CHINA’S ROAD TO RUSSIA CUT

Southland Times, Issue 23335, 20 October 1937, Page 5

CHINA’S ROAD TO RUSSIA CUT

Northern Objective Achieved

BOTH SIDES SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES

INVADING TROOPS POORLY CLAD FOR WINTER

(United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received October 19, 10.50 p.m.) LONDON, October 19.

With the occupation of Pao-tow, in the Suiyuan province, Japan claims to have erected what is described as an “anti-communist wall” 1000 miles long, stretching from Manchukuo to Suiyuan, thence to north’ Shansi and Hopei and almost to the sea, says the Tokyo correspondent of The Daily Telegraph. Inside it lies the rich Shantung province, which is reported to be arming to the teeth to resist the Japanese.

The special correspondent of The Daily Telegraph at Shanghai says the significance of Pao-tow is that it governs the northern route between Russia and China, is the terminus of the Peiping-Suiyuan railway and lies near the route connecting Siberia, Mongolia and China.

By holding this region Japan reduces China’s chances of receiving arms from Russia. This has been one of the chief objectives of the Japanese offensive.

Heavy losses on both sides are reported from the battle area north of Tai-yuan, where 50,000 Japanese were surrounded on Saturday. The Chinese attempted a drive to annihilate them before the arrival of reinforcements, and claim to have captured 800 rifles, 100 machine-guns, 10 field guns and 30 tanks.

Packets of. cigarettes, food and ammunition descended on the Chinese lines from Japanese planes; the flyers had apparently mistaken the lines. Tokyo admits that the Japanese are sorely pressed and are suffering severely. Sleet is falling, and the troops are still wearing their summer uniforms.

The Domei news agency (Tokyo) reports that the Japanese in north Shansi defeated the combined Chinese Government troops and the troops of the Eighth Route Army, the fighting centring in the neighbourhood of S'n Kow-chen and north of Tai Yuan-fu. The Japanese claim that this success, with the occupation of Potow and the subsequent capture of Paoho, which is a strategically important point, involves the debacle of the Chinese northern operations. Japanese planes, retaliating against the Chinese raids, attempted to destroy the Chinese aerodrome at Hungjao, the casualties including 30 civilians. A Japanese attack on Kechiapailou succeeded after the annihilation of a Chinese regiment of 1400 who fought until the last, the commander refusing to give the order to retire. The Chinese claim that this operation cost the Japanese 3000 casualties. . A Chinese spokesman at Shanghai declared that the “minimum conditions” announced by the President (Marshal Chiang Kai-shek) in July will alone enable peace. The conditions laid down by Marshal Chiang Kai-shek as a basis of negotiations were:—

(1) Any settlement must not infringe China’s territorial integrity and sovereign rights. (2) Any alteration in the status of the Hopei-Chahar Political Council cannot be allowed.

(3) The removal, by outside pressure, of local officials appointed by the Central Government, such as the chairman of the Hopei-Chahar Political Council, cannot be allowed. (4) We cannot allow any restriction on the position held by the 29th Army.

SINKING OF CHINESE JUNKS JAPANESE REFUSAL TO ATTEND INQUIRY HONG KONG, October 18. The inquiry into the sinking of the Chinese junks on September 22 has opened; the Japanese Consul-General ignored the invitation to attend. The 14 survivors, who were witnesses, were unable to swear that the attacking submarine was a Japanese. The exhibits included shrapnel, splinters and bullets extracted from the wounded.

On September 28 the British Ambassador to Tokyo (Sir Robert Craigie) was instructed to make a full report to London about the shelling of a Chinese fishing fleet by a Japanese submarine, which was responsible for more than 200 deaths of men, women and children.

The German liner Scharnhorst landed at Hong Kong nine men and one woman who stated that they were the survivors of a fishing fleet manned by 300 men which a Japanese submarine attacked off Cheelongkau Point on September 22, from a distance of 200 yards. The submarine mercilessly sank the junks in rotation by gunfire, and left the wounded and dying crews helplessly struggling in the water. The survivors related pitiful stories of wounded women and children struggling in the water while the submarine continued the slaughter. Three of those rescued are critically wounded. Most of the junks came from Macao. It was believed that the dead totalled 290.

One junk contrived to hoist its sails and escape, but as several of the crew were wounded they floated for five days before the Scharnhorst came up. The survivors were admitted to hospital suffering from exposure. The authorities immediately began an official inquiry, as some of the junks were registered in Hong Kong and therefore ranked as British. ADVERSE EFFECT ON WORLD TRADE (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, October 18. The effect the Far East crisis has had on world trade is revealed by the monthly statistics of the League of Nations Economic Intelligence Service. The gold value of world trade in August was 3 per cent, less than the figure for July. Not only did world imports decline considerably but exports were much less.