Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-16
BEHIND
THE NEWS
BY Paul
MaIIon

WASHINGTON, May 10. -
w This so-called vital rail-
road" the Chinese have lost has
no rails.
The widely advertised link
ing of the Jap armies of north
and central China" cannot be OF
much material value 10 the
enemy unless II can sacrifice It's
Scarcest home product. steel, to
lay the rails in coming months.
Meanwhile. portions OF the
right of way from Peiping 10
Hankow can be used for carts,
yet il seems apparent the %
day operations leading up TO
the seizure of the railroads may
have been given something OF
a Tokyo rating here. Further
more, the laps already had an
other inland rail connection
from Peiping to Marking be-
fore their campaign.
TNHE Jap drive from the rail
Il point of Cheng westward to
Loyang con some maps Ho-
nanfu) is something else again.
The enemy has brought in a
few more divisions from north
ern China none from as far
north as the guarded Russian
front. however, and exhibited
a striking power which is being
called their greatest offensive
operation since the 1888 cam
paign which conquered central
China.
For the past two years the
Japs have moved forward like
this in offensives which were
called campaigns in their early
stages. Then they struck on
the YangtZe River line directly
toward the Chinese capital at
Chungking, centering their
operations generally around
Ichang and Tung Ting Lake
area.
IN THE end, these have always
l. turned out TO be foraging eX-
petitions or exercises for the
army. sort of maneuvers in COM
bat. The Japs never once tried
TO force the steep gorges of the
Yangtze or brought forward the
boats necessary to force through
them.
This new Loyang drive is
headed up a valley which also
leads TO Chungking by a cir
cuitous route. 1t winds around
mountains and arrives at the
backdoor of the Chinese capital.
Some military authorities be-
lieNe this longest route is the
easiest. and they suspect the
Japs now of having this major
ambition.
pUT the known size of the
- concentration of the Jap
forces thus far does not con-
firm their notion. The Japs still
have one-third of their army in
south China, one-third in Man
churia and north China, and
one-third elsewhere Homeland.
south Pacific. etc.. Further
more, the Chinese are putting
up a real show Of resistance
this time with aid from the
American and Chinese air forces.
China is still a pillow. If the
JapS strike at one point, the
Chinese merely retreat to an
other without conclusive conse-
quences. The Japs may move
up the Loyang valley, or may
strike southwark for more of
the railroad below Hankow, but
the war in the Far East seems
in little danger of decisive con-
sequences on these fronts.
THE Nazis had an idea of
L what was coming TO them in
our Italian offensive. This is
indicated by two steps they took
in advance.
Ten TO Is miles behind their
Gustave line. they quietly con-
structed new defensive positions
across the Italian boot from sea
TO sea, and called it the Hitler
line" Their use of that name
carried sinister implications of
its strength-also its last ditch
nature.
This is the first time in this
war the name of der fuehrer
has been given to defensive
position land then II had TO be
in the rear).
Also about three days before
our forces broke upon them. the
Nazis withdrew from a good
defensive position on a 1000
foot high plateau about in the
center of the Gustav line 10 a
better defensive position slightly
behind it. This obviously was
in preparation for attack. and
TO enable the few troops they
had on that particular part of
the front to put up a SITTER
resistance
No doubt they had observed
our formidable concentrations
of power which can not be con-
cealed from wary enemy. The
authorities here considered this
power sufficient for their pur-
poses, but expected long.
hard. stubborn fight and this
time offered no iump-off
propheSy of the outcome.
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