TWO "IFS."

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 297, 14 December 1940, Page 8

TWO "IFS."

SPIRIT OF CHINA.

FIGHTS LONE WOLF.

MUNITIONS AND OFFICERS

(By ROYAL ARCH GUXXISOX.)

MANILA (P. 1.), Oct, 15

How China, now cut off from war supplies from the rest of the world, continues to fight a lone wolf—or rather a lone dragon—defence against Japan is an untold and spectacular story. For obvious reasons of war strategy and secrecy, much of this story won't lie told until the end of the conflict. But Mime of it can be dug out and revealed.

This struggle in the Far East is forged into a chain of international politics and economics that binds it to the European war. The defeat of China would mean as much to a world seeking maintenance of the principles of freedom as the defeat of England.

The potentiality of victory for China is punctuated with many "Ifs." One of the most visible "Ifs" to-day is "If China can get some aid froni the outride world. . .

11l mv repent interview with China's .-trong man. Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek. lie emphasised the imperative need for a route to aiul from the outside. All roads to China are at present closed. The Burma Road is shut until October IS. The rail line into French Indo-China is cut off by the Japanese, through an agreement with the IndoChina Government. The route through Russia is all that is left and it's too long and too inaccessible to be of much aid—even if the Soviets would aid the generalissimo with more than dribbles of gasoline, planes, munitions and guns. Russia helps Chinfe keep Japan busy to enable Stalin to have a freer hand in Europe. Right On Their Toe*. The Chinese have been right on their toes. They have been developing a programme. a schedule, for making war supplies—ammunition, machine-guns, larger calibre guns, aeroplanes—and to assure armies of food and establish communication by radio between the farfliuifr parts of the nation. With some exceptions, the picture doesn't look as black as h few months ago, when the Burma Road was closed. Of course what is being done is still on ii small scale. But a start has been made. Two American companies, both operated by the Chinese Government but American-financed, have been successmi in building aeroplane factories and turning out first-class American bombers and pursuit planes. One of the companies, whose names and locations I omit for obvious reasons, has had to move twice to escape Japanese bombing and capture. Now at its new location it is finishing up an order of some 30 bombers. Before access to the out--ide was cut off this outfit had orders for 300 planes to assemble.

This plant, staffed by 22 U.S. experts, is unable to get more parts for newconst ruction at present and will spend its time co-ordinating China's outlying sectors and its armies by radio communication. Such speedy co-ordinated twoway communication controlled from one centre. Chungking, is expected to be of inestimable value in future military tactics.

There are several munitions factories, some of which are completely underground anil in which Chinese women work. These plants work 24 hours in eight-hour shifts.

All Chinese in bombed communities are under orders to pick up all bomb scraps and take them to a collection centre where the metal splinters' are gathered together and taken to the' munitions factories for manufacture into bombs, shells, or bullets for use against tlie Japanese. Even splinters probed out of wounded soldiers and civilians are turned in.

Aviation schools are located in four Chinese centres. Their Chief of Staff is a retired U.S. Army Officer. He is aided by h few American pilots. The Chinese are not particularly adapted to flying but are said to make good pilots, lliere have been a few outstanding pilots.

China, with its army of at least 2,500.000 scattered across the land, definitely lacks expert military leadership. There are more men in "the field now than at the start of the war. But trained officers have been killed anil captured in greater numbers than was expected. It is not difficult to recruit and train coolie troops to some efficiency. Some troops arc professional. But without expert low-ranking officers and non-commissioned offiocrs to act and think quickly, these troops oftentimes are defeated when they should win battles.

In China the worm in the apple is not the "manana"' attitude, as we find it in Latin America, but a "next generation ' attitude. "Let the next generation finish off the Japanese. We've got them stopped and spread out thin." That s what you hear all too often. There are schools for officers, (one is now training ;>00). Yes. Young AmericanChinese are coming over to serve. Many local Chinese enlist. But a few can't do the job. What the Chinese National Government seeks to do more than anvtliing else during this period of being shut off from the outside is to create a feeling of national unity—(X.A.X.A.)