Arizona republican., 1905-03-15

! with a view to cutting off the retreat. l the Russian right was extended east ward from the Sinmintin road to the railway.
 On March ', both sides began most vigorous offensive operations, the Jap anese attacking with energy the forces of General Tserpitsky, which were holding the position from Madyapu as far as the heights east of Mukden sta tion, while the Russians under General Gerngross assumed the attack in the direction of TacheaO, and on the north ern front General Launitz's command beat back all the attacks.
 On the whole the outcome of the fighting of March ', was favorable to the Russians, who repulsed several at tacks on their southern front and as sumed the defensive on the left where General Linevitch's army, occupying the eastern hill positions, repulsed the numerous attacks and took several hundred prisoners and several ma chimes.
 The continued extension, however, of the Japanese lines northward and the concentration which their superiority in numbers enabled them to effect on the northern and northwestern fronts rendered advisable a contraction of the
 
 the Shakhe river to positions on the Hun river was determined upon. This was in no sense the beginning of the general retreat and Kuropatkin and his generals were far from regarding the battle as lost. The first army to re- tire from the fortified positions was the third army which fell back to posi- tions similarly fortified in the advance on the north bank of the Hun river. The burning of the abandoned stores provisions and forage followed.
 The positions now formed a boot the toe at Madyapu and the heel on the Hun river at Fushun about five miles wide and to meet the apparent danger that the Japanese might plug the top of the boot. KurOpatkin sent thither forty battalions from the command of General MiIoff which were rendered available by a shortening of the line Russians began slowly to force the Japanese back at this critical point but the Japanese iR turn were rein forced in their extreme right and Ku- ropatkin seeing all apparently going well at other positions collected the re- mainder of the strategic reserves strengthened by several other units and led them personally on March 9, to the north front and threw them on the flank of the Japanese who were at tacking SantatinZe and endeavoring to cut the railway.
 The scale of weight was on the Rus sian side. The Japanese then retired abandoning a battery of eight guns, success apparently crowning the Rus sian arms. At this moment two sets of reports were received the first that a column of Japanese was moving fur ther north around the right flank and the second that the Japanese on the Hun river had taken advantage of the storm which was blowing the dust in the Russians faces, ard of the breach- es in the positions on the Hun to thrust a column through at Flu Pass and Kyouzan, on the instep of the boot
 Here the forts were defended by only three companies of the Rarnaul regi- ment and a company of the 'Irkutsk regiment, which were forced to retire before the Japanese cavalry and four mountain guns.
 THE RETREAT BEGINS.
 With the entire Russian strategic overtures already engaged it became impossible to meet the danger in these two sources, which was imminent and critical and at o'clock in the evening the order to retire to Tie Pass was given.
 Through the narrow valley. scarcely five miles wide densely packed mass of transports pressed northward. com ing under the fire of a small squadron of Japanese cavalry and four mountain guns which earlier in the battle had managed to dart across the Russian line of communication and conceal themselves in the mountains to the eastward. The force of General Tsnip- tzky began an orderly retirement from the boot toe and during March 10. Kuropatl<in successfully held at bay the Japanese who were trying to reach the pass.
 THE LAST NIGHT AT MUKDEN.
 On the night of March 9. Mukden station presented a remarkable scene. Shortly after 9 o'clock came the order to complete the evacuation of the sta tion and the city with directions that the movements of trains northward must be completed by o'clock in the morning. The enormous task was com pleted in nine hours, including the hasty embarkation of the wounded who crowded the station platform and oc- cupied a hospital. Many had already left in the morning when the private trains of Kuropatkin. Kauibars, Sak- haroff, Bilderling and Zabelin depart ed, but thousands remained.
 At $40 D. m. the first string of eight trains was dispatched and call was sent to Tie Pass for thirteen locomo- tives The forwarding of these loco motives without interrupting the northward movement of the trains was a dual proof of train dispatching, but the overworked railroad staff accom- plished it successfully. At a. m. the second string was started northward. and at 9:45 a. m. the last train of the third string of sixteen departed. All the trains had B to 55 cars. Three trains contained the ammunition of the part of artillery which hao been dis patched in the evening before in $40 cars, another train carried arm cloth ing, one was coal laden and one was loaded with Red Cross supplies, one with engineers and depot supplies, three with commissariat freights and the remainder with wounded The last out was the service train, W tn all the