A DECISIVE BATTLE PENDING.

Manawatu Herald, 2 July 1904, Page 2

A DECISIVE BATTLE PENDING.

Official reports indicate that three >ofnn of .fnnanose occiinv a front of 150 to list) miles, the left being before Kaiping and the right resting in the vicinity of Chengcheng. The rainy season has begun in southern Manchuria, meaning two months of great natural difficulties, especially for the Japanese. The impression is that General Kuropatkin has resolved to fight a big battle near Tashichiao, where he is massing five or six divisions. He is also pushing forward 20,000 men in the direction of Kaiping to protect his left and rear against the Takushan army, which is menacing Tomuching. The Russians’ right at Motien was turned by the Japanese advance along a mountain track unknown to the Russians. A message is published in the newspaper Novoe Vremya which states that General Kuroki’s army is 19 miles from General Kuropatkin’s and a battle at Shimuchang is imminent, but General Kuropatkin does not consider the moment has arrived for a decisive battle. All his forces prefer to retire northwards on retrenchments. Wonkoff, a non-commissioned officer, has been decorated for penetrating the camp at Siungyucheng, in the disguise of a Chinaman, Later he was seized by a Japanese patrol, but he shot several with bis revolver and escaped on horseback. RUSSIAN GUNS CAPTURED. A telegram received at Chifoo states the Japanese captured 275 Russians and nine guns at Fengohaling, pursuing the enemy for nine miles. The Italian journal dTtalia asserts that 750 men were drowned in the' Peresviet disaster. The news is unconfirmed. - Russian correspondents, describ-, ing a fight southwards of Tashchiao, says the Japanese pounded the coveted positions into subjection, silenced the Kighter guns and inflicted severe losses on the enemy, outflanking them and forcing them to retreat north. ~W