The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-03-12
ARE SUBLIME IN THE
ART OF GETTING AWAY

TIE PASS, March II, :5S D. NAT
z o'clock Friday morning a great ex-
plosion blew up the Hun river bridge
and an immense cloud of smoke from
the burning settlement gave indisput-
able testimony of Gen. Kuropatkin's
decision to reliquish the second of his
great positions, a decision which was
known on Thursday. The army was
withdrawing all the latter half of the
night, while the houses of the settle
ment had been vacated earlier and
their lights left burning. Morning
showed through the great smoke clouds,
low lying for miles about the settle
the main roads moving north along the
east side of the railway.
The battle still centered north of the
imperial tombs with occasional shots
along the Hun river, where later an
opening permitted the japanese to
make a quick advance and dash toward
their main operation with the purpose
of concentrating and cutting off the
Russians.
At 1880 the japanese had partly
succeeded, for at Tawan with shrapnel
they shelled three sides of a rectangle
where the Russian army was moving
with great eXertion over Inadequate
though dry roads and furrowed fields,
but in perfect order. The japanese,
however. accomplished at this place
nothing more than a momentary STAN
pede; and though a soldier. crazed by
his efforts, threatened to shoot n cor
respondent in order to take his bag
gage cart for himself. the correspond
ent observed everywhere the admirable
GOODNESS which has distinguished the
Russian army throughout its trying re-
treats OF the last year.
This retreat must be reckoned as a
wonderful spectacle. For miles infan-
trymen and baggage wagons today
strewed the line of march. For rapid
ity the. japanese movements for the
first time were outstripped by the Rus
slams in Withdrawing The Russians
perhaps had staked more on the COM
bined operations of its commanders and
risked more than in any previous bat
tie with the Japanese.
The crucial point of the retreat oc-
CURED at dusk. when the rear guard
troops and the transport, which had
reached Santaitze, ten miles north OF
Mukden, suddenly received a rifle and
grenade assault from Japanese cavalry
which produced a stampede. The sue
cess OF the Japanese in closing against
the armies that were trying to get
away from the extended Hun river
position was evident
In ordering a retreat Gen. Kuropat-
KIN Is declared to say il was done in
order to save protesting opposition. and
whatever the blame, he would take il,
which in the light of events seems to
show that he best knew the capacity
of the soldiers.
The battle on the west flank and
around Mukden appears TO have been
the greatest of the war except at Port
arthur. During the terrible dust
storm of Thursday the Japanese with
machine guns occupied several empty
houses in village held by the Rus
slams and otherwise bettered their DO
sltion west of the railway so that when
the retreat came, with dust peIting on
all sides, 1t suggested another Cronje
incident. For twelve hours not a man
or horse rested, while the wounded
were gathered up on the two sides in
the rear and placed into the center
and every energy made to getting out
or trap, the jaws of which were al
most on the Russians. At Santiatze all
baggage was left behind. Many bodies
OF troops were encountered, some of
them In advance and some in the rear
and these were constantly making for
the japanese. Forty miles of retreat
was accomplished in seventeen hours
through plowed fields, with enormous
dust clouds, which made ii Impossible
TO see any distance. A great amount
of the equipage, AMMUNITION, guns and
stores of the Russians was lost.
The losses of men on both sides are
reckoned at 100000 for the entire fight.