CHINA'S STROKE TO RECAPTURE PEKING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 106, 7 May 1938, Page 9

CHINA'S STROKE TO RECAPTURE PEKING.

BTH ARMY MOVE

"Red Napoleon" Nearing the

City Gates.

HEAVY JAP. AIR DEFEAT.^ United Press Association. —Copyright. (Received 1 p.m.) LONDON, May 6. Peking City is on the tiptoe of apprehension. China's "Red Napoleon," General Chu-teh, leader of the famous Communist Bth Army which taught China how to fight, is preparing to attack Peking itself, which many inhabitants are convinced will fall to the accomplished guerilla commander, who has seized the moment when the majority of the Japanese garrison has been ordered south to the sorely-stricken Shantung front. General Chu-teh has infiltrated Peking with his supporters against whom the Japanese garrison is taking precautions >y closing the city gates and placing machine-guns on the walls and searching everyone in the streets. They are even searching coffins at funerals. Meanwhile, heavy fighting is proceeding at Tunjsehow, 12 miies east of l'eking, while plain-clothed Chinese guerilla soldiers entered villages five miles south-west of the city. Restiveness in Japan. "The Times" Tokyo correspondent, analysing Japan's dilemma, mentions popular impatience at the slowness of .the Army's progress in China and falsification of the notion that lighting would be finished by Christmas. He adds that the tempo of the war has changed and headquarters are reluctant to extend commitments in China and add hundreds of miles of difficult communications. Young troops from Japan are relieving seasoned troops from Manchuria, who are going south to turn the scale in Shantung and assist in the capture of Hsuchow. A conservative estimate of Japanese casualties so far is 150,000. "The Times" Hankow representative says that a search resulted in verification of the original Chinese claims tt success in the air battle over Hanyang on March 29 in the form of ">"> corpses of Japanese airmen, including SquadronLeader Takahashi, scattered among tin wreckage of \'i pursuit 'planes and nini bombers. The Chinese lost five of 04 'plane; participating. The Chinese capture of Chiaiiglinchen< is confirmed.

Chinese emit iniie to maintain guerilla tiictics throughout occupied territories, besides moving heavy artillery to (.liilicliung, in the. ho[& of determining seven days' desperate battle in ilie. Yunho region, in the Chekiani; Province. These ;jims are the IniliiburdliUMit of Japanese, who urn taking refuse in a castle, surrounded on three sides and cut off from reinforcement:*, who arc desperately attempting to relieve them. Ten thousand Jehol horsemen lay in ambush in thu wheat field* of TnnrliiMiji. and annihilated a Japanese eonvoy and destroj'ed its motor transport.