Communist Victories

Chaos flung engulfing wings over China last week. In their shadow Anarchy gibbered. The Chinese Communist tide, welling upward from Canton (TIME, Sept. 6), gained undisputed headway at last. During the week the one hundred million Chinese who dwell in the Yangtze River valley found themselves in the power of the Cantonese Communist Super-Tuchun Chang Kaishek. The Great Powers, anxious, perturbed, despatched a total of 40 warships up the Yangtze to protect their nationals.

War lords linked with the development of this extraordinary situation :

Super-Tuchun Wu Pei-fu, until recently "War lord of Central China," long a potent bulwark against Communism, found his forces crumbling and his officers deserting by dozens last week as he retreated from Hankow, his one-time stronghold on the Yangtze, to Chengchow in northern Honan Province.

Super-Tuchun Sun Chuan-feng, "War lord of Shanghai," appeared to have gone to Wu's aid too late (TIME, Sept. 20) and was experiencing difficulty last week in holding against the Communists one of his military strongholds, Nanchang, only 400 miles from Shanghai.

Super-Tuchun Chang Tso-lin, "War lord of Manchuria and Peking," sent re-enforcements to Wu somewhat half-heartedly last week, but concentrated upon improving the defenses of Peking. He feared:

1) That Central China might go over to the Cantonese who would then doubtless press their advantage northward and seize Peking.

2) That the armies of Super-Tuchun Feng Yu-hsiang, formerly "War lord of Peking," might swarm down again upon that city from Mongolia, whither they were driven during the summer by "Chang and Wu (TIME, June. 14).

Super-Tuchun Chang Kaishek, the victorious Cantonese war lord, spent the week in directing successful campaigns against Wu and Sun and in strengthening his position at Hankow.

Wuchang, a rich and potent city just across the river from Hankow, held out against Chang last week, though the siege which he laid to it reduced the inhabitants (including 21 U. S. citizens) to a state bordering on famine.

The Cantonese Chang puffed his vast and sudden conquests last week to extravagant and imaginary proportions in a communique:

"One half of the Chinese Republic is now controlled by our Communal armies which are supreme in the provinces of Kwantung, Kwangsi, Kweichow, Hunan, Szechwan, Hupeh and Kansu, with part control of Honan and Shensi provinces."

On the Yangtze. The 40 foreign warships patroling the Yangtze River last week were subjected to incessant and haphazard fire from the embattled Chinese soldiery. The U. S. gunboat Pigeon was hit by some hundreds of Chinese rifle and machine gun bullets and the three U. S. sailors were slightly wounded. The French gunboat Baliny was likewise fired upon, as were numerous British destroyers and merchant craft, but no casualties were reported.

Above the Yangtze Rapids, at Wanhsien, a British river gunboat expedition penetrated in sufficient force to intimidate the local dictator, General Yang Sen, who was prevailed upon to release two British river steamers recently seized by his men.