APRIL DISASTROUS TIME FOR JAPANESE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 101, 2 May 1939, Page 9

APRIL DISASTROUS TIME FOR JAPANESE.

CHINESE GAINS.

Lost Fruits Of Six Months' Heavy Fighting.

COST IN MEN AND MONEY.

United Press Association.—Copjright.

(Received 12 noon.) LOXDOX, May 1. The "Daily Telegraph" Hongkong correspondent says China's April offensive is dying down on all fronts. The attempt to recapture Canton has evidently been abandoned, but the Japanese are not attempting to regain large areas round Canton lost last month. The Chinese are strongly entrenched seven miles' from Xanchang. Though the Chinese did not succeed in recapturing one of the provincial capital in their offensive, they undoubtedly had a great military success. Their gains represent the greatest part of hard-Won territory taken by the Japanese between October and March after the fall of Canton and Hankow. Thus, from the Japanese viewpoint, April was disastrous. The fruits of six months' fighting were lost at the cost of 1000 lives and £1,000,000 a day. The Chinese morale unquestionably never has been higher and the Japanese never lower than to-day. After heavy shelling and bombing Japanese twice attempted to cross the San River, in Central Hupeh, but were repulsed. Chinese attempting to recapture Nanchang retreated in the face of a fierce Japanese attack, leaving 1500 dead, states a report from Tokyo.

DISGUISED AS JAP. Student Orders Withdrawal Of Enemy Outposts. CHINESE RUSE SUCCESSFUL. Independent Cable Service. SHANGHAI, May 1. A Cantonese student, Jimmy Wong, who possesses a Japanese cast of features and speaks Japanese fluently, donned an officer's uniform aid j accosted a Japanese sentry at the NanI chang air field, ordering that the outposts should be withdrawn. was carried out before dawn, thus enabling a successful attack to be made by Wong's battalion, which comprises the best night fighters in the Chinese guerilla army. CHINESE URCHINS. 200,000 Join Up With j Famous Army. PROUD REPUTATION. LONDON, April 26. Chinese "little devils," as the urchins call themselves, 200.000 strong, have joined up with the famous Bth Route Army. This army, which has a great record of service, was formerly the Communist army, but made common cause with General Chiang Kai-shek against Japan. The 'little devils," whose ages range from 11 to 16, are too small to carry arms and are serving as buglers, messengers and first-aid helpers. They elect their own "officers" and are pledged to a strict code of honour. They wear discarded military uniforms, often many sizes too large, and receive the same pay as regular soldiers, namely, eight pence per month. Already they have established a proud reputation for toughness and reliability. ______ \ NO INTERFERENCE. JAPAN SUPPORTS HITLER. TOKYO, May 1. "Britain and America should heed Herr Hitler's speech to the Reichstag as a warning against intervention in the Far East," stated a Foreign Office spokesman. "The Fuehrer's rejection of the right of interference in international issues is heartily approved by Japan, which demands Asia for the Asiatics."