The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1950-12-29
Mao Tse-Tung, China's Man
Of the Hour
BY A. f. ANDERSON, Butte

The modern history of New China
is closely intermngled with the life
of Tse-Tung. He came from well-to-
do peasant stock and, in his college
years was soon to be marked as an
agitator for his Liberal views, eventu-
ally forced to live underground. 1t
was not until the fall of 1884 that, as
head of the Shensi province commu
mist government, he with General Chu-
Teh) led a population of 10000 includ-
ing women and children in historys
most remarkable trek. 1t took two
years to make the six thousand mile
trip to Yenan in North China, losing
about 10000 by Kai-sheks overwhelm-
ing armies and air force, yet, by re-
cruiting volunteers on the way, he ar
rived with $4,000 to start the Yenan
Communist Colony. A spot to be re-
membered in Communist history.
YENAN. A LANDMARK
Tse-tung developed a brand new
military strategy, occupying the rural
areas behind the advancing Japanese
drive into the Chinese interior. He
strictly avoided the big cities, neither
trying to take them or hold them, simp- !
ly taking a number of rails from the |
railway tracks and hiding them for fu-
ture use. This forced the Japs to send |
overland conveys, from which the 4th |
and Sth Route Communist armies man
aged to subsist on during the Japa
nese invasion
When Japan surrendered, much of
the countrysides were in Communist
hands, but none of the cities, and
when Kai-shek started his all-out
war against the Commies, it started
mostly from the walled cities. The
Communists had no air support while
Kai-shek was we'll supplied with all
kinds of modern equipment by the
I. S. This compelled what they called ;
the Liberation armies to have their
floating military headquarters con- {
eealed amongst the peasant popula :
ton that could be packed in a half
hour and reset in an hours time while
lsing Yenan as the Nations capitol.
cHIANG's WAR BLNUDER NO. ONE
His brilliant idea was to take Yenan
md end the long war once and for all.
Same strategy that Macarthur used {
when he jumped the 3Sth parallel. |
n March 1947, he sent General Mu Y
with $4,000 well equipped /;
roops and U S. supplied air cover up
he mountain roads towards Yenan. Z
The troops had heavy siege guns, {
bazookas, and demoli- 6
ion bombs in fact everything needed
@ breach a fortified city.
The whole surrounding country was a
airly we'll sprinkled with Red militia, p
tut for some unknown reason they :
My put up a weak resistance but. .
s soon as the troops were well on d
he way, their supply wagons were e
eld up and robbed This compelled
i'm