Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1905-03-24
THE BATTLE OF MUKpEN.

JUL field of Mukden, the dead uncounted and un-
buried, and the fate of the fragment of Kuro
patkn's shattered army still undecided, it is too
early to attempt to give to this tremendous conflict
its proper place in history Even the strength OF
the contending armies is to some extent as yet
matter of onjecture, but IL ere are certain cts a
ready known which give to the sc-i-, OF actions
around Mukden Il unique position IN the annals OF
warfare Leaving for moment the consideration
of the number of men engaged and the proportion
of casualties, the peculiar relationships OF the COM
batants to the East and the West and to the worlds
civilization, combine to make the battle of Mukden
not only epoch-making for the East, but probably
also worthy to rank with the decisive battles of the
world-with Marathon Arbea, Chalons, Hastings,
and with Waterloo.
Counting Liaoyang merely preparatory
though on a magnificent and terrible scale-to Muk-
den the latter will be recorded the first battle IN
which, meeting comparatively equal terms, an
army of Asatics has administered crushing defeat
upon the intrenched forces of European Powe'.
Too much stress must not be laid on this racial
aspect of the case for while at Mnkden Mongo was
pitted against Caucasian, the former represented,
bv the strongest of historical anomalies the most
advanced type of modern military and scientific
development, while Kuropatkin's armies stood in
many respects for conditions almost medieval. Yet
the Russians had the prestige of mighty empire
and "a name that was feared and dreaded Throughout
the length and breadth of Asia In the tatuity and
blindness of his pride the Tsar may fight on and on,
but he received Il blow at Mukden from which his
dynasty and people will not recover Tor genera
tions.
Mukden is also unique among modern battles
in the number of its combatants and the losses of
victor and vanquished Greek annals record that
10S7, 900 men we're engaged at Arbela and that at
Issus more than one-fifth of the Persian army OF
500 900 were killed captured by the soldiers OF
Alexander. Similar incredible legends about other
battles of the ancient world might be cited but all
of these may be dismissed too uncertain to be Int
material for comparison. There are ample data
from the wars of modern times, however, without
going into realms of fable, to show, If the cabled
estimates are anywhere the truth, that nearly
twice as many men faced each other in arms along
the Shakhe and the Hun in the great battle OF
Leipsc, in 1873 when Napoleon suffered crush
inc defeat at the hands Of the Allies. Here 49, 600
men composed the opposing forces, and The casual
ties are variously given rs 2l and 26 per cent Ii
it be true that 900, 600 men fought at Mukden, the
percentage of housekeeping Japans at Al, 22Z
and Russias at 1870, 000-was about 10 per cent, or
26 per cent if the largest estimate of 200, 600 Rus
slams killed, wounded and captured should prove
correct. These estimates, however, are so dlspro
portionate per cent for the attacking forces and
80 to AZ per cent. for the vanqushed-that they
must be discounted.
In the Napoleonic wars, in Prussia's operations
against Austria and France and in the American
i Civil War there was no such concentration of con
tending armies as has taken place in Manchuria. Oh
the first group, 200, 600 fought at jena and Auer
stadt; 26O, 600 at Bautzen $50, 900 at Wagram anc
24O, 600 at Borodno. More than 400, 600 mer
'aifHHf 54ySbd frsssspPe@SYpvey rssP@Yp lyme
our own war in the COS a vastly greater number Of
men were under arms, but only 122, 519 Union anc
Confederate soldiers fought at Antietam, us, 600 al
/ Fredericksburg, 100000 at Charlottesville and
167, 600 at Gettysburg. At the last-named battle
the proportion of losses far greater than al
Muken but not the aggregate; and this is the case
with others of the great battles of history. This
seems to prove the oftrepeated claim that, awful
has been the slaughter in Manchura, the ratio OF
ment of modern weapons.