The Daily News. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1904. A REVIEW OF THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 196, 23 August 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1904. A REVIEW OF THE WAR.

The Russo-Japanese war has been in progress a little over six months. It commenced on the night between February Bth end 9th, whan the Japanese struck two heavy blows—one at Port Arthur and the other at Chemulpho—from , which the Ilussians have mever. completely recovered. A review of the campaign up to the 9th of last month—covering the first 22 -weeks of the war—appears in a London paper to hand by the last mail. The first five months of fighting then completed hod been overwhelmingly in favour of our allies', the. Japanese, although they had naturally experienced set-backs of an irritating if not of a serious character. On July 9 the Mikado's .'orceswere masters of Korea, of Southern Manchuria, and of tine Liao-tung Peninsula, which was, however, closely invested, and cut oil from all possibility of relief. 10 Jay the situation is reduced to one of very simple features. The Japanese have but two objects! in view —(1) The capture of Port Arthur, and (2) the defeat of the main Russian army under General Kuropatkin in the valley of the Liao. Six months'of incalculably hard work, tireless energy, consummate skill and unflinching courage 'have led to these results, and have es'laiblishtd "Japan in the position of -a naval and military Power of tho first rank. The writer of the article briefly and succinctly recapitulates the events which have culminated in such striking results. He begins with the naval side. On February 9th a Japanese cruiser under Admiral Urlu attacked and sank the Russian cruiser Variujg and tho gunboat; Korietz, which came out of Chemulpho harbour to givo battle. The crews, numbering 600, surrendered. Almost simultaneously Admiral Togo, who, with his principal ships, had taken up his position outside Port Arthur, delivered a dashing torped 0 attack on the Russian fleet in the harbour, disabling! two battleships and a cruiser, and later in the day engaged the fleet in a general action, n which a Russian battleship and three cruisers were put out of action. From this time until early in May the naval interest centred entirely in the Port Arthur fleets. Togo concentrated his efforts on the task of bottling up the Russians by sinking "iireships" in the harbour entrance. Three times he sent in a fleet of stone-laden merchantmen, losing scores of men ami many valuable oiticeis, but on each occasion reducing the navigable width of the channel, until on May Hid his task was done, and the Russian fleet, crippled and disorganised, lay powerless inside the harbour. Two days later the landing of tho besiegiing armies on the coast of the peninsula commenced. Between'the date of the first and the lost ''bottling-" opera, tions, however, occurred the most thrilling naval engagement of the war. This was on April 13th, when Admiral Togo enticed the Russians out of harbour, lured tfliem into the middle of his fleet, and but for the Hidden lifting of the fog, which revealed the presence of his warships to tho enemy, would probably have annihilated the Russians' ships. The latter ran for the harbour, but the battleship Petropavlovsk struck a mine, laid by Admiral Togo during a previous night, and sank, carrying with her the Admiral-in-Chief, Makaroff, and nearly 700 men.' The Pobieda was also torpedoed and a destroyer sank. Though at first tho Japanese had naval matters practically all their own way, the case has been somewhat altered since the "bottling up" of tho Port Arthur fleet. The first serious disaster befell Admiral Togo on May loth, when he lost the 'battleship Hatsuse and 400 men by the accidental contact with a Russian mine outside Port Arthur, and the cruiser Yordiino, which' Collided with the Kaluga in n fog, and was sunk with 270 men. Since then Japan has lost two other small cruisers by contact with the deadly floating mines, and several smaller craft in like manner. But the chief thorn in the side of the Japanese has ' been the Vladivostok squadron, under the daring Skrydloff, whicn nasi several times sallied out on raiding! cxpcdl- 1 tion':, and has sunk or captured six or seven transports, drowned several hundreds of men, and taken others prisoners. Skrydloff has proved himself the one Russian commander with energy and initiative, nivd although is is useless: to speculate ns to what might have happened in different circumstances, it is fairly safe to assume that if Skrykllofi, instead of Alexieff and Stavek, had been at Port Arthur, Togo would not have had matters all his own way. Turning, to'the land campaign, we find that Japan has met with even more striking success than on soa. military progress has been practically ap unbroken series of victories, marred by no accidents sudh as havo befallen her on the water. Tho early naval victories enabled Japan to land unopposed vast armies in Korea, on the coast of which liases were at once established, which soon became depots for the accumulation of men and material as complete and well equipped as though they had been ports in her own country. From Chemulpho and Chinampho armies wero pushed forwards towards the Y'alu, where the forces of Russia had meanwhile been massed. A wonderful march through Korea, attended with much skirmishing, but nothing in tho nature of a pitched battle, drove the Russians before them back to tho Yaltt. This march m a y be compared to the progress of a steam-roller, so irresist-

