Suicide Battalion Escape

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 259, 1 November 1937, Page 7

Suicide Battalion Escape

Chinese Heroes Welcomed by Britishers FURTHER DETEHCE OF 'WAREHOUSE USELEBS united Pres* Association —By Electric T«lo§rraph.—Copyriant. Received Sunday, 9.20 p.m. SHANGHAI, October 30. Ace.iwgr on tne oiders of Maxsnal cniang Ramdea, who realised that Its defence would not fulfill any military purpose, the remnant of the “suicide battalion" abandoned the warehouse before dawn. The defenders ran the gauntlet of enemy macMne-guns and searchlights, and, dribDling across the 20 yards' of bullet-swept road, entered the British post, where they laid down their arms. They were warmly shaken by the hand and cheered by Brigadier-General Telfers-Mol-commander of the Shanghai defence force, who paid tribute to the Chinese gallantry and superintended the taking over of 400 rlttes, 18 machine-guns and ammunition which they brought in. The evacuation occupied three hours, in which 577 dashed over to safety. Six were killed and ten wounded. The Welsh Fusiliers assisted and gave first-aid to the wounded. The Japanese have since occupied the warehouse. An earlier message stated that furious -lighting on the borders of tne International Settlement had died down bhcause of the bad weather. The Chinese continue to hold the lines. Rain has reduced flying to a minimum. The Japanese, however, continued to concentrate a furious machinegun fire at the ■ ‘doomed battalion." The Japanese naval attache declared: “Our patience is exhausted. We have done the utmost to spare the lives of the defenders in the true Samurai spirit, but must now make the final assault.’ ■ The threat did not shake the Chinese, whose spirit is astonishing. When officers ordered the wounded to make their way to the International Concession, they refused to leave their comrades, whereupon the officers themselves carried them to safety and handed them over to the British Red Cross. The defenders could easily have escaped to safety behind the British seven-foot barricade. The Japanese informed the British-owned Shanghai Uas Company that they intended to blow up the "doomed battalion" in the warehouse 300 yards away. If the gasometer exploded it would have wrecked a quarter of the city.