I’ve been caught up with the US election, and the horrific display of the American media, and other things for awhile, but I should be back to offering a tidbit here and there at GI Korea’s now.  I picked up on the Russo-Japanese War news archives at the New York Times where we left off…

1 Nov – Headline:  Double Flanking Move Menaces Russian Army

Everything indicates that both the Japanese and the Russian armies south of Mukden are ready for a resumption of hostilities, if indeed fighting has not already begun.

It seems to be assumed that the Japanese will be able to meet Gen. Kuropatkin on almost if not quite an equal numerical footing.  The mere fact that they are again threatening a double flanking movement indicates Field Marshal Oyama’s confidence in the sufficiency of the forces at his disposal.

Dispatches indicate the resumption of fighting on both extremities of the Russian front.  The night of Oct. 30 the Japanese attacked the Russian entrenchments east of Linohipu, but were repulsed, though the bombardment continued throughout the night.  A Japanese advance has also begun against Russian positions at Tunganon, a mile and a half north of Bentsiaputze, where they encountered a heavy Russian fire.

3 Nov Headline – Expect Port Arthur’s Fall

The official reports from Tokio and non-official foreign dispatches describing the desperate assaults on Port Arthur, beginning Oct. 26, have created visible depression at the War office.  [News article datelined: St. Petersburg]

The sustained character of the bombardment with siege guns and the breaching of the walls by underground mines, but above all the fact that the Japanese Government, after weeks of silence regarding the operations of the besiegers, has given out official reports before actual success has crowned their efforts, convince the military authorities that after long preparation Gen. Nogi is not only making a supreme effort to carry the fortress, but feels so confident of success that the result of the preliminary operations has been made public.

5 Nov Headline – Port Arthur News Beat a Notable Achievement

Months of painstaking preparation, including no end of negotiations with various departments of the Japanese Government at Tokio, were required in order to pave the way for the Port Arthur story sent out exclusively by The Associated Pres and printed in full in The New York Times yesterday morning.

…it contained just 4,385 words, and required about fourteen hours in transmission, practically monopolizing the new Trans-Pacific Cable during all that time, and emphasizing again the importance and usefulness of that connecting link between this country and the Far East as a medium for transmitting news.

13 Nov Headline – Kuroki Killed By Shell Says a Russian Report

Nemirovich Danchenko, the well-known Russian war correspondent of The Associated Press, telegraphing from Mukden under today’s date, says the reports of the death of Gen. Kuroki are confirmed.

…the splinter of a shell struck Gen. Kuroki, tearing out a portion of his breast and abdomen.  He died on Oct. 4 at Liao-Yang, and his body was sent to Japan.

“For the last five weeks,” says M. Danchenko, “we have practically not advanced at any point on the whole southwestern front even a few versts further than we stood on Oct. 5. On the contrary, at several places we have been obliged to retire several versts; but the present lines of defenses must be considered permanent in view of the strong fortifications constructed.

“The Japanese positions at several points are only 800 paces distant from ours and must be considered to be definitely occupied by the enemy.

“The general position causes great tension on both sides.

According to a quick look at Wikipedia, the news of Gen. Kuroki’s death was greatly exaggerated, but I guess we’ll get to that later in the dispatches to come…..