JAPANESE RETREAT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 224, 21 August 1937, Page 2

JAPANESE RETREAT

3.45 P.M. EDITION.

BOTH FLANKS VULNERABLE. CHINESE OCCUPY WHARVES. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Aug. 21. The Chinese Consul received the following cable from Nanking this morning:— The Chinese made further gains today at Shanghai, where the Japanese forces have been driven into the International Settlement north of Soochow Creek. The Japanese Hues are now pressed into a long arc shape, therefore both flanks are vulnerable. Thus compressed, the Japanese guns have been rendered iueffectvie, and the fighting is now mostly hand to hand. The Chinese advanced yesterday and occupied the Sun Sing cotton mills. The Japanese attempted again to land at Pootung, but wore repulsed. Heavy Japanese reinforcements have arrived in North China and a clash is reported at Taku. Resuming the offensive, the Chinese troops at Shanghai occupied the ground near the Japanese barracks. Under heavy Chinese artillery fire the Japanese appeared gradually to fall back on new positions hurriedly erected. The Chinese troops occupied the wayside wharves last night, thus cutting communications between the Japanese forces at Yangtse-poo and the North Szecliuen Road areas. Having entered the north-eastern sector of the International Settlement, the base of the Japanese operations, tho Chinese troops are confident that they will soon deliver the coup-de-grace. The Japanese have made two desperate attempts to land reinforcements at Liuho and Kiangwan, but they were repulsed. Twenty Chinese planes bombed the Japanese warships off ft costing, setting fire to two gunboats and a submarine. At present 46 Japnnese warships are concentrated at Shanghai, including five cruisers. 25 destroyers and two aircraft carriers. A R*7 Cross unit at Nanziang, 15 kilometres (about 10 miles) from Shanghai, was bombed yesterday. One doctor and two convalescent patients were seriously injured. The Japanese are rushing three Army divisions to Shanghai, hut landing them is difficult in view of the loss of the wayside wharves. Japanese 'planes made two raids on Nanking, dropping ten bombs, but only two exploded, doing practically no damage. Four bombers were shot down. _ ... Japanese reconnaisnnce flights over Yochow, in northern Hunan, indicate that the aerial warfare is likely to be extended to Central China.