Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-03-13


and enlisted the services OF nearl
ooo0 men of whom II Ia estimate,
ten per cent or 100000 were killed q
: wounded. The immediate kew I,
, Mukden was the village OF Dinshan
i'ih' SIX miles west II was capture,
by both sides repeatedly, the Japan
ese hnally gaining firm focthold
driving out the Russians with han[
rrenades and bayonets From hin
shanlun the Mukden railway station
was bombarded and the garrison drlv
On from the forts.
The japanese are now copcentr,t.
ing ther energies seven miles north,
west OF the city with view of cut.
ting on retreat The enormlty OF the
TASK OF surrounding half a million
men Is realized The Japanese
however. expect parts Of Kuropatkin's
army to escape. but believe Russian
power In Manchuria Is broken.
ST. PETERSBURG. March 10
The government is not officially In,
formed today of the fall extent of
The disaster to Kuropatkin'- army.
but the most sinister reports are be.
lievoi, and when the official news
came today that the Japanese have
occupied Mukden. that the Russians
were neeinf panic stricken and thai
many prisoners had been captured II
| "
| Marshall Oyama had practically sue
ceeded In closing the Iron ring around
n Iarge portion Of the czar's army
General Bilderling has reported 70
he war Office that his situation yes
terday was desperate, but no mes
sage comes from his today. This
city and the whole empIr,, Is in the
depth Of gloom and today's papers
are filled with lists of the notable
dead. The losses in the eleven days
hghting total over i25.O0O killed.
This Is presumably carnival week
throughout Russia, but there are no
signs of gayety mere or elsewhere
throughout the empire.
WASHINGTON. March 1910 sur.
round and destroy General Kuropai-
kin's army at and below Mukden. to
seize and fortify Tie Pass. thus pre-
venting Russian escape to the north.
ward and when this Is done to move
on northward TO Harbn. there cut.
ting tine main line OF the Siberian
railway and lsolating vladivostok. in.
suring the early fall of that city into
the hands of the victors. is the Jap.
anese military program, as II is ont
lined in dispatches received at the
Japanese legation in this city.
T'he tenor of the dispatches Is
such as TO indicate the confidence OF
the government at Toxic that the
program is about to be carried out
and that the end of the war is In
sight through the destruction of the
last prop that remains under the Rus.
sian empire. which is General Kuro-
pakin's army OF more than 300 900
men. The Japanese here have little
or no doubt of the outcome, though
with their customary caution they re-
member that there Is many a slip
between the cup and the lip and are
not indulging in any premature cele- I
brations of the conquest OF their foe |
1t is known in official circles here |
that Marshal Oyama's objective |
throughout all this campaign along |
the Shahke river has been Tie Pass. |
He cares little or nothing about po- |
session of the ancient City of Mukden |
II Is capable at best OF housing but |
10000 or 10000 troops But Tie Pass
Is the key to the whole strateelcal |
position. II is not narrow defls |
so broad but that it, admits of forti,
tication so effectively as to bar the
way of retreating and beaten army |
The Japaneae are rushing for Tie
Pass, and II they can gain possession
of 1t they will destroy Kuropatkin's
communications and have him sur
rounded With his line of supplies
cut on, ne must soon run snort OF |
ammunition and be compelled to sur
render. On the other hand, II the
Russian commander can break |
through with all or the major part OF
his army, 10 the northward Of Tie
Pass lies an open plain whereon an
enveloping movement would be vastly |
more difficult II not impossible. In |
case the Russian forces can reach |
this plain the war must he indeh |
nitely prolonged,
In military and political circles at
Washington little besides the gred, |
battle now raging in Manchura is
discussed. There is here apprecia-
tlon of the fact that one OF the great |
est engagements of modern times Is
now in progress, and that In the long
struggle between Russia and Japan |
the critical moment has come Every |
morning the military information
bureau Of the war department places