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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1904-05-20, Page 6ITSS1 ARS11I SIc, ,M .. . 1 AT PORT A. h�f/ t F11 ? Russians Evacuating the Town of dew Chwang. Another 100,000 Trllops Being Sent o to Kouropatkin. London cable says -So far as knot there is no trouble yet at Ne Chwang. It is reported, from Sha Hai -Kwan that the Russian evaeuatio of New-Clnvang- .continues, but the have promised to • leave a sufi'ieie rearguard: to prevent pillaging. It in no way certain that the evacuation will continue without interrupion. is believed in Tokio 'that an• attack ' the port is immediately lmpendin while according to the Chefoo come spondent of the Chronicle, the Jap anese are already paying attention t the railroad in the neighborhood, the having, it is said, destroyed thee bridges between New-Chwang and Por Arthur and fired upon two trains goin eastward from New-C'hwang, compell ing thein to return. A. woman on on train was wounded. . The Express' correspondent at New , Chwang is visiting Tien-Tsin, when tae reports thio a large number 'of tui residents of New-Chwang have left fol ,Tien-Tsin. The Russians there are in •a state of great excitement. Most of .the troops had aircady left the town. ,when the correspondent departed. The foreigners remaining there are in a state of panic. The Chinese are jubil- ant. There is every reason to expect that the piece will be pillaged unless strong measures are taken immediately to prevent it, The town is full of rumors of the approach of the Jap- .anese. The Russians are ignorant of the movements of the Japanese. The news of their various landings carie like a thunderbolt from the blue. It is stated that owing to Chinese bandits destroying the road from New- Chwang to Hai -Cheng the Russians are making a new one for the retreat of 15,000 troops from New-Chwang. Reports from various sources con- cur in saying that recent events con- tinue to stiffen the attitude of the Chinese officials and embolden the Chinese population, whose covert hos- tility to the Russians has been in- creased by the. latter commandeering cattle. If the Chinese ill the vicinity of the Liao River join the bandits who etre harassing the Russians, their ac- tion may iiceessitate the withdrawal of the latter from Liao -Yang, which the Russian Government now intimates is not intended. The Shanghai correspondent of the Telegraph learns that the Tartar gen- eral at liukden has refused to accede to the demand of the BnsSians that he evacuate the place. He i; deter- mined to remain. The War Commission adjourned at a late hour, but did not maks public any despatches from the Far East. This is accepted as an indication that no fresh. collisions Have occurred. Th ch e Cos- sacks in torwith the Japanese are .simply small detachments which are observing the movcmeets of the en- emy in order to keep Gen. Kouiopat- kin properly informed. The Wirt censorship prevented the St. Petersburg newspapers receiving despatches to -day, and the lack of in- formation glees rise to a fresh crop of rumors, including one that the arm- ored eruiser Burik had been destroyed. The officials deny abet any' information of this character has been received, saying that the latest reports showed that the Rurik was undamaged, and was in the harbor of Vladivostock. Port Arthur Explosions. Tokio cable says --- Admiral T o go reports that since the 0th. of :May many explosions have been heard- com- ing from the vicinity of Port Arthur but their rause lies not been ar:eertain- ed. The impression here is • that the Russians, despairing of their ability to defend Port Arthur, are destroying their ships before evacuating the place. Casualties of Yalu Battle. Antung cable, via Seoul, reports — An 'official report of the casualties a.. the battle of the 'Yalu shows a list of '31 Japancso.. officers killed. and 0_0 emended; 100 Men killed .and ('i6fi wounded. ; On the :Russian side. 1,36'3 men were found dead on the field, 476' • wounded. are in,Japanese hospitals, ,and 13S men were taken prismners, Most of the Prussian, Who surrender- ed at Ilematan, west of Chiu -Lien - Cheng, where the ,Tapenese charged the Russian rear guards were wonneetl.. The Russian soldiers who hare shute. . died in hospitals are buried Coit a hill- top near A.ntun„ nncl were followed to the allure by a Japanese'lruard of hon- or and the staff offivers, A. Danish Le- theran. mis'ionary, • the only! foreign.r ,living at Antung, .read the funeral ser. 'eices over ,the. remains. The captured Russian munitions. of ',War being `brought into Antung include i'twcnty field .-pieces, ten machine guns, Much sinal: arm ammunition, twenty transport wagons, tet o ambnlanees and band instruments, the later perforated vn with bullets. Most of these things were Nee abandoned' in the precipitate flight of n- the Russian troops. n h "PATIENCE, PATIENCE." nt -- is St. Petersburg Military Men Say. t " Wait " It St. Petersburg ea.ble says.