Said to be Replacements Not Reinforcements Tokyo, Feb, 18.
The Imperial Headquarters to-day announced that fresh troops would be sent to China "in order to meet the new situation,"
The troops, the announcement stated, would be replacement, not reinforcements, Their number and destination were not stated, In this connection, it may be recalled that General Matsui, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Expeditionary Force in Central China, was recently reported to have asked for four additional divisions because of the increasing length of the Japanese lines of communications. Reuter, The Communique Tokyo, Feb. 18.
The communique, issued by the Imperial General Headquarters, read:
"To cope with the long-drawn-out operations to be expected from the new situation in China, and to reinforce fighting strength, it has been decided to effect transfers and readjustments of part of the Japanese forces on the China fronts."—Domel.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.