Show A CURIOUS MELEE BOTH SIDES SURPRISED russian headquarters mukden dec 16 there was considerable desultory firing on both sides loday the japanese made an advance but it proved to be only a demonstration night corties sorties continue a curious melee resulted last night from a simultaneous advance of bogli russians aal japanese two columns of japanese taking advantage of the darkness advanced on russian positions and at the same time a russian column set out for the village of Nan ganza the russian column heard the japanese firing in the direction of their base and thought they bad been discovered but held Nan ganza while sappers mined and then retired the japanese village where they were greeted with a tremendous explosion which hilled many of them in tha meantime the two japanese columna operating in the alon of fliOy Russians beard the explosion and thought they had been out flanked whereupon they retired tho japanese and russians inet as each eldo was returning both verc utterly surprise the night of december alth fourteen scouts penetrated to the village of hansban Fans ban where they destroyed a japanese tower and carried oft an old bell which had been used by the japanese to signal the approach of russian kroona |