Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-03-09
KUROPATK|N'S
FATE IN BALANCE
Depends On Result of Fight
ing Before
Mukden.
NOGl IS ALMOST IN THE CITY
Roar Of Cannon browns Rumble OF
Carts In Strsets--Russians Reported
to Have Beaten Back Desperate and
Fanaticai Japanese Assault.

st. Petersburg, March 6.-The fate
of General Kuropatkin and his army
hangs in the balance today. depend.
ing on the result OF the fighting al
most In the outskirts OF Mukden. Ac-
cording to latest reports this morn
ing, the fighting went well for the
Russians, who beat back the wave
that threatened to roll over Mukden
as 1t had oyer the Notifications or
Port Arthur; but nothing is known
as to what is going on beyond the
line of breakers, whether part of Gen.
eral Nogis force is in full career for
Tie Pass, or whether the japanese
have staked all In cast against
Mukden.
The imminence of the peril on the
west wing has withdrawn attention
from the operations on the center and
left, where the fighting had been ex-
tremely heavy, and on the left, es-
pecially where the Japanese gains are
sufficiently great to cause apprehen-
sion In themselves. Military critics
point out that the Japanese have put
themselves In a critical position by
the extreme extension Of their lines,
laying themselves open, as they did
at Lao Yang, to the possibility Of an
effective counter stroke and probable
defeat II General Kuropakin should
be able to launch a column against a
weak link in the chain.
In other respects the situation also
resembles that at Lao Yang, the Jap
anese making a costly 'idemonstra-
ton" to hold the Russians in the for
| tifications on the center and throw
ing away the lives of thousands In
order to give the flanking force an
opportunity to administer telling
blow.
The Russian losses on both tanks
are conceded TO be enormous, but 1t
is said that defenders of the center
suffered comparatively little by the
Japanese bombardment. beating Off
the Japanese attack.
The attacks delivered by General
Nogi's soldiers were marvellous, In
view of the forced marches which
they made for six days, recalling the
records of Stonewall's Jackson's foot
cavalry" They entered the battle
with the greatest dash and fought
day after day with vigor, but those OF
| them who were taken prisoners drop
ped to the ground utterly exhausted
and hardly able to speak. They had
not eaten for two days, which ac'
counts in part for their utter fatigue,
General Kuropatkin's line OF com
| munications has not been touched,
1 fu In I'd
right flank Is bent so sharply back.
ward that 1t may compel the abandon.
ment of the Putiloff and Novgorod
! hills, to which the Russian left also
has been so sharply repulsed that a
correspondent compares the entire
situation to the letter G. The Jap
anese possibly are pushing northward
at tangents with both tanks.
Toxic, March 6.--Field Marshal
Oyama is continuing his great drives
around both TANKS OF the Russian
army. His front is now huge bow,
the base on the Shakhe, the right
arm reaching a point east of Fushun,
and the left arm extending to point
tightening the great Gordon OF men
and steel. General Kuropatkin Is
striving desperately to check the Jap.
anese advances, contesting the flank
encroachments and hammering the
Japanese center.
The Japanese are making heavy
gains of ground west Of the railway
and have captured great quantities OF
stores and other spoils. There has al
ready been bloody fighting and heavy
losses, and this will be vastly in
creased when the masses of infantry
r,aat