The San Francisco call., 1904-09-13
Victorious Japanese
Praise Defeated
Commander.

GENERAL KUROKTS HEAD
QUARTERS IN THE FIELD, Sept 8.
The battle of Liaoyang was a mag
nifcent victory of which the Japanese
have reason to be proud, although they
were unable to realize their hopes of
another Sedan.
The execution of a campaign by the
Japanese upon such a vast scale
against an army probably their su-
perior in numbers and possessing more
modern guns Of greater caliber and
range than theirs, established behind
fortifications of great completeness and
unprecedented extent, and directed by
skillful commanders, excites the high
est admiration of the military critics.
It is unquestioned that at Liaoyang
General Kuropatkin expected to turn
the tide of war against the Japanese.
1t would now appear that the fighting
of the past few weeks-since the fail
ure of the Russian movement to the
south-was not expected to be decisive,
but was a series of preliminary opera
tions conducted for the purpose of har-
assing the Japanese and gaining time
for the crucial struggle.
the japanese army find convincing evil
dences that General Kuropatkin plan
ned to defeat the Japanese armies in
detail and then to dispatch powerful
column to the south for the relief of
Port Arthur and they are of the opin-
ion that with the thirteen divisions at
his command General Kuropatkin
could have accomplished this had the
quality of his officers and soldiers
equaled that of the Japanese.
Not until the night of September 8,
after five days of continuous battle. did
the Russians take the first steps Of
retreat. With an almost unfordable
and wide river at his back and strong
force of Japanese opposing him in the
rear and on the flank, General Kuro-
patkin was able to withdraw his army
without losing a single gun.
One result of this battle has been to
give the japanese a much higher opin-
ion of the abilities Of their antagonists
than the exhibitions at the Yalu River
and elsewhere compelled them to enter
possessed and it has indulged in no
demonstrations of rejoicing.
The work done by the Russians in
preparing the neighborhood of Lao
yang to be a theater of battle is of in
credible magnitude In addition to the
extensive Notifications on the south
side of the Taitse River there were
practically three lines of defenses for
the protection of the eastern approaches
of the railroad, which in themselves
constituted formidable battle area.
The fighting was carried right up to
the railroad line, but Notwithstanding
the fact that the Japanese shelled the
last trains which left Liaoyang on the
way to Mukden, it was impossible for
them to intercept any of the Russian
rear guard.
The area north of the river which
was fought over by the contending
armies presents terrible picture of the
results Of the war. The fields are dug
with hundreds of lines of trenches,
marking the successive stages of re-
treat, and crematory fires are yet burn
ing where searching parties are bring
ing in Japanese bodies. Graves of Rus
sian soldiers can be seen at every turn,
some dug by comrades and others by
Japanese. On one hillside is a group
of two or three hundred graves marked
by rough sticks. Many bodies remained
undiscovered in the high grain. Flocks
Of crows hover about and hundreds of
Chinese dogs roam the fields.