Hankow, Mar. 15.
The Japanese forces in the Shansi -campaign have failed to accomplish their objective in annihilating the Chinese forces in the province or driving them into Shensi and Honan, oh the west and south banks of the Yellow River, because their officers have under-estimated the fighting strength of the Chinese.
This opinion was expressed here yesterday by General Hsu Pei-keng, Chief of the Intelligence Department 6t the Generalissimo's Headquarters and formerly Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese air force, in an interview with pressmen.
Analyzing the military situation with elaborate war maps showing the positions as well as strengths of the Chinese and Japanese forces operating at present in the provinces of Shansi, Suiyuan, Honan, Shantung, Kiangsu, Anhwei and Chekiang, General Hsu, who received his military training in Germany, explained that the Japanese were employing altogether twelve division in their North China campaign, These comprised three divisions i Shansi, three divisions on the Peiping-Hankow Railway, three and a half divisions in Shantung, and two and a half divisions in Suiyuan.
In addition, the Japanese, General Hsu continued, were employing three divisions on the southern section of ihe Tientsin-Pukow Railway front and six divisions in Shanghai, Nanking, Wuhu and the Hangchow area.
The Japanese drive in Shansi, he said, was aimed at driving the Chinese forces away from Shansi in order to enable the Japanese troops on the Peiping-Hankow Railway to push southward towards Chengchow and, possibly, Hankow.
To support the drive in Shansi, three Japanese divisions on the Peiping-Hankow Railway had moved westward into southern Shansi
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.