The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-10
OCCUPATION OF LAO YANG.
Japanese Entered the City at Three
In the Morning.

Lao Yang, Sept. 4.-via Tien Tsin,
Sept. 1O.-The Japanese at O'Clock
Russians had evacuated Lao Yang
and at IL o'clock they sent scouting
parties to the southern and western
walls of the city. At o'clock this
morning the troops of the victorious
army quietly entered and occupied
Lao Yang, General Kuropatkin's for
mer base and stronghold. This sue
cess was achieved after five days of
glorious fighting.
After General Kuroki had noted the
march of the tenth Russian army
corps which he had driven in from
the An Ping road to the plain on its
way to join the Russian center which
General Nodzu had forced in from
kOafensshi, he divided his forces sta
toned in An Ping all3 Feng Wang
Cheng roads. He took care to have a
sufficiently strong force on the Feng
Wang Cheng road, on General Nodzu's s
extreme right and sent to General Nod
zu, who was pushing with the Jap
anese army along the Mengchiafang
and south roads, one brigade to Meng-
chiafang, three regiments to Chiaofan-
tun and two regiments to the south
road General Kuroki, in the mean
time waited quietly, and with two di-
visions on the south bank of the Taitse
river.
On August %, the artillery under
General Nodzu bonn barded fiercely the
three hills at Chiaofantun. On the
same day General Oku, in command
OF the japanese army, working his way
with rifle fire and artillery, slowly ad-
vanced along the railroad in spite of
the Russian opposition from neighbor-
ing elevations, and fortifications The
lett army thus moved toward Shusean,
The Russian cavalry was not able to
locate the Japanese trenches on this
advance.
The character of the japanese ad-
vance apparently had served as a
warning to General Kuropatkin to
make sure of his retreat and his trans
port was at once seen moving rapidly
out OF Lao Yang over the railroad
bridge.
On August so, the Japanese closed
IN on the Russians in their mountain
position at Chiaofantun. Here the
guns were SO close to each other that
it was almost possible for the battery
commanders to see each others spec
tacles.
At 10 o'clock on the morning of the
3Oth, General KuroDatkin's staff
moved out of Lao Yang. At the same
time rifle fire was heard drawing near
er to the railroad station and this was
an indication of the sure advance of
the japanese left army. The fences
around all the houses at Lao Yang
had been removed in order to faciIitate
the movements of wagons and troops
Wounded men, of whom none was
seen on the 29th, were trailing along
the roads from the south and south
west into Lao Yang on the 3Oth. The
Russians made use of a field balloon
all day long on the 30th and by means
of 1t they got the range of one Japanese
battery which they succeeded in put
ting out of action. AS a general thing
however, they failed to find either the
enemy's batteries or his troops, while
the japanese continued to silence Rus
sian battery after Russian battery
AT 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the
3Oth, the Japanese shelled a Russian
battery posted on a hill within three
miles of Lao Yang, but shortly after
this hour it became apparent that the
russians had begun to hold their own.
By 4 O'Clock in the afternoon the Jap
anese shraonel fire was confined to the
position at Chiao Fantun. where the
Russians were disputing every hillock
with the enemy. The japanese made
repeated but unsuccessful attacks on
this position. The fighting of the 30th
came to a close at o'clock in the
evening. The Russian casualties for
the 29th and 30th totalled more than
5000 men.
The japanese, from a low range of
hills to the southeast and south of Shu-
shan began shelling the northern end
quarter before 10 on the morning of the
31st. This artillery fire was preceded
and accompanied by infantry rushes
over the valley and the lower hills
dawn and were continued until even
Ing, the Japanese officers urging their
and fainting men with the
points of their swords. There was very
hard fighting at a round topped hill en-
the Russian line opposite the point
where the two Japanese armies under
Generals Nodzu and Oku came togeth-
er. The Russian position here was pro-
ected with wire ENHANCEMENT and a
small body of Russian troops absolutely
refused to retire. In one trench seven
men fought gallantly until they were
by the japanese.