Peiping, Sept. 20.
Bue Japanese successes in the Peiping-Hankow railway zone, Chinese troops in Hopei are preparing to make a fresh stand near Paotingfu, the provincial capital. The next battle may be expected along a line between Sinanchen, on the north bank of the Fu River, across the railway north of Paotingfu, to Man-cheng, where heavy concentrations of Chinese troops are reported. The Japanese claim a further advance of ten miles overnight. They are now said to be within thirty miles of Paotingfu.
The Japanese right wing and centre have crossed the branch railway from Kaopeitien to the Western Manchu tombs at Liangkochuang, while the left wing is now astride of the main line several miles south of Kaopeitien.
An epic story of the defence of ihe walled town of Kuan by a single Chinese regíment for three days was unfolded to Reuter's correspondent when he visited the battlefield behind the Japanese lines.
Although the tide of battle swept onwards as the Chinese troops fell back from the banks of the Hun River, the regiment refused to quit iheir post until their defences had been reduced to ruins by an extremely intensive Japanese bombardment.
Reuters correspondent saw the arms and of more than twenty Chinese s sticking from the wreckage of a gate tower which had been bombed. Hundreds. of shells destroyed bull throughout the town, killing many civilians.
Two thousand survivors of the regiment slipped away from Kuan early on the morning of September 19, two days after the capture of the
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