Hankow, Mar. 13.
'A new strategic drive to encircle and annihilate the Japanese forces now operating in Shansi has been worked out by General Chiang Kal-Jshek and orders have already been given for it to be put into effect, leamed, The frst part of this plan has been to send reinforcements to the IChinese defenders of the south bank of the Yellow River and to give these defenders orders to hold the Japanese advance into Honan at all At the same time the Chinese forces operating on the Peiping-/Hankow railway have been ordered to advance in two directions: one column to push west into Southern /Shansi where the Japanese investiture is very thin; the other column push up north' along the railway and then veer west to cut the Japanese retreat.
At the same time, Chinese rein-Jforeements have been drafted Into [Shensi to hold the Japanese advance fon that flank and, if possible, push the Japanese back.
The plan to encircle the Japanese is completed by orders that have been sent to the Chinese forces operating inside Shansi to collect in the north of the Province and push Jdown south, The whole movement designed to be completed within jo fortnight, Hankow is optimistic as the success of the new strategy. Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.