Dominique's+Response

 The stage had been dressed for battle for quite some time in the knowledge that a war between the Communists and the Nationalists was fast approaching. This Civil War was to seal the fate of China’s future either into the hands of Mao Zedong or Chiang Kaishek and in this conflict; the victor had to do more than simply succeed on the battlefield. The ultimate victory of the Communist campaign against, what could now be seen as the Nationalist campaign of “errors”; was made possible by winning the ‘hearts’ and ‘minds’ of the people, through the use of bullet proof strategies and tactics that signified a clever and capable leadership. The Communist victory was further assisted by the “disunified” and confused Nationalists, whose cause of an economic dilemma on the Home Front produced irreconcilable damage to their now fading plight, which no amount American intervention could conceal. The Communists victory was also aided by the fact that geographically, they were in the right place at the right time. Such a victory is sufficient to prove that //“without the Communist Party, there would have been **no** New China”.//  The scene begins with both Mao and Chiang highlighting their expectations regarding the war. It is these expectations which set the tone for the events that lead, to what can be seen as the inevitable victory of the CCP. The Communists, according to Immanuel Hsu, //“were prepared for a **long** and **hard** campaign”// where Mao //“predicted…that it would take five years to settle accounts with Chiang…”// The Nationalists, on the other hand; had every intention of making the war as short as possible. From this it is obvious that in 1945, both Mao and Chiang had a principle objective: Victory; yet it is the benefit of time that allowed Mao to focus on the spreading of Communism in conjunction with the impending battle. Where Mao was looking to the future of China; Chiang was restricting his focus to winning the Civil War quickly, which forced his army onto the offensive against an enemy who had planned to fight a war of attrition. Chiang’s misjudgement, in regards to the duration of the war; left him in debt with tired troops and predictable tactics that were //“nowhere…equal”// to the spirited Communists.  The foundations of the Communist Party lay in a unified devotion to the cause whereby all members were working towards the same goal: spreading Communism //“from the masses to the masses//”. It was the CCP’s recognition of the peasantry, who made up 70% of the population; that established a firm base on which their revolution could spread to the north of the country. The support of the peasants in the war effort was heightened by the fact that in October 1947, the Land Reform Law was introduced which gave the peasants the opportunity to //“exert control over their own lives”//. Interestingly, it was in 1948, that Mao boasted of the “//1.6 million//” peasants who had joined the People’s Liberation Army to fight for Communism. The Land Reform Law can be viewed as a subtle form of propaganda where the usual //“We want you!”// slogan is implicitly implied in the deeds promised. Such subtlety is mirrored in Mao’s Guerrilla Tactics, which proved all too advanced for the minds of the Nationalist troops, who were losing more support than they were gaining. Chiang Kaishek’s military training proved it had expired long ago for the armies were constantly kept “//off balance and on the defensive//” by the //“…retreat…harass…attack…pursue”// strategy adopted by the PLA. Equally subtle, was the Communist’s use of spies within the Nationalist camps. The ‘Intelligence Gathering’ //“ensured a constant flow of information about Nationalist troop movements”// and therefore, played a major role in securing the Communist victory in battle, for they could plan their next move based on the information gathered. The strong ideological undertone of the Communist campaign not only gave the troops a focus; but also signified the //“concrete”// application of Marxism in China, under the appropriated name of Maoism which made the belief //“inauditably Chinese in character”.// The peasants found a comfort in Communism which they had never experienced under Nationalist rule: a non-hierarchical system, where the commanders fight alongside the soldiers in battle in an attempt to promote that //“here we are all equals; in the white masses are oppressed”.// Equality, a virtue lacking in Chiang’s Nationalist army was taken to a new level by Mao. Unlike Chiang, who //“used academic and financial background and social and political backing as the basis for promotion”;// Mao and the Communists //“made every effort to find the best people”.// By 1948, however, the Communists had succeeded in attaining support from the Chinese Urban Middle Class, making it increasingly difficult for Chiang to promote men with such an advantageous background. Where Mao’s strategies came with an interest in securing support for the future; Chiang’s ignorance saw him and others within the Nationalist party “//draw up plans with an air of indifference…”// plans which would always fail under the power of a focused and devoted army.  Having lived through the horrors of World War 2; having been commander-in-chief of the Whampoa Military Academy and having fought with the Japanese; there is an expectation that Chiang Kaishek would be familiar with the expense of a modern war. Prior to the Civil War, the Chinese economy had been strained by the overspending Nationalists and was set to become a national dilemma as soon as the war commenced. Given the fact that Chiang Kaishek did not expect to fight a four year war, he would not have estimated that in 1948 //“it took 1.8 million yuan to buy one American dollar”// and that //“a pound of rice cost 10 million yuan”//. His overspending caused China’s inflation to reach a record high with //“the savings of the middle classes…wiped out”//. The problematic party had caused many of its supporters to find stability in Communism, where the belief in equal distribution of wealth would make such a crisis impossible. Described as being //“worse than a plague”// and in an attempt to cease the spread of this disease, the Communists, in 1948 proposed the instalment of a Coalition Government, where non-communist liberal parties would "share power" with the Communists in exchange for their support in the war against the Nationalists. With a larger force, the army became //“the fist of the people”//. The political vacuum left by the Nationalists made victory seem inevitable.  The intervention of the United States, who claimed to subscribe to the principal that a country’s internal affairs are to be managed by them alone; makes their presence in China difficult to fathom. Both Mao and Chiang believed that a Civil War between both parties would secure China’s future prosperity and resolve their internal problems. President Truman, represented by Marshall, had every intention of fulfilling the goal of the United States in China: to unite both the Communists and the Nationalists in **one** Government. Though unsuccessful, the Americans then took to assisting the Nationalist troops; when ironically both the Nationalists and the Communists wished to remove, rather than encourage Western presence in their country. The Nationalists association with the United States saw the Communists gain further followers, who valued the patriotic nature of the PLA over the ‘two-faced’ Nationalists. The most crucial battles were to be fought in Manchuria, which was //"China's richest and most industrially developed province".// Geographically, the Communist’s position in the North meant that they would reach the city long before the Nationalists; but Chiang had 500 000 American- trained soldiers airlifted to Manchuria. The insufficient number of troops, however; resulted in a major Communist victory that was “the end” of the Nationalist-American campaign.  Winning the ‘hearts’ and ‘minds’ of the People of China was of paramount importance if the Communist Party was to be victorious. The bare stage waits to be dressed once more but it seems the clever strategies and tactics used by Mao Zedong and the Communist force in the Civil War has continued to win hearts and minds over. The curtain refuses to draw on such a Victory.
 * __Question: __****Assess ** the **Reasons** for the Communist Victory.

This essay was veyr well written and each theme was able to be linked with eachother. Great use of quotes that gave evidence to your answer. 19/20.

Great essay, your langauge makes the essay extremly logical, and delivers your argument. Your extensive use of quotes was also great, just remem ber to say who they are from 18.5/20