—Tho swift on march of events at the theatre of war, the virtual abandonment by the Rus - g, sians of ell their. advanced positions along the Manchurian littoral, has - created a deep impression among the o people, and a feeling of apprehension which the authorities contend is en- ).- warranted by a calm consideration of e the situation. While not attempting to t minimize the importance of the ad - g vantages gained by the enemy in the occupation of the Liao -Tung Peninsula and the advance from the Yalu River, e the general staff nevertheless declares that if it had not been for Gen. Zas- salitch's ra' h stand at Liau, the re- treat and the eoncentrd,tion of Gen. Kouropatkin's army upon its normal o line of defence world have been re- garded as a masterly piece of strategy. The equanimity of the Government is - shown by the free publication of all news telegrams front abroad, some being of a most seueational character. At the general starT the one dominant idea is that the developments of the last few •days mike' it certain that the war will be long and bitter. There it is said that h.aif a million men would have been required to hold Southern Man- churia, The real truth stems to be that (Jen. Kouropatkin has not nmeh over 200,000 men south of Harbin, and he is deter- mined to pursue the plan that he mapped out at first --to allow the enemy to follow him hack into the heart of Manchuria, until strong enough to assume the offensive. While the Russian garrison is still at New-Chtvang. the untenability of the position is fully realized and prepara- tions for dismantling the forts and re- moving the garrison have been com- pleted. The Russian gunboat Sirouieh there will be drstroyed.•The same thine :Telles to Iiai-Cheng, 25 miles south- east of New-Chwang. The question of holding the Russian position at Liao•Yeng depends upon circumstances. The Russians hold the pass whie1t commends the westerly approaches, but it is realized that the position there oleo will be rendered un- tenable if the enemy succeeds in bring- ing up a superior force along the northern road to liukden, An ultimate retirement to Ilarbin might possibly incur the danger of a Chinese uprising, ' which increases with the Japanese successes and must be taken into con- sideration. Should the news of the enemy's victories inflame the Chinese residents in Menclnu•ie against the Ruseians, the litter's withdrawal north of the zone of their hostility might be- come imperative. The possibility of active operations against Vladivostock also has to be i e,•honed with. The general staff inveighs against a too pessimistic, view of the situation, pointing out. that the. Japanese must land another army before they can hope to make a strong advance move- ment, which will require time. In the meantime the strength of (ten. Konro- patkin's army, and his position, will daily increase. The general staff repeat the words of the commander-in-chief, "Patience, patience, patience." They also insist that the •full extent of the Russian losses on the Yalu River have been published, DALNY, OCCUPIED. • Port Arthur Electrie.. Supply is Now had left Pekin in ` disguise, with thia object since the war began. , Their ape• tial object was the bridge, carrying the railway across the River Nome.. Fail- ing this, they would destroy the rail- way •anywhere. It is officially announced that in com= plianee with Gen. Kouropatkin's re- quest, no more correspondents will be allowed to go to the front. A general mobilization in the Government . of Kharkoli had been ordered. The resi- dent's are also directed to submit their horses for the inspection of the mili- tary authorities, who will choose the animals suitable for war service. ANOTHER roo,000. Russia Hurrying Troops • to 1ouro- patkin, St. Petersburg cable says. -The rein- .forcements prepared for Gen. Kouro- patkin are being hurried. The last stage of the mobilization of the 10th and 17th army corps has been signalized by the calling out of the reserves in the • Moscow and Kharoff Provinces. They will go to the .front, thus placing another 100.000 Hien at Gen. Kouropat- kin's disposal. The announcement of the mobilization of four army corps alon7. tJie Volga is . expected next month. The reserves- of each army corps involve about 20.000 igen, an army corps in time of peace number- ing 20.000 mals, and in war time 50,000. An army corps on a war footing in- cludes three infantry divisions of four regiments, elicit of three battalions, a division of cavalry, consisting of three regiments of six squadrons each, one Cossack regiment. a brigade of field artillery. and a brigade of horse artil- lery of 120 guns, and also three detach- ments of engineers and sappers. By the departure of these troops the Rus- sian European army will lose six out of thirty-one army corps. The pre- vious drafts of ti ones from European Russia had been formed into Siberian rifle ' battalions without 'hanging • the orgnniration of the Emperor's forces on this•side of the L -rale. The present units will be transferred speedily to :Man- churia' retaining their present officersand staffs. AT TH.e1 'Y