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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1904)
How .a... i i -jV-'T-'"- ...MS 4 'I .'.. lirSTKKTNG IN RKCRL1TS FROM MANCHURIA. (Coryripht, IfiM, by Willlmn Thorp.) Iflti IV! Ttll.' st.irv fi.1.1 for ttlA " I tii-it titnu In tli t iil, iiiiii Ht-curod A I from nntlifirltjilivfl HllKstatl uiiun i'M, of how Kunsi.1 nwcpt with tire ind swonl over Manchuria In. Uie minimcr of V.KQ. liciilis bcliiK an ac count of rntlilcsH shedding of blood, it in a vivid picture of the Russian in war of remarkable marches, of audacious strategy, of brilliant assaults, of battle after battle of a year of war crowded iio a month. The Hoxer outbreak, which ppread like wild lire through Manchuria, tave Russia a good excuse to Bend her legions Into the country. Her engineers and workmen wero scattered by the thousand throughout the three provinces building her two railroads, concessions for which had been obtained from the Chinese government three and two years before, respectively, and In develop ing I'ort Arthur and that iirt of the L,lao Tung peninsula leased to her by the Chi nese In 1MI8. It was her duty to protect these railroad builders from the fury of the Boxers. Opinions differ as to the cause of the rising. It has been alleged many times, principally by the Japanese newspapers, that when the Russians obtained a footing In Manchuria they promptly and deliber ately set to work to provoke a light, so that they would have u chance to conuuer the three provinces by force of arms. Instead of by the slower methods of diplomacy and industrial development. They are said to have insulted the Chinese olticials and barbarously treated the Chinese inhabitants and their own native workmen. "There- Is no evidence in proof of these charges," said Mr. Wirt G rare, an Kngdsh man who traveled In disguise through Man churia, nnd who, being an Knglishman, is hardly likely to be prejudiced In favor of the Russians. "On the contrary, there la Indisputable testimony that the railway constructing parties were generous in their treatment of Chinese and Mancliu laborers, and It is highly Improbable that any were so imprudent as to heap Indignities upon officials." The trouble came to a head through a Chinese military officer developing a Bud den, Inordinate conceit. He was called Upon to review several thousand troops at a place called Kailar, In western Man churia, and the sight of them gave him the disease vulgarly known as "swelled head." Surely, he thought, no barbarian host not even that of the Great White Ciar could stand up against bis mag filflcent array of "banner men." Suiting the action to the thought, he called the local Rtisfian engineer before him and said that not a single stroke "of work mast be done on the railway unless each par ticular piece of construction, even to the driving of a rivet, was submitted to the Chinese authorities and approved by them. Of course, the Russians rejected this ultimatum. Immediately there were out breaks all along the line. The surveying and construction parties were put to flight; Harbin, tho center of the construction work, where the largest force of Russians had gathered, was besieged ; and Beveral attacks were made on the Russian towns of Blagovestehensk, which la separated from Manchuria by the River Amur. Russians may always look back with prlda to this stormy period la their his R it Russia Conquered Manchuria . v' -" ! '-.' .. . .. . ' .. .. T1I13 RUSSIAN PEASANTRY IX tory. Every one of those englnerrs nnd surveyors proved worthy of his trust. Surrounded by thousands of fanatics eager for their blood, faced with the prospect of a death by horrible torture, none of them became panic-stricken. They did not flee to safety alone. In every case they took with them the subordinate workmen, the sick, and even the Ciiinese converts. Nobody was left behind to the fury of the lloxers, and the men In charge were al ways the last to leave. The Russians were quick to accept the challenge of the Chinese. Almost before the fanatical Roxers had finished rejoic ing over the flight of the "foreign devils" and the stoppage of the railway work, five divisions of Russian troops entered Minchurl.i almost simultaneously from different points and began the military conquest of the country. So rapid and well concerted were theso movements that tho troops might have