SHANGHAI SHAKEN IN ATTACK

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22195, 11 September 1937, Page 15

SHANGHAI SHAKEN IN ATTACK

Effort to Silence Chinese Guns CITY RESUMING I NORMAL LIFE Japanese Concentration At Fengtai (ujrrr*D pmss iisociATio*— copyright.) (Received September 11, 12.15 a.m.) SHANGHAI, September 10. Buildings in the International Settlement and the French Concession were badly shaken by a merciless Japanese naval and air bombardment in an attempt to silence the elusive and persistent Chinese batteries at Pootung, which damaged the largest Japanese hospital ship, the American Maru. The Japanese flagship, Idzumo, again bore a charmed life. Each side makes conflicting claims of gains and losses of ground. The Chinese dismiss the Japanese claim to have linked up their lines at Woosung and Yangtse-poo. Observers consider that the Japanese are surprised at the pertinacity and pluck of the Chinese, and are therefore content to advance slowly and surely. A Chinese spokesman asserts that the Japanese are withdrawing from the Jukong wharf and boarding their warships, proving that the big offensive has been postponed. The Japanese say they have photographic proofs of a "dare and die" battalion of 500 women fighting on China's side. The British United Press correspondent says that the city is trying to forget war anxieties. Public entertainments are resuming. Cinemas, dog-tracks, and night clubs are reopening. Generous fare is provided by the restaurants, and the gas supply is restored. A Peiping message says that 1000 Japanese troops have traversed the city in the last three days. Tanks and artillery are mustering at Fengtai. FIERCE JAPANESE ATTACK BOMBING OVER WIDE AREA # CHINESE SHIPPING PARALYSED LONDON, September 9. The Japanese attack at Shanghai to-day is described as the fiercest of the campaign. The Chinese counterattacked, but failed to recover their losses. The Japanese are bombing the Chinese over a wide area. They have proclaimed a triangle defined by Shanghai, Hankow, and Nanking as a danger zone for bombing, declaring that the only safe transit is by the sea, which they control. Having paralysed Chinese shipping, including the banning of night traffic on the Canton river, the Japanese are expected next to assail the Canton-Hankow railway, which is the main link between north and south. A Japanese destroyer stopped the British steamer Fooshung off Amoy. Officers from the destroyer examined the ship's papers and apologised. Two hours' fighting at dusk east of Yangtse-poo, ending in the repulse of the Chinese, and their repulse at Lotien, were the only incidents during the night. The contestants appear to be holding their main original positions. Chinese aeroplanes, diving down on the Japanese warships in an effort to blow them up shortly after midnight, dropped bombs which set fire to the America China Lumber Company's yards. Members of the foreign "suicide squad" and the fire brigade immediately responded to the call to fight the blaze, but the yards were burned out. The damage is estimated at 500,000 dollars. The Japanese are still unable to advance to the northward, in spite of continuous attempts, and they have been driven back from the Jukong wharf, which they had held for a week. The Japanese again bombed Swatow, killing many Chinese. This resulted in the British Consul appealing for help. The British destroyer Thracian is going to Swatow. RUSSIAN CONTRACTS CANCELLED JAPANESE SHIPBUILDERS TOKYO, September 9. Under the Emergency Shipping Control Bill, Japanese shipyards have cancelled contracts with Russia to build 17 vessels aggregating 18,000 tons. RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT REPORTED ARRIVAL. IN CHINA LONDON, September 9. The Domei News Agency reports that 100 Russian motor-lorries, laden with aeroplanes, have arrived at Sianfu, where a dozen Soviet avijators have arrived to train Chinese I airmen,