The Washington times., 1938-05-09

defeat at the hands of Japan's
much-touted and highly superior
mechanical war machine, coulc
suddenly stage the remarkable
comeback which has amazed tie
world in the last month.
He put his answer in the
simplest of word figures. He went
right back to elemental Of fight
ing and talked about boxing.
FIGHT RECALLED
"You remember when Tun-
ney met Dempsey in Philadel-
phia in 1882" he asked.
Dempsey had everything.
He was a tiger in the ring. He
had dynamite in both hands
and he never let an opponent
rest. He was confident he
would smash down Tunney in
short order, as he had so many
others.
But Tunney was smart. and
a good fighter. too. He back
pedaled and took everything
Dempsey could hand him. He
let Dempsey wear himself out
punching, and then he finished
the fight still fresh and with
the championship"
China. said this military au.
thority, is doing the same thing
fighting a defensive war. letting
Japan wear herself out and keep
ing tremendous manpoWer in re-
serve to take advantage of every
moment of Japan's weakness.
GREAT BLUNDER
Japan's war lords, he said, have
been guilty of the worst possible
blunder in military strategy
underestimation of the fighting
ability of their opponents.
This vital error in judgment
may turn what a few months ago
seemed certain victory into bitter,
humiliating defeat, leaving the
Land of the Rising Sun second
or third-rate power. economically
exhausted and bled Of its man
power.
Japan's invasion of China has
failed utterly to produce a mill
tary genius of the caliber Of Gen
Robert E. Lee, of Ulysses Grant
Of a Napoleon or wellington; anc
this, in the opinion of this anc
other American Army StrategiSt!
who have followed the China
campaign from its onset. is the es
sential key to the present state o,
affairs in China.
For a month or more now tht
drive of Japan's lever victorious
army" has been stopped dead by
General Chang Kai-Shek's sword
welding legionS il South Shan
tung. 1t is the first major mill
tary defeat ever suffered by thu
Nipponese.
DESPERATE PLIGHT
To retrieve this defeat is ont
thing, but to win a decisive vic
tory, crushing Chiang's army
Japan, these army experts believe
must now call upon its entire eco
nomic resources and manpower.
They estimate a new army o
a half million men will be neces
sary to Subjugate China, if then
One hundred thousand men alonI
must be thrown into the breach il
South Shantung if that sector i
to be wiped out.
AS evidence of the desperate
plight which has befallen tn
japanese military plan. invocation
of the drastic articles of mobili
cation, partially conscriptinj
Japan's manpoWer and economi
resources. was pointed to.
In the last week Tokyo also ha
lifted its voice in strongly wordeG
diplomatic protests to Sovie
Russia and Germany. Moscow
Japan accused of supplying so
planes and 200 pilots to tn
Chinese and bluntly declared thi
was considered a hostile act"
Of Germany, with whom Japa
is allied under the Rome-BerliI
Tokyo anti-comintern pact. Toky
demanded withdrawal of the Ge
man military strategists who al
credited with a large part of tt
success of China'S stonewall stan
against the Japanese mechanic
1egions.
1T takes a lot of head work
You have to study your op
ponent, size him up, find ou
his weaknesses, feint him intt
position and wear him down.
Two of China's greatest asset
the expert emphasized. are an
exhauStible reserve of manpoW
and a great capacity for the san
sort of passive resistance Tunn'
showed Dempsey. And Japar
mistakes?
Japan underestimated tn
situation" the strategist cor
tinued. She prepared for onl
a six months war. She though
the same thing would happe
again that did in 1882. Sh
started the war the same wa!
fighting first in North Chin;
as she did when she grabbe
Manchukuo, and then at Sham
hal, but China failed to fold VI
Finally, do not forget thu
China, like Tunney did, has a
immeasurable ability to absol
punishment, to duck and dodg
10 lose men by the thousand
and q lu1aUS come hack fresh s