Evening star., 1937-07-11
AMUR FIGHT CONCOCTED
BY JAPANESE MILITARY
Army Men Called Forth Show of Rus.
sian Force to Bolster Their Resist.
ance to Democracy's Return.

. ASSIuA Lie
Islands was connection Of JapAnh
military clique, which has been rapidly
losing power since the last elections.
The Japanese people, appalled, at the
enormous expenditure for the army
and the navy, decided to be ruled again
by democratic parliament. The
TOXIC military clique recognizes that
the annexation OF further portions Of
China cannot longer inflame popular
imagination. The Russian bear had
10 be paraded before the populace.
1t was necessary to show them force.
tully that pacifc-ie, non-militarist
regime could not be relied on SO
long as powerful country like Russia
Is Manchukuo's immediate neighbor.
The general staff in Toxic has con-
sldered a showdown with the Soyiets
ever since it began its conquest of
Manchuria. But it could not do two
things at once. Manchuria had to be
occupied and transformed into a
puppet state. And by the time this
was accomplished the Moscow gov.
ernment had strengthened the mari
time provinces to such a point that
1urtner expansion would require more
than a mere military march by tho
japanese army. Field Marshal Was
silly Bluecher, considered the out.
standing military genius of the Soviets,
organized the Siberian defenses so as
TO resist any invasion from Japan.
Ihe Japanese government realized
1t had missed its opportunity, and
Wnlle keeping the pot boiling on tho
Manchukuo-Soviet borders with
weekly incursions causing casualties
on both sides-it decided an attack
on the maritime provinces as a thing
which would have to be deferred.
The political understanding with
Germany raised the hopes of the
general staff, but it was still regarded
as unwise to do anything across the
Amur River so long as the Soviet
armed forces appeared strong.
Germany Recalls Warships.
The weakness of France, the un-
preparedness and the hesitant policy
OF Great Britain, and especially the
unexpected political developments in
the Soviet Union, apparently changed
the minds of the japanese general
staff. The attack againN the Russian
gunboatS was the work of the same
forces which brought about the in
vasion of Manchuria in 1881. Whether
the japanese government will have the
nNunr he
cept settlement by negotiation re.
mains to be seen.
The fact that the German varships,
sent to the Mediterranean during the
| middle OF June, have been suddenly
| ordered back is not mere coincidence.
Germany, having definitely aban-
doned the four-power agreement to
patrol the Spanish coasts, decided she
would protect her own merchantmen
in the Spanish carrying trade Some
l9 Warships-the major portion of
the Reich's battle force-were dis.
patched to the Mediterranean. The
day after the japanese batteries sank
Russian gunboat and damaged two
| others, Is of the 10 German men-of-
war, headed by the battleship Admiral
Scheer, passed through the Dover
Straits on their way north to the
Baltic Sea. The unofficial explana-
ton given in Washington was that
these were units of the Reichs navy
which relieved other units sent to the
Mediterranean. But there was no
doubt in Washington of a connection
between the Japanese action and the
strengthening of the German home
fleet.
The question of Russo apaneSe
| war depended entirely on whether or
| not the civilian cabinet could prevail
upon the Emperor to restrain the
military leaders of Japan. The task
of the japanese cabinet vas not
simple one, since there is no fear
among the military of an Intervention
from the other European powers. On
the contrary, the Toxic military clique
| is certain that in relatively short
time it will have the effective support
| Of the Reich, while Russia's ally,
France, for the time being seems un-
able to rush to her rescue.
Heretofore the military position Of
the Soviets in the Far East has been a
strong one. Field Marshal Bluecher
has done a remarkable job in a few
years. He managed to obtain from
track the ACKNOWLEDGMENT rail-
road line. He built strong concrete
defenses along the border and, es-
pecially, established important stores
of ammunition. gasoline and food.
300, 600 Reds in Siberia.
In June the Soviet forces in Siberia
were estimated at 100000 men, divided
into three groups-the 18th army, the
Goth army, and the Pacific army.
Their equipment is up to date and OF
the best, and the air force. compris-
ing some $50 bombing and scouting
| planes, is ready to strike at moments
notice. The morale of the officers
and men, at that time. was good. What
it is now no one can say. Field
Marshal Bluecher has been recalled
to Moscow, where he was one Of the
judges who sentenced Field Marshal
Tukhatchevsky and seven brother
officers to death. But until a week
ago, reports from Moscow indicated
that the field marshal, the soul OF
the Russian Far Eastern defense, was
still in Moscow, where his devotion to
Stain was somewhat doubted. He
was reported as under the same cloud
of suspicion as Tukhatchevsky, who
previously had sat on the judges
bench.
Prior to the Amur River conflict,
the Japanese army in Manchukuo was
100000 men strong. What reinforce
ments had been rushed across the
Yellow Sea since those figures were
established is unknown. The Man.
chukuoan army, comprising some 100.
600 men Of doubtful military value,
carries small weight in the reckoning.
There is a feeling in Washington
and in London that if another war
becomes unavoidable, it might just
as well start in the Far East The
general belief in both capitals is that
such war has far better chance Of
heinp localized oven If Gernnapv took