The Washington times., 1932-02-04
FIRE AND FIRING
EVERYWHERE
IN SHANGHAI
Shells Fall Short, Casualties
Small as Fighting Goes On;
U. S. Marines Lauded
BY JOHN GoETTE

CI1A4NO1AA4J Ouh' A'~''O'/ .
After leaving the flagship Of
Admiral Shiosawa's fleet this
morning just before he
launched a second attack on
the Woosung forts, I came
ashore to watch the American
Marines land and see how the
Chapel firing, was getting
along. -,
It was firing" all right, with
most of Chapel in flames as a
result. There was further evil
dence of one remarkable feature
Of the war" to date-namely,
that shells fan everywhere but
the casualties are unusually low.
Few Shells Hit Mark
The chief of the West Hongkew
police told me:
"Chinese shells have been
falling short into this area OF
the settlement all morning and
this afternoon. One of them
smashed a ~rOup of shops. Still
there have been no casualties.
From the roof of a hotel I saw
smoke rising from the burning
buildings all around the skyline,
from Hongkew and Chapel to the
Yangtzepoo district. -,
The heart of the international
Settlement was normal as the
firing went on. Crowds stopped
to watch the United States Ma
rines being transported on
trucks throu.n Nanking road.
U. S. Marines Shiver
The rain was cold and the
Marines were shivering. One OF
them said to me:
"Whew! it's cold. But those
big guns seem to be making -
hot Cor the Chinese and JAP
anese today.
"We've sure been moving fast.
We arrived in Manila Friday
aboard the transport ChaumOnt
/ and dashed away Monday, sleep
ing on the decks of the HOuS.
ton. And here we're in Shang-
hal already.
1--WE came so fast we forgot
our laundry in Manila, and lots
of us amt got our tin hats
along"
1 went aboard the flagship OF
the Japanese fleet this morning
to learn what all the firing was
about.
Headquarters Dope
I went right to headquarters,
where the admirals spokesman
gave me the dope after I asked
him what the japanese intentions
were in this newest attack. He
said:
"Shells were falling into the
japanese lines from the enemy's
guns this morning, so we were
compelled to return the fire."
1 then wanted to know
whether the next move would be
to advance into the Chinese
area. He replied:
perhaps, depending upon
whether the Chinese hold on, in
which case we will be forced to
sweep the area free of troops
who are able to fire on our
zOne."
I was sitting on a stack OF
machine gun bullets beside the
guns on the deck of the ship.
Zero Hour Awaited
I next asked about the Woo
sung Fort situation. I was tod:
"Three cruisers and four Jap
anese destrOyers now are stand.
ing by, awaiting the zero hour
IL o'clock this mOrning-tO
land marines.
1--WE don't intend to occupy
the forts. We merely wish to
silence their guns and clear out
the Chinese garrison, making
the river safe for passage of all
ships"
I raised the subject Of the pres.
ence in the river of Adm1ral
Montgomery M. Taylor, com
manding the American ships
! here. The spokesman replied:
admiral Shiosawa exchanged
calls with Admiral Taylor
through junior officers, Shio-
Sawa informing Taylor of
keen desire to pay his respects
personally. Unfortunately he is
very busy and must wait until
the situation eases his time.
Admiral Taylor sent word back
that he understood"
Heavy gunfire continues anc
the weather is changing to snow
and hail with visibility almost
nil. A penetrating wetness adds
to the suffering of refugees
pouring into the Internationa
Settlement.