SWIFT ADVANCE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 304, 23 November 1937, Page 7

SWIFT ADVANCE.

MARCH ON NANKING. WUSIH REPORT NOT CONFIRMED Received November 23, 1.10 p.m. SHANGHAI, Nov. 22. The Japanese are advancing so swiftly towards Nanking that aeroE lanes are provisioning the vanguard, ut the capture of Wusih is still unconfirmed. The invaders are consolidating their position south of Lake Tai. They have besieged Wushing, otherwise known as Huchow-fu, a great silk-pro-ducing town, whose population have fled. Seven Japanese war ’planes ineffectually bombed and maebine-gunned troops leaving Nanking to occupy the defensive lines. Thousands of citizens have taken refuge in dug-outs, some of which are mere holes half-filled with water. Others are cemented and electricallylit structures capable of use as offices. Retaliation is difficult, as the majority of the anti-aircraft batteries have gone to Hangkow, but the Chinese are using machine guns from Russia and claim to have shot down two bombers, while losing one fighter. The new Chinese pursuit ’plane is far faster than its predecessors. The foreign . embassies and Chinese officials are acting in concert on ■ a plan for the approval of the Japanese High Command delineating a neutral zone.