THE WAR IN THE EAST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12662, 16 September 1904, Page 5

THE WAR IN THE EAST.

KUROPATKIN REPORTS HIS DEFEAT. ORLOFFS DISASTER AT VESTAL m GUNS OR BAGGAGE LOST. RUSSIANS TO TAKE OFFENSIVE. ANOTHER BATTLE EXPECTED SHORTLY. JAPANESE LANO IN KAMTCHATKA. The Russians are busily fortifying Tieling, nnd have placed defences- on both banks of the Liau River. General Kuropatkin reports at length on tho battle of Liao-yan* He says that on retiring his troops destroyed reserve supplies for eight days. Telegraphing to a friend General Kuropatkin says that another battle is expected shortly, and that ha hopes to adopt vigorous offensive tactics There are still Russians to the south of the Hun River. Japanese have landed at Kanttchatka, and there havobeen some engagements.

lATTLE OF UAO-YANC.

MARGHURIAN CAMPAIGN.

THE YENTAI STRUGGLE.

Bj Telegraph,—lron A Mediation—

GENERAL KUROPATKIN'S REPORT, HOW HE WAS DEFEATED. : THE CAPTURE OF YENTAI. (Received September 15, 0.(4 p.m.) London, September 15. General Kuropatkin has furnished to the Tsar a report of the fighting at Liao-yang from August 26 to September 7. He places emphasis upon what he describes as the incredible difficulties experienced by the troops on his left and centre to the east of Liao-yang, when retreating from the mountains after the desperate battle at Anping on August 30. LOSS OF GUNS. . ;i There was, he says, great difficulty in rescuing the guns, and he describes how the guns. of one battery on his right sank to the axle in marshy ground. The efforts of 24 horses and of the infantry tugging on ropes did not suffice to free them. These guns were abandoned only after they had been the cause of heavy losses, including the death of General Ratkovsky. NIGHT ATTACK FAILS. General Kuropatkin goes on to say that, having detected the preparations of General Kuroki to outflank him on the left, he concentrated a large opposing force to the north of the Taits© River. Desperate fighting, in which success varied from side to side, followed. During one night attack the "Russian detachments became so mixed, and fell into such a state of disorder, that all unity of command was destroyed. A temporary retreat was therefore necessary. GENERAL ORLOFF'S DISASTER. He describes the entanglement into which General Orloff fell in the fields near Liao-yang, to the north. General Orloff, he says, was wounded and General Formin killed. The result of this disaster was that the Japanese occupied the whole ot the ranges up to the Yentai mines. This success of the Japanese necessitated the retreat of the Russian army to Mukden. THE RETREAT. General Kuropatkin adds " The retreat was accomplished on September 7, in perfect order. Commissariat reserves for eight days for the whole army were destroyed before Liao-yang was evacuated. All equipment was removed, and pontoons dismantled, and the railway bridge was wrecked. " Genera] Kuroki, on the night of September- 5, furiously but unsuccessfully attacked the troops hoMing the pontoons at Talienyan, causing heavy losses, including 500 men in one regiment. "Afterwards all fear of a simultaneous attack on the Russian front and left flank disappeared. NOTHING ABANDONED. "The artillery, transport, and baggage were saved in the face of immense difficulties, under cover of a strong rearguard of cavalry. Nothing has been abandoned since the loss of the guns oa August 30."

THE PLACE A SHAMBLES. London, September 14. Other accounts that have been received supplement the reports already published of General Kuroki's fight at Yentai. The Japanese who stormed HeiYentai were hampered by wires that were highly charged with electricity. The men that came into contact with the wires received severe shocks. The Russians also threw hand grenades with terrifying effect. The hills at Yentai jut out from the main chain for about a quarter of a-mile,

The crest, the slopes, and the ravines were literally honeycombed with trenches. These after the battle had the appearance of a veritable shambles- Blood was smeared everywhere, and it was imposible to move about the place without treading on bullets, shells, and twisted bayonets. Close to the summit lay the bodies of 200 dead Russians who had been mown down close to the Japanese trenches. The correspondents of the English newspapers all refer to the narrow escape of General Kuroki from disaster. At one stage of the battle his communications were cut, and he was saved only by the frontal attack of Generals Oka and Nodzu. RUSSIANS CONFIDENT OF VICTORY. London, September 14. So confident were the Russians of victory in the battle of Liao-yang that the cafe ehantant women remained in the city until the battle was half over.

DUM-DUM BULLETS. Sydney, September 14. The Consul for Japan at Sydney has received a cablegram stating that two kinds of dum-dum bullets were found amongst the prizes captured at Liao-yang. They resemble the cartridge used for the Russian rifles of the 1891 type. Some of the wounded Japanese are believed to have been struck by these bullets. THE JAPANESE LOSSES. London, September 14. Mr. Bennet Burleigh, the war correspondent, estimates the Japanese losses at Liao-yang at nearer 30,000 than 17,000. Several of General Nodzu's regiments engaged in the brattle of Liaoyang lost all their higher officers. One company was r-educed to 15 men, and at the end of the battle a private was in command. Immense, fires are burning at Liaoyang for the cremation of the bodies of the Japanese and Russians slain in the battleTHE RUSSIAN WOUNDED. London, September 14. The theatres, and churches at Harbin are being utilised as hospitals for the troops. There are 35,000 wounded under treatment in the city.

ANOTHER BATTLE SHORTLY GENERAL KUROPATKIN'S HOPE. (Received September 15, 10.52 p.m.) London, September 15. ' General Kuropatkin has telegraphed to a friend: —"Expect serious collision shortly. I have hopes of assuming vigorous offensive." JAPANESE ON LIAU RIVER. London, September 14. It is reported that the Japanese have secretly placed troops along the Liau River, and hold all the military positions there in strong force as far as Sinminting, a Chinese town to the west of Mukden. RUSSIANS SOUTH OF MUKDEN London, September 14. Field-Marshal Oyama reports that a considerable force of Russians remains south of the Hun River. TIELING'S FORTIFICATIONS. London, September 14. The Russians are fortifying both sides of the Liau River at Tieling. GENERAL KURORTS PURSUIT. HIS MEN WITHOUT FOOD. London, September 14. General Kuroki's army in the pursuit of the Russians to Mukden wefe without food for four days, with the exception of raw rice.