ly the operations of the Japanese troops in Shantung
during the present Far Eastern war one must be acquainted with the
topography of this peninsula, as well as with the conditions that exist
for the successful movements of the troops.

Since the disembarkation of the Japanese Army on Sept. 2 everything has
seemingly favored the Germans. The country, which is unusually
mountainous, offering natural strongholds for resisting the invading
army, is practically devoid of roads in the hinterland. To add to this
difficulty, the last two months in Shantung have seen heavy rains and
floods which have really aided in holding off the ultimate fall of
Kiao-Chau.

One had only to see the road from Lanschan over Makung Pass, on which
the Japanese troops were forced to rely for their supplies, partly to
understand the reason for the German garrison at Tsing-tau still holding
out. The road, especially near the base, is nothing but a sea of clay in
which the military carts sink up to their hubs. Frequent rains every
week keep the roadway softened up and thus render it necessary for the
Japanese infantry to rebuild it and to construct drainage ditches in
order that there may be no delay in getting supplies and ammunition to
the troops at the front.

The physical characteristics of Kiao-Chau make it an ideal fortress. The
entrance of the bay is nearly two miles wide and is commanded by hills
rising 600 feet directly in the rear of Tsing-tau. The ring of hills
that surrounds the city does not extend back into the hinterland, and
thus there is no screen behind which the Japanese forces can quickly
invest the city. Germany has utilized the semicircle of hills in the
construction of large concrete forts equipped with Krupp guns of 14 and
16 inch calibre, which, for four or five miles back into the peninsula,
command all approaches to the city.

The Japanese Army in approaching Tsing-tau has had to do so practically
in the open. The troops found no hills behind which they could with
safety mount heavy siege guns without detection by the German garrison.
In fact, the strategic plan for the capture of the town has been much
like the plan adopted by the Japanese forces at Port Arthur--they have
forced their approach by sappings. While this is a gradual method, it is
certain of victory in the end and results in very little loss of life.

The natural elevations of the Iltis, Bismarck, and Moltke forts at the
rear of Tsing-tau have another adv