EARLY BOMBING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 December 1942, Page 2

EARLY BOMBING

OF JAPANESE MAINLAND URGED BY CHINESE OFFICIAL OPPORTUNITY THAT MAY PASS. MOVEMENT OF WAR INDUSTRIES. CHUNGKING, December 17. Air Shao Yu Lin, Director of Information, lias urged the immediate and extensive bombing of Japan, otherwise, he says, it will be too late. If Japan is not bombed within six months a tremendous advantage will be lost and the Pacific war will be prolonged considerably, because Japan is feverishly moving main industries to Manchuria and north China. At present about 80 per cent of Japan’s industries are centred in Tokio, Yokohama and Kobe. A few dozen Fortresses could cripple Japan. The Japanese are acutely aware- of this. A communique says that three Japanese columns driving down from the north occupied the river port of Hosueh in the western Hupeh Province after several days’ heavy fighting. PORTENTS UN BURMA. . The Japanese are continuously concentrating troops, including paratroops, in Burma, declared a Chinese military spokesman. He added that while the west Yunnan front was quiet Chinese observers believe the Japanese intend either to make a new drive toward Yunnan or are preparing for action against India. Burma has now become a great concentration area for the Japanese army. Seasoned units have been sent there from North China recently. Four Japanese transports landed 5000 infantry for Burma at' Haiphony a fortnight ago. Intelligence reports indicate that the Japanese are transferring their air force centre to Bangkok. ' Passenger traffic to Manchuria has been suspended since November. The reason is not known. During the past fortnight Soviet fishery debentures have not been quoted in Japan. All fishery shares and stocks have sharply declined. Ten thousand Nanking puppet troops deserted last week and joined Marshal Chiang Kai-shek’s forces. MORE TROOPS BEING MASSED IN YUNNAN BY JAPANESE. ) BEARING ON THE POSITION IN BURMA. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.0 a.m.) RUGBY, December 18. Although the military situation in the Yunnan Provincce has been stabilised, following upon a Chinese repulse of a Japanese attack northward from Tengyueh, a military spokesman at Chungking yesterday warned that this drive may have been only the prelude to larger-scale Japanese offensive operations in this sector. An unconfirmed report says two more Japanese divisions are on their way to reinforce the considerable Japanese forces already in Yunnan. Opinion in Chungking is that the Japanese strategy in Yunnan is primarily defensive, aimed at forestalling an Allied coun-ter-offensive into’ Burma and at minimising the Chinese threat to their rear in the event of operations on the Assam border.