Hankow, Mar. 15.
'The Japanese forees in' the Shansi campaign have failed to accomplish their objective in annihilating. the chinese forees in the province oF riving them into Shensi and Honan, fon the west and south banks of the Yellow River, because their affeers 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 fof the Generalissimo's Headquarters and. formerly Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese air force, In' an into view with: pressmen.
Analyzing. the military situation with elaborate war maps showing the positions as well as strengths of the Chinese and Japanese forces operat ing at present in the provinces of Shansi, Suiyuan, Honan, Shantung, Kiangsu, Anhwel_and Chekiang, General Hsu, who received his military training in Germany, explained that the Japanese were employing alto-ether twelve division in their North China campaign.
Thege comprised three divisions in Shansi, three divisions on the Peiping-Hankow Railway, three and a halt divisions in Shantung, and two and @ hal divisions in Suiyuan.
In addition, the Japanese, General Hsu continued, were employing three divisions on the southern section of the lent sin-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 the Peiping-Hunkow Railway to push southward towards Chengchow and, possibly, Hankow.
To support the drive in Shansi, three Japanese divisions on the Pel-ping-Hankow Railway had moved westward Into southern Shansi.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.