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Show Japanese Troops Prepare to Take Capita! of China SHANGHAI, Dec 7 IU?) Through a trail of fire and smoke the Japanese armies fought their way past the suburbs of Nanking and arrived tonight at the north and west gates of the capital. While the Japanese forces massed against the ancient walls Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek fled by airplane, indicrting that organized resistance was near an end and the fall of the capital was imminent. Torch is Applied Chinese troops were drawing steadily into the city, leaving only rear guard detachments to hold up temporarily the Japanese in what appeared to be a futile last stand. As the Chinese retreated through the gates of the capital they applied ap-plied the torch to everything in their path in an effort to throw up a barrier of fire. An official announcement said that' members of the American embassy staff remaining in Nanking Nan-king were likely to board the American gunboat Panay at "any moment." Americans already aboard the gunbot. which was anchored off Nanking with steam up, had been warned not to go ashore as the boat was prepared to put up the river at any time. The Japanese sent bombers over the capital frequently but the Chinese anti-aircraft batteries were firing only sporadically. |