THE SITUATION IN CHINA
I
RESULTS OF THE MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE 12 MONTHS FOLLOWING THE FALL OF HANKOW
BUREAU OF INFORMATION, WAR DEPARTMENT
The Japanese expeditionary forces in North, Central and South China have achieved remarkable successes in cleaning up remnants of the Chinese troops and guerillas and maintaining peace and order along a fighting line extending over 4,000 kilometres, since the time of the capture in October, 1938, of the three Wuhan cities of Hankow, Wuchang and Hanyang. On December 28, 1939, the Army section of the General Headquarters gave out a communique reviewing the results of the major campaigns in the year following the fall of Hankow.
This may be summarized in the table below:
| Campaign | Number of Chinese troops engaged | Enemy Losses in Men: Killed | Enemy Losses in Men: Wounded | Enemy Losses in War Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hainan | 1,000 | 230 | 300 | 2 heavy and 2 light machine-guns, 56 rifles, 4 motor trucks, 3 24-cm. and 1 15-cm. guns. |
| Anlu (Hupeh Province) | 10 divisions | 1,750 | 85 | |
| Haichow (Kiangsu Province) | 7 divisions | 6,117 | 1,630 rifles, 30 light machine-guns, 6 field guns, 3 trench mortars, 18 trucks. | |
| Nanchang | 20 divisions | 12,300 | 2,870 | 37 trench mortars, 800 horses, 13 trucks, 2,150 rifles, 47 field and mountain-guns. |
| North Hopei | 29 divisions | 17,500 | 1,607 | 2,644 rifles, 1 mountain-gun, 15 trench mortars, 18 heavy and 129 light machine-guns. |
| Swatow | 2,000 | 660 | 107 | 363 rifles, 3 light machine-guns, 1 trench mortar, 15 goods wagons, 1 motor truck. |
| Luan (Shansi Province) | 136,000 | 12,700 | 990 | 2 mountain-guns, 4 trench mortars, 7 heavy and 34 light machine-guns, 1,534 rifles. |
| Arms supply route from Hongkong | 1,000 | 100 | 15 | 8 goods wagons. |
| North Hunan | 400,000 | 38,400 | 3,700 | 4,310 rifles, 6 mountain and 1 rapid-firing gun, 13 trench mortars, 50 heavy and 240 light machine-guns. |
| Chunghanhsien (Kwantung Province) | 2,800 | 259 | 10 | 232 rifles, 1 light machine-gun, 7 trucks, 12 native-made guns. |
In the meantime, Chiang Kai-shek launched the so-called April, July and September offensives against our positions with the dual purpose of stimulating Chinese morale and demonstrating to the pro-Chiang foreign Powers that his armies still possessed good fighting spirit and ability. The offensives, however, were no more than large-scale guerilla warfare, and collapsed before vigorous Japanese counter-attacks.
In those three offensives, we engaged Chinese troops numerically 1,114,300 strong. They lost 94,358 dead in addition to 6,704 prisoners. Japanese booty included 7 mountain-guns, 553 native-made guns, 61 mortars, 1 rapid-firer, 37 trench-mortars, 120 heavy machine-guns 322 light machine-guns and 12,148 rifles.
From the beginning of the China affair, the Chinese forces have suffered casualties as follows:
(Investigated in December, 1939)
| Period | Dead left on the field |
|---|---|
| July, 1937 to November, 1938 | 823,296 |
| December, 1938 to April, 1939 | 113,049 |
| May, 1939 to November, 1939 | 282,117 |
| Total | 1,218,462* |
\* N.B. A conservative estimate of all losses of Chinese effectives places the number at about 3,000,000.
BOOTY TAKEN BY JAPANESE FORCES BETWEEN JULY, 1937 AND NOVEMBER, 1939
| Items | Number |
|---|---|
| Heavy, field, cavalry and mountain guns | 1,293 |
| Native-made guns | 2,785 |
| Trench-mortars | 1,425 |
| Rapid-firers | 223 |
| Anti-aircraft guns | 99 |
| Heavy machine-guns | 3,645 |
| Light machine-guns | 9,818 |
| Rifles | 266,721 |
| Tanks, armoured cars, motor-cars and motor-trucks | 692 |
| Armoured trains, locomotives, goods wagons and passenger carriages | 2,331 |
| War & other vessels engaged in military operations | 185 |
N.B. Only the major items are listed above. There were besides enormous quantities of ammunition, clothing and other war material.
The Japanese expeditionary forces in North, Central and South China suffered some 27,000 killed up to November, 1939.
Activities of the Military Air Force
A communique, issued on December 29, 1939, by the Army Section of General Headquarters gives the following information on the activities of the military air force:
(1) Our air force shot down 330 Chinese planes and destroyed another 160 on the ground since the outbreak of the China affair.
In the latter half of 1939, the Japanese military raiders have practically gone unchallenged by the enemy.
No official information was available up to time of going to press as to the results of the joint attacks by the Army and Navy air forces on Lanchow, capital of Kansu Province, on December 26, 27 and 28, 1939.
(2) In the Nomonhan incident, the Japanese military air force brought down 1,340 Soviet planes and destroyed another 520 on the ground.
(3) The Japanese military air force has lost 188 planes since the beginning of the China affair.
II
ACTIVITIES OF THE IMPERIAL NAVAL AIR FORCE
PUBLICITY BUREAU, NAVY DEPARTMENT
With the China affair entering its fourth year, the three arms of the Japanese forces, land, sea and air, are making further advance in China.
The Japanese Naval Air Force, on New Year's Day, conducted large-scale operations against the Chinese troops and military establishments, bombing Nanking, capital of Kwangsi Province and the south bank of the Yangtze River. A row of Chinese military depots was destroyed.
On January 2, Central Hunan Province was visited by naval air-units under Lieutenant-Commander Awano, which raided Paoking (Shaoyang) repeatedly, and Hengyang, destroying the air bases. The Chinese offered no resistance to these aerial attacks.
The same morning, another flight led by Lieutenant-Commander Shimada, visited Southern Hunan Province and accounted for a number of enemy planes.
In North China, our naval air-units on January 2 visited Chingchihchen, west of Kaomi, along the Shantung Railway, and Siangchow-chen, on the Wei River, acting in concert with the landing party. On January 3 and 7, sustained attacks were made on several enemy bases in Shantung Province.
A surprise attack on Kweilin, capital of Kwangsi Province, was delivered on January 10 and 23 Chinese planes destroyed.
An aerial battle with some 40 Chinese planes took place over Liuchow, after which the air-field at Kweilin was again bombed and nine planes burned.
In South China, the Japanese military and naval forces, in close co-operation, achieved remarkable results ever since the campaign near Pakhoi was opened. Enemy concentrations were attacked and the cutting of the Yunnan Railway, route of the arms supply to the Chungking Government from French Indo-China, became the main objective. Kweilin, Liuchow, Mengtze and other enemy bases likewise received the attention of our airmen.
In this campaign, our naval air force accounted for no less than 55 Chinese planes between December 22 and January 10, thus nullifying the efforts of the Chungking Government to reorganize their air force with Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, and Mengtze, to the southeast and a strategic point on the Yunnan Railway, as bases. This reorganization had been ordered by Chiang Kai-shek as part of that "winter offensive" which collapsed before our vigorous counter-attacks.