Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-06
JAPAA'S BIG ARMIES
Two Central Bodies of I'm
mense Proportion.
SEEN BY REPORTER
TOOK TEN DAYS TO PASS A GIVEN
POINT.
Beginning Of Russian Retreat at Shoko
Was Orderly and They Left
q Clean Field.
HEADQUARTERS OF
GEN. KUROKrS ARMY,

the Japanese forces was brought home to
| the observer when the two central armies
| rolled across the Shaho on the morning of
the Sth of March in the wake of the re-
treating Russians. Hitherto during the bat
tie parts Of two three brigades of in
faLtry. with few battalions of reserves, a
| dozen or more batteries, with pack trains
and field hospitals, were all that one per-
| son could see in the mountainous country
of the great armies engaged. But when
| the whole array moved northward with its
impediments following 1t was impressive
host. Looking from the heights where the
Russian batteries had been one could see
many khaki-colored professions for miles
or either hand emerging from the valleys
q al passes where the Japanese. had been
concentrating since October, streaming
across the dry bed of the river and the
| narrow channels of ice and winding away
among the bare hills and sandy plains
| northwart. 1t was a business-like army
swathed In dark blue and khaki with no
spectacular show of gold braid nor brass,
and hardly touch of color except the
scarlet blankets worn over the shoulders.
Most of the ranks were boys yet. but they
were toughened by a year of campaigning
into hardy veterans. They plodded on
silently, as usual, with no show of rejoice
ing over victory, without confusion or
cited officers. Japanese dominion over
Manchuria was spreading at the rate of
two miles hour. BY the river banks
were fields of kaoliang, which had stood I'M
harvested since fall between the lines of
hostile cannon, and through these were
swarming men, women and children, reap
ing and stacking their crops. The China
man fritters away time gaping at vic
tor1ous armies when few dollars are to be
gathered.
For ten days from that morning the whole
country within the area of the fighting
was covered with mist of fine dust, stirred
hl foot of, no.,
and animals. 1t never settled for a. min
ute; 1t choked the throat and blinded the
eyes, sifted under clothing. made food gritty
and turned all water into mud The flames
nom burning houses and stacks of grain
showed through 1t in the night like the
noon through the fog. The sand storms
which began on the second day of the pur-
suit and continued at intervals for a week
came from the north directly into the faces
| OF the Japanese and made the discomfort
and hardship worse. There was great con-
trast between the country south of the
Shaho and north of 1t. The villages toward
Mukden were larger and more prosperous
with better buildings. and the picturesque
temples and tombs surrounded by groves
or dark green frs made welcome piano.
rama to the eyes Of the men from beautiful
Japan. who had spent months among the
az cary and monotonous hills. Chinese
families gathered in front of their houses
and greeted the Japanese with shouts
doubtless they were equally ready to ae-
claim the Russians. and denounce the Japa-
nese, when 1t was polite Outside the
| larger towns Chinese officials wearing their
robes of office and buttons on their cans
with banners and soldiers in gaudy unit
forms received the Japanese generals, and
zen. huroki and his staff rode into the VIII
large where his headquarters are, now
through double file of villagers kneelfng
or both sides of the road. -
Russian Retreat. 49,
The beginning of the Russian retreat from
the Shaho was orderly. and they left a
clean field. None of their portable effects
worth taking had been abandoned, except
hundreds of stacks of tin cases in the
trenches and huts containing cartridges.
reward evening Of that day Gen. Ku-
rokfs troops overlook their rear guards
eight or nine miles north of the Shaho and
from that time the retreat became a
scramble for safety At the various sup
ply stations huge piles of grain were fired
and smouldered for days The pursuit con-
tinued all through the night of the sth,
and the right division OF Kuroki's army
came to the branch line of railroad running
from Mukden to the mines at Fushun On
the morning Of the 9th the sand storm
began which threw both sides into confu-
sion and made orderly retreat or pursuit
on large scale impossible. All the tele-
graph wires connecting the Headquarters
and the different divisions were blown down
so that each contingent proceeded largely
on Its own responsibility. The left division
crossed the Hunho under cover of the thick
dust clouds without a battle. Apparently
the Russian commander was afraid to risk
defense on such a day. even in the elab-
crate works which should have made the
Hunho the most formidable line of defense
perhaps because his own men were In a
panic. Probably this was the decisive day
of the battle, for the Japanese forces west
of Mukden We're being pressed hard and the
brigade on the extreme left was almost |
wiped out. Had Bidering repulsed Kuroki |
two or three days at the Hunho the Rus
sian reserves might have been able to turn !
tIn do M,,lx1
good fortune made history otherwise
Kuropatkin had hurried his reserves from |
Mukden east to Fushun, as the Japanese
had planned that he should. and then hur- |
ried them back to Mukden, but only too |
late. The Japanese center army from Ku-
roki's left was pushing past Mukden to the |
north and Kurokfs left division was march |
Ing still further north, protecting It's right |
flank. Having lost the Hunho the Russian |
central army left Mukden to Its fate and |
continued in Its disorderly retreat to Tieh- |
ling. That all their dead were left where |
they fell showed what the retreat had be-
come. On the morning Of the 10th the left |
division again encountered the Russian rear |
guard in considerable force northeast OF |
Mukden, and as the Russians attempted to |
make stand they were beaten in two en- |
gagements. and In the afternoon the divis- |
Ion arrived at the town of Sana. ten miles |
beyond Mukden on the main road from
Mukden to Tiehlng.
Until the 10th the army had been pushed |
forward day and night in the face of every |
d1mculty TO draw the attention or the Rus |
SLAMS from Mukden, and the men were |
nearly exhausted by their forced march. |
The military roads from Fushun to Tlehling |
wound along the plains among sharp hills, !
and the division followed this to get to |
the north of Mukden, while Gen. Linevitch |
took most, of his men directly north through |
the mountains, with the Japanese right |
army pursuing. Several times the Japanese /
had brushes with the rear guard, but no |
important action until the 14th, when |
they approached the range Of high. steep |
hills seven miles southeast of Tiehling, |
which was strategically the strongest de- |
tense of the city There was broad level |
plain in front of the hills and no avenue of |
approach for an attacking force except to |
cross this plain under such cover as could |
be found In the gullies and behind occas- /
siona1 ridges Consequently 1t was decided |
to attempt the night attack with the bayo- |
net once more. and thus the first line OF |
trenches below. the hills was gained. For |
the general advance on the morning of the |
14th two battalions were assigned for /
frontal attack, one for diversion on the /
right and the largest force Of eight on the |
left.
Retired In Haste.