iblo and lUaoltine-liko was it. The Japanese advance was carefully protected nt every vulnerable point. Every natural stronghold was ocrupicd and i'o: liliud. Ail Ihe roniis were h pi ov<-a, and si..!■«■., v- :■■■ de!l.osih-:: .-: w.'ll-prnlerir.l , , 1 1 , IV jpicparr w ;h, p,..ssi :iity »i a retreat, mid above all, nou.ing was done to alienate tin' sympathies of the Koreans, who, on the contrurv. I were concilia! t>d in every possible way. '1 he Russians were driven, step by step, out of Korea, and look up their positions on the north side of (lie Yalu. Ttai, after a short but .liamatie pause, occurred the first great land battle. The Japanese commenced to cross t/iue Yalu on April 30th, and two days' fierce lighting ensued. The Russian, positions were of a scmi-penn'a.nent character, but the .Japanese tactics were •io skilful and their artillery and infantry were so magnificently handled that the troops carried all livfuiv them. The Russians, 1111m-.H-ring about 10,000, were utterly routed, and retreated to I'eng-huang-cheng, losing' ttOOO killed and wounded, lilty-eigvit guns, and a large quantity of stores. After that the Japanese who crossed the Yalu .inder Gtmeral Kuroki, reinforced by several divisions, landed further west of Takuslian, having pushed forward towards tho railway, Ugli'liii;" several small battles ia which they have been invariably successful, until on July 9th tihey extended along a lino reaching; from tho north of the Liao-tung peninsula to a point "i 0 or B0 miles to the eaut of Mukden, a battle front of about 180 miles. While this movement was in progress the Japanese armies in tho south, were not idle. Landings were made at several points on •the coast of the Liaotung peninsula. Dalny was occupied at the md of May, and the investment of Port Arthur began. Little by little the scattered foicts of Russia were driven out of the peninsula, some southwards into Port Arthur, others northwards to ioiti Kuropatkin. Two severe battles had to he fought before this result was achieved. The first of these took place at Ivinchau on May 20th and 26th. Kinchau was taken, and the retreating Russian Army was pursued towards Nanshan, a formjdulMy fortified hill midway between Kinchau and Port Ar.hur, where they made a desperate itanrt. After' a terrible 'battle they were dispersed <by the victorious J apt, who captured seventy-eight guns, took several hundred prisoners, .md inflicted fully 4000 casualties upon the Russians. Another more icrious tattle was afterwards fought—that at Wa,,tani'>fau, or Telis;u, on June 14th and 15th. This was caused by the desperate forlorn hope carried out by General Stakelberg, acting on instructions from Kuropatkin, who, it must now be assumed, woe influenced by orders from St. Petersburg. It was nothing less than a uupeless attempt to .■elieve Port Arthur with a force absolutely inadeujua'to for so serious a .usk. Advancing south along the railway, the Russian forces cume into contact with the Japanese under Oku, and several days' heavy lighting followed, Tho Russians wero completely defeated, with the .leaviest slaughter that has occurred in any battle of the war. The most .eliaible reports 'affirmed that they lost over 10,000 men. Stakleberg was pursued, and for some days a most serious situation prevailed. While he slowly and painfully retreated along the railway, Kuropatkin sent southwards a force to :ul him out; while the Japanese, advancing from tho south, pressed close on his heels', and 'another one, detached from Kuroki's army, struck out westwards to intercept. The possibility of a miniature Sedan was great, ibut a closs race was just won (by the Russians, i'hen came the rains, and Japan, according to a'l the military critl"S, had missed her chance of inflicting a crushing blow to Russian arms, lie that as it may, the situation has undergone littlo change for some weeks, and at the end oi the first six mpnths oi war finds he two armies facing each other toady for the terrific lighting which must soon come, and in tho south Japan drawing tho net closer and .1 ./Her found do o nied I'ort Arthur. .u the .sva tibu Japanese have scord still further successes, and have practically put both the I'ort Arthur uikl Vladivostok fleets out of action.