793.94/8998: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in China (Lockhart) to the Secretary of State
Peiping, July 27, 1937—11
a.m.
[Received July 27—3 a.m.]
[Received July 27—3 a.m.]
301. Reference paragraph 5, Embassy’s 300, July 26, 10 p.m.
- 1.
- The facts of the clash last night at Changyimen are, according to foreigners who visited the scene during the fighting, that some four or five hundred Japanese soldiers arrived at the garrisons at about 7 p.m.; the Chinese soldiers at the gate allowed 10 trucks, carrying perhaps 150 Japanese soldiers, to enter; the Chinese then closed the gate; fighting ensued; including the use of hand grenades and trench mortars; some Japanese reenforcements allegedly arrived outside the gate; fighting finally ended at about 10 p.m.; Chinese officers escorted Japanese troops inside the gate to the Japanese Embassy barracks; those outside the gate failed to enter and are believed to have retired.
- 2.
- Japanese admit two killed and four wounded but foreign observers believe casualties greater. Chinese casualties are not known.
Repeated to Nanking, Tokyo.
Lockhart