Show russian forces in the plain and fighting hard but are in retreat whole regiments marooned in flooded fields mukden oct 16 desultory can co Is beard but there Is not likely to be any important tight ing today as both armies are stuck in the mud the horse ridden by the correspondent of the associated press was belly deep in water this morning for several miles along the road from the vicinity 0 the battlefield to mukden the russians achievements alone the railway yesterday were not sufficient to enable them to maintain their position along the line where yester days lighting began and the russian forces are now in the plain ten miles north of the point where they attacked the japanese on october ath they are fighting hard and stubbornly but are ta retreat one newly arrived russian corps gave a good account of itself the japanese successfully enfiladed three places where the russians had made a heroic but fruitless stand during the past week on account of the progress ot the japanese in the mountains the chief interest will now center there unless the japanese should persist in their efforts to insert a wedge in the center of the russian lines the infantry which for two days has only been supplementing from the trenches the work of abo artillery is now scattered all the way to mukden and Is frequently seen marooned in the flooded fields headquarters of the russian eastern the weeks fighting in its bloody results has exceeded that at the battle of llao yang there was a tremendous russian artillery fire today on positions which the japanese took on october an attempt was made to hold and for a few hours there was a blistering fire equal in its fury to that in the battle of tha at pou the russians continue to retire their lines while in contact are irregular and broken and the japanese are now wedging into their center japanese hussary hussars made a brilliant attempt to break tha center of the russian left forces late today but fall ed the engagement yesterday was an artillery duel few were wounded the japanese guns began firing along the bills three hours before dawn today chinese refugees are pouring up the mandarin road toward mukden the forces east of tha railway continued to fall back today though the japanese batteries in their direction almost ceased their fire from 8 this morning giving the impression that they had been silenced the russian forces from a position across the railroad rained shells unbrokenly tor twelve hours drowning the noisy fusillading fusil lading in tha trenches east and west A storm of rain and hall broke at noon culminating at 4 in the afternoon when numbers of wounded from tho trenches were seen passing through the headquarters the acena is now dramatic in the extreme japanese artillery sent one bomb into a village behind the russian headquarters at noon and some hours later began to shell with from the west this at first was believed to be an attack on account of aba japanese habit ot attacking late la the afternoon amidst the storm the wounded wet and cold arrived either in litters or on foot struggling through the mud while at the same almo tho artillery was seen flashing with an expenditure of ammunition which seemed beyond all reckoning ammunition trains and transport wagons which had been alarmed into a double quick movement were brought to a walk by shouts from the headquarters staff that headquarters stands firm chargers are seen careering and draught horses lag in the mud with carts and other vehicles that have been almont destroyed abo forces at this point were holding their positions at nightfall the roads are filled with wounded who are collecting along the railway while there la no train to receive them 1 i SHRAPNEL FELL NEAR kuropatkin j mukden oct 16 evening the firing to tho southwest Is very violent the men are tired out and food has been insufficient every available gun and man are being used the troops have behaved most gallantly hurling themselves repeatedly against impregnable positions the heavy storm oti october added to the misery of the troops there ia great depression but stolid tenacity among abo men there has been great sacrifice of officers the plain occupied by tho re tiring russians is covered with bursting shrapnel the gunners shoveled shells into the brooches of the guns as smokers stokers shovel coal 1 into furnaces howitzers Howit are used by abo eastern army the russian guns have euper lor range and burst shrapnel at yarda there Is a scarcity of reliable mape two divisional commanders have lost their chief sl aft officers one of them being killed and many commanding officers have met death heroically loading their regiments nel fell near general kuropatkin H showed desperate courage and even i the darkest hour remained hopeni the japanese must feel the strain there was a cessation of saturday neither side can atan many such contests tho ferocity 0 which was frightful the russians are now fighting as a matter ft pride manchuria is forgotten they feel that stopa that they must win one battle this evening the japanese nu nearer fires are burning to tio south about 12 miles from here the eastern army is retiring before the fighting AN ARTILLERY DUEL harbin oct 16 3 p m it is reported here that during the whole of the night of october infantry tiring continued at 5 on tho morning of october tha aitla fire was joined by an enormous artillery discharge the bombardment reaching its climax at noon throughout the whole day there was a blinding storm of rain and hall the japanese concentrated cent rated a terrible artillery fire against the bridge across the the japanese attempted to cross to the right bank ot the river and pierce the russian center but met a determined resistance from infantry regiments which eventually rolled them back the fight on the right flank continued through october but less desperately both sides being seemingly exhausted railway trains arriving here today bringing many wounded from the front preparations are being made to receive many more |