Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-08
REDS INTRENCHED In HALF
OF CHINA, OBSERVER FINDS
fractional Strife Spreads and Soviet Foot
hold Is Viewed as Beyond Control of
Brief Military Campaign.

At Tungpu, in Kiangsi Province, the
Communists attempted to set up a
Soviet capital for Central China. They
established q hospital, q school for
propaganda, a military headquarters
and a political headquarters. During
the second month of the government
anti-Commuflist- campaign, which be-
gan in December. Tungpu was recap
tured only to fall again into the hands
of the reds when part of the eight
zenith government division went over
to the Communists.
Even disregarding the fact that Com
munism Is gaining ground among the
civil population in the affected areas,
the military aspects of the problem
offer much more serious obstacles than
government leaders generally are will
ing to admit. When the government
forces marched into Kiangsi Province
they found that they were fighting q
phantom foe. Avoiding any decisive
engagements, the Communist armies
vanished before the advancing govern
ment troops, only to return In superior
numbers and Swoop down upon isolated
government units or upon weakly gar
risoned towns.
Propaganda Precedes Attacks.
Always their attack on cities was pre-
coded by propagandists who succeeded
in winning over large proportion OF
the unpropertied classes and frequently
in undermining the loyalty of the local
garrison. AS result of this political
preparation scores of town were won
without firing a shot. When govern
ment reinforcements were sent to retake
a city they invariably found that the
Communist armies had withdrawn well
in advance of their arrival. Peasant
spear brigades had become peaceful
peasants and the more modernly armed
Red forces had retired to the mountain
regions where pursuit was difncult, II
not impossible.
The time limit for the government
anti-Communist campaign in Hupeh.
Human and Kiangsi was first set at two
months, later extended to three and still
later to four. Two months have passed
and but little progress has been made.
The most notable government victory,
the taking of Tungpu, the Red strong
hold, was nullified by the detection Of
part of the 18th Division, which has re-
suited in its re-occupation by the Reds.
The magnitude of the task of sub
DUNG q score of armies scattered over
three provinces in a campaign which
can best be described as guerilla war;
fare has been greatly under estimated.
Some foreign military observers believe
that the campaign will be matter of
years, not of months.
The occasional military victories won
by the government forces against the
Communists will avail the Marking
authorities but little unless the peas
antry are won back into the govern
ment fold The Communist armies
Ia ali ho ~ ioc
no sure line of military communica-
lions. They depend on the secret sup
port of the disconnected peasant class
who are most ripe for accepting their
MARKHAM doctrines. Only through wide
spread and painstaking civil reform,
particularly in the field of taxation,
can the government hope to establish
contented peasant class which will be
more solid bulwark against Com
munism than all of the Communist sup
preston armies in China.
Peasants Inherently Conservative.
The Chinese peasantry are inherently
| conservative, and except when driven
to the point of desperation by confis-
catory taxation are not as a class likely
converts for any such radical innova-
ton as Communism. If the Communist
armies were opposed by contented,
hostile peasantry it would be only a
question Of time until they were starved
into submission.
The government has taken cogniz-
ance of these facts and has issued strict
injunctions to its. commanders forbid
ding them from communicating sup
| plies or otherwise INJECTING hardShipS
upon the civil population in the Com
munist-infested areas. But despite the
best of intentions it probably will not
be possible to obey these orders to the
letter. The exigencies of military me-
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