The Chinese command in the south was preparing for large-scale poison! gas operations in an attempt to check the Japanese advance, Domei reports said. Chinese troops, will be supplied with poison gas shells manufactured In a factory established last year in Canton for such an emergency as Kwangtung appears to be facing at resent, these reports declared.
Materials for the production of poison gas will be furnished through the agents of a certain Power, the reports claimed.
Kwangtung military authorities will ask Gen. Chiang Kal-shek to send Targe number of Soviet fighting planes of the 1-16 type to help in the de: fence of the south, the same reports declared. Soviet planes of this type re being used on the Yangtze front.
Hundreds of Chinese inhabitants of Swatow already have started an exodus to Chaochow on the Swatow-Chaochow Railway. The population, of Swatow had lived in a state of suspense for the past several days {in anticipation of the Japanese drive. A veritable flood of humanity of all] ages and classes loaded down with household goods overwhelmed the railway station at Swatow. Facilities were entirely inadequate to trans-ort the masses of people, whose eagerness to depart for safer regions increased hourly as messengers brought reports that the Japanese had landed east of the city and were steadily advancing northward.
Japanese troops on board warships and transports steaming toward the South China coast on. the evening of October 11 saw a set of signal fags raised on the flagship of the, fleet. The fags flashed this message the watching men: "The opportunlity has arrived for us to strike toward our objective in South China, Every man is expected to do his, 'A wave of exultation ran through the troops when they perceived the signal, declared a communique.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.