Premature Despatch of Blocking Train: Otdetly Retreat Becomes Flight The following is yet another version of the taking of Nankow Pars, contributed by a special correspondent to the "Peking and 2 Peking, Aug. 21, The armoured trains Shantung id Honan arrived at Kalgan at 7 on August 19 and two hours later continued in the direction of Paotao, They travelled some 60) kilometres in that direction, skirmishing here and there with the enemy, and returned during the night of the 19th to Kalgan, On the morning of the 20th they were ordered by the Tupan Chang Chung. chang to return to Peking which they reached this, mornin Commanders of both trains gave us a detailed account of the battles that were fought after the fall of Nankow, as well as of the capture of Kalgan and of the state of the army of Feng Vu-hsiang. From a summary of their story we can give the following account of what has happened.
Nankow was captured on August 14 chiefly owing to a flanking movement of the Mukden troops who penetrated deeply into" the rear of the enemy's positions, There was also a frontal attack, but this was only the final blow, when the main body of Lu Chung-in's troops was already retreating from Nankow. The commander of the Mukden troops deserves especial praise for this flanking movement. Though the latter caused heavy losses, they were certainly less than those which would have been entailed by a frontal attack.
The inspection of the Nankow of electri-of fields mixed with fougades of excellent trenches} with cemented tops, ets It is evident that the capture of all these fortifications would have cost a great loss of human lives, if the turning movement had not compelled the enemy to abandon them without firing a shot, However, this retreat cost enemy great sacrifices. At Nankow lot of munitions were—found, mandaned guns, an armoured train, motor-lorry with a Zenith gun (for shelling aeroplanes), and many other! things. Nevertheless, on leaving} Nankow, the enemy, meant to offer resistance. 'The greater part of his munitions had been evacuated, a well as all troops and even' th wounded, and measures had been taken to prevent the Allies from pursuing the retreating army. For stance the special engines for the tunnel and the gradient leading to the Kalgan Pass were damaged. As We shall see later on, this damaging of the engines played a great part} in the further military operations. The enemy tried also to block the tunnel. Rails were removed near the middle of the tunnel and six cars loaded stones were rus down the slope, The smashed cars completely blocked the tunnel; some of them were standing upright and stuck fast between the top and the! bottom so that they could only be removed with great difficulty. But} when doing this the enemy must have been nervous. The ears were evidently launched' too early. the retreating troops were stil: in the tunnel, and they rushed into a column of these unfortunate men. The spot where this took place was strewn with the Undies of Kvominchun Yet the retreat from still one of an army that had not Jos: its martial spirit, but at Hwailai it was otherwise. lai is captured. The Mukden army, pursuing the enemy, joined here with the army of the left flank. The hope of the Kuominchun to make a stand at Yan-shen was frustrated. Besides, unfavourable news from Shansi compelled the Commander-in-Chief of the Kuo-mine hun, General Chang Chitchiatig, to evacuate speedily the northern army from Dolonor and even to evacuate Kalgan. The evacuation of Kalgan began on August 16, Such news could not but produce bad effect on the remnant of Lu Cuigtin's army. If was no more!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.