OCR Text |
Show IM JAPANESE .ARMIES II RAGE TO UU3 m ' EURCPATXffl; RUSSIANS : RETREATING IN MUBTOWARB MUEBEW staff to deny the report which was Id circulation here last night of the annihilation anni-hilation of Gen. Kuropatkin'a rear guard. According to the latest advices of the staff, no Russian force was cut off. and it is believed that there is little danger , of the Japanese intercepting Kuropatkln below Mukden. The Information Infor-mation here is that the Japanese force at Benshu does not exceed two divisions-at divisions-at the most.- It is added, however, that the staff has not yet received news from the front under today's date. aasaaaaaHMaMasBBMBiHMiMa Rumored Slaughter of Russian Rus-sian Rear Guard Is Denied; Fall of Port Arthur Again Reported j ; '" ' , BTJTLZTZET. v ST. PETERSBURG, Sept. 6, 6:25 p. m. Private reports from Mukden say that some of the Tear guard actions in progress are quite severe, but no details have been received. 1 ' - . BTJLLETTN'. ' TOKIO, Sept. 6, 7 p. m, It Is officially announced that a portion of the Russian force remains at Ting; Shuishu, south of Ten Tat, where the bulk of the Russian army is assembled. ' n - ' BU1LETTJJ. . . t ST. PETERSBURG, Sept. 6, 1:20 p. xnA-The Kovoe Vremya this morn-: morn-: lug got out an early edition announcing the fall of Port Arthur, but it was recalled before the paper reached the streets. Such a report is current, cur-rent, but It seems to have no basis In fact. Fighting a continuous rear guard action with the Japanese who hang to bis flanks. Gen. Kuropatkln continues to xaU back over roads made sodden by two days' heavy rain. The heads of his long commissary . ' trains' have passed through Mukden and continue northward. It is reported that in splteof the bad roads and persistent, attacks on the Russian rear, the retreat is orderly. Details of the fighting and the exact position of the opposing armies are lack- ing. The Russian general staff,. while admitting it has received no official advices ad-vices since last evening, denies the report; that Kuropatkin'a rear guard has been annihilated. A ' ! From Toklo comes the official report that the bulk, of the Russian forces is still at Ten TaL i Whether or not Kuropatkln will make another stand at Mukden is not indicated in-dicated In today's advices. In St. Petersburg it is argued that the fact that his commissary trains passed on through Mukden does not 'Indicate that the Rus- elan commander proposes to evacuate the city without a struggle, but only that - -taey-arr taking "up their positions in the rear. . JAPANESE REPORT ON RECENT BATTLES , ABOUT LIAO YANG TOKIO, Sept. 6, 8 p. m. An extended report from Field Marshal Oyama, the Japanese commander-in-chief in the field, was received at Toklo today and made public tonight. It . is largely devoted de-voted to a review of the fighting which took place between August 24 and September Sep-tember 4. The announcement that the Russians will retain possession of the Tan Tal collieries indicates a strong possibility of a battle there. Ten Tal is the only colliery in northern Manchuria, and its possession is of vital importance to the Russians in connection with the operation opera-tion of the railroad. Japanese Movements. Field Marshal Oyama reports that a portion Of the Russian troops hold Tlngshulssu, south of Ten Tal, and that Gen. Kuroki's right is in close touch with the Russians. He announces an-nounces also that the left and center Japanese armies, under command, respectively, re-spectively, of Gens. Oku and Nodzu, have halted on the left bank of the Taltse river, and that It Is his Intention to dispatch a portion of them to occupy the heights' north of Muchang and along the railroad. Gen. Kuropatkln burned all the railroad rail-road and other bridges over the Taitse " river. - r Japanese Losses Heavy. The report says that the exact number num-ber of Japanese losses since August 25 is not .known at present, but that the losses will prove heavy. The report does not mention the number num-ber of guns taken, but it is known that sixteen guns were captured at Anplng and Anshansan, and earlier reports mentioned the capture and use against the railroad station at Liao Tang of certain ten-centimeter Canet guns. Japs in Good , Spirits. Field Marshal Oyama also says that In spite of continuous attacks for ten days against the enemy occupying semi-permanent fortifications and the heavy resultant sacrifice, that the spirit of devotion and determination of the Japanese troops Is excellent. Gen. Kuropatkln, according to the report, continued to receive reinforcements reinforce-ments until August 13, and his final strength consisted of at least twelve Russian Losses Unknown.' full divisions. The losses sustained by the Russians are not known to the Japanese field force. Gen. Kurokl encountered desperate opposition In the battle on the heights to the west of Heiylngtai, where he fought continuously and fiercely for four days before he succeeded In dislodging dis-lodging the Russians. It is manifest that the stubbornness of the Russian defense at Heiylngtai saved the Russian line of retreat and averted an overwhelming disaster. I MTJKDEN, Sept. 6, 1:40 p. m. The re- t treat of Gen. Kuropatldn's army is being be-ing carried out m good order, despite the terrible condition of the .roads, rendered ren-dered sodden by the rains which fell yesterday and today, which .mire the lumbering guns and heavy transport trains. Long lines of commissariat wagons, drawn by steaming mules, . . horses, and evfen bullocks, are straining' ' their, way north over the soaking, cut-up cut-up main road from Ten Tal. Behind them come long trains of artillery and back of them still is Kuropatkin'a ar-. ar-. my. The Japanese are hanging on Ku-ropatk's Ku-ropatk's flanks, keeping the Russians , engaged in a continuous rear