been waiting on the border In anticipation of Just what happened. Everything moved like clockwork. Kach of the live divisions was victorious from start to finish, and In a little over a month tho whole country was In the hands of the Russians. This short and brilliant campaign Is In remarkable contrast to tho Hoer war. The territory conquered and annexed was more than three times as large as the Trans vaal, and the population was vastly greater. For practical purposes the the ater of war was farthr removed from the Russian capital than South Africa is from London. On the other hand, the Iloers were far more formidable fnes than the Chinese troops, and were belter equipped. The chief command of the military opera tions was given to General Grodekoff, the military chief at that time of all the Rus sian forces east of Lake Kalkal, and Ad miral Alexleff and General Linlevitch co operated with him from Port Arthur a Russian fortress and military depot of great strength even then. By order of the csar the troops In Si beria and eastern Turkestan were placed on a war footing on July 21, Ifloo. Within less than a week by July 28 General Gredekoff, with his own division, had cleared all the Chinese from the banks of the Amur, and driven away the be siegers who were bombarding Iilagovest chensk from the Chinese town on the Man churlan side of the river. Orod"koff struck promptly nnd struck hard. He was trained under Skobeleff In central Asia, and, like all HkobelctT'H offi cers, he believes that "Slay and spare not!" Is tho best maxim when warring with Asiatics. The Amur was clinked witli corpses. On "tho red day of Plagovest--Chensk," before Grodekoff relieved that city, fi) Cossacks drove 3.010 of 4.(io eace ful Chinese residents Into the stream to perish by drowning. Not a single Chinese was left alive In Ulagovestchensk. Women and children were mas.su.cred ns freely as men, neither age, sex, nor condition being spared. This terrible massacre might be palliated on tho ground of the terror of the poile at the prospect of a Chinese rising In 'he very heart of their town. The Boxers were bombarding them from the other side of the river, and almost every nour they heard fresh stories of horrible barbarities whlrh had been practiced on some unfor tunate Russian captured tiy Uia Chinese. ruE . . i . f ; VT- T7 frf TVl'ICAI. STKKUT Human nature being what It Is, there Is small need to wonder that their covvanllco overpowered their humanity and they de cided to make short work of the Chinese hi their midst No such excuse can be urged, however, for the ruthlcsM march of General Rcnncii kampf's Siberian ngimcnts. H inUht be said of Rennenkampf, as it was said of a great conqueror of old, that wherever bis horse passed grass has not grown. The track of his troops may still be traced In Manchuria by desolate country and the blackened ruins of burned towns and vil lages. Rennenkampf tlrt attacked the town of Algun, on the Amur, whl.-h was narrboncd by a large and determined body of Chinese troops. They resisted for eight hours, but the place was then can lid ly assault nnd sacked as Magdeburg and Haarlem were sacked In medieval times. Alter the troops hud worked their will lor several hours, the town was burin d to the ground, and all the Chinese men, vom"n and children alike wero driven into the ilames at the point of the bayonet. At Aigun Rennen kampf Htruck the keynote of a merciless campaign, which can only he justllled on the theory, advanced by many famous sol diers, that "no quarter" Is in reality a merciful rule, because it lends to shorten war. Leaving Algun, with Its blazing pyre of corpses, Rennenkampf chased the lleeiiig Chinese toward Mergeti, slaughtering them mercilessly. Twice they had made a stand against him, but each time in vain. On the second occasion, he caught their army In a mountain pass and skillfully deployed a portion of his troops to attack them in the rear. Hemmed In by the two Russian forces, the Chinese had no chance, though they fought with the courage of despera tion. "Tho slaughter was Immense," snld a Russian officer, who took part In the battle. "They could not escape, nnd after the flint brief, desperate resistance was over wo cut them down at pleasure. No quarter was expected or given. Nobody knows how muny Chinese were killed on that bloody day. We started to count the bodies, but grew tired of the