The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-09-12

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Down at the end of the valley
CLEANS a white pago6a where Gen.
Sakaroff, according to his report, wit
messed the engagement of the fourth
and was filled with admiration for the
ValOr Of his men. and where he was
probably a spectator of their second
and more disastrous repulse. The ad-
vancing japanese skirmish line was
half mile below the trenches, steadily
pushing the Russians back. The fire
of the japanese battery had ceased
when the enemy began to retreat. the
mist had risen and the sun was shin
! ing holly The uproar of japanese
rifles was like the popping of hundreds
of corks, while the Russian volleys
| cracked viciOusly, and after each vol
ley came crashing of tree tops as
| though a gigantic axe cut a swathe
through them.
Russians Yielded Slowly.
The Russians were yielding the
ground slowly with their firing line
spread out across the fields and hill
sides in an almost solid barrier Be
hind the firing line and sheltered by a
| clump of magnificent trees-Which
must have concealed them from the
japanese advance a regiment was
| stopping in solid formation on a cross
! road The men were a long dark mass
| plotting out the fresh green crops, and
| their officers in white coats could be
seen riding up and down the lines ap-
| parenty trying to reorganize them.
| With the regiment was a battery
| which had fine opportunity for effective
action but was huddled together in the
! field where a single well placed .Tapa-
| neSe shell might have worked great
execution in its midst. Further down
the road more troops were returning
to their camping places slowly, and
with them many wagons OF baggage
The whole attitude of the force betoS-
aned indecision and lack of plans. AL
though the Japanese troops were near
est they were so effectually concealed
in the trees and bushes that few could
be seen and their positions could be in
ferred only from the sounds of their
rifles. Attaches and correspondents
pushed on through a wood to 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 but 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 want
csc punt u a IilEu NH ClOSt " Nlit
right whose summit afforded such a
view of battle as can be achieved puu
seldom.
Methods of the Japanese.
This letter is not intended to describe
the engagement. but to give some of
the impressions of a spectator who
could see only a part of the field, and
that, during the closing hours. BY far
the most significant and interesting
feature of the spectacle was the ap-
pearance and methods of japanese
soldiers at the work toward which all
the drill and equipment Of soldiers is
directed. and the comparison of them
with the Russians. The country afford
ed the best possible cover for troops
who knew how TO avail themselves of
1t, and the Japanese officers and in
dividual men appeared to have every
point in the game at their wits end
In addition to the irregular road-here
elevated and there depressed, the banks
of a mountain brook running beside it
and the clumps of tres and bushes,
and also a few low Chinese mud
houses, gave shelter for rifemen. The
japanese utilized all the cover as they
advanced, while the Russian tactics
of preserving close company formation
sacrificed much of the natural advan-
tages of the ground. That stiffness
which some foreign officers noting in
the home maneuvers had thought
might handicap the Japanese i'm the
field was entirely abandoned. When
a battalion went into action the COM
panies worked most independently
I Sections of companies found positions
separately where the country and the
cover favored them without attempt
ing to preserve long straight lines,
while the units displayed great initia-
I tive and dash. The rolling ground per-
mitted them to advance by rushes eff
7 fectively.
After firing a few rounds they would
} dash ahead to another hillock and,
dropping into the grass. empty their
: magazines again. Their uniforms of
khaki from cap covers to leggins made
them as inconspicuous as possible. on
the Pekin relief expedition japanese
regiments took the field dressed en-
tirely in white duck which presented
/ cleaning target across the corn
covered plains of Chill within any
: reasonable rifle range. Since that cam
/ paign. in the evolution of this most
modern of armies, economy of lives
has come to be reckoned with. SO far
has the spectacular deferred to effec-
tiveness in uniforming that even the
regimental numbers on shoulder straps
are abandoned, that the enemy may
( ma no distinguishing marks about
prisoners or dead to give a clue to the
identity of the organizations which OPP
pose them.
Sword Scabbards Guide to Marks.
men.
The occasional CLINT of an officer
sword scabbard when the sun struck 1
was the only guide for marksmen
few hundred yards distant The Off
GERS yet retain their swords In the fielC
because at close quarters they wielt
them with the old fury and skill OF tn,
Samurai fighting before their clans
How perfectly khaki fuses with an or
binary background was illustrated late
in the day when the Russian battery
with an unexpected burst O
energy, dropped half dozel
shells over hill to the right of tn
temple. No one had noticed soldien
there until. after the dropping OF tn
shells. II suddenly seemed to swarm
with men and two or three companie
ming for shelter. one of the shells Eel
short almost on the crest of the hill
where tie attaches and correspon
dents had been grouped until a fe,
minutes before. when they Withdrew
thinking that the lighting was practi
cally finished for the day
The japanese for some reason re
Trained from making the most OF thei
guns on this occasion. The Russian
retreating Ia large compact bodies
presented splendid targets a few shell
Tow and then might have thrown then