guard .'action. " Russian Setreat Slew. The progress of the retreating army has been slow, owing to the necessity of - first getting through the baggage and guns; but the heads of -the commls-saf commls-saf iat trains already have passed 1 fSitHigh Mukden and are continuing on ' tbJefr way towards the north. - The main Japanese army is marching tip along the roads eastward of the Russian lines of retreat, which converge con-verge at Mukden. Another Japanese force is also heading for Mukden from the westward, coming from the direc- tlon of the Liao river. Badng for Mukden. Marshal Oyama seems to be making a race for Mukden. He evidently has great superiority In numbers, especially in artillery. As this dispatch was filed the correspondent cor-respondent of the Associated" Press could bear the booming of the Japan-s Japan-s ess cannon which are in play fourteen miles from Mukden. The skies are black and the air Is Stifling with the sense Of suffocation, jrhlch is felt here before a storm oreaks strange harmony between the elements and the menacing attitude of the contending armies. Kleuleincheng. The Japanese, according accord-ing to custom, were shelling places where they believed the Russian reserves re-serves were located. Before the correspondent corre-spondent could reach - the battery be had to cross a danger zone ef 150 yards, projectiles falling aud bursting on It until the very ground seemed to quiver with wrath. Cracked Jokes In Sanger. "There was' a touching scene when the skirmishers were reached. A Russian Rus-sian soldier met a brother whom he had last seen In their native village. There were Joyous greetings and a quick exchange ex-change of news from home. Then each went his way and settled down to the work of firing, coolly and deliberately. The Japanese fire was spasmodic Their bullets sang like birds as they sped over head and the Russians cracked Jokes about It-Heedless It-Heedless of Danger. I "Two hours later the correspondent reached the . battery and found that Pokotiloff and another officer, Costroff, had been killed. Out of sixty gunners forty were killed or wounded. Capt. Tarasoff was in charge of the battery. His quiet courtesy recalled the hero of one of Count Tolstoi's novels. Fifty yards away was a splendid looking gunner, whose duty it was to record the success or failure of each shot, the grim song of death, with deadly messengers hurtling all around him, but the Russian Rus-sian gunner stood erect and utterly without heeding the danger to which he was exposed. "The Russian officers had not eaten anything since the previous day and the correspondent shared with them what provisions he had. The taste of food caused them to realize the Intensity Inten-sity of their hnnger. Prudence urged the correspondent to leave the spot but he was fascinated." Here the message ended. The officer who sent forward M. KlrllofiTs last dispatch added: Kiriloff's Hare Courage. "M. Klrlloff, who was an enthusiast in his work, had gained universal respect re-spect and sympathy. lie was shot through the right lung while standing by our battery and fell back suffering Intense agony, the blood spurting from his mouth.x Tet his devotion to duty enabled him to overcome his sufferings. He insisted upon being placed on a horse so that he could get to Liao Tang and file his dispatch. It took him five hours to cover the five and a half miles to Liao Tang. When he reached there M. Klrlloff was so exhausted and weak from loss of blood that we got him Into the hospital, although against his protest. pro-test. He asked me to complete his message for him. I am a soldier and no writer, but I will say that after the awful fight today we are still holding our positions. Japanese bodies bestrew all the heights. Their losses most run Into the tens of thousands. We have lost 6000 thus far. A shrapnel shell burst two paces from Gen. Stakelberg (who remained for fifteen hours under fire), killing two officers. The General was slightly wounded In the leg." i , GENERAL ATTACK ON PORT ARTHUR EXPECTED ON SEPTEMBER X CHETOO, Sept. 6.-10:15 p. m. Firing Fir-ing at Port Arthur was heard here tonight. to-night. - Two Chinese Interpreters belonging to the official household of Lieut-Gen. Stoessel, commander of the military forces at Port 'Arthur, have been caught spying at Shushiyen and Palungshan. They were executed by the Japanese. Chinese who arrived here today from Port Arthur declare that the Russian garrison expects a general landand sea attack on September 7. On September 2 and S the Japanese bombarded the fortifications severely. - - GRAPHIC STORY OF IATTLE FROM WRITER WHO WAS WOUNDED MUKDEN. Sept . The following message describing the earlier events of the Japanese attack on Gen. Stakel- berg's corps southwest of Uao Tang, August 30, was written on the battlefield battle-field by M. Klrlloff, one of the Associated Associ-ated Press Russian correspondents and ent to Mukden for transmission, Just before -the correspondent was shot through the lungs: "This morning around Liao Tang guns - thundered unceasingly. The heights forming a seml-olrcle around the city were dotted with Jets of Same arid little black and white clouds. The s' Vtacle was clearly visible from the y.JUr tower of Liao Tang. The Russian Rus-sian left alone was not engaged. - In Zone of. Fire. "At 7 a. m. the correspondent rode to ' the Russian center, where the Japanese were concentrating in an attempt to break through, and climbed the nelgh-. nelgh-. boring heights, following a detachment I sent to relieve the skirmishers who had been covering the battery commanded y Pokotiloff, one of. the heroes of j - t ' ' ' - . - ANNIHILATION OF RUSSIAN REAR GUARD IS OFFICIALLY DENIED J : . " I - ST. PETERSBURG, Sept , 4:12 p. ml The Associated Press Is authorised In the name- ot the. Russian gsneral ' , 11 ' ' . |