The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-10-11

- ~ AA VIVA
to protect their own base, and there
seems to be q possibility of n or
both the Japanese columns threatening
the railway behind the Russians and
forcing the suspension of their agrees
sive movement.
ORDERED BY kURoPATKIN.
Russian Commander Starts His Troops
to the Attack.
st. Petersburg, Oct. 10.-The follow
ing is the text of an order of the day
issued by General Kuropatkin' and
dated Mukden, Oct. 2:
more than seven months ago the
enemy treacherou.ly fell upon us at
Port Arthur before war had been de-
clared. SINCE then, by land and sea-,
Russian troops have performed many
heroic deeds of which the fatherland
may justly be proud. The enemy,
however, is not only not overthrown,
but in his arrogance continues to
dream Of complete victory. .
"The troops of the Manchurian
army, in unvarying good spirits, hither-
to have not been numerically strong
enough to defeat the Japanese army.
Much time is necessary for overcom-
ing all the difficulties of strengthening
the active army so as to enable 1t to
accomplish with complete success the
arduous but honorable task imposed
upon it. 1t is for this reason that in
spite of the repeated repulse of Japa-
nese attacks upon u positions at
T~atchekiao, Li%andiansian and Lao
yang, / did not consider that the time
had arrived to take advantage of these
successes and to begin a forward move
ment, and l therefore gave the order to
retreat.
Positions Covered With corpses.
"You left the positions you had SO
heroically defended, covered with piles
of the enemy's dead and without allow
ing yourselves to be disturbed by the
foe and in full preparedness for q fresh
fight. After a five days battle at Lao
yang you retired on new positions
which had been prepared previously.
After successfully defending all ad-
vanced and main positions you with
drew to Mukden under most difficult
conditions.
ATTACKED by General Kuroki's army
you marched through almost impass-
able mud, fighting throughout the day
and %extricating guns and carts with
your hands at night and returned to
Mukden without abandoning a single
gun, prisoner or wounded man, and
with the baggage train entirely intact.
II ordered the retreat with a sorrow
full heart, but with mistaken conf
dence that it was necessary in order
to gain complete and decisive victory
over the enemy when the time came.
1.-THE emperor has assigned for the
conflict with Japan forces Sufficient to
assure us victory. All difficulties In
transporting these forces over a dis
lance of 10, 1000 versts are being over
come in a spirit of se~lf-sacriice and
with indomitable energy and skill by
Russian men of every branch and rank
of service and every social position to
whom has ben entrusted this work,
which for dificulty is unprecedented
in the history Of warfare.
Gets Large Reinforcements.
"In the course of eve months hun.
dreds of thousands of men and tens of
thousands of horses and carts and
millions of pools Of stores have been
coming uninterruptedly by rail from
European Russia and Siberia to Man
churia.
IF the regiments which already have
been sent out prove insufficient, fresh
troops will arrive, for the inflexible
wish of the emperor that we should
vanQuish the foe will be inflexibly full
filed. Heretofore the enemy, in OPP
Grating, has relied on. his great forces
ard, disposing his armies SO as to sur
round u.s., has chosen as he deemed fit,
his time for attack; but now the mo-
ment to 60 to meet the enemy, for
which the whole army has been long
ing, has come, and the time has ar
rived for us to compel the Japanese
to do our will, for the forces of the
Manchurian army are strong enough
to begin a forward movement. Never
theless, you must be increasingly mind
full Of the victory to be gained over
our strong and gallant foe, and above
| all remember how necessary victory
is, the more speedily to relieve our
brothers at. Port Arthur who for
seven months have heroically main
tanned the defense of the fortress en-
trusted to their care"
REASON FOR STRICT BLOCKADE.