Sight of "Twin Cities"
Chungking, May 23.
No effort was made by a Chinese military spokesman yesterday to con-coal the tremendous force of the Japanese drive in Hupeh during the past few days. He admitted the loss of Tsaoyang which was taken by the Chinese on May 16 and was retaken three days later.
He also admitted that Japanese vanguards were in sight of Fancheng and Hsiangyang on the upper Har River, the latter town being bomb erded by artillery. A Chinese counter attack, however, had been launched yesterday afternoon and large forces from Lachukuo had driven the Japanese back across the Pai River, thus releasing the "twin cities" from danger.
The Japanese are at present stretched on a line running from Taipingcheng on the right flank to Lungshenssu on the left flank. Chinese forces had already again encircled the Japanese in the Tsaoyang area and it was estimated that 50,000 were bottled up in the centre of the Chinese lines, the spokesman declared. Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.