Hankow, Sept. 23.
Launching their first' large-scale operation in Central China since the @rive. upon Nanchang, capital of Kiangs, late In March, Japanese army and navy forees, assisted by large squadrons of aircraft, today unleashed concerted assault upon 00 Chinese Givisions in the Ninth War Zone in perth-eastern Hunan, "As army troops, convoyed by naval craft, staged a surprise landing at an tundigelgsed point, deep in the Tungting Lake, to strike at the left flank of the defending Chinese forces un-Ger Gen. Kuan Lin-cheng, other powerful army units launched a fron. {al attsek along a 100 I: llometre-front further north.
Field dispatches received here tonight claimed that the Chinese troops ere in full Might along the entire front, retreating in confusion towards Changsha, the Hunan provincial eapital "These retreating forces the reports: said, were being subjected to cease: Tess bombing and machine-gun attacks from the air, as Jananese aircraft, favoured by clear autumn weather, roared ceaselessly over the front, Advance on Raltway The Japanese right flank, operating from the western bank of the Tung ting. Lake, was advancing in two columns ripon the "anton-Hankow Railway after reducing an unnamed Chinese base of operations at 7 clock this morning, 2 Domei dis Patch from the front said.
in the face of the surprise Japanese landing, the Chinese first line defenders' broke their ranks, fleeing. ivland abandoning at least 220 dead, tone eld gun, one quick-fung gun, two heavy machine guns, three Bren guns and large quantities of rifles and other arms and ammunition the report added.
The main Japanese land attack koing Iaunched from taroc directions one column advancing across the Sin-tsiang River, another from the western base of the Tayun mountains, and.
third from the area south of Tung-cheng. Minor Japanese "detachments were filling in the gaps between these three main routes of advance, sweeping back the Chinese to the south, Extending 250 kilorsetres from east to west and 160 kilometres from north south, the present theatre of Japanese operations is tedly_ the! largest since last autumnn's march on the Wuhan triple cities—Domel,
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