The Army spokesman at yesterday's press conference stated that 130 divisions had defended Hankow from the Japanese onslaughts. From the various types of uniforms found on the dead and, counting their number, as well as from documentary information obtained, he was of the opinion that at least one third of these divisions virtually were non est. Another third were in a sadly depleted condition, while the remainder were intact. He believed that along the Peiping-Hankow Railway there were a large number of Kwangsi troops in a fairly fresh condition.
Nevertheless, it could be assumed, he thought, that it was only a matter of time until they would be driven westward from the rail lines.
The Japanese had advanced only ten kilometres beyond Tehan, he said in reply to a question, but the army was making general progress, slow but sure, along all fronts south of the Yangtze.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.