Communist Assault On Northern Shanghai Repulsed

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 May 1949, Page 6

Communist Assault On Northern Shanghai Repulsed

SHANGHAI, May 21.—Communists early this morning attempted to storm the Whangpoo river and invade northern Shanghai, but were repulsed by Government artillery on the west bank, says a garrison communique. More than 20 troop-laden wooden boats were sunk by concentrated fire. The Communists covered their attempted invasion with light artillery and rifle fire. Correspondents’ reports say the exact point of the invasion attempt was not mentioned, but it Is believed to have been in the Yangtsepoo area, eight miles north of downtown Shanghai. One of Shanghai’s biggest arsenals blew up today and burned fiercely. It was only three miles from the downtown district and on the Whangpoo river. The blast shook the heart of Shanghai. The cause of the explosion has not been explained, but fighting has been reported near the arsenal. Four big fires blazing at Pootung included the Standard Oil Company’s tank, which was hit by a stray shell.

Communist Advance

Communist units operating from Pootung crashed their way to the Whangpoo river bank about seven miles south-east of Woosung and directly opposite the eastern Yangtsepoo district of the city. This advance not only exposes the teeming, highly-industrialised Yangtsepoo area to artillery bombardment, but has also rendered the Whangpoo unnavigable.

An aerial observation revealed five Communist armies operating on the Pootung front, states a Nationalist Air Force communique. Government planes made more than 100 attacks against Communist troops in the Pootung area. On the Shanghai northern front a garrison communique reported that Government armoured car units counter-attacked in force in the Jupu area, eight miles west of the Woosung forts. Thirteen hundred Communists were killed or wounded and 263 captured. The Government Central News Agency said many Communist units on the Woosung front were former Nationalist troops captured in battles at Hsuchow and Pengpu in the northern Kiangsu province last winter. \ An unconfirmed report from South China said General Yui Ying Kai, Nationalist commander of the eastern Kwantung province, had issued a declaration severing relations with the Government and was seeking to conclude a separate peace. General Yui, whose headquarters are in Swatow, 200 miles north of Hong Kong, controls the Nationalist forces along the coast from the Kwangtung-Fukien border southward. A new Nationalist line running through Kiachiao is said to have been established to prevent Communists from reaching the Whangpoo in the rear of the Woosung defenders. The Central News Agency announced that fighting had died down in the Woosung sector this afternoon.

Gains On Other Fronts

The Peking radio claimed tonight that after several Communist attacks, Sianfu, capital of the Shensi province, had been occupied by the Communists. The largest city in north-west China, Sianfu is a key communications centre with a population of 500,000. Communists were also said to have occupied Wenchow, a port in the south-east Chekiang province. The United States Vice-Consul (Mr John Stutman) arrived in Hong Kong on the last plane from Shanghai’s Lunghua airport this afternoon. The Nationalists abandoned the airport soon after he left. He said that foreign nationalists were now cut off from the outside world and further evacuation under consular arrangements was impossible. Mr Stutman added that foreigners in Shanghai had the impression that the Nationalists had begun evacuating the city. As their plane took off fires were seen burning all round the outskirts of Shanghai.

Resumption Of Business

A party of British residents from Tientsin and Peking, who came to Hong Kong a few months ago, is leaving on the return journey to Communist-occupied North China to resume business activities. One member, Mr A. C. Henning, one of Peking’s oldest members of the foreign business community, said he was optimistic about the general trade outlook in Cominunist China. The party had been given re-entry permits by the Communists and did not expect any difficulties.