CRISIS AT HONAN

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 May 1944, Page 5

CRISIS AT HONAN

EARLY FALL EXPECTED CHINESE COUNTER-ATTACK ' CHUNGKING, May 14. The Japanese yesterday broke through gaps west, east and northwest of Loyang City walls, but are being halted, says a Chinese communique. Enemy armoured units are vigorously attacking the nprth-west-ern suburbs. Fighting in the Memchih sector has shifted to areas east of the city. There are no appreciable changes in other sectors. General Stilwell’s communique reports that American bombers, hghtei - bombers and fighters raided Smyang rail yards, setting fire to barracks and warehouses, damaging railcars, inflicting about 100 enemy casualties. Severe damage was done to buildings and small shipping at Catba Island, Tonkin Gulf. Counter-attacking, the Chinese have broken the Japanese hold on the Pekin-Hankow railway, recaptuim& Sniping, a hundred miles south or Chengchow'. They are also encircling the enemy at Chumatien, five miles south of Sniping. JAPANESE OBJECTIVE LONDON, May 15. “The Chinese counter-attack at Sniping was at a point where, Jas week, the Northern Japanese loice had joined the southern column, thus completing the conquest of the railway,” says the correspondent, ol the Associated Press of America. “The Japanese were already reported to have brought engineers for the reconstruction of the lines which the Chinese removed. lhe Chungking, authorities, recognising the threat to Tunkwan by the Japanese thrust, across the Yellow River from Shansi, are inclined to regard the movement as a diversionary feint at most, ana they are convinced that the Japanese plans call for the occupation not only of the Pekin-Hankow railway but the control of the whole CantonHankow railway, as an answer to Admiral Nimitz’s avowed project ol .landing American troops on tne China coast.” ~ , c , A Chungking spokesman consideis that if the Japanese occupy Honan they may. hold the city as a bulwaiK for the defence of the Pekm-Han-kow railway. The latest message from Chungking says that determined resistance has been shown to attacks on Honan, but it is feared that the gamson cannot hold out much longer. In an attempt to relieve the pres- ’ sure on the garrison at Honan, where the Japanese have smashed through the city walls, American aircraft are bombing enemy artillery posts round the town, while other Allied aircraft have been attacking Japanese cavalry and infantry formations and concentrations of tanks.

CHINESE OFFENSIVE (Recd. 11.25 a.m.) CHUNGKING, May 15. Large forces of Chinese troops in an effort to link up with General Stilwell’s troops in the Northern Burma, launched an offensive in Western Yunnan five days ago, crossing the Salween River at many points over a 100-miles front, says the Chinese High Command. Chennault’s "Sky Dragons” strongly supported the new drive in which the casualties on both sides were heavy. . The Associated Press points out that the new drive is, in a sense, the first big Chinese offensive in the entire Chinese-Japanese war. It broke a long lull along China’s southern frontier and is obviously aimed at opening a connecting ling with India, via the Ledo and Burma Roads, and breaking the blockade. Over 20,000 Chinese troops crossed the river. One unit has driven eight miles into the mountains west of the Salween and the Chinese are clashing with stubborn Japanese troops at a number of points including Manuenkuan Pass, nearly 11,000 feet high, and also Pinka, 24 miles south-east of T n^lin o » Chinese field dispatches say that the Japanese who broke into Loyang from the east, west and north-west have been annihilated. General Stilwell’s communique reports that American bombers supporting the Chinese defenders of Loyang bombed 'Japanese artillery and tanks. Chinese and American Warhawks fought seven Japanese fighters and shot down four. Other Warhawks strafed infantry concentrations, causing heavy casualties. Targets in Luima, Indo-China and Southlwest China were also attacked. CHINA COLLAPSING. CONCERN IN U.S.A. (Rec. 12.10 p.m.) LONDON, May 15. Reports that China is neanng military, economic and political collapse are becoming one of the major worries of the United States wai chiefs, says the Washington correspondent of the “Daily Mail. Confidential reports by United States officers have sounded a note of serious alarm and their finds have been backed up by Chiang Kai-shek, who has made a personal appeal to Mr. Roosevelt for more aid. The correspondent adds: ’Responsible military leaders in Washington go so far as to say that if the leaden of the United States 14th Air Force in China, Major-General Chennault, should be forced to withdraw because'of lack of supplies, not even Chiang Kai-shek and his iron-willed wile could keep China in the war any longer. China’s economic situation, with inflation, is approaching that of Germany after the last war. China’s military and politicil difficulties, to which Washington has so far turned a blind eye, are becoming so great that they cannot be ignored any longer. China has an army of half a million tied up in the southern Shensi Province, where Chiang Kai-shek has been blockading the Communist armies of North-west China for three years. This army is now needed to defend the Honan Province against the new Japanese threat, but unless Chiang Kai-shek comes to terms with the Communists it will not be available. “That Mr. Roosevelt regards the position seriously is shown by his decision to send Vice-President Wallace to make a report and put the United States view to Chiang Kaishek. Every possible effort will be made to keep China in the war until the Allies’ Pacific forces can land on the China coast. Collapse before that would gravely interfere with the strategy of the whole Pacific and Far Eastern campaigns. It would add many more months and possibly years to the war.” DEADLOCK IN BURMA "LONDON, May 15. “The Times’s” Delhi correspondent says:, Indian opinion does not quite know what to make of the military operations in Burma and in Assam. Although the monsoon is almost upon us, these operations are still apparently in a highly inconclusive state. It is accepted that the Japanese offensive has shot its bolt for this campaigning season, but there is a good deal of speculation on the extent to which the Allies are likely to gain objectives they have set themselves. Those objectives admittedly have not been more closely defined than as a clearance of as much of Northern

