Nanking, Feb, 13.
Chinese troops falling back." from the northern bank of the Hwai River across: from Linhwalkwan, in the face of a Japanese advance' abandoned 11500. bodies in addition to 173 machine-guns of Czechoslovakian make, 360 rifles, one trench-mortar Jand 75,000 rounds of assorted ammunition, field dispatches received here stated to-day.
'At Pengpu, Chinese killed left behind numbered 500, Armament captured by. the Japanese there me eluded 28""Brenn' machine-guns of Czech manufacture, three teench= mortars and large quantities of ammunition, according to the reports.—Domei Japanese Changteh, Feb. 14.
Driving rapidly southward along the Peiping-Hankow Railway, Japanese" tank. unit entered the walled" town of Chihsien, Honan Province, at 11 o'clock Yesterday morning, according to flea dispatches Feeelved here this morning.
The tank corps entered the town by the northern gate and was followed closely by. the vanguard of a Japanese infantry column.
Capture of Chihsien, forty _kilometres south of Changteh, brought the Japanese flying columns within 100 kilometres of Chengchow. strategle western junction of the Peiping-'Hankow and Lunghai Railways' and termed the gateway to Hankow.
Yesterday. the swiftly advancing Japanese columns executed a flanking movement and routed 15,000 Chinese {troops under Gen, Wan Fu-lin, Kaifeng Threatened Japanese troops to-day threatened Kaifeng, capital of Honan, following their capture of Changyuan in south=
Changyuan, ' about 72° Kcllometres Jsouth of Puyang and eight kilometres west of the Yellow River, was occupied by the Banzai detachment yesterday. morning according dispatches received here this morn-jing from eld commanders.
As a result of their occupation of Changyuan the Japanese troops were fin a position to-day to strike Kaifeng almost at will. This strategie Honan capital was expected to Joe the objective of an immediate Japanese thrust for the purpose of fentting the Lunghai Railway at that point.
The column which occupied Change yuan launched its drive from Puyang and scattered Chinese troops east of the Peiping-Hankow Railway to the south.
'About 1,000 Chinese troops wore reported io have been slain Ina attic which preceded the capture of Changyitan, 'Changyuan is thirty Kilometres north of Lanfeng on' the Lunghai line—Domel, out Admission Hankow, Feb. 14.
After having crossed' the Hava river on Saturday, the Japanese cove the Chinese still further back yesterday. The positions vacated by the Chinese were destroyed by. a bombardment lasting several days without. interruption At the same time the Japanese kept pressing forward along the Poiping-Hankow railway. They have sueceeded in taking Tangying. The Tapanese have reached the north-bank of the Yellow river in. the neighbourhood of Fuyang.
North of the Tientsin-Pukow railway near the town of Lianghsiatien, 30 kilometres south of Yenchow., and 4150 kilonietres north of Hsuchow, the Japanese troops have resumed. thei activity.
Reporls received here state that thi Japanese have concentrated no fewer than 4,000 tanks "along the Pelping-Hankow railway. "Also aeroplanes were used in great numbers yesterday on all fronts—trans-Ocean,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.