"The Japanese then concentrated their attack against Moslem troops under the command of Generals Ma Hung-kwei and Ma Hung-ping. For some time, these troops were hard pressed as they had little fighting experience and were fighting on strange soil, but as the battle pro-grossed and they withdrew near their home ground (Ninghsia province), their resistance stiffened, "At the same time, the Japanese troops were far away from their base, with their rear being menaced by Chinese columns interrupting supplies and reinforcements from reaching them from Paotow. The Japanese forces in West Suiyuan, therefore, were compelled to withdraw to Paotow.
"This was the first Japanese engagement with the troops in question and was welcomed by Japanese forces.
"On February 2, Japanese forces pushed on into the plains of Wuling to form encircling lines around Pingyang. Japanese planes reported that many Chinese troops were on the Pingyang-Kweilin highway and that the headquarters of the Chinese Group Armies had retreated to the rear. Japanese troops were disappointed to learn this.
"With the progress of fighting, however, it became known that there were still 20 Chinese divisions giving stubborn resistance in the mountains.
—Domei, "The latest field dispatches from West Suiyuan," Reuter's informant concluded, "state that Chinese troops launched' a counter-offensive—on February 11, inflicting heavy casualties on a retreating Japanese column, as it withdrew across the snow-covered wastes of the Inner Mongo-lion desert."—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.