_'Mientsin, Sept, 22.
Facing little opposition, Japanese forces to-day captured Tsaokotao, six miles north of Paotingfu. - Almost simultaneously, an independent column occupied Peipang, on the Petze River, about ten miles north-West of Paoting.
Japanese forces, a communique by Garrison headquarters in North China said, are now launching a final drive for Paotingfu, Other units yesterday launched a determined onslaught on Chinese positions south of Tientsin, on the Tientsin-Pukow Railway, for Yao-kwantung, a station north of Tsangchow, the Chinese stronghold.
Protected by aerial bombardment and artillery barrage, a Japanese armoured train attacked Yaokwantung last night. The town was reported ablaze, while the Akashiba, Nagano and Numada detachments were closing in on Tsangchow. These two detachments at mid-night yesterday occupied Malopo, three miles northwest of Tsangchow, while the Aka-shiba unit occupied "other important positions close to Tsangchow," the communique said.
Chinese troops at Tsangchow, the announcement admitted, offered stiff resistance, but "began to waver soon after 7 o'clock this morning." Tow-tien, east of Tsangchow,, fell this morning.
On the Suiyuan front, the Senda detachment from Tatung, to-day occupied the old town of Pingtichuan, four kilometres south of Pingtichuan, the strongest Chinese military base in the province—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.