Japanese aerial observers on Monday afternoon reported sighting only about 1000 Chinese soldiers falling back towards Kuoliutan, 28 kilometres north-west of Shangcheng, indRating the disorderly character of the retreat.
Semi-circular Chinese defence line: were also discerned by Japanese fliers being feverishly constructed with Shangcheng as their centre. The outer edge of these positions was said to be at a point about four kilometres north-west of Changpaili, running towards Fachiatsi and Sushanshih.
Meantime, Japanese troops pushing westward from Kushih towards Kwangchow along the base of the inverted triangle forming the Chinese defence system in that area, were within 16 kilometres of their immediate objective as they closed in upon Huangkangszu at noon on Monday.
Another Japanese column, proceeding westward on the flooded Hwai River, at the same time prepared to strike at Kwangchow from the north.
Built astride the Han River, Kwangchow ordinarily is a thriving business town with a population of 49,000. Its strategic importance derives from the highways radiating from the town into the Honan plain, to Loshan and Sinyang in the west, to Sihsien in the north and Shangcheng and Kwang-shan in the south.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.