Last Days of Reinforcements and Supplies Poured Down to Quinsan Front By HI. Pearce, General Headquarters, Quinsan, Sept. 17.
Very probably by the time this report appears the Kiangsu army's push" will have been put into operation, For days past it has been obvious that Marshal Chi has decided to concentrate all his force fon this front and smash his way through to Shanghai. When I left Quinsan this morning, there were troops everywhere preparing to. leave for the front, and every possible means was being brought into tuse for conveyance of men and munitions to the Liuho sector, One operation of special interest was the despatch of two heavy guns along the canal to Kading. The great, iron gates of the yamen were pulled off their hinges and used as a plat form whereon the guns were lowered from the canal bank to a junk, and this difficult feat having been accomplished, the gates were promptly restored to their ancient During the day, five special trains fully loaded with troops, field guns and munitions arrived at Quinsan, adding possibly some 2,500 or 3,000 men to the fighting strength.
With no doubt full knowledge of all these preparations, the Chekiang forees made a determined effort to break through the line on the night of the 16th, and so nearly suecee that, for the second time, all available trains were detained at Ant in readiness for an emergency You will already have received an account of this engagement, but some further details of the fighting as observed from Anting railway station will be of interest.
The Chekiang plan consisted of a turning movement by troops on the "Left of the Liuho line and the Kading right, the two attempting to sweep down in a curving line upon Tait-sang.
Precisely at 11.80, artillery opened fire all along the line from Huangtu station to Kading, and, taken by surprise, some 10 minutes lapsed before the Kiangsu gunners returned the fire. A terrific duel nsued, and was maintained while the Chekiang soldiers went forward from the centre of th Litho line. The attack wa: tained with great determination, and it was fascinating to watch the crescent line of rifle fire by the advancing troops. At 12.18 wi the battle was in full swing, a Ché- kiang ammunition dump "went up, lighting the skies for an instant with a great fan-shaped flame. Artillery, machine gun and rifle fire was kept up with great intensity until about 1.a.m., and by that time it was observed that the Chekiang men actually advanced to within a short distance of Taitsang. They got no nearer, however, and when at dawn Kiangsu reinforcements were rushed into the firing line, the attacking force was compelled to retire upon its original position. Shells continued burst and showed a paler flash against a wonderful sunrise, and it was not until 6 a.m. that the last shot in this very lively encounter was fired. Even so, the Kiangsu Staff waited for another three hours, for assurance there was to be no renewal of the attack, before they would allow any movement by the waiting trains at Anting.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.