Japan's Offensive Last week Japan's great offensive on the Lunghai
railway appeared to have been held ; but it has been continued with renewed momentum, and the Chinese, after fighting severer than any that has yet been seen in the war, are facing overwhelming defeat. The railway has been cut at several points, the Japanese are reported to be within ten miles of the vital railway junction of Suchow, and 4o Chinese divisions are caught between the Japanese armies advancing from north and south. Their only hope of escape appears to be that the Japanese may be too exhausted to follow up their success. If Suchow falls, yet another phase of the war will be over, and the Japanese may concentrate on securing their precarious hold on their conquered territories and face the difficult task of setting up an effective Govern- ment. China, however, was prepared for the loss of the campaign for the railway, and her defeat will not, it is believed, alter her determination to resist. She has already forced Japan to fight one of the greatest battles in her history, and the war has developed on a scale which exceeds anything contemplated by Japan in opening hostilities.
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