Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-22
Will Blow Up Bridges to
Check Enemies Pursuit.
The unfordabIe Sunghari River
Scene of Activities.
By This Move oyama's Troops Would
Be Halted.

|
still to have the services of General
Ku-opatkin. who is considered by many
| in spite of his series of reverses, the
| best general and foremost strategst of
| the Russian army. Sinking all feeling
of personal bitterness between him.
self and General Linevitch the
| former chief volun-
| teered to remain in any capacity with
| the army, which he had so long COM
manded. The tender has been accept
ed by Emperor Nicholas, and gratefully
received by the new leader of the
grand army.
| The change exactly reVerses the old
order of affairs. when Kuropatkin was
the supreme leader and Linevitch di-
rected the first army
authoritative news of this remarkable
step was known in Manchuria much
earlier than in St. Petersburg. Cen
eral kuropatkin having paused on his
homeward journey at Hardin. stated
southwark the afternoon of March 20.
| amidst a most remarkable farewell
| from residents of Hardin and soldiers
| who are on the way to fill out the
| ranks of the depleted army. The send
off was a mere foretaste of what awaits
| General kurOpatkin at the front; and
| his self-sacrificing determination and
the equally patriotic course of General
| Linevitch i'm accepting the services ten
| dered are bound to do wonders for the
Transportation of the Emperor's legions
and give promise of union and harmony
at the council table. which that army
has hitherto lacked.
| The retreat is apparently progressing
uneventually. No dispatches of mo-
| lnent We're received yesterday.
} Little weight is placed here on the de-
duction drawn ut certain European capt.
| tails from the dispatch announcing that
cannonadng had been heard south of Tie
| Pass. that General Rennenkampffs corps
endeavOring to rejon the main army had
been interrupted south of Tie Pass. AS
| stated yesterday morning, the dispatch in
question was erroneous and it may be
pointed ont that several correspondents at
the front have mentioned the orderly re-
| treat of General Linevitch's army and as
| serted that it effected a concentration
| at Tie Pas with scarcely a strasgler miss
| ing but made no mention of the absence
| of so we'll known a fighter as General
| Rennenkampff. In addition, The AsSO.
| ciated Press correspondent. NJ. Toluza-
kof who was with Rennenkampff COM
| mand during the battle. has arrived ut
| general headquarters slightly wounded.
| Preparations are now making for the mo-
| Utilization of a number of detachmentS
| net however. on general scale the pre-
liminary orders affecting q districts in
| the governments of Odessa, Warsaw and
| Moscow.
| st. Petersburg. March 22.-f2. 10 A. NJ
| occurrences and extensions of agra rian
| troubles are noted and near Libau work
| men and peasants are making common
| cause. The Caucasus is already the scene
| of armed resistance to the forces of civil
authority and in the region around Kicff
where the peasants are increasingly bold
| there have been many cases of violence
| The labor leaders of the social revolu-
| tiOnIstic persuasion in the great industrial
| centers are plainly planning to synchro-
nize a general renewal of the strike with
the climax Of the peasant disorders and
with the action of the troops in mind
| have been serving notice by anonymous
letters and other warnings on guard of
l
Sunday" comes and they order the troops
| to fire they will be held responsible there
| for and their lives be made the forfeit.
| st. Petersburg. March 21-1.15 P. NJ.
Gen. Linevitch's headquarters has been
established for the present at Chen
| chiawatZu. situated at the crossing Of
| the Sunghari river, whence he is di-
| recting the retreat of the armies and
| diSpOsing of the fresh troops of the
Fourth Corps just arriving from Euro
| pean Russia. The protection of the
| Sunghari bridge is vital to the saliva
| ton of the army as the river is not
| forbade below Kirin and once the
| line of the river is passed and the
| bridge blown up the Japanese pursuit
| will be effectively checked. At the
| same time the Second army is falling
| back of the line of the railroad while
! the First and Third with the trans
| port are retreatng along the Mandarin
road to Kirin. both destroying bridges
| and roads and denuding the country
| behind them and making it impossible
| for the japanese to live in the immedi-
| ate wake of the retreat without their
| own commissariat. The japanese are
| crossing over the Grand Trade route
~ miles west of the railroads. How
ever. they could probably live on The
country. the road just before the OPEN
| ing of the navigation of the Lao river
| being crowded with Chinese provisions
| on the way to market outward.
| Apparently it is a question as to
which army will outmarch the other
| although the general staff seriously
| doubts the ability of Field Marshal
| Oyama's fatisued soldiers with the diff
ficulties of getting up guns ammuni-
| ton and provisions over the ruined
roads to continue the pursuit energet-
| ioally.
| No information is available regarding
| the strength of the Japanese columns ad-
| vancing on the Grand Trade route. but
| the war office says it is hardly large
| enough to constitute a menace with the
| dispositions Gen. Linevitch is able to
| make of fresh troops. Nevertheless, ST
| Petersburg is in the dark as to the eX-
act situation and considering the re-
| sourcefulness of the Japanese there is
| constant fear that they may manage to
| opt hp n,