The Washington times., 1938-01-28

lGuRlu VI Il6 O,OOO-lu41C
pleted two-third of a secon,
Baikal.
Sixteen days of travel on the
Transsiberian, from VladivoS-
along the whole war front"
through Irkutsk and to Moscow
and beyond, we're an impressive
lesson in magnitude and signifi-
canoe of this Soviet achieve
ment. Possession of a japanese
military map Of the Soviet Far
East. with sketch of the new
strategic Transsib, was equally
instructive.
1000 MILES OF LINE
These 1000 miles or more Of
new railway are of such i'm
portance that they mean some
thing even to the inhabitants
Of the worlds safest place, the
American Middle West. These
railways are an important fac
tor in the great question Of pos
sible war in the Far East.
The Japanese military map Of
the second TranSsib is, so far as
my information goes, the first
attempt to sketch a railway
which the Soviet military au-
thorities have tried to keep as
secret as possible. It shows the
new railway branching off from
the told Transsib at a point near
the town of Taishet about 400
miles west of Lake BaikaI, and
200 miles east Of Krasnoyarsk.
From Taishet the line runs
due east, skirting the northern
shore of Lake Baikal, which is
its maximum distance, about
300 miles, worth of old Trans
Sib. Then it runs on east for
about 600 miles, where it be-
gins to curve southeast, reach.
old TranSsib at a point only
about so miles north of the big
bend in the Amur River, whence
1t proceeds in a relatively
straight line to it's presumptiye
terminus at the tiny port on the
Gulf of Tartary called on some
maps Mogokto and on others
Sovyetskaya, about 600 miles
north of VladiVoStock,
TWO-THIRDS FINISHED
It's entire length is 1900 to
1000 miles, depending upon the
length of the detours around
natural obstacles. It is to be
connected with several branches
to the old Transsib, including a
principal branch connecting
with the important military base
at Blagoveschchensk on the
Amur.
AS far as I could learn it has
been finished about two-thirds
Of the way, and should be COM
pleted by 1910. Its principal
military function, however, al.
ready has been established. This
is to provide continued COM
munication between the Far
Eastern Red army and western
Russia even if the Japanese
were to accomplish their major
design Of cutting the old Trans
Eib near Lake Baikal.
MILITARY IMPORTANCE
How important this would be
for the Soviet forces may be eS-
timated by measuring on the
map the distance between Lake
,Baikal and Japan on the one
hand and the Ural Mountains
on the other hand. The Japa-
nese, coming up through Chahar
or Inner Mongolia and crossing
Outer Mongolia, would, if they
succeeded, be about 1900 miles
away from home. The Far East
ern red army, if it had to re-
treat to the north of Lake Bal.
kal, would still be about the
same distance, 1890 miles away
from the vast military and in
dustrial Soviet centers in the
UralS. At the same time the va
fious units of the Far Eastern
red army from Lake Baikal to
Vladivostock would continue to
remain in communication.
Thus the Japanese, If they
maintain their ambition to fight
the war at Baikal, will have
failed to gain their principal OBJ
jective, namely, the isolation of
the Far Eastern red army from
western Russia, If they merely
cut the old TranSsib. At the
same time they will be called
upon to maintain lines Of com,
munication just as long as those
Of their enemy.
WORK BY CONVICTS
Besides the new railway, how
- NAI IaAv