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Show KUROPATKIN. One of the greatest retreaters iu his tory was General Kuropatkiu. Now comes a report that this sorry hero of a forlorn hope is to direct the war fortunes of Russia. A' dispatch from Stockholm says that General Polivanoff, minister of war, and General Kuropat-kin Kuropat-kin will be the czar's chief aides in managing the new campaign against the Austro German armies. Of late years the name and rather dubious fame of General Kuropatkiu have suffered eclipse. He was one of history's more or less celebrated losers, like the Grand Duke Nicholas, and D&tu rally his reputation has not been sufficient to keep him in the public eye. And yet he fulfilled an important mission mis-sion for his country and emerged from the Unsso. Japanese war, despite his defeats, de-feats, as the one general who had achieved greatly.' It was understood in St. Petersburg at the outbreak of the Japanese war that the single-line Trans-Siberian railroad rail-road to Vladivostok and tho branch through Manchuria to Port Arthur were insufficient for an offonsivc campaign against the Japanese. Onee again Russia Rus-sia faced the necessity of retreating. Defeated on the Yalu river, the Russians Rus-sians retired from the Korean region toward the northwest. Out oft near Port Arthur, they left that great fortress fort-ress to its garrison under General Stoeesel, and retired toward the north. Tho two retreating columns made a juncture at Liao Vang, Manchuria, hundreds hun-dreds of miles from the points where the retreat began. Meantime the Trans-Siberian railroad was being worked to its utmost to con ceotfate troops and the necessary ammunition am-munition for a big battle at Liao Yang. When the collision came the Japanese still were numerically superior, but they were on the off en si ve, while the Russians Rus-sians adopted a strictly defensive policy. At one time, however, General Kuroki, who commanded the Japanese right wing, which was attempting to outflank the Russians, was so badly battered that he was considering con-sidering a retreat. A blunder by a general who had just detrained with his corps, after the ride of 7000 miles from Russia, gave Kuroki the advantage, and General Kuropatkiu ordered a retreat from Liao Vang toward Mukden. The Japanese advance was stopped at the Shaho river and a little later the Russians Rus-sians attempted an offensive movement, which, after nine days, resulted in defeat. de-feat. Then both sides settled down for the winter at Mukden. During the winter win-ter one of General Kuropatkin's aides, a court favorite, ordered an attack during dur-ing a fierce snowstorm and penetrated some of the Japanese positions, but the movement came to naught. He complained com-plained that he had not been given whole-hearted assistance by General Kuropatkiu, and this probably was true, because Kuropatkiu was convinced that the Russians were not iu sufficient strength to crush the enemy at that time. In the spring came the mighty battle of Mukden. With the victorious troops from Port Arthur the Japanese turned the Russian right flank and inflicted upon up-on the Muscovites the most disastrous defeat of the war. But once again the Russians retreated, drawing off their army intact to the north. In all of these retreats and battles Kuropatkin displayed strategic and tactical tac-tical ability of the highest order. It is difficult, to see how any general could have done better with the resources at hand. The Japanese always had the munitions to maintain a larger army in the field. Russia had the munitions, but owing to limited transportation facilities facili-ties could not get them to the front in sufficient quantities to support armies equal to those, of the enemy. Nevertheless the Russians remained so strong in the field that the Japanese statesmen, understanding Japan's limitations, limi-tations, made a peace on such favorable terms to the Russians that the people of Nippon were infuriated and threatened revolution. But the elder statesmen were right. They knew that Russia could keep up the fight on land for years, and that sooner or later Japan would meet with disaster. |