroad TO
The eastward Kuropatkin's entire
army would lose its main line OF COM
inunication.
Oku bent his army into the shape Of
hook and tried to insert the tip of
the hook across the railroad behind
the Russians. Maj. Gen. Yamada'S
mixed brigade was the tip Of this
hook. At first he tore up things on
the other side, but the tip was not
strong enough, and a sudden Russian
blow separated it from the shank. The
net result, fourteen Jap guns captured,
100 men put out of action, and the
remaining 1000 fighting their way
back to the main body. This exploit
occurred on the evening Of Oct 16.
simultaneously the Russians made
their gallant attack on Lone Tree hill,
a PERCEPTIONS and tactically valuable
-eminence on the Shakhe River. The
japanese thereafter failed in several
efforts to retake Lone Tree hill. From
the evening of the 10th to the end Of
the fight the current set against the
Japs; they gained no further positive
advantages, though Oh the night of
the 18th they successfully repulSed Il
general Russian assault Oh the whole
JananpSa line
TacticalIy. therefore, the advantage
lies with the Japanese, though not
Overwhelmingly. They captured a
considerably larger number of guns
than they lost and at the end of the
fighting they occupied the battlefield
from which they pushed their enemy.
Why is it that the Japanese, neither
in the battle of the Shakhe River nor
in that Of Liaoyang, did not achieve
a more complete victory? There was
q point in each Of those fights when
the Russians were in a bad way, when
It looked as if the Japs could involve
Some Wireless Yarns.
M