The engagement started at about 8.15 am. when Chinese snipers on Pootung Point fired at a Japanese picket boat anchored off the Point, and killed-one man. The picket boat replied with brisk machine gun fre. whose vicious crackle could be heard over a long distance.
The Chinese continued with their rifle fire, and also brought machine guns into action. Several Japanese destroyers joined in, sending high explosive shells point blank into Poolung. The firing continued for about an hour and a quarter, and bullets spattered into the water all around the picket boat, from Chinese machine guns. Fragments of Japanese shells could be plainly seen landing in the river.
Business people arrived at their offices on. The Bund to find the duel still in' progress, but. it ceased at about 930, and there was no more activity ín the region of The Bund until the afternoon, Heavy explosions were, however,. plainly. audible throughout the morning from bombing in the vicinity of the North Station.
Japanese ships again shelled Pootung ín the early afternoon, but ceased again soon afterwards, There was spasmodic firing into: Pootung during the remainder of the afternoon and evening.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.