Burma as would be necessary to enable the construction of the Ledo Road to proceed. This is taken to imnlv an intention on General Stilwell s part to get as far south as Mogaung and Myitkyina, the tatter being the starting point of the road, linking up with the Burma Road to China. General Stilwell in the last tew weeks has been checked thirty miles north 01 A °South 8 -east Asia communique states: An enemy st f°^ p I °l l l t ha " ea is Bishenpur. south-west of Imphai, mwffiost encircled Our positions at Paleroad, south ol Imphai, weie subjected to heavy artillery fire, bin no Sck developed Mopping-up continued south-west ol ivoninic. The Japanese, who are leaving mines , and booby traps, are believed to be regrouping m strength on the Ara ilura Spur, south of Kohima. uui advance north-eastward forced the enemy to readjust their positions. The R.A.F. destroyed three and probably destroyed three more or a force of 20 enemy planes offensively sweeping over Imphai and Koji i ma. KOHIMA SITUATION RUGBY, May 15.. British troops at K° h J n ??’ d n£utv near the tennis court of the DeputJ Commissioner’s bungalow, are; at one point separated from the Japanese by onlv five yards. Certain death oi surrender laces the enemy m the grounds of the bungalow lor they are completely cut oft. A thiee-day lull ended on May 11, when the British mounted three directional _ attacks on high ground west of Naga village on the outskirts oi Kohima. An observer at the front says: The attack, which began an hour before * dawn, had three objectives. Jail Hill, Red Ridge, and Dis Hill, all strongly bunkered and well prepared Japanese positions. Alter an all-day battle, our troops succeeded m taking possession of these vital hill features. A few minor pockets of resistance remained on the flanks oi the two hills and ridge, but do not seriously affect our occupation. Now they control the high ground, our troops arc in a strong position. Kohima Ridge holds the tactical key to the whole of Kohima. We are in part possession of Naga village itself, while the enemy hold a pimple on its eastern outskirts, and are entrenched along the fringe of the jungle to the south. Treasury Hill to the west of Naga village is strongly held by the Japanese. , j ~ “In the Tamu Road sector, southeast cf Imphai, the Japanese, have again been suffering casualties far heavier than the British. One reaches our positions in Shonan area a little loss than 40 miles from Imphai, after driving up into 5000-feet mountains. Our forward positions are only lour yards from the Japanese. The latest action here, in which our casualties were not light, was most expensive for the enemy. Ghurkas fought off wave alter wave of attackers from midnight until 6.30 a.m., When a British north country regiment joined in and helped to drive Ihe enemy from the top of the hili. A commander of the brigade said: ‘Tn just over a month we killed about 6000 Japanese. If we could say for certain what our guns and mortars are killing I think the figure might even be higher.’ ” STILWELL’S PROGRESS ’"LONDON, May 15. The progress of General Stilwell’s forces seems slow but they have taken nearly half the Mogaung Valley and are ready to clean up the remainder, states the Associated Press correspondent in a dispatch from the Mogaung Valley. General. Stilwell’s Headquarters in'the past five weeks have moved southward and are now within hearing of the Japanese guns. The British United Press correspondent in North Burma states that the fall of Kanaing, 20 miles from the vital railway between Mandalay and Myitkyina, is now approaching. General Stilwell’s Chinese spearheads are now 133 miles north-west and nine miles north-east of Kamaing and the general picture of the Mogaung Valley indicates that the Allies are steadily squeezing the Japanese in the Kamaing area, with the Chindites harassing the supply lines of the Japanese in the rear.