Evening star., 1938-10-07
JAPANESE REACH
VITAL RAIL LINE
CavaIrymen Raid LiuIing,
81 Miles From Capital
on Peiping Line.
BACKGROUND

OAS
japanese haze becp trying to
reach H1nkoD since last spring,
but YelloD Riper floods forced re-
treat from campaign against
ChengchoU and main dripe iods
concentrated along Yangtze Riuer.
Other columns started cross -coun-
try march to reach Peiping- Han
koD Railwdy, Which it is hoped to
tolloD In neD attack on Hdnko0
from the north.
- the Associated Press.
SHANGHAI, Oct. 7.-Japanese
forces reached q railway route to the
military heart of China today and
reported a series Of gains at far dis
tant points Of the sprawling Chinese
battle-ground. ---.t.,.--.
Chinese admitted the Japanese cav
alrymen had fought their way to the
Peiping- Hankow Railway that leads
to the nations military capital, Han
kow, eliminating q 200-mile cross
country detour drive that started four
months ago.
Japanese advancing up the Yangtze
River occupied Kichun, so miles down.
stream from Hankow, and, far to the
north, four japanese columns were
converging on the mountain strong
hold of the 9th Army, elusive legions
Of the Chu Teh, Chinese Red Napoleon.
Town on Railway Is Raided.
The main japanese cross country
force, Chinese said, still was con-
siderable distance from the railway.
The cavalry detachment was admitted
to have raided Liuling, 90 miles north
Of Hankow, and Japanese asserted the
railway had been severed
The invaders reached Liuling after
weeks Of heavy fighting westward
through Anhwsi and Honan Prov
inces. For the past IA days the op-
posing armies at times had struggled
knee deep in mud during almost con-
tinuous rains
When weather permitted, japanese
used their superiority in aviation and
artillery to blast a path for troops
advancing against seemingly unending
waves of reinforcements from Central
China's vast reservoir of manpower.
Japanese were forced to start the
cross country drive against. the vital
railway line when Yellow River floods
the first week in June halted the
invaders thrust against Chengchow,
railway junction point 800 miles north
of Hankow
Then they had been within sight
of Chengchow, goal of spring fighting
in a campaign to open a railway
route to Hankow from Peiping, cap
tured in the first month of the war
fare which started July Z, 1887.
The cross-country column started
from Hofei, in Central Anhwei prov
ince, and. the Yangtze River column,
after capture July 26 of Kiukiang,
145 miles downstream from Hankow,
began a difficult drive up the hill-lined
valley.
From their newly-won position at
Kitchun, Japanese faced great obst-
cles in the Yangtze campaign. Chin
ese have established strong defense
positions in the hills and are prepared
to make the invaders pay heavy
price if they determined to reach
Hankow by the river route.
Drive From North Likely.
Concentration on the railway ap-
proach to Hankow from the north
was considered more likely.
The campaign against the Com
munist 9Th Army, which long has
harassed japanese North China garri-
sons, was described as the largest
encircling operation yet attempted.
The four japanese columns engaged
in the operation were driving toward
the Wutai Mountains, of Northeastern
Shansi Province, in the northermost
fighting of the war.