CHINA’S STRANGE WAR.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3355, 3 January 1927, Page 7

CHINA’S STRANGE WAR.

FIERCE FIGHT AT KALGAN. STHGTATOIIS GET IN THE WAX'. Reports Irom Glnna state that more man -±ou persons were KUiecl in tue recent disarming 01 me mlaiuen cavalry corps unuer uenerai Mou uiuu at ivaigan. ui tiie 2uU omcers classed as leueis only seven escaped with tneir nves. Aoout uni loyai soldiers iosr mwr Jives. An equal nuiuoer ox spectators at tiie ivaigan railway station were Kiaeu oy stray uunets. uenerai ciiaiig nsueii-iiang anu uenerai nan ciii-ciiun, wno oruereu me disarming, nau a tanning escape irom ueam. ooniinanuer umang, 01 me uouyguarus 01 me roung uenerai, anu Mr rang vveii-iinng, secretary, were also Killed, xuese are tiie principal features oi an account ol tne tfu & ic anair puononeu in me nuang rao, me organ 01 uenerai Cnang xodng cnaiig. liie paper declares mat tue mnnmg c.\perieiices irom • vvxncli uenerai uiiaiig jxsuen-nang anu uenerai nan mncnun rccenwy emerged unscatneu would luim' a lifting tnemo ior a scenario writer, anu mac meir escape ireni oeatn was due as xnucJi to tneir presence ot minu as to tue lact cuat me rates were wun tueni. Aitnougn me MUKden Array lias been greatly modernised during recent years, me nenunguiang troupe unuer uenerai vv u enun-sneng are still oonsiuereu oia-iasuioned. Among tuese lorces tne uavany unit unuer Uenerai ajlou (Jitun enjoyed a special reputation ior rucniessness. Tins unit diecinguisneu itseu in tne campaign against ueu era i xvuo bung-ling last winter and lormed tiie vanguard oi me JUeilungKiang troops in tneir recent attacK on jjuionor. Many ot its members were termer uaunits and impervious to discipline. indeed, mere is a vast oiilerence between them and tiie troops commanded by General bhang Hsuenliang. in the first attack on Colonor General Mon's unit, a force of 3UUU strong, was pitted against a superior force ox the Kuommcnun, believed to have neen drawn irom among bandits. Tne attackers were obliged to withdraw, and in the course of the retreat more man 30 were made prisoner. These were burned to death. When the cavalry men attacked the Kuominchun city, they spread the report that when the city was taken no quarter would be given to the inhabitants. This threat was carried out to the letter. Dolonor was first looted. Then various form of excesses were in dulged in. Afterwards the city was set on lire. Not a single able-bodied man out of a population of some IUOU escaped the sword, the only survivors being women and children. ’When the brigade under Commander Chen arrived and heard of these atrocities, he refused to enter the city and made a report to Marshal Chang Tsoling, who was greatly indignant at the conduct of General Mou’s brigade, and wired his son to disarm them on their arrival at Kalgan. General Mou got wind of this and tried to swing his support to the Kuominchun, but lie was unable to declare himself in favor of the latter owing to the limited number of men under his command. When his troops arrived at Kalgan they were surrounded by the loyal troops of General Chaing Hsueh-liang and General Han Lin chuu and 1 ordered to surrender their arms. No resistance was offered. After the disarming was completed General Chang and General Han. who made their quarters on a special tram at the Kalgan station, summoned s conference of General Mou and his sub. ordinate officers for the purpose of pacifying them and thanking them tor, their services rendered in the past. The original order was that Genera: Mou and his two regimental commanders should be received by Chang am Han in the train, while the officers were received by their representatives. But the man who transacted the order made a mistake with the result that more than 200 officers and their bodyguards were collected. Commander Cciang, chief of the bodyguards of the Young General, delivered a brief address to the officers, in the course of which he said the disarming of the men was necessitated by the exigency of circumstances, but that those officers who had rendered distiu-' guished services would be retained and given posts in other divisions. He then ordered the officers to turn oyer their arms, and while this was being done, a bodyguard of one of the disarmed officers fired a revolver shot at a bugler of Cpmmander Chiang from the rear and killed him instantly. Seeing that mutiny had broken out. Chiang gave the order to his men to fire on the rebels, but no sooner had he done this than he was shot down A fierce battle followed, in which both sides employed machine-guns. All the 200 rebel officers’ and men except seven were killed, while the loyal forces lost about 100. Great havoc was also wrought among the curious spectators who had been standing on both sides of the platform to wait the disarmin ' process and of whom about 100 were killed by stray bullets. While the battle was going on outside, Generals Chang and Han were talking with General Mou and his two regimental commanders. One of the latter pulled out a revolver when Ve heard the firing and pointed it at ’V. Young General. His bodyguards saw this and at once said that if the commander should fire, he would be shot This apparently had the effect of hold ing back the excited commander. Gen era! Chang and General Han both maintained their presence of mind and continued their talk with the thioe commanders. The conduct of the. \o.ung General was particularly cool and betrayed no anxietv as to the danger to which be was exposed, although he also held his revolver ready. When the firing outside ceased, Gen. Chang ordered his bodyguards to place General Moir Chun and one of the two regimental commander» under arrest, and the oti oi commander who had threatened to shoot at him to he executed on the SP Mr Tang Wen-ming, secretary to the Young General, laid himself on the floor df the train and covered Ins licac with ,a newspaper, while bullets were flying thick and fast outside. When the firing stopped, he stood u t . but was killed by a stray bullet. Ihe Young General was deply moved bv me tragic death of Tang and Chiang and ordered that 30.000 dollars car'll be paid to the families of the deceased.

Very soon it will He possible to walk into the light airplane showroom now being built by the Be Havilland Company at Stag Lane (Eng.) airdrome and. by writing a cheque for ±,7.»0. purchase from stock a new ’plane ready to take the air. This is believed to be the first airplane salesroom in the world, and the over-the-counter” wav in which the sales will be made will be similar in almost all respects to the ordinary motor-car salesroom. The comnunv is making a large number or Moth airplanes, buyers having the '•home colors, blue or dark A Japanese inventor. Ushichiro Tokumi. has pci fected a novel clock that switches on the wireless at any predetermined time and also turns it off in the same convenient way.