The times-news., 1938-08-08
Chandlerite> <Concede Defeat In Kentucky
JAPANESE, RUSSIANS TALK
OF SETTLEMENT BUT FIERCE
FIGHTING IS WAGED in ASIA
Battles and Diplomatic
Protests Alternate in
Border Controversy

TOKYO, Aug. 8.-(UP)-The
Japanese foreign office announced
at noon today that a battle last
ing four and a half hours, with
heavy casualties on both sides, was
fought with Soviet Red Army
troops for possession CT Changku-
feng Hill beginning az 4 a. m.
The communique stated the
Soviets were repulsed" after most
severe hand-to- hand fighting.
Border warfare between Japan
and Soviet Russia today spread to
scattered points along a 2O0-mlle
line and danger of general con-
flict between the two powers ap-
peared to have increased.
New instructions were sent TO
Ambassador Mamoru Shigemitsl
who saw Soviet Foreign Commits
sar Maxim Litvinov 10 register a
new protest and urge reconsid-
Grafton of Russia's refusal 70
withdraw iler troops from the dis
puted Changkufeng Hill area
south of Vladivostok where ia
pans Korean and Manchukuo de-
Tendencies adjoin the Soviet U.s.
surf province.
Heavy fighting continued all day
Sunday in an atmosphere de-
scribed as one of alternate bat
ties and diplomatic protests"
Scores of planes, heavy artil-
lery, machine guns and trench
mortars were in action and IN
some cases there was hand-to-
hand fighting with grenades;
The war office was advised that
10 Soviet planes bombed the Jap
anese town of Keiko, on the north
Korean border, at 2:40 p. m. Sun
day, following a mass attack Sat-
urday night during which the Rus
slams invaded Korea to a distance
of 800 meters and occupied the
village of Yuankuanping.
One report was that Japanese
counter-attacked and ousted the
Russians.
Weekend fighting along the ir-
regular border between Korea,
Manchukuo and Siberia, running
northward from the mouth Of the
Tumen river to Pogranitchnaya,
where Japan's North Manchurian
railway crosses into Soviet Russia
to connect with the Russian line
to Vladivostok, included:
Two Koreans were killed in the
Russian aerial bombing of Kelko
Sunday afternoon, the war office
said, and later, at about q p. M,
Soviet land forces attacked the
japanese positions on Changku-
feng Hill where fighting was con-
tinuing.
A later war office communique,
at 1:5O p. m., said:
"About 100 Soviet planes con-
Quoted active bombing operations
along the borders of Manchukuo
and Korea in the Tumen river
delta all day Sunday. They bomb
ed Kogi village (well within Japaa-
nese territory, the railroad Ia vi
tai strategic line feeding the big
japanese army and navy bases in
Yuki and Rashin just to the south
of Changkufeng) and also some
of our artillery emplacements.
"The villages of Keiko, 'Shuiliu-
feng, and Changkufeng were re-
peatedly bombed.
"Three Soviet infantry batta-
lions were concentrated in an at
tack on Shuiliufeng, supported by
heavy guns.
"The Soviet planes flew at high
even while machine-gun.
ming, and were so inaccurate that
they did little damage to u.s."
An earlier war office commu-
nioue said that Saturdays Soviet
attacks in the Changkufeng area
were repulsed after lighting with
hand grenades. At 9:30 a. m. Sun
dav japanese and Russian forces
still were facing each other along
lines about 200 meters apart. Can
nonading was continued.
"Our forces on Saturday dis
abled or destroyed fifty Soviet
tanks" the communique said:
"Our casualties were five killed
and few wounded"