Navy's Turn

The Japanese Army, definitely balked in its advance along the Lunghai Railway by the muddy floodwaters of the Yellow River, last week saw its campaign to capture Hankow, operating headquarters of Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Government, temporarily taken over by the Navy.

Japanese gunboats, based at Anking on the Yangtze, moved up the broad stream, blasted their way past Chinese batteries on the banks. Japanese landing parties, aided by the Navy's guns, inched their way westward along the shores. At week's end the naval drive had reached a point below Matang, 250 miles away from Hankow, where the Chinese have blocked the river with timbers, sunken junks and hunks of concrete. Eleven other barriers straddle the river between Kinkiang and Hankow. This week, Japanese mine sweepers, gingerly nosing up to the boom, were driven off by Chinese big guns at the Matang fort, and Chinese General Chang Fah-kwei, entrusted last week by the Generalissimo to defend Hankow against a Yangtze assault, breathed easier as the rain-swollen river itself came to his aid, spilled over and drove several Japanese landing parties back to the boats.

Observers guessed that the naval drive up the river would remain feeble simply because the Army was loath to support it. Japanese Army commanders have no desire to shift their operations from the rail lines, roadways and comparatively solid soil of north central China to the rail-less, roadless, boggy footpath country of the upper Yangtze Valley just to aid the Navy to a victory. More likely the Army will settle down in its present position, hold its drive on Hankow until the floodwaters seep into the ground.

At home last week, Japan pulled her belt in another notch, prepared for further strain., Additional sections of the National Mobilization act, which places the nation on war footing, were invoked, to ration war essentials, curtail imports except war materials, control commodity prices. New War Minister Seishiro Itagaki gloomily admitted: "The war will continue a long time. Chiang Kai-shek may attempt to continue hostilities throughout his lifetime and as long as Chiang continues, Japan must continue. Consequently, it is necessary that the Japanese resolve to continue fighting at least ten years." The Imperial Council will meet soon for the sixth time in the nation's history, and for the second time this year, to determine Japan's future course in China.

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