Driving thvough snow one foot deep, JJapanese detachments which at 11 am. today captured Siaoshan continued to dvance south of the Chientang River this, afternoon, Launching new operations in that area, three Japanese units began Jerossing the river early this morning. All forces had lended on sunt The objective in the new drive was parently to establish safety la the areas of the Yangtze delta along the Shanghai-Hangchow Railay and in the vicinity of Hangchow.
Japanese forees also hope, military observers here stated, to cut off supply routes to the Chungking Government. The Chekiang-Kiangsi and a portion jof the Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo Railways were being used by the [Chinese forces, it was pointed out, as supply routes.
Fo Malt Foreign Supplies Japanese forces expect to halt the ningpo.
Chinese troops in the neighbourhood Jof Ningpo and further on are under command of Gen, Ku Chu-tung the 3rd War Zone.
It is recalled that since Japanese forces landed on Hangchow<Bay on December 24, 1937 under Lieut,-Gen. Heisuke Yanagawa, Japanese troops have stood virtually face to face with Chinese forces at Hangchow with only {the Chientang River between them When Japanese forces reached the south bank' of the river this morning, the press section of a Japanese [detachment hoisted a balloon on which iwas written in Chinese characters that [Japanese forces had successfully land-fed on the south bank of the river. [The news was circulated among the [Chinese people through the Chinese aver, the Hangchow "Sin Pao."—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.