task and gave, It up. There were thousands." After this victory tho Rattle of tho Khingan Pass Rennenkampf marched rap Idly south to Tsltlkar, destroying tho town of Mergen and burning seventeen villages on way. Kvery Chinese that his troops met whether a Hoxer, or a peaceful culti vator of the fields, or a mere child was slain. His commands were the same ns those of G neral Kaufmiinn In his Turco man campaign that every subject of the enemy, without distinction, must be killed Whenever and wherever found. General Rennenkampf's rulhlessness was endorso1 by tho Russian government, and, Indeed, was thoroughly In line with Rus ; Sinn policy. He was decorated nnd pro moted by the czar to an Important com mand In Transcuspia, from which he has Just been relieved In order that he may take command of an nrmy corps In Man churia against the Japanese. General Rakharoff, who Is now In com mand of an army corps In the fur east, led another of the divisions, forcing ht way up the river Sungarl to the relief ol the betdeged town of Harbin. He mads th best headway of all the Hvs command? r !t ii C Mil H SCENE IN HA1UUN.. ors, sweeping (he Chinese before him like chaff before the wind. The formidable fortress of Itayniitun, strongly garrisoned and armed with live big Krupp guns nnd other artillery, stood In his way. Most commanders would have sat down to besiege It In a leisurely fashion, according the approved theories of war. Not so Sakhuroff. As soon as he saw the place he ordered an extra ration of vodka to be Served to his men, buttered away at the mud walls with his artillery for half an hour, und then 'n-rsonnlly led his men In a desperate charge through the breach. The Krupp guns were taken, the gunners slain, and within an hour Riiynntun had been captured. Not waiting even a day, S.ikharoff marched on and reached the next fort I lied place Han Sin almost ns soon as the refu gees from li.iyantun did. He treated that fortress In the same fashion, and then mwvhed on, almost unopposed, until he reached Harbin. The Chinese had had n t.iste of his quality, and promptly (led to the mountains. Cliques! ionably Hakharolf is one of Russia's finest lighting generals a man of the HKohcleff stamp. Hy a curious coincidence, Sakha,roff's army reached llarbln on the same day August 3--and at the same hour lis the ndvance guard of General Clilcagofl's I'ssurl nrniy, which had been marching from the east. There wus a hot race be tween the live divisions to see which could relieve Harbin. Sakharoff and ChlcagolT came In first, a dead beat, and the other three were only a few days behind. General Orloff Invndel Manchuria from the west witli a strong nrmy rollected In the Trans-Hnikal territory, lie had mora fighting to do than any other general. He won two battles against K.noo Chinese troops and a mixed nrmy of 7.l" Ciiinese and Mongolians, and then had to fight continually for three days and nights whilo he was forcing his way through the passes of the Khingan mountain. Dur ing all that period his soldiers could barely spare tlmo to eat or to bind up their wounds, but as soon as they emerged from the mountains they marched 210 miles In eleven days ami finished up by routing 30,(11)0 well-equipped Chinese and Mongols at the battle of Ongum, with the loss of only eight killed and eighteen wounded. Throughout the whole of this brief but by no means little war, the Chinese iiever had a chance. They outnumbered the Rus sians, and in several battles they were uble to put well equipped troops Into the Held, nrmd with Mausers and Krupp Held guns. Hut the men were untrained ami undis ciplined, and the generals were hopelessly Incompetent. Against them was ranged the very flower of the Russian army Chliagoff's Kubam-kl Cossacks, Rennen kampf's Trans-liaikal troops, all of them men used from infancy to u life of adviii lulu and hardship. It was the most one-sided wnr of mod crn times, not even except lug the Turkish campaign In Thcssaly and America's easy victory over Spain. It convinced the Rus sian authorities of the truth of the theory they had ulways held that China would never become n source of danger to their Asiatic possessions until It transformed lls.df us Japan hits done. It fully Justified the boast of a famous Cossack general that ho could take Peking nnd conquer the whole Chinese empire with 'ZS.OoO Cossacks at Lis back. WILLIAM T1IOHP.