Evening star., 1937-09-26
BY JOHN c. O'BRIEN.

Military experts here. and presum-
ably in staff headquarters throughout
the world. are following Japan's
widely air attacks on Nam
king and other Chinese cities with
the keenest interest for whatever light
may be shed on the moot question,
"Of what real value is aircraft as an
offensive and defensive arm Of the
military establishments"
Since aircraft OF primitive type
was first used in the World War, I'M
ceasing debate has ragged in all high
military commands on the merits Of
this comparatively untried weapon Of
war. The views range all the way
from the unyielding skepticism of old
school ground officers to the bold pre-
dictions of areophobes that the air
plane would revolutionize methods of
warfare; that future wars would be
fought in the air; that when air fleets
spread their wings in the next great
war, the trenches would be safer than
the civilian populations in the exposed
cities.
Until civil strife broke out in Japan
all this debate was academic and
hypothetical Neither side could point
to an actual test of the effectiveness of
aircraft. The fighting in Spain
brought relatively modern aircraft
into combat for the first time utaly's
foray into Ethiopia being disregarded,
as the Italian air force encountered
no oppostion), but the results were
hardly conclusive. Neither side in
Spain possessed frst-class fighting
ships or anti-aircraft defense and
neither army was greatly experienced
in air combat tactics.
Ma jor Power Operating Now.
But now in China military observers
have the air feet of a f1rst-class
military power conducting major
air offensive. This offensive was
heralded by a boast of the japanese
military high command that it would
wipe out the seat of the Chinese
government and by thus paralyzing
the heart of the Chinese military
machine bring that unhappy country
quickly to its knees.
Quickly realizing that the Japanese
operations afforded a laboratory test
of the effectiveness Of the fighting
plane. military experts here huddled
around the news tickers TO follow
the results.
AS yet, of course, the experts have
only fragmentary reports of the oper-
ations. Moreover, they are In no
position TO know whether the jap
anese have yet attempted the prom
ised mass attack. Some dispatches
quote the Japanese high command
as saying that the attacks thus far
have been experimental, that lie big
raids are yet to come.
Aside from that. the experts here
are reluctant TO accept the achieve
ments of the japanese Air Force as
indicative of what would happen in
war between two flrst-class powers
for the reason that China is con-
sidered no match for her opponents.
Neither in the air nor in her ground
defenses against operations in the air
is China an effective opponent Of 3
first-class air fleet.
Japanese Have Opportunity.
But China's inferiority, as the ex-
perts see it, enhances the value OF the
Japanese operations as test Of what
armed aircraft can do. II ever first
class air fleet had chance to live up
to the claims made for it, the Japa-
nese, so the argument runs, have In
China. In the air the Chinese are
greatly outnumbered and supposedly
inferiorly equipped. and the anti
aircraft defense, while seemingly suf1-
GENTLY feared to keep the japanese
flyers in high attitudes, cannot be
compared with the defensive weapons
of first-class power. For the most
part China's anti-aircraft guns are OF
small caliber and the firing control
Is not exactly effective
Such being the conditions under
which this Laboratory test" is being
conducted, what of the results?
Thus far, according to newspaper
dispatches from the front, the Japa-
nese raked Marking with bombs for
four hours, so planes participating in
the attack The reported total cas-
ualties were 200 killed and wounded
and the property damage confined for
the most part to the crude huts Of the
native population, the important build
ings having withstood the attack or
missed altogether.
Two days bombing of Canton pro-
duced greater casualties. the estimates
running as high as 5000, with greater
property damage.
Significance Of Results.
Now. from military point of view
of what significance are these results?
The tentative judgment Of qualified
military observers here is that they
are not highly significant. Certainly
they are not impressive. They hardly
measure up, so it is contended, to the
direful predictions Of the japanese
military authorities.
The initial shock of such shower
of destruction from the air, it is ad-
mitted. is demoralizing to civilian
population. But what military OBJ
jective was accomplished, the military
experts inquire? Can the Chinese
ground forces b dhlodged By such