MORNING OFFENSIVE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 220, 17 August 1937, Page 7

MORNING OFFENSIVE.

SHANGHAI TERRIFIED. LONDON, Aug. 16. Tile crowd queued at the Shanghai Club had a terrifying experience at 11.30 when seven Chinese bombers flew over the Japanese warship Idumo and dropped five huge bombs. One exploded on a pontoon close to the cruiser, another a hundred yards toward the shore, and a third in the water. . Several fires started in the Japanese area after which Japanese ’planes ascended to robomh the Chinese positions west of the city. The Japanese early morning offensive lasted an hour. Japanese warships concentrated their fire on the area of the Shanghai-vVoosuug railway obviously to cover the landing of reinforcements from two transports. ViceAdmiral Ilasegawa warned al noncombatants to evacuate the neighbourhood of the Cliineso military and civil aerodromes. . ~ At Shanghai petrol, ice. and otlmr necessaries are unavailable. he stores, most of which are open, are not granting credit. The banks will not open to-day. One warrant officer and four bluejackets were killed on the Idumo in the "'Strj.iTti.lt.J Press Tientsin correspondent quotes private advice that a general mobilisation is in proEmbassy officials and staffs have applied lor facilities to leave Nanking, where the Admiralty c airns to have shot down ten Chinese planes this morning and destroyed the hanB TTokio message says the Embassy confirmed that Embassy officials were leaving Nanking but this does not imply the breaking off of diplomatic ie lations. Ambassador Kawagoe remains on duty. The Foreign Office spokesman em-J phasised that Japan adheres to her policy of non-aggravation in China if China completely and definitely stops hostile actions. „ rI • French batteries opened fire on Chinese ’planes flying over the Concession this morning. A Tokio message says that the Japanese Admiralty announced that by 2 a.m. they had destroyed 72 Chinese ’planes and 17 hangars at the rear of Shanghai. Their own losses were eight machines. A Shanghai message states that Uninese troops are pouring into Chapei, a suburb of Shanghai. Troop trains are unloading at the north station. Three seaplanes catapulted from the Japanese warship Idumo bombed the Yang Tse-poo and Ilonkew Park districts.

His Msiesty’s warship Duncan is an chored off the Shanghai Club. Four thousand Rrit’sh women and children are expected to be evacuated. The first hatch of 700 is aboard the Ilajpntana. ... r The possibility that the bombing ot the Foreign Concession was due to causes bevond the plots’ control is set forth in AT ad ame Chiang Kai-shek’s repty to M r s Roosevelt, in which she deplored “the accidental dropping of bombs from two damaged oreoplanes.” She adds: “The generalissimo was shocked and grieved, because lie had expressly ordered Umt r>o Imnibs should be dropped south of Seochow creek “Officers report that Japanese antia’rcraft gunnery wounded the Chinese pilots and dam a cod the bomb racks, thus 'oosening + he bombs. Tt is incredible that China would deliberately bomb the settlement.”