Hankow, Jan capture of Hsuchowfu would give the Japanese command of the Lunghai oilway, militarily Chinese "jugular vein," the Chinese are making preparations to put up a strong resistance there if the Japanese forces come within striking distance ci om the north or south General Li Tsung-jen, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese forces on the Tientsin-Pukow Railway front, has inspected the Chinese defences at Pengpu, the first major objective of panese forces operating on the m section of the railway eneral Chiang Kai-shek, Ca r-in-Chief of China's armed s sent General Chen Tiao-yuan, President of the Military Advisory Council, and General Chang Chi-kiang, formerly a Kuominchun leader under General Feng Yuhsiang, to the Tientsin-Pukow and Lunghai railway fronts to "encour-Chinese forces. military authorities predict that if the Japanese succeed in occupying Hsuchowfu, they will advance westward along the Lunghai railway while the Japanese forces on the Peiping-Hankow railway simul taneously push southward' towards Hankow, the present nerve centre the Chinese Government and the last important inland trading port still in Chinese hands.
The Chinese high command is therefore not only making preparations to defend Hsuchowfu, but is also busily strengthening the Chinese defences on the Peiping-Hankow railway
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.