ALU. How the Japanese Carried the Heights in the First Battle. London cable says. --The first report of the battle of the Yalu by a. correspon- dent with the Japancso forces has been received. lie says: When the early mist drifted from the Yalu River this morning the Japanese 1 infantry was disclosed lined up for bat tl'e on the low sandy Island of Kin tido, which is in front of Wiju. TIie walls and towers of the city on the hill. rising abruptly from the south bank of the river, were crowded with Japanese and Corean spectators of the forthcoming attack. Kiniieto fillet is hardly anything more than a dry bell of the river. It is a low sandy plain, only a few feet above the level of the water, and 'with- out shrubbery or cover, except oil its southern half. - Infantry lay with stacked arms across the island. The soldiers were spread ont in line three miles long. The' divi- sion of the Imperial (guards occupied the centre of the line. Another divi- sion was on the west, and it third on the east of the Iine. Moir field batteries were behind the infantry on its o'streme flanks, coneeal- ed by the shrubbery. Two batteries began the action by throwing shells in the Manchurian side of the river for half an hour, while the sun was rising. They sprinkled with shells the em- bankments Whence elle Russian. gens had been firing for the past week, but no response to their fire was forthcom- ing, and 'it looked es if the Russians had removed their batteries during the night. Soon after 7 o'clock the Japanese be'" gen to advance.. The distance from the Corean to the i tancherian bank of the Yalu is about two miles. The Japanese spread oat in extended formation,. as they went: forward, '11°heti they were •t few hnudrel yards from `the hills, on the liauebnrian side they threw them - Cut Off.. , selves prone on the ground and began Tokio cable says.—The report is redact- xnlleying;• ated that Datny has been 'occupied by In the meantime the Japanese bat- tlie, Japanese, who. it is said; i vill thus teiThe searched the hills with shrapnel. be able to eat off 'Port Arthur's electric ' e lRussians emild •now be. seen at supply, which wouicl seriously cheek the use of seerchlig;hts at the fortress there. Talienwai, which the Pussia5is call Daley, is on . the eastern shore of the Liao -Tung Peninsula, just .above Port Artlntr. The ambition of "the Russians has been to make it a great commercial venire. To that end they spent over $20,000,000 in bililding docks, aitd ware- houses there; The liu(,y, .is' deep and well proteeted from ster'ees. ' ' TO -,DESTROY RAILWAY. • Northern Manchuria Said to be Swarm- ing With'. Disguised Japs. St. Petersbug 0ble.-- According to' a deep tteli fi om ,1Iarbilu, two Japan- ese tethers, wjT '',, were recently cap- ttnecl ltii'i1e entciing llanchtnia in disguise, confessed .tliat it number of Japanese were pemitrating :Manchuria for the purpose of tampering with tho 3 railway. ; They are 'reported to have said that a - hundred officers of theot• general staff and three bunched others intervals where the road was exposed, hurrying iu small ,squads along the hilly .These exposed stretches of the road matte 'fine targets for the Japan- ese gunneree A fierce fire was concen- trated..on one open space, half the sin:epuel thrown Intestine over a small area will: wonderful precision. There was a perfect shower of puff's of white smoke at this place, and the observers could Ree the, work of • an oecosional shell as it thug 'a great holo in the earth and scattered quantities of rock. Russian Rifles Spoke. Still the 73nssians, remained silent. There was no answering fire front them until the first Japanese line 'Was within a few hundl;ed yards. of the river bank. Then sharp volley's. burst almost aimniuteously from ..re�veral trenches U'acid the attacking Japanese found themselves . tinder a heavy and eoetimeme fire et easy. range tram mewed positions high above;: thein. They lay behind 'Jim sand hillopks re- ilying bravely and hotly. au` the fire, while their own batteries pumped shells el' their heads. The .Japanese officers sat oar their ' horses or walked along the lines. They wore in no way sheltered or pr leered. A f w stretcher bearers coming back to the field' hospital indicated that men were being wounded. Tlie Russian smokeless powder was excellent. Its use Made it'impossible for the Japanese to discover the exact positions of the enemy, or to estimate their numbers. Soon after 8 o'clock the Russian fire was largely silenced by the combined artillery and infantry at- tack of the .Japanese, and parts of the enemy's troops conl'd be. seen hurrying upward. over the mountain roads in re- treat. Two regiments ' of Japanese troops, one directly opposite Wiju Wand another near• a, village to the west, ran to the river, stopping to fire now and then as they progressed, and giving - shrill rheers as they hurried forward, which echoed, 'clear over, the plain.. Their formation . was closer than. kept by British or American troops, and it look- ed as though their losses_ • must be