Reports received here from Puchi indicate that Japanese columns have severed the Puchi-Tsungyang motor vad thus threatening the rear of Chinese forces entrenched along the southern border of Hupeh province.
Two Japanese units driving west, ward after routing Chinese forces a Tungshan, joined hands with the detachment which captured Nanmuchiao at noon on Friday. The meeting of the columns was effected at 3.30 o'clock on Friday afternoon, the reports said.
In capturing the town of Nanmuie Chinese position 32 east of Tsungyang and he Changsha-Sienning highway, Japanese forces routed Chinese numbering 2000. The town was set on fire by the retreating Chinese, the reports said.
Later reports indicated that the Japanese columns already have pushed forward to the south of Nanmuchiao for a distance of eight kilometres. Other units are driving west-from the newly-occupied posi-".—Domei, Recovering
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.