Evening Post. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1932. UNOFFICIAL WAR

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 26, 1 February 1932, Page 6

Evening Post. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1932. UNOFFICIAL WAR

The fundamental surprise in the reports from Shanghai on Saturday was not that the acceptance by .the Chinese Mayor of all the Japanese demands had failed to avert, or even, it seems, to delay hostilities, but that the Chinese troops which under one of those demands were to have been withdrawn fifteen miles from the city should have displayed such great fighting qualities. According to the: account which the Japanese give of the clash "when occupying positions assigned them under the Settlement defence scheme they were attacked both by Chinese regulars and armed men in plain clothes. They thereupon took extremely drastic action." if the Japanese were merely there for the defence of the" International Settlement, and not for an attack upon Greater Shanghai, the Chinese may be excused-for misunderstanding them. But it may reasonably be assumed in favour of the Japanese that the' terms of .the Mayor's ..-capitulation had been violated by the refusal of the.Chinese troops to move. In that event the ultimatum would take effect, and who fired the first.shot.in the inevitable battle is -a matter of no.importance. The reluctance of the Chinese, troops to-withdraw, especially as the surrender had been arranged.by a civil officer who was not a member of the Government, is only natural, but it is evident that they have astonished the Japanese and everybody else by the stand that they have made. Inferior to the Japanese in leadership, organisation, equipment, disci-, pline, and military instinct, it was natural to expect' that the Chinese troops, except in the guerrilla warfare in which they shine, would give their enemy little trouble, but they have made a great fight. Theniost remarkable feature, says pur .report, is the almost unbelievable, resistance of the Chinese soldiers, who are displaying a fighting ability comparable with foreign troops. Nor were these qualities confined to the defensive which best suits the stolidity of the Chinese temperament. Late in ,the day which converted Chapei, Shanghai's great northern suburb, into a shambles, the Chinese took the off en--sive, - .-■■'■..■• •..,.. causing, a Japanese retirement with heavy casualties, which are now estimated conservatively at over 300.'Late in the afternoon a strong force of Chinese attacked the Japanese naval, headquarters.- and . was. repulsed only, after ■ the severest fighting. .:

The .heavy losses had not damped their spirits, for we are told, as "one of the troubles of the peace-makers, that "the Chinese troops are indicating ah unwillingness;to cease hostilities,, believing they jiaye. the Japanese on the run." The chances of a settlement are- of course improved by the fact that the Japanese are not having the "walk-over" .that was expected. Even in Tokio-there is some peace sentiment, and we may. expect that it will be stimulated by the reports from the Japanese ConsulGeneral at Shanghai" and the military attache^ that "the present forces are insufficient to cope-with the situation, which is rapidly growing worse. They urge the dispatch of land forces." But the fury which has inspired the Chinese. soldiers is fuUy shared by their civilian fellow-countrymen; of whom there are about 3,000,000 in and around the city.

The- temper of the whole Chinese^ populace,, said our report: on Saturday, has reached unprecedented ferocity. All outside areas are "cut. oft' and the foreign.areas..are facing a serious food shortage. All Chinese shops are closed. Communists are working feverishly to convert the situation to their own ends.

If. under the combined influences of food shortage, unemployment, and Communist incitements, the hatred of "foreign devils" which is at present concentrated on the Japanese should be given its normal. extension, the position of the less than 40,000 Euro-' peans in the Foreign Settlements would obviously be one.of extreme peril. But if the Japanese are to be allowed to continue sharing in the internal defence of the International Settlement such" an extension seems almost inevitable. That Europeans should be allied with the Japanese for this purpose.while preserving a neutrality in the warfare raging outside is a position which infuriated Chinamen, oneither side of the boun-. dary may find it difficult to understand. The hope expressed by thd British arid American Governments, "that no action would be taken by the Japanese within -the Settlement without a prior consultation.with the other Governments concerned," seems therefore a very inadequate procedure. Tire action contemplated by. the Defence Committee of the Settlement is more to the point. It has decided, as1 we are informed to-day,

tlip.t the situation in (lie Honsfkow district, v.-hk-.h was previously lnft todß-.lpm-c ■()>•'■-tlm ,T;i|)anr:<c, required tli(i ju-CBC-nce of 'British, troops- to prevent

further .encroachment by Japanese forces, endangering .the lives of residents from crossfire' from the Chinese.

It was expected in .Shanghai yesterday that (he Royal Scols. would be sent to [his area at any moment, and the news that the expectation lias been realised would be heard with relief all over the Empire. But they will be too late to save the liongkew Hotel, which has been burnt by its nominal defenders on the ground that it harboured Chinese snipers. The armistice which as the result, we may. presume, of the stubborn resistance of the Chinese, was arranged on Friday at the instance of the British and American ConsulsGeneral, does not appear to have been acknowledged by either the ■Japanese -or the Chinese Government. But we know that there was such an arrangement made, both-from the cessation of hostilities reported on Saturday and the ground alleged for their resumption which is reported to-day. "Charging the Chinese with failure to observe the truce," the Japanese on Saturday launched another' attack on Chapei, but again the Chinese appear to have more than held their own. The reports of casualties on either side are doubtless little better than guesswork, but it may safely be assumed that they are much heavier on the Chinese side, that the 1000 Japanese reinforcements which arrived on Saturday will not answer the request for more men from, Tokio, and that the losses in property are already appalling. In the first news received to-day the abandonment of the armistice was accompanied by the report that the Nanking Government had decided to declare War, but there is some small comfort in the definite contradiction of the second of these items which comes to hand as we write:—

Nanking to-night denied intention declaring war, but asserted that the whole nation had resolved to repulse Japanese, regardless of sacrifices.

Thousands of Japanese and Chinese, are already engaged in killing: one another, and the numbers are steadily increasing on both sides, but it is something to the good that the countries are not officially at war, and that the League of Nations, though sorely smitten, is not dead. Instead of declaring war China again appeals to the League, and "the painful impression" created at Geneva has been.deepened by the declaration of Mr. Sato, the chief Japanese delegate on" the Council, "that possibly world peace;, might be compromised in the events at Shanghai." Possibly it may, and the possibility has not escaped the attention of London and Washington, or failed to make an equally painful impression there. But. speculation on'the action that, may yet avert a world-wide disaster must, be held over. '.'."_