Evening star., 1948-09-27
Reds Follow Capture
.0f Tsinan With Drive
lover Much Of China
By the Assocjoted Press

NANKING. Sept. 27.-Communist
forces followed their Tsinan victory
with a fall offensive over many
thousands Of miles of China today,
seriously threatening the Man
| churian corridor, described in Nam
king as now vital to the whole
world situation"
Military sources said Red forces
had isolated Ihsien. 80 miles north
west of the important air lift base
of Chinhsien, cutting off at least
one government division which faced
annihilation. The Communists were
probing the outer defenses of Chinh-
sien. The air lift from there sup
! plies Mukden.
The General News Agency reported
the air force and navy had joined
in the fight for Chinhsien with the
naval fleet bombarding one Com
munist column moving toward the
city from the southeast along the
coast.
10000 Casualties Reported.
Peiping reports said that govern
ment forces had inflicted more than
10000 casualties on Communists
menancing Chinhsien. Estimates of
casualties are often exaggerated in
China's civil war;
The Peiping dispatches said that
government counterattacks on
Saturday resulted in 5000 Reds killed
or wounded. The dispatches said
national troops threw mechanized
troops and warplanes into the battle.
One report proclaimed IAN entire
Red division was anihilated, wiped
out to man"
Pro-government reports also re-
corded national counterattacks
against Reds menacing Hsingcheng
on the Peiping- Mukden railroad 65
miles inside Manchuria. There were
further reports in Peiping that
counterattackS had been made on
Communist forces 10 miles south of
the Manchurian railtown of Chin
hsi, which commands the port of
Hulatao. Loss of Chinhsi would
completely nullify Hulatao, only sea-
port in Manchuria in the hands OF
the government.
From Suiyuan Province, the gov
ernment announced abandonment
of Liangchen, 10 miles southeast OF
Kweisui, provincial capital. kWel-
suit was girdfng for battle.
Troops Move SOuthwapd.
In North Central China, Hankow
reports indicated Communist Gen.
Liu Po-cheng was moving his vet
eran fighting men southwark in the
area between the Peiping-Hankow
rail line and the Han River in an
attempt to prevent the government
from removing any of its forces de-
Tending the Hankow-I -Ichang region.
President Chang Kai-shek and
Defense Minister Ho Ying-chin, in
Marking, went before the Kuomin-
tang central political conference to
report on the loss of Tsinan.
Informed sources said the Pres
ident expressed deepest regrets"
over the fall of the Shantung capi-
tai while the defense minister told
the group that Tsinan's loss has
no direct connection with the Shan
tung situation as a whole" This
was interpreted to mean the gov
ernment has no hope of attempting
to recapture Tsinan as it did Kai-
fang. the capital of Honan which
the Reds held far few days.
1t appeared the government high
command was fearful of attempting
to recapture TSinan because OF un-
certainty over the future movement
of Communist forces which took
the city Friday. Military leaders
were believed waiting with consid-
cradle anxiety to see whether Red
Gen. Chen vi moves his seasoned
forces northward to threaten Tient-
sin or southwark against Hsuchow.