KUROPATKIN'S PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12524, 17 March 1904, Page 5

KUROPATKIN'S PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.

TWO LARGE ARMIES.

(Deceived Mmreli 10, 11.40 p.m.)

London, March 16.

The Standard's St. Petersburg-cor-respondent says Genera] Kuropatkin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army, intends to start deliberately with an army of 250,000 strong at the Yftlu River. Another army of 150,000 men will guard the railways and concentrate on Antung, at the mouth of the Yalu. : ,-';;"

The country about the mouth of tho Yalu, as well as the road leading to it from Ping* yang, in Corea, is thoroughly well known to the Japanese, for they scored a cheap and; valuable victory there against the Chinese in October, ■ 1894. After, their defeat at Pijtigvang 7000 Chinese : retreated to the neighbourhood, and, forming u, junction with a force of 11,000 from the direction of PortArthur, toot tip positions to prevent the Japanese crossing the Yalu. < With a river 600 ft wide and lift deep at its best crossing point, the Chinese on the Manohurian shore should have held the enemy at bay for weeks. The Japanese, however, distracted them by a feint higher up -the river, and were able in a single night to cross a strong force, which practically swept the Chinese from the field next day, capturing, amongst other things, 74 field guns and 36,000 shells., T1& lower Yftlu is nearly all flat country, the ■ only eminence of note being a 300 ft hill, known as Tiger Mountain, lying in the angle of the junction of the Yalu and Ai-ho Rivers. This mountain was fortified by tho Chinese, but they could not, however, • withstand tho Japanese stormers, who rushed it in fin© style. It is certain to be much more formidably held by the Russians.