Last Gap
TIME Monday, Oct. 23, 1944
Only the 60-mile gap around Kweilin stood between the Japs and their immediate strategic objectives in />/>China/>/>/>—a continuous 2,000-mile front and communications system from Siberia to the />/>South China Sea/>/>/>. Chungking, desperately hoping to make />/>Kweilin/>/>/> the Stalingrad of Free China, worked mightily to stave off disaster.
The city's commander, General Pai Chung-hsi, one of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted aides, was receiving />/>/>/>China/>/>/>/>/>/>'s pitiful best in reinforcements, arms and food. />/>Kweilin/>/>/> and its strange hills, like inverted ice cream cones, began to bristle with improvised defenses: coolies dug broad trenches in the city's streets and vacant lots. The stage was set for the biggest, most fateful battle since Hankow in 1938.
Sources: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932467,00.html
