Tientsin, Nov. 17.
With @ general assault on Tsinan fu, capital of Shantung. imminent as Japanese columns converge. on. the city, headquarters of the Japanese Army garrison in North China this afternoon announced that "Shantung Province north of the Yellow River fs now in the Japanese hands.
One Japanese detachment to-day reached a point eight kilometres north fof Tsinan-fu, facing Chinese troops across the Yellow River, and occupied HTsoshon, within sight of 'Tsinan in. the afternoon of Nov. 15 after occupy: Ing Taiyang and out-flanking Yur Jeheng, where the 29th Division under Gen, Tsang Fuclin, the Tith Division under Gen, Li Han-chang, and the forces under Gen, Ting" Shu-tang, were' stationed.
While three Japanese detachments pressed hard from the north upon 20,000 Chinese soldiers, said the garr!- son report, two other columns attacked the Chinese from the south, cutting off their retreat by occupying Yeng~ jeheng, north of Tsinan.—Domel,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.