ADVANCE ON WOOSUNG

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 February 1932, Page 5

ADVANCE ON WOOSUNG

BATTLE DURING SNOWFALL HEAVY JAP CASUALTIES [BY CABLE— PBBBS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] SHANGHAI. February 13. T'hiq afternoon, following on tne heavy shelling of the . 9£j t l }.® Se b attlc" tions, the first serious infantiy battle occurred at Woosung, where a small advance party of Japanese^ crossed the Woosung Creek, four miles above the Woosung village, where Chinese forces were entrenched. crossing was achieved on pontoons, which had been carried overland, the Japanese engineers and troops crossing undei fire They immediately charged the Chinese trenches, along the banks. After a stubborn resistance, the Chinese retreated in the face of the Japanese reinforcements, two thousand of them having landed from the main division. The Japanese are now commencing an encircling movement of the Woosung village, in a westerly direction, this necessitating a rearguard to prevent, Chinese reinforcements from attacking while the main body is surrounding the Chinese forces, which the Japanese expect to accomplish on Sunday morning. To-day’s; fighting was severe. Tne Woosung territory is a quagmire. This afternoon the battle was fought in a snowfall'. Transports carrying, approximately, ten thousand Japanese troops have arrived at the wayside wharves this evening, under the command of Lieut.General Eeda, one of the most famous Japanese military officers. They will bo landed on Sunday morning. They are moving into the Chapei lines preparatory to the “big push.” JAPANESE REINFORCEMENTS. TOKIO, February 13. The transportation at frequent intervals of Japanese reinforcements, intended to relieve the marines there from shore duty at Shanghai is proceeding. The Japanese authorities state that the total number of reinforcements has not yet been decided, but they will only be • sufficient to remove the Chinese soldiers from the proximity of the International Settlement. The Japanese Military Commander, on arrival, will request the local representatives of the Powers to join in the strongest demand that the Chinese troops be withdrawn to a safe distance from the Settlement. It is officially stated that the Japanese will land tiheir troops at Shanghai, but will '■ not enter the Settlement, in order to avoid international complications. ’ 1 TROOPS LANDED. ’ (Received February 15, 8 a.m.) SHANGHAI, February 14. * The Japanese report having occu- , pied the north bank of Woosung * Creek, during the night. A large con- , centration of Japanese warships is at j the Yangtze mouth. The situation at Chapei is quiet. LATER. After dropping two thousand men in the vicinity of Woosung last night the Japanese ninth division entered the Whangapoo river, and moored by the Japanese wharves of the International Settlement. The remainder of the troops landed this morning. CHINESE CLAIMS. ( (Received February 15, 10.30 a.m.) SHANGHAI, February 14. Aided by a. smoke screen, laid by Naval aeroplanes, fifteen hundred Japanese troops crossed Woosung Creek by means of pontoons. The Chinese report having repulsed them with ma- . chine guns. The Japanese, on again advancing, were outflanked and cut off by two Chinese regiments, with loss of thirteen hundred killed, or captured. An additional twenty-two thousand Japanese Marines will be disembarked by to-morrow.

BRITISH PEACE-EFFORTS. RUGBY, February 14. Shanghai messages state that the British Minister, Sir Miles Lampson is continuing his efforts to arrange a cessation of the fighting, Japanese planes dropped bombs at Chapei, but following the recent protests avoided flying over the settlement. A LEAGUE INQUIRY. GENEVA, February 14. The League’s Consular Commission at Shanghai has cabled its report on the situation from January 29, the signatories including Count Ciano, Signor Mussolini’s son-in-law. The report indicates that a reign of terror followed the Japanese occupation of Hongkew, and many excesses, including summary executions, were committed by the Japanese reservists and marines, and possibly others without official standing, as revenge for past events. The Japanese Consul admitted excesses when feeling was running high and the conditions were chaotic, but the situation has greatly improved. Many undesirables were deported to Japan. The Commission quotes the contradictory reports of both sides, and adds that it is impossible to determine w'hich broke the truce. REFUGEE CAMPS BOMBED. GENEVA, February 13. Sir Hope Simpson, Director of the National Flood Relief Commission, has telegraphed to the League Secretariat protesting in the name of humanity against Japanese air bombardment on February 5, of a Flood Refugee Camp containing eight thousand refugees. The bombardment killed one woman and a boy, and wounding four. Several of the patients also died of fright. The camp, he says, was again bombed on February 6, and also on February 7, resulting in more deaths. The Japanese action is described as “wanton inhumanity’.’ and as being in a military sense useless.