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Show Japanese Tanks Batter" Path Through Gates Into Nanking Nipponese Warn Capital Will Suffer War Horrors Unless Surrendered Quickly SHANGHAI, Dec. 9 (AP) Japanese tanks were reported to have entered the southeast gate of Nanking, and the Japanese army spokesman predicted capture of the city, within 24 hours. The spokesman declared Chinese till were resisting and added that there would be a major battle -ff the resistance continued. Ha declined-to declined-to state whether Japaness expected the defenders to fight to the last or surrender in order to escape a heavy toll of life and property. Dome! (Japanese) news agency said observers In airplanes saw the tanks entering the southeast city gate. Dome! also said Japanese had enured Wuhu. Yangtze river port, 60 miles upstream from Nanking. The Japanese command issued an ultimatum demanding surrender of Nanking by noon Friday ( p. m. Thursday, M. S. T.) and threatening that otherwise the city "will become the scene of the horrors of war." The ultimatum was issued by Gen eral Iwane Matsui, commander of the Japanese forces in the Shanghai-Nanking Shanghai-Nanking area, to the Chinese commander, com-mander, General Tang Seng-chi. A Japanese warplane dropped a further communication to Nanking. "Abandonment of resistance will spare the city, its historic relics and spots of beauty," it promised. Chinese artillery firing from strongly fortified Purple mountain, which overlooks Nanking, kept Japanese from a frontal attack on the eastern wall of the city, where latest reports were that 14 Americana Ameri-cana remained. Shanghai itself heard the boom of antiaircraft guns after days of quiet. The Japanese flagship Id- 4Cft!tmi4 on P Two Colum n rivet NIPPON TANKS ENTERNANK1NG (Continued from Pas On. tumo fired 25 shells into overcast skies. Japanese and foreign reports re-ports were that two Chinese planes had flown over the ship. Japanese said their army and navy air forces made heavy attacks on Nanking and surrounding territory terri-tory throughout the day to back up Japanese armies encircling the city. Army fliers were said to have raided Nanchang. where Generalissimo Generalis-simo Chiang Kai-shek was reported in hiding. Wuhu had been the object of Japanese attacks for 24 hours. Many fires were reported raging there. Skirmishes Continue Main Japanese forces were said to be about five miles south and east, but small detachments skirmished with Chinese within the shadow of Nanking's battlements. Chinese said spirited battles along the defense ring around the capital had cost Japanese 2400 casualties and loss of the village of Shangchousu. Two Chinese regiments. Chinese ; said, fought their way out of surrounding sur-rounding Japanese forces at Kuyung and Joined the Nanking defenders. Japanese told of the capture of the Chinese government's infantry school in the hills outside the city and declared that once Japanese guns were drawn up on Purple mountain Nanking's fortifications and lily pad sprinkled moats would prove useless. Seise Memorial Tomb I A Japanese vanguard occupied the Sun Yat-sen memorial tomb at the foot of the mountain, but Chinese Chi-nese artillery on the slopes blasted at them continuously. Japanese military authorities declared de-clared one of their columns had captured the Chilin (Unicorn) gate in an outer wall, but the report was not confirmed. Independent foreign sources told of seeing a Japanese warship flotilla steam past Kiangyin for an assault on Chinkiang on the way to Nanking Nan-king itself. Japanese told of bombardment and destruction of a Chinese arsenal at Kunghsien, in Honan province. |