Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-06-06

ne did, with the result that soon his sol- diers were in the trenches which msy had faced all winter. Maybe the Firse and Fourth armies were not happy py this time, from generals down to trans- porters! Limbs numbed by cold might
 at last stretch themselves In acton.
 When you have not made mile for four months and the road Is suddenly cleared soldiers need no urging to tho pursuit.
 Knropatdn's Last Chance.
 But the battle was scarcely won yet.
 Nogi was not out of danger. AS hard and harder fighting was to come as had passed. The First army did not catch up with the Russian rear guard until they were ten miles beyond the Shakhe on the 8th. Thus far they had marched their columns away from Kuroh and
 Nodzu as unimpeded as if they wera coming home to barracks after maneu- vers. The pursuers had yet to cross tho Hun river. That was the natural sec ond line of defense for the Russian left. A part of the First army reached the Hun on the Sth. It was still frozen on the 9th, when both Nodzu and Kuroki were altogether up with 1t, and Kuroki had a portion of his command across. The Russians did not make strong stand here.
 The release of all the reserves on the Russian left meant more troops to press the Japanese left. On the 9th Oku found himself in the face of in- trenched positions which he could not budge At this point. now so clearly critical, the Russians poured out blood as if 1t were water. Farther north they attacked Nogi in masses with fiendish desperation. He had one bri- gade annihilated. In one regiment of that brigade, am told, but single officer was alive and unwounded. Still on the whole, Nogi did not give ground. But could he stand such another onset on the 10th? Certainly he could not ad- vance in face of one.
 That night of the 9th was the crisis of the battle. Fortunately Oyama's communications with his corps had not been interrupted He knew precisely what was going on over the hundred miles length of his line.
 The parts of the Japanese right and Japanese left were now interchanged. Nogi had to resist the enemy's ham, mering while Kuroki swung to the northwest. The time had come when the right must break through and threaten the railroad on its own ac- count. With the Imperial guards to protect his flank, Nodzu on the night of the 9th crossed the Hun and dashed forward. Morning found him well to the north of Mukden. There was hard, grim fighting in the dark. Kurokis other two divisions also kept on. The guards were temporarily checked, but pressed on at daylight. That did the business.
 But first another word about tho First army. Two of the divisions were not yet across the Hun on the morning of the 10th They were hotly engaged. At the same time sand storm had cut all divisional communications. The di- vision attached to Nodzu was well sep arated from its mates. A staff officer was hurried forward to 1t. Without knowing the situation of the other two. he brought up all the available re- serves to the assistance of the isolated division, which was able to dash ahead and catch the thick of the retreat un- der its guns.
 With victory in the air the other two divisions were not to be denied. They made their crossing good. From that time onward no critic could have spo- ken of the Japanese pursuit as slow. Yalu army was too far to the east to be brought to bear on the line of Russian retreat Kurok's men, heavily equipped, kept on for sixty miles with scarcely any sleep.
 The plan of concentration for a dash had succeeded as 1t has SO often for the. Japanese. Could Kuropatkin have kept Kuroki and Nodzu back another hours, gradually drawing in his center while he held Nogi on his right, his army might have got away without anything approaching the loss in prisoners that he sustained. With Nodzu north of Mukden his center was in the neck of bottle. The Russians filed north In columns along the rail- road as fast as they could. with trans portation blocking the way. There was no safety for them until they should get past Tiehling. Without waiting, on a studied approach one of Kuroki's dt. visions took the pass at the cost of . thousand casualties. That was not In the plan as part of Kuroki's work. But the wire to grand headquarters was down now for the first time. He could not wait on permission. He saw the thing to do was to take the pass, and he took it
 The Trap Closed
 But before this the regiments of Ku- roki and Nogi and Nodzu and Oku had in crossing the railroad. of Russians were still in Mukden- Defachments of troops fresh