The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1905-03-08

st. Petersburg, March s.-General
Kuropatkin telegraphs that he still
holds Mukden but has withdrawn from
the Shakhe river.
Kuroki is said H. have succeeded in
separating the divisions of Liveyitch
and Remenkampf and the latter's per
il is extreme.
LONDON, March S.-A st. Peters.
burg dispatch this morning says: That
the battle of Mukden will go down in
history with Ilaoyang in the long list
of Russiav defeats is the almost uni
yersal BEEF in pessimstic st. Peters
burg, which has forgotten the meaning
OF the word victory. The war office
does not admit that the issue of the
great battle has been decided, although
it is positively stated in high quarters
that General Kuropatkln has telegraph
ed to Emperor Nicholas that it will be
impossible to hold Mukden and that
the withdrawal Of the army northward
has already been begun"
While the Japanese hurled them
selves forward at every point, their
main energies were behind the blow
west and southwest In an attempt to
envelop the Russian right and drive
a wedge through the line at MadZyapu,
but General Kuropatkin seems to have
been able successfully TO change front
on the line of his shattered right, align
ing from northwest to southeast, to
protect the railroad to Mukden.
For ten days the japanese and Rus
sian armies in Manchuria have been
engaged in n mighty conflict, the issue
Of which has not yet been reached. AL
though the most of the news from the
scene of the battle comes through Rus
sian sources and consequently may be
supposed TO present the facts in as IA
yorable light as possible for the Rus
sian arms, 1t Is evident that the Japa-
| nese have made some great gains. st.
Petersburg has an unofficial report that
General Kuropatkin's center has been
broken and that thirteen siege guns
have fallen into the hands of the Iapa-
nese. These guns, which are of the six
and eight inch caliber, were given per
manent implacemeuts on the line of
the railroad north of Shakhe station,
the fact evidencing the confidence of
the Russians that the Japanese could
not penetrate thlther. In st. Peters
burg 1t is generally believed that Gen
eral Kuropatkin is fighting rear
guard action TO cover his retreat and
that the night will have witnessed a
large withdrawal OF troops toward Tie
pass
Beyond the statement that the cas-
ualties exceed those OF the battle of
Liaoyang there is little known as to
the number killed or wounded.
Mukden dispatches say that the bat
tie on the Russian right flank RACES
with undiminished vlgor. The Japa-
nese have made good their position ut
Tacha and pushed the contest north to
Slnmintin the same as on Sunday, four
miles from the main battle line, though
apparently no nearer AS was the case
in the battle Of Llaoyang, the senior
cular positions where the battle is
progressing now are 80 near that the
whole Of them are accessible from
Mukden in days tour.
The losses already exceed those in
the battle of Llaoyang on the Russian
side, and the Japanese are supposed to
have suffered much more, though this
does not seem to shake the japanese
tenacity, for at noon they attacked
Yenhsltun, advancing their infantry
and occupying Yenhsitun, when the
artillery battle increased furiously,
shells setting fire to many buildings.
the smoke from which, joining dust
storm, shrouded the vast plain in
clouds In which the battle roared and