He was told to keep his place; and, by way of consoling
him for his inaction, the Minister of Marine added, "You are not
to blame for not firing on the Japanese. They are fighting our
battles--we can't do anything against them." So much for Chinese
neutrality in theory and in practice.
Kuropatkin, like the Parthian, "most dreaded when in flight," renouncing
any further attempt to break through the cordon which the Japanese
had drawn around the doomed fortress, intrenched his forces in
and around Liaoyang. His position was strong by
[Page 187]
nature, and he strengthened it by every device known to a military
engineer; yet he was driven from it in a battle which lasted nine
days.
The Japanese, though not slow to close around his outposts, were
too cautious to deliver their main attack until they could be certain
of success. The combat thickened till, on August 24, cannon thundered
along a line of forty miles. Outflanked by his assailants, the
Russian general, perceiving that he must secure his communications
on the north or sustain a siege, abandoned his ground and fell
back on Mukden.
In this, the greatest battle of the campaign thus far, 400,000
men were engaged, the Japanese, as usual, having a considerable
majority. The loss of life was appalling. The Russian losses were
reported at 22,000; and those of Japan could not have been less.
Yet Liaoyang with all its horrors was only a prelude to a more
obstinate conflict on a more extended arena.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193