great They waded the. river, ran on across the sands; and climbed up to tli,e steep rocky hillsides like a swarm of ants, their red and yellow cap bands gleam- ing in the sun, Unfurled Japanese Flag. t}ority here, undoubtedly is informed! o- of the peeparations for the evacuation: of New-Chwang, and knows that the, Russian force operating on the Liao - Tung Peninsula would promptly retire • should he advance to Hai -Cheng. In the light of .these "•onsiderations he, may etermine to boldly march to Liao -'Yang, either by the . northern rondo or on the road by which the Rus sians retreated, and along which he has sent scouting parties. FLEET WILL FIGHT. Jails Will Get No Warships if Port Ar- thur Falls. ' St. Petersburg cable says,—The garri- son at Port Arthur is stronger than. has ben stated. "There is no reason to. keep the strength of the garrison at Port Arthur a secret," said a member of the general staff. "The Japanese• know it because of their perfect infor- mation. 'Ve have 20,000 soldiers and, . 10,000 sailors there. The latter will not be" used on the 'fortifications, ex- cept as a last extremity, The Japanese will not obtain possession of our fleet ,even if they capture Port Arthur. The orders of the commander there are• that he shall, when a fall is inevitable, put to sea and engage the enemy. 'We. do not .propose for the Japanese to find in the harbor a number of valu- able warships, which they can seizel. and add to their fleet. Moreover, in battle the Japanese will suffer as well as our ships, and those of the latter which do not escape will go to the bot- tom." One Japanese soldier in one of these regiments • carried something., white with hien. -This was seen, and it caused a shout to go up that the Russians lead surrendercdi But upon reatd'ain�s, the top of the first Russian trench 100 yards un the hillside. this Tuan shook out- a Japanese flag and .ivavecl it to and fro. A storning party on the West side of the advance mounted a hill commanding the Russian retreat. - Just as the Hien were bunched thick- ly on .the crest of the hill, two Jap- anese ' shells burst among' them. They had fallen short. When the smoke had cleared away a -dozen bodies could be seen lying where the shells had ex- ploded, and the remainder of the storming party were clambering down the hill to escape this unexpected fire from their rear. The sound of the rifle firing soon passed on over the hills as ,the Japanese pursued the) retreating enemy. One column of weary soldiers, who had been almost two days without rest. was trudging down the river toward Netting, where the Japanese gunboats were shelling the Russian works. At 9 o'clock a solitary soldier climb- ing ahead- of his comrades, unfurled a huge Japanese flag., on,the face of the topmost Russian •fort on a' ridge a thousand . feet- above the plain. Ne marched back and forth along the parapet, waving the banner, and .then, for the first tune, the Japanese on the walls of 'Wiju broke the impassive si- lence with which they had watched the battle, and shouted "]3anzai." Already foot soldiers, batteries and pack trains were streaming on to the island by every road, and to -night the entire Jap- anese army will be .in llanchuria. • • Oficial. estimates 'of the Japanese casualties are not given ont, but the correspondent saw 3(10 Japanese and 70 Russians wounded in one field hospi- tal. NO Fi(1Te n OF IMPORTANCE. Speculation as to Landing of a Third Japanese Army. St. Petersburg cable says.—Official des- patches show the activity of the Japan- ese. in Eastern Manchuria, Iivang-Gen- Sian • (Iivang-Ti tng-Sia), fifty miles northeast cf Feng -Wang -Cheng, Was occupied by the Japanes on •..April; 5. This enables an advance along the had rdads to the flank either at Liao- •i.ang or .liukden. The territory be- tween the- main road to Feng-Wang- Chews ent\Vang- C'heng and the River Tayang has • been penetrated by sudi a strong force of .Japanese as "to lead to the suggestion that another army has landed at Talu- Slum, of which the eadeide world has not before beard. • The activity of the Japanese, however, has been expected, and therefore' has not diminished the satisfaction felt at ti opening of communication. There probably has been some fighting but whether with Japanese vessels; or with the troops north of Pitsewo is not known, nor have the Where- abouts- of Japanese landed. on -the southern part • of the Liao -Tung Penin- sula. been definitely established. It is safe to say, however, that no enga.e_ meat of. importance has •occm•red.. Un- doubtedly n doubtedly- news of such a victory would promptly be made public, owing to the state of temper of the people at -pre, out. All impatience arising from Caen, Kouropatkin's gradual withdrawal has disappeared. The Japanese, 'seeing that the withdrawal was thorough, and with: the acre -that • lies • distiegnishecl, their past operations, making sure that no Russians were left behind, cut the - vital lines of communications. 