The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-12

OFFICIAL information from the Rus
sian headquarters in the field,
supplemented by dispatches from
the Associated Press correspondents
with the army of the Russian empire,
show that General Kuropatlxin, after
suffering from the most severe defeat Of
the war, has succeeded, as he did after
the battle of Lao Yang. in extricating
the remnants of his army from posi-
ton which military experts twenty
four. hours before believed would re-
suit in its humiliation or surrender
The retreat from Lao Yang has been
considered the most mastery event,
but it is far OYershadowed by this lat
est feat of the Russian general, who
has taken personal command of the
troops After lighting for nearly three
weeks, losing in killed. wounded and
missing probably "A third of his army
or nearly 100000 men, and a fourth Of
his artillery, kuropatkin gathered what
was left together north of Mukden and
IS taking them toward Tie pass
through A rain of shrapnel which is
being thrown on them from both right
and left.
Same Tactics as at Lao Yang.
This he seems to have been able to
accomplish by resOrting to the same
tactics which saved his army at Lao
Yang. As recently as Thursday last
y
north by rail and road. That night he
destroyed by fire what he realized
could not be removed. Even the hOspi-
tails containing the more seriously
wounded We're left behind so as not to
hamper in any way the movement of
the army. This mOve~>2nt commenced
on Friday morning, and as the Japan
csc forces on the east, which were to
join hands with the western army and
cut off the retreat did not cross the
Fushun-Mukden road until Saturday
morning, the Russians had a full days
start of their pursuers and. having no
guns or baggage to delay them, seem to
have made good their escape.
PFnere is still however, n chance of
General Kawamura'S army taking a
hand in the battle, and should they
strike the Russians at Tie pass or cut
their communications to the northward
the disaster to KurOpatkin's once fine
army Will be complete The shrapnel
fire under which the Russians are again
1-etreating was found not to have very
serious effect, as the army was scat
tered and struggling, which undoubted-
" holds good in the present case So
if Kawamura. fails Oyama, and Kuro-
patkiu'S rear guard can hold back the
pursuers. the losses suffered in the bat
tie will not be greatly added TO in the
retreat.
LineVitch Cut off.
What part of his army the Russian
general has saved apparently is not
known at the Russian headquarters
All dispatches indicate that part of his
force has been cut off. General Raul
bars seems to have eXtricated his corps,
likewise Bilderling, but not so with
Linevitch.
says the Japanese surrounded the First
and Fourth Russian corps, and adds
that help could not be sent TO them.
Their fate is not recorded. and the in
ference is that they have suffered either
defeat or capture. The censor, no
doubt, took out of the dispatch what
really happened to these corps. The
First is Stakelberg's old corps, which
has borne the brunt OF every battle
since YafangOw, and the Fourth, under
General ZarOubaieff, has also been in
the thick of all the battles.
Rennenkampff'S fate is still in the
balance. The Japanese report the cap
ture of some rolling stock of the light
military railway built along the Shakhe
position and the road which runs from
the main line along the south bank Of
the Hun river toward the Fushun
mines. The confidence Of the japanese
is shown in the statement published
by Field Marshal Oyama to his army
early in the week that they would be
sn Mukden Friday morning. He was
true to his word. for early that morn
ing the old Chinese capital was in their
hands.
The Russian government and people
are as determined as ever to continue
the war. The reigping family, through
SsGrand Duke Vladimir, has spoken, and
kNill be backed by the official and mill
fary classes. while the feeling OF the
people, even the advanced liberals. is
expressed by the Russ, the organ of the
liberal party. While many were op-
posed to the war, the Russian people
would resent a surrender to Japan.
Still. in Europe, outside of Russia
there is feeling that peace will fol-
low this latest disaster to Russian
arms.