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In the meantime two other Japan-€se columns marching north upon Sintanpu reached a line linking Shih-jen shan and Paiteuling, hill position commanding Sintanpu and were closing in upon the river bank.
Another infantry Column captured Fengshuke, described as a Chinese stronghold on the Fu about four kilometres from Sintanpu, while the vanguard of still another unit was Pressing on the city a few hours later.
Sintanpu is an important land and vater transportation centre at the junction of the Tungshan-Yangsin and Loki-Tayeh Highways. Strong Positions had been established there and Gen. Chiang Kai-shek was said to have declared that Sintangpu, along with Tienkiachen, would be able to withstand the Japanese onslaughts. Tienkiachen has fallen to the Japanese and the encirclement of Sintanpu indicates that its occupation is imminent, Domei reports from the front said.
With the fall of Sintanpu the Wuhan defence line will be seriously weakened, a Domei correspondent at the front reported.
Mountain Positions Along Yangtze Japanese detachments operating in the Yangtze sectors extended their lines farther westward on Wednesday by capturing mountain positions both north and south of the river, Domei reports from the front claimed late on Wednesday night.
In the Fu River sector south of the Yangtze two detachments assaulted a strong Chinese position at Chouchianao; another detachment at about the same time routed Chinese forces on heights south of Chenchulin, according to a dispatch from Chang-tenyo.
Japanese forces which previously had taken Lungehiawan fort on the south bank of the Yangtze with the aid of a barrage from warships in the river, captured the highest peak of Hwoshan several hours later, according to a Domei message from Kichun.
Another Japanese detachment which landed on the north bank of the Yangtze in ce-operation, with an Army unit dislodged Chinese troops from Kuohokow. They pursued the Chinese into hills north of Lake Liang and inflicted heavy losses on them, the Kichun report continued The north bank of the lake was littered with the bodies of Chinese who fell in the brief skirmish, the report added.
Pressure from Japanese forces advancing in southern Shansi and from other columns which cut the Peiping-Hankow Railway made the Chinese positions untenable, these reports claimed.
Chinese forces which had been stationed in the Pinghan zone were falling back southward through mountains northwest of the railway, apparently with the intention of taking up new positions along the next inner defence line for Hankow, the Domei field reports declared.
Chinese casualties in three weeks of fighting in the Loki sector south of Juichang in northwestern Kiangsi were estimated at 80000 in a message from the Kiangsi front. Thirteen thousand bodies were left on the battlefields, the report stated.
Booty seized by the Japanese consisted of two howitzers, 2,500 trench mortar shells 40 machine guns of various sized and large quantities of ammunition.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.