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Show U. S. Gunboat Aids Nanking Americans Fall of Nanking Capital and End of China War Near As Japanese Troops Advance SHANGHAI, Nov. 17 (U.R) Japanese forces today took a firm grip on the Yangtze river valley, jugular vein of China, foreshadowing the fall of the Nanking capital and eventual end of the war. ) A TJ. S. gunboat sped down the river to protect Americans at Nanking; Chiang Kai-Shek resigned re-signed civil office to lead a last military stand; government ministries minis-tries fled to widely scattered interior in-terior cities; and hordes of panic stricken civilians moved out of th' enpital as the-Japanese approached. ap-proached. 70 Warships Seen Seventy Japanese warships were strung along the Yangtze. An unconfirmed un-confirmed report said that the Japanese had reached the boom barricading the river at Kiangyin, approximately 10 miles south of the capital, and were preparing to open the river. Fear that the Japanese soon would attack the capital heightened. height-ened. Chinese admitted that once the Kiangyin boom was penetrated penetrat-ed the Japanese would drive quickly on Nanking. The evacuation fever spread rapidly. Thousands of residents rich merchants, civil employees, students, coolies and beggars jammed the water front, railway stations and train sheds, surrounded sur-rounded by their household goods, weeping women and crying babies. President Lin Sen already had left for Chungkiang, far up the Yangtze in Szechuan province. Five other ministries went with him. The majority of government offices were bare of files. |