Hankow, July 14.
In spite of frantic efforts yesterday and today, the Japanese forces have so far failed to improve their position at Kiukiang. The infantry w relatively inactive and the brunt of the fighting is being borne by the artillery and air force which are bombarding the Lion Hill below Kiukiang without interruption. The hill, which dominates the Yangtze and the junction of the Poyang Lake with the river, is, however, so strongly fortified that the intensive bombardment has so far failed to silence the Chinese batteries on the hill. The Chinese are in addition now building a system of strong field entrenchments in the adjacent region. Since Kiukiang itself cannot be taken unless Lion Hill is captured first, some time will probably elapse before the Japanese attain their objective.
The Japanese air force yesterday and today not only bombed Kiukiang itself but also all other towns in the vicinity—Trans-Ocean.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.