Kiukiang, Apr. 18. 'ULMINATING a 28-hour lightning attack, Japanese troops at 7.25 o'clock this morning occupied Kuling, the famous mountain resort on top of the Lushan mountains in northern Kiangsi province.
The Chinese defenders of the mountain area, who had defied Japanese attacks for six months, were "annihilated", the headquarters of the Japanese Expeditionary Force to Central China announced in an official communique at 11 o'clock this morning at Hankow.
Details regarding the fate of foreign residents still remaining in Kuling could not be learned here this morning, but all were believed to be safe in a specially designated zone of refuge in Kuling.
From the north-east, north-west, and south-west Japanese troops began converging upon the mountain tops from early yesterday morning.
Chinese troops, commanded by 32- year-old Major-Gen. Yang Vu-chun, offered stubborn resistance in spite of their comparatively poor armament, which consisted principally of about 20 heavy machine-guns with a proportionate number of Bren guns. Hand grenades were freely used by the Chinese, who numbered about 2,500 men.
Adding to the difficulties of negotiating "goat track" mountain paths, the principal mountain trails had been mined by the Chinese.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.