Hankow, Dec. 20.
'The Japanese advenes on the Chientang Hlver continued fo. encounter rear diMeulties to-day according to reports received here. which state that the Chinese forces took advantage' of the heavy rain in order push forward in the direction Fuyang where there. is a gap In the Tapanese front owing to insuMeient Tis further slated here that the Tapanted suffered heavy losses in the continuous Aghting around Fuyang fand that a part of their troops had been obliged. to fall back. towards Hangchow, followed by Chinese forces whose vanguard. is said. to. have eached a point some six miles gouth-'West of the city.
Chinese. guerilla bands are also said to be extremely active and to have fained some fecesses on. the Toxd from Kwangteh to Wushing, while some Chinese forces are stated to be" marching on" Changshin.
Further Chinese suesesses are ro-ported here from the southern sector of. the, Tientain-Pukow railway. From Minghuan, which is situated {o the north of Pukow the Chinese made a" thrust ina south-westerly direction and are reported to. have taken Chuchow, the Japanese. forces Being compeltéd' to withdraw Pukow.
"According to Chinese reports com= parative quiet prevails in the province of Shantung this morning: 'The Japanese have not yet pushed forward their Tineg extending from Weihsien to' Changehin via Poshan so that it is generally believed here that the Japanese advance has been arearly impeded—Trans-Ocean, Hankow, Jan, 3, Reporting on the success of the Chinese counter-attack in the Hang chow front, General Chang Fa-kuei, former Commander of the "Ironsides, who fs now directing the campaign Chekiang, states that after est. abolishing close contact with the flying columns, the Chinese troops in wes fern Chekiang and outside of Hang. chow have launched a counter-drive fon Hangchow from Fuyang, 20 miles south-west of Hangchow, and Yuhang, ten, miles west of the lake city. Pushing rapidly towards the Chekiang provincial capital, the Chinese forces Inilieted heavy casualties on the Japanese troops.
The vanguards of the Chinese forces continued their drive from Lithota (pagoda), near the chow Christian " College: [Hupaoshan this morning, while Chie nese plain-clothes units are active in the walled city. the message con innes, The Japanese garrison in Hangchow have withdrawn the city, the recapture of which is only a matter of tim "Another column is heading towards the West Lake region, Severe ubt= Ing is reported to have broken out between the Chinese and Japanese troops at Ssuyentsing near the West Lake, Several extensive fires volving the Municipal Government Building, the Museum and the bus Fess quarter of Hangchow have broken out—Kuo Min,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.