Hankow, Feb, 1.
"The evacuation of Chinese positions near Mingkwang, important railway station on the southern section of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway, was officially confirmed to-day by the Chinese Military Headquarters here, The withdrawal is stated to have followed a week of severe fighting, in which the Chinese defence works at Mingkwang were completely demolished as a result of a terrific Japanese artillery bombardment. The Chinese forces have now withdrawn to the west bank of the Chi river.
The Mingkwang area has been the objective of the Japanese for sore time, as its hilly topography forms a natural defence line south of Pengpu.
According to Chinese reports, one of the three Japanese divisions operating on the Tientsin-Pukow Railway front participated in the attack on the Mingkwang sector.
Only a small number of Japanese troops are said to be stationed at present on the Yangchow rent, east of the Tientsin-Pukow line on the Grand Canal, and also on the northern section of the railway.
Tsini o Area The Japanese troops in the Tsingtao area are reported to be pushing in a south-easterly direction towards chow, eastern terminus of the Lunghai Railway, in order to cut the right flank of the Chinese forces defending Hsuchowfu, the city at the junction of the Tientsin-Pukow and Lunghai lines, The troops of the late General Han Fu-chu, who was recently executed at Wuchang, have been reorganized into two army corps, which will be under the command, respectively, of General Sung Tung-hsuan and General Tsao Fu-lin.
The reorganization was to have been carried out under the supervision of General Sun Lien-chung, who was once a close associate of General Han Fu-chu, under General ug Vu-hsiang, and by General Chiang Po-chen, who was General Chiang Kai-shek's resident representative at Tsinan—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.