Peiping, Apr. 23.
An intensive three-day campaign against Chinese forees massed at Pinglu_ and. 'Maolsingtu, on the northern bank of the Yellow River southern Shansi, has ended in the "complete rout" of the Chinese Fourth Group Army under the com= mand of General Wel Li-huang, the headquarters of the Japanese Expeditionary Forees in' North China The campaign, the announcement added, had checked the efforts of the Chinese forces under. General Wel to operate {nthe mountain regions in southern Shansi and had placed the fenlire Shans bank of the Yellow River under Japanese control Central Army Trapped?
With the Japanese Forces in.
Southern Shans, Apr. 24.
Trapped between two mountain ranges, their retreat barred columns of Japanese troops driving from opposite directions, the cream of General Chiang Kal-shek's army, 180,000 strong, com: by General Wel Li-huang, is faced with annihilaton, eld dispatches reaching military headquarters today disclosed.
A clever ruse, by which the Chinese command was led to make a false move, resulted in this impending Geleat of the Chinese, the reports declared.
"According to messages received! from the held, the, Japanese con: centrated troops and materials, a even steel boats along the north bank Of the Yellow river in an apparent move. to strike at Sian, capital of Shenst province, early this month.
Believing falsely that a surprise] attack on the Shensi capital was being planned, the Chinese command order fd'a general drive through the plains between the Talheng and Chungshiao mountain ranges in an effort to capture Taiyuan, capital of Shansi, the Japanese field messages declared.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.