WAR IN THE EAST

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 75, 10 March 1933, Page 8

WAR IN THE EAST

THE CONTENDING ARMIES

JAPAN’S ADVANTAGES

"TREMENDOUS SUPERIORITY.”

Sydney, March 2,

A spectator at the bombardment of Shanghai last year, Mr. C. V. Franklyn Spink, a British business man now in Australia, has some interesting comparisons to draw between the Chinese and the Japanese temperament and fighting ability. ‘‘There is no doubt,” Mr. Spink said, "that unless there was interference by some other strong Power, Japan could at once conquer China, with her tremendous superiority in navy, army and air force. "Her difficultly would be to ‘police’ the country and maintain her hold on it, especially should any big Power take an active part in support of China. But I have talked with many influential Japanese business men in Shanghai and in Japan, and there is a general feeling among the Japanese that they have nothing to fear from Russia. This feeling is based largely on the non-intervention of Russia ■when Japan bombarded Shanghai. "That China put up such a stout resistance in the bombardment of Shanghai is attributed by many to the fact that the Japanese Navy handle’.d the attack clumsily. There were only 1500 Japanese marines against 20,000 defenders, and the conditions of street fighting put the invaders at a disadvantage. But as soon as the Japanese Army took control, China was forced to come to terms. CHINA’S EUROPEAN ADVISERS. "The Chinese defenders used trench warfare methods, with barbed-wire entanglements for the first time in the history of the country. This is proof that China has its European advisers in its army. "China has, moreover, had a few active officers from overseas. A few years ago an Englishman, an old Etonian named Frank Sutton, was a general in the army of Chang Tso-lin, the father of Chang Sheuh-liang. He was a trench mortar expert and the Manchurian Army was never so efficient as when he held his position. The discipline of the artillery was most marked.

"On land Japan has many advantages. As a highly efficient and organised country and one where conscription operates, she could', very quickly have five million well-equipped men in the field. China’s man-power is unlimited, but she has not the equipment or the temperament. ‘ ‘ Here we come to the essential characteristic differences in the two peoples. Contrary to many opinions, the Japanese arc not individualistic when it comes to a matter of serving their country. Each Japanese soldier —and every able-bodied man is a potential soldier —thinks only in terms of what he can do for his Emperor and country.

"When the Chinese troops were entrenched behind barbed-wire entanglements the Japanese commander called for volunteers to destroy a section of it to make a gap. Three "men went forward with a quantity of dynamite, a portion of which they swallowed. Then, at a given signal, they eheerfully exploded the dynamite and blew themselves and the barbed-wire skyhigh. FATALISTS BY NATURE. "A Japanese major fell into t he hands of the Chinese during the Shanghai fighting and when released after the armistice he went immediately to the exact scene of his capture and committed suicide. These incidents are typical of the Japanese temperament. They are fatalistic by nature, a quality that makes them tenacious fighters. "This spirit is not common in China. It is difficult to say how the Chinese would behave if trained to modern warfare. They have no overpowering national spirit to make them face such an cnemv.

"China is a conglomeration of clans, with elan loyalty all-powerful, but without any national spirit. This is only to be expected. The people of South China, for example, seem almost as foreign as anyone else to the North Chinese, and vice versa.

"Conditions arc against a warlike spirit in China. In normal times I do not believe the average Chinese coolie —or even the average peasant—would take any interest in politics. All they wish for is a peaceful life, and to be buried at the place where they were born. The educated class, compared with the bulk of the population, is negligible.