Evening star., 1944-07-06

will begin to appreciate the spirit
which Is behind China's seven year
resistance.
After seven years, it remains true
that the enemy's blitskrieg tactic
Of knocking out China at one blow
have failed. China Is winning the
war as long a. she u holding out
and maintaining her resistance. Be-
fore the United States came into the
war against the Axis, many coun-
tries had given way to the Axis
Bhtzkrieg tactics. China alone, in
the Far East, was able to Withstand
the onrush and lay the groundwork
of time and space for the coming
Allied armies.
Putting into this struggle her
whole might and main, China has
during these seven years met her
foe in no less than 81 ma jor bat
ties, 90l important engagements
and 1886 minor battles. As to
guerrilla warfare, 1t has been 60
ing on every day in the areas be-
hind the enemy's various fronts.
The number of encounters to date
Is estimated to be 1880.
Jap Losses Tremendous.
In the course Of seven years in
vasion Japan has lost a total of
2, 2,769, 800 in casualties in the China
war theater. There has been a
total Of 29h Japanese divisions
regularly tied down in China, in
volving about 1000, 900 Of the enc
my's armed forces. Recently, eight
more divisions Of the japanese
Kwantung Army have been shifted
south from the occupied northeast
ern provinces (Manchuria) It may
be mentioned that the Japanese
Army is composed altogether Of
little more than 100 divisions. OF
this number, % divisions are en-
gagged IN Pacific territories; II in
1ndo-China, Thailand and Burma;
IA In Japan and Korea and IA In
China's northeast.
The recent transfer Of the crack
japanese Kwantung troops which
were thrown into strong offensive
against China was designed to
establish overland trafic from
Korea, through China, down to
Japanese-occupied Southwest Pa
ciflc. This step was taken SO that,
when the Japanese Navy begins to
weaken, Japan could still keep her
Southwest Pacific island footholds
supplied, hold tight to her chain Of
bases from the Southwest Pacific
islands to the Philippines and BONN
Island. preserve her main army air
strength in continental East China
and on her home islands and meet
the Allies in final showdown
battle. Whoever emerges victorious,
the end of the war will thus be long
postponed.
On the other hand, the Allies
could beat the enemy to his scheme
and make landing on the China
coast. II and when that is done, 1t
will be possible to establish large
and strongly built air bases near to
Japan proper and carry out large
scale air offensives against the
enemy. When first the japanese
naval and air strength, and then
her industrial strength are broken,
the way to destroying Japan will
be shorter and the sacrifices entailed
lessened.
Chinese Using Final Strength.
AT the moment. as China is reach
ing down for her last drop of
strength after seven years of strug-
CLING against all odds, the japanese
are reinforcing their main strength
In China with fresh troops in a |
vigorous assault down the Peiping-
Hankow and Hankow-Cant rail-
ways. Should Japan knock out
China before Germany is beaten.
then she would be able to maintain
stranglehold on the China conti-
nent and render the Allied lob
doubly difficult in the coming DAYS.
So, whether it is to relieve the.
present critical situation in China
or in consideration Of vital Allied
strategy itself, we should support
the proposal of Admiral Chester w.
Nimitz and effect an early Allied
landing on the China coast. The
longer it is delayed, the stronger
becomes Japan's hold on the main
land. 1t is unthinksble that the
enemy should be allowed to con-
summate his scheme and perpetuate
the horrors Of war for an indefinite
period.
Distributed by the North American