Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1907-06-20

D<>Ah VI tAC al4 Ilfcf- muir
XII, with the first army, had made a
fatiguing march Of more than two
hundred miles from Seoul, only 10
find the enemy protected by the Yalu.
Engaging the enemy all along the
, line. the japanese general sent one
OF his three divisions to execute a
long thanking movement on the Rus
sian left, while with the other two he
threatened an attack on the center
once their left was turned, the day
was lost for the Russians, and no
thing remained for them but retreat.
| 1t was at the battle of Lao Yang
however, that Kuroki proved his title
TO greatness. From Aug, 25 to Aug 80
when he effected junction with the
other Japanese armies around Lao
yang, he advanced night and day
over almost roadless mountains.
pushing the enemy before him. He
then made a rapid change of base
from Anping to a point on the eastern
side of the railroad with his left
wing ten miles north of Lao Yang.
thus leaving a wide gap between his
troops and the main body of the Jan
anese.
His purpose was to cut the rail-
road, which was General Kuropatkin's
only possible avenue of retreat and at
tempt surrounding movement. Hs
was frustrated in this by kuropatkin's
mastery retreat and threatened
counter attack with a superior force.
The japanese general had to maintain
MS position with desperate fighting.
huroh observed the conflict exposed
10 the herce rays of the sun. The
morning of September 3, the fifth day
OF the battle was an anxious time at
the headquarters of General Kuroki
IL was evident the Russians confront
ing him had been heavily reinforced
Inc members of the general staff
We're silent concerning the situation
IL was considered that Kuroki would
be fortunate if he was abole to hold
his own
IL became known on the morning
OF sept. that communication with
the other Japanese armies had been
cut. The position of brigade on Ku-
rokrs extreme right became extreme
iy critical, but in the afternoon the
prospect frightened General Kuroki
showed his tactical skill by concep-
tratine his army, drawing in the left
division to reinforce the troops HON.
ing the 'front.' The left division made a
iorced march, crossing the Taitse
river near h.I where Kuroki had sta
toned himself, the silence and sus.
tense came to an end i'm the evening.
and at five O'Clock counters galloped
forward and General Fuji announced
that the army would begin the pur
suit of the enemy.
At one time during the battle of
August rs, which was the critical day
of Kuroki's movement, the Japanese
general had Invested himself of all his
reserves. or Ian Hamilton who ac
companied Kurold all through the
war comments on this move as fol-
lows:
Kuroki knew very little of the
course of events on his right except
that the twelfth division had taken
half of the division they had been
told of to attack and that they were
still fighting; he had just heard that
a serious attack was about to be
launched against his center, which
was only three or four miles to his
immediate front, and he could hear
and see for himself that the Russians
in this part of the field were numer-
Gus and full of fight In giving his
order then. | think he had come to
what one of his staff described as
'une decision un peou audacieuse.' In
fact. it was an action demanding an
uncommon amount of nerve to par.
with the twenty-ninth regiment (his
reserve) at a moment so critical.
Few generals | have ever met
would have had the hardihood to de-
prive themselves with this reasoning,
unfaltering completeness of every
sing.e man of their reserves at a mo-
ment when the ever-increasing fire OF
the musketry and the pale. GREATNESS
messengers from the firing line all
foreboded the approach of crisis in
that part of the fight which was rag
ing under their very eyes.
There is no bottling-up-the-old
guard tendency about Kuroki His
method of handling his reserves is the
very acme of boldness Never will
kuroki merit the reproach which Ma
poleon leve'led at Joseph after Tala-
vera when he told him TIE plain truth
and told him that a general who re-
treats before he uses his reserves de-
serves to be shot forthwith
According to the Japanese idea the
supreme qualification for general is
that Of calmness. OF Kuroki at the
time of his critical posi- ion on Aug.
&c it is said that with hardly word
he consumed cigar after cigar-he is
an inveterate smoker-and eventually
lay down fat on mis- back, with his
cigar box as his pillow. which he first
covered carefully with a silk handker-
chief. During the battle of the Shaho.
Sir Ian Hamilton tells the following