'The • Japanese division . operating on May 5 and 6, east of Tayang_ho, must not be confused with the army at Pitsewo, bceause the ]atter debarked on• May 0..1£ it third n.rtny had landed - at Taku-Shan it could have moved to Peng-\yang. Chen;: and flee ked the Russians in case Gen. Kuroki had encountered strong opposition.• The inlggestiou of another Japanese de- barkation is generally discredited. The force acting independently is .;believed to 'be attached. to Gen..Kuroki's.+ army. Whether an army was landed or not, the .act was impressed. upon the eor- respondent by a member- of the gen- eral staff that the Japanese are.placmg Southern Manchuria ebsoultely under control before beginning a '• forward •movement, • • thus hoarding against threatening Cossack raids. Whether Geu. Kuroki intends to more on T iao-Yang and Bei -Cheng has ' not yet developed ,though the latter now does not appear- so probably in..view'ef' the despatch of a force to Kwang-Gen- Sinn. hemarebing on Ilii'Chen; is ':"not lie ireportaet to it would halve bcen:-hacd' the Russians continued to •occupy N ew- Chwang.. Oen, Ism o1.i, in: the view of an atie•' • NOT ioOLATED. Russians Restore Railway Communica- tion With Port Arthur. St. Petersburg cable says.— 'Viceroy Alexielf has telegraphed to the Em- peror as follows: "During the night of May 9-10 rail- road coinnnmication with Port Arthur was restored, The telegraph line is being repaired." Our correspondent has obtained ab- solute confirmation of the report that railroad communication with Port Ar- thur is again open. The first locomo- tive carne through last night, and the second at 9 o'clock this morning. According to information received by the general staff, the bridge blown up. by the Japanese near Fort Adams, Liao -Tong Peninsula, nes been repair- ed, and the permanent way is unin- jured. Telegraphic 'communication with Port .Arthur is not yet open. The general staff explains the with- drawal of the Japanese from the rail- road as being either due to pressure from Gen. Stoessel or to the forces left by Gen. Konropatkin at Kai -Ping and' other points on the railroad. While without definite information. the impression here is that the strength of the Japanese force' landed at Pit- sewo was overestimated, and that either it iras not strong enough to take charge of the railroad, or it moved eastward along the littoral to effect a junction with the Yalu 'army. The Emperor received the news of the reopening of communication with Port Arthur last night, and seemed greatly pleased. He had a message from Port Arthur an hour before by pigeon post via Liao -Yang, reporting that al. was well in the fortress. ST. PETERSBURG ELATED. Viceroy's Telegrain Has an Element of Mystery, However. St. Petersburg cable says.—The most important 'official news from the front up to this hour is that telling of the complete re-establishment of railroad and telegraphic cotmnunieation with Port Arthur, though how it was brought about, and whether a battle was neees• sary to accomplish it, are mysteries which Viceroy Alexieff failed to clear up The .Slav swings from pessimism tc optimism as quickly as a pendulum and Viceroy Alexiefl's despatch pro. deiced a feeling among the people that: the defeat on the Yalu. and 1Ile' inter. ruption of communication with Pori Arthur should not have been taken se seriously; .that Gen. Kouropatkin nevem had any' intention of snaking a stave on the Yalu: that the attempt to tui' off Tort Arthur was an. absolute fea- ture 'bf the enemy's plan of campaign• and was bound to occur sooner or laterr and that the Eussiaus should' be thank.. fill that they had time to prepare fon the defence of Port Arthur until Ger:, Kouropatkin could relieve it. The •people naturally wish for more, details concerning the re-establishment of communication with Port Arthur. All they know definitely is that the rail' road has been repairedeeand that at t'' o'clock yesterday afternoon ' the first despatch passed over the reconstructei• 'telegraph lines. Confirmed From New -Chwang. New Chwang cable says.—Of the five Russian regiments which were in gar • arson here, fotr have left and the othea• received orders to go yesterday, but - this order was caneesled an hour later' The Russiain are strongly entrenches' at An -Ping, where the guns from the. New•Cliwang fonts have been sent. There is au unconfirmed native re port that the Russians are attempting• to induce the Chinese guilds to takt. over the local government Here in ease of the complete evacuation of the. town. If this is done the foreign eon •sols will protest. Col. lluentlie, tin military adviser of• Viceroy Yuan-Shi, Kati, commander-in-chief of the Chinesi forces; arrived here this afternoon It is • believed he came to New; Cheering to confer with the Russians regarding the proposal to turn New Chwanover to the Chinese. The 'Russians are known to be .tom munieating with the Chinese brigands•• and to be stirring up a "state of terror among:. the . natises.. Many .Japdb.ese s ies are in tiltvieinity, disguised asp beggars. Thee have ettt the wires to the mines el, then nth ief",the Iitta9.Iliver.