Japan Shanghaied

Japan's promised "Big Drive" into China began at Shanghai last week with every modern weapon (except poison gas) including "crawling dragons."

Eighteen hours after the Japanese drive was launched it was 16 hours behind Japanese Lieut.-General Kenkichi Uyeda's carefully planned schedule. Not since Royal Belgium delayed Imperial Germany has an overwhelming onslaught been so spectacularly delayed.

Japanese soldiers, once their advance got completely behind schedule, fought with mounting ferocity which presently became "frightfulness." Neutral white witnesses reported with horror how Chinese civilians were shot down, how Chinese property in the form of houses, barns, hay and grain was ignited by the Japanese.

Such is war, as General Sherman said in 1864, and as Shanghai saw last week. The Japanese commander, General Uyeda, was personally desperate. He knew he might have to commit hara-kiri if his offensive got much further behind schedule, and during the first 18 hours he changed his General Staff Headquarters three times: 1) a Japanese cotton mill; 2) a Chinese cottage; 3) Ti Futan University.

How was the Japanese drive slowed up? Chinese heroism was not enough to stem the onslaught. Royal Belgium held out so long chiefly because her own able fighters had had so much previous assistance from the French General Staff. Last week "Three Germans" (men of a certain mystery but all experienced veterans of the World War) were said to be assisting the Chinese defenders of Shanghai.*

Thus last week three of Japan's 20 "crawling dragons," tanks of formidable power, were wrecked as they advanced, merely by treading upon Chinese land mines. That way of crippling a "crawling dragon" the Chinese may have thought up themselves, or they may have been told by the "Three Germans."

Battles. What Japan had set out to conquer was the Woosung Forts 16 miles from Shanghai; the Chinese district in Shanghai called Chapei; and the land between Shanghai and Woosung. Most spectacular feature of this intermediate terrain last week was Shanghai's $1,000,000 race course. It adjoined the town and railway station of Kiangwan.

Around two sides of the terrain bends the Whangpoo River, thus putting much of the theatre of warfare at the mercy of Japanese fleet guns. Japan also possessed command of the air. Her land artillery was superior to the Chinese. Therefore, General Uyeda was not, from the Japanese standpoint, unduly optimistic when he planned to complete his entire drive within 18 hours. The drive was timed to begin on Japanese election day (see p. 22) and Premier Inukai of Japan assumed that in such circumstances his Seiyukai Party could not fail to win the Japanese Election.

General Uyeda at 7:30 a. m. launched his military attack, striking straight for the race course, and expecting to occupy Kiangwan (just beyond) within two hours. Advancing in skirmish formation, the Japanese soldiers prudently took cover behind each tree or hummock before advancing to the next, and ahead of them a Japanese barrage of overwhelming power advanced, blowing the Chinese out of their trenches. Thus there was very little bayonet work.

Meanwhile Japanese war boats were pounding the Woosung Forts which they had pounded for 22 days, and Japanese bombers bombed, while Japanese scout planes gave Japanese gunners on ship and shore the exact range of every Chinese position they could see--and they had command of the air. Within one hour the victorious Japanese troops had taken their first major objective, Kiangwan.

Chinese batteries (concealed with German cunning) now completely surprised the Japanese by opening fire, and the invaders were driven out of Kiangwan. They were driven out twice more during the forenoon. They were driven out again in the afternoon.

It was steel against steel, gun against gun--but it was not plane against plane. Japanese command of the air grew increasingly important as bombardments and bombings raged all up and down the 16 miles between Woosung and Shanghai. Long before dusk Shanghai's $1,000,000 race course with its ornate grandstands had been all but wiped from the map.

Killed? It was announced that nine Japanese had been killed. The Chinese or perhaps the "Three Germans" announced: one, that they did not propose to announce the Chinese casualties; two, that hundreds if not thousands of Japanese had most certainly been killed. A gruesome story, doubtless imagined, spread that Japanese corpses were being cremated secretly in batches on an island not far away and the ashes dispersed. Later Japan officially admitted 300 Japanese killed. China remained officially mum.

Poet and Hooker. The Chinese Commander-in-Chief Tsai Ting-kai, "The Poet Warrior," made friendly representations to Col. R. S. Hooker, commanding the U. S. Marines. The extremely cultured Chinese commander, who always carries at least two books of poems with him, mildly suggested to Col. Hooker that certain Japanese irregularities were occurring in the U. S. sector.

A man of action, Col. Hooker did not restrain himself or his Marines. All Shanghai knew that Japanese planes were being guided and Japanese gunfire directed by a group of Japanese, operating with signal lights and arrows affixed to the top of eight Japanese cotton mills in Col. Hooker's territory. The facts by this time were so notorious that the U. S. Marines felt justified in taking stealthy steps.

Suddenly, in the dead of night, Col. Hooker's men entered the eight Japanese mills, seized two truckloads of signaling apparatus and an arsenal of small weapons. To the terrified Japanese in the eight mills the U. S. Marines left enough small arms and ammunition to enable the mills to stand off any possible attacks by Chinese mobs.

Tokyo soon heard that with "undue roughness" U. S. Marines had ransacked eight Japanese mills and entered adjacent Japanese homes in "insulting fashion." Insult: the Marines before entering did not (as Japanese do) remove their shoes. Strong protest was lodged by the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese contention being that a search warrant should have been secured by Col. Hooker from the Japanese Consul General.

Calmly the U. S. Government prepared to meet the Imperial Government's protests as best it could--one of the best ways being to point out that Japanese Marines have ransacked U. S. premises in Shanghai repeatedly, have never found the "Chinese snipers" they claimed to be looking for, and have never asked the U. S. Consul General to issue a warrant. Obviously, from both the Japanese and U. S. points of view, to ask for a warrant is to tip off the Consul General who, if anything really is amiss, will tip off his own countrymen who are on the point of being raided.

More Battles. The Japanese General Staff, having moved for the fourth time, were now in "The Temple of Happy Skies." This they had forcibly entered through a temple gate painted with the Chinese ideographs "World Peace," "Tolerance" and "Kindness."

Japanese troops, again advancing (for the fourth time) upon Kiangwan, were held at bay by concealed nests of Chinese machine gunners. Like a lead pipe whanged against something harder, the Japanese line bent partly around Kiangwan.

A Japanese bombardment of the Chapei district next began, was answered by Chinese field pieces of surprising power. Mounted on a railway car a Chinese eight-inch gun dashed up and down. It scored few hits but barely missed the Japanese flagship and other warboats (some neutral) in the harbor. Zipping up, a lone Chinese airman in a lone U. S. Boeing pursuit plane rashly disputed Japanese mastery of the air, wounded a Japanese ace before he was shot down.

Squatting on top of a watch tower, U. S. Minister to China Nelson T. Johnson watched the terrific show. In London the Government of His Majesty King George announced that plans to evacuate every British subject from Shanghai's International Settlement were ready. A British ship loaded with extra munitions steamed Chinaward. In swank Shanghai hotels the white women were getting scared at last, refused to go to bed, sat in the lobbies hour after hour. To Washington cabled Admiral M. M. Taylor, Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Asiatic Fleet: "The Japanese have been forced to slow down their advance because of stern Chinese opposition."

From Tokyo Count Nobuaki Makino, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, went to Okitsu to visit Prince Kimmochi Saionji, 92, last of the Genro (elder statesmen). It was the second time the wise old oracle had been consulted this month. Because Count Makino is prudent, peaceable, potent, observers deduced that something good, important would come from the visit. But Count Makino said nothing, reminded newshawks that he never gives interviews on trains.

In Shanghai, battles went on. It was force to the uttermost, war to the Death.

*Everyone knows how eagerly China bid for the services of General Ludendorff himself some years ago. That eccentric German genius now prefers to keep a bookstore. But Chinese for years past have hired scores of able Germans.

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