CO129-502-7 China- general situation 4-3-1927 - 26-4-1927 — Page 108

to get rud

119

He

ill-effects on the imposing of sanctions which would

result from delay. He warned the Cabinet that a delay

of, say, a month, would give the Cantonese troops such

opportunities to strengthentheir position that the

proposals in the Report of the Committee of Chiefs of

Staff (Paper C.P.115(27)) might become impracticable.

considered that, in order to give the operations a

reasonable prospect of success, they ought to take place

within a maximum of ten days from the present time. In

regard to recommendation (f) in the Summary of

Conclusions and Recommendations (Paper C.P.115(27)) in

favour of the immediate withdrawal of all British nationals

from the whole of the Yangtse, Lord Beatty suggested that

if it was necessary (as the Secretary of State for Foreign

Affairs had intimated) to retain a nucleus of officials

and traders, the last remnant might be brought down in

men-of-war.

The Chief of the Imperial General Staff handed round

a map showing the present position of the various Chinese

forces, but emphasised that the war in China was conducted

less by fighting than by bribery and propaganda. He

stated that the maintenance of a line of communications

from the coast via Tientsin to Peking required forces far

larger than could possibly be sent from this country.

Even to maintain communications between the sea and

Tientsin