(Continued from page 5)
45 of them at Hsuchowfu itself, and some of his divisions began moving west, At 330 pr. on Ma Japanese "dare-to-die" unit, coi ing of volunteers, r ched the Lunghai Railway east of succeeded in blowing thus halting the evacuation of the Chinese by rail, "I believe," Col, Takahashi said, "that the success of the Japanese in cutting the railway was an act of God in retribution for Gen.
Chiang Kai-shek's action in moving his own troops, and leaving provincial soldiers to bear the brunt of the Japanese attack."
Gen, Chiang he continued, was concentrating all forces available at Kweiteh, on the Lunghai Railway, Five or six divisions were assembled there. Gen, Chiang ordered the Chinese troops in the Hsuchowfu area to seek an opening and flee westward, He had also instructed the Chinese troops at Kweiteh to attack the Japanese rear, but this had been ineffective owing to lack of strength, Col Takahashi said that General Li Tsung-jen, Commander-in-chief of fu was, from a military and political standpoint, of great importance te both Chinese and Japanese, and he considered it only natural' for the Japanese to have wanted to effec 1 junction there.
In a few years, if one were to turn the pages back and consider the large of Chinese troops trapped a: he Japanese manœuvre, s would reveal em selves as unprecedented in history, and would remain one of the greatest achievements in the annals of warfare.
During the Battle of Mukden it 1905, Maj.-Gen. Kawabe went on, the Japanese troops attempted to encircle the Russians, but the circle was only half completed. The encircling movement in which Hannibal overwhelmed the Romans at Cannaex in 216 B. C. amained one of the greatest and best exploits in history, but it-was lid's play compared with Hsuchow-The Battle of Tannenberg wit-one of the greatest victories ever achieved, but this, in comparison with Hsuchowfu, was "a mere dot."
"The Battle of Hsuchowfu," Gen. Kawabe concluded, "was an important step, but it was only a step. We ave succeeded in making this step ud now we are prepared for the next one."—Reuter. the Chinese forces on the Tient:
Pukow Railway, was "so while General nder-in-chief of the Central forces on the Lunghai Railway, had fled "to Kweiteh or elsewhere,"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.