Ali's+Response

**    There are many factors that contributed to the ultimate success of the Communist Party in 1949. Three of the most significant of these factors can be argued to be the CCP’s internal political success, followed by their internal military success and finally the inadequacies of the Nationalist government at this time. The Communist Party’s political success in capturing the support of not only the peasants though also the middle class from mid-1948 onwards was a vital contributor to the party’s eventual success. The f oundations of the Communist success with the peasants was laid between 1927-1935 during the period the CCP occupied Jiangxi Province. Mao was able to gain the support of the China’s Peasantry due to his policies such as his Land Reform Law of 1947. This law gave the peasants the recognition that the Nationalist government had deprived them of as they had rather promoted their policies towards landowners. This Land Policy endorsed the confiscation of land and property from landlords, the distribution of land amongst the peasants and the cancellation of all debt. Thus, in this way Mao was able to capture the hearts and minds of the peasants, an asset that considerably advantaged the CCP during the civil war as they had a group of loyal supporters, a benefit the GMD lacked. As the CCP had established their moral authority over the peasants of North China through their reforms and political support, Mao was able to mobilise the peasants into militia units during the civil war. These militia units performed such tasks as garrison duties and guarding prisoners. Furthermore, self-defence corps were formed and consisted of peasant men between 16 and 55 who were required to participate and perform valuable work transporting supplies and evacuating the wounded. This constant support from the peasants during the civil, won through the political actions of the CCP was vital in assisting the CCP with their guerrilla tactics as they had spies infiltrated throughout the countryside, forcing GMD troops to feel like “the enemy lurked everywhere”. Furthermore, the CCP was able to gain the political support of the urban middle class and the intellectuals that had become disillusioned with the Nationalist government. During Mao’s May Day Speech of 1948, he proposed the instalment of a Coalition Government where the communists would share power with the non-Communist liberal parties. Most minor parties accepted, thus the CCP also gained the political support of intellectuals who saw this proposed government as a good alternative to the present government. Therefore, the CCP were able to further weaken the political power of the Guomindang. The CCP were able to present a vision of the future that appealed even to the urban classes. Moreover, Mao emphasised the importance of the People, who were his “mighty storm” (as 1.6 million peasants had joined the PLA); this won the CCP the support of the urban middle class along with the patriotic youth of the nation who saw Communism as being their ticket to freedom and independence. Secondly, the Communist Party were very successful militarily, thus also contributing significantly to their eventual success in 1949. Mao’s guerrilla tactics which he had formulated and perfected during the years 1928-29 were instrumental to the CCP’s success. Mao’s tactic of //"The enemy advances, we //**//retreat //**//; the enemy halts, we //**//harass //**//, the enemy tires, we //**//attack //**//; the enemy retreats we //**//pursue //**//" //kept the Nationalist troops "off balance and on the defensive", hence the Communist guerrilla tactics gave the CCP military superiority over the GMD forces. Another factor contributing to CCP military success was Mao’s leadership. Mao promoted unity and trust among the Communist generals, solidifying the common bonds that had been //“set in stone”// during the Long March. This notion is evident as Mao gave CCP generals freedom in the field, as opposed to Nationalist generals who had to follow strict orders delegated by Chiang who often interfered in military strategies and tactics. Mao’s military success can be viewed as a direct result of this environment of trust and unity within the CCP. As the CCP generals were given independence, this produced not only effective military generals though a loyal army, committed to the Communist ideologies. Thus, morale amongst the communist troops was high as troops were aware of the ideals they were fighting for, this being ensured through constant political education. Therefore, Communist troops felt they were on a political mission rather than just fighting a civil war. This is something that the GMD was unable to achieve in their own army which had become disillusioned with war weariness after a long eight year war with Japan which had left them exhausted. Finally, another factor that was significant to the Communist victory was the inadequacies of the Guomindang during this period. A crucial failure of the GMD was that they were unable to capture the hearts and minds of the people, losing the support of even its initial followers, being the urban middle class and the intellectuals who had been enthusiastic towards a new government committed Sun Yat-sen Three Principles. This vital support was lost through many errors made on the behalf of the GMD government. Following the surrender of the Japanese, the obnoxious conduct of Nationalist officials who returned to Japanese occupied areas permanently damaged the Nationalists prestige. They returned as conquerors and treated the people with contempt, as if they were traitors, and took advantage of them. This attitude towards the masses resulted in even non-political Chinese persons to turn towards the Communists who seemed superior in comparison.  Furthermore, inflation also harmed the Nationalist government in the eyes of the people. Inflation spiraled out of control as the government flagrantly increased note issues resulting in prices increasing by 30% per month during 1945-1948. This financial mismanagement //“destroyed the livelihood of hundreds of millions of Chinese and totally discredited the government”// as described by Immanuel Hsu. The savings of the middle class were completely depleted, thus the reaction of the people was deep resentment. People began to wonder whether life would have been better under Japanese rule. Thus, causing many Chinese to become discontented with the Nationalist government, hence increasing the appeal of the CCP.  Therefore, there are many factors that contribute to the ultimate success of the CCP in 1949. The three most significant of these being the political success of the CCP who were able to not only capture the hearts and minds of the peasants though also the urban middle class and the intellectuals. Furthermore, the military success of the CCP was also highly significant as they were able to infuse their army with purpose and spirit, an achievement the Nationalist government was unable to accomplish. Finally, the incompetence of the Nationalist government created an environment which favoured the Communists who seemed a good alternative political force. 
 * Assess**** the reasons for the Communist Victory

// I like how you focused on both the internal and external factors which contributed to the ultimate communist victory. You backed up your argument well with alot of evidence and detail, you also ASSESSED and not just narrated:)// You made a strong argument and it was made stronger by your evidence. You used the "reasons" to make a good assessment as to why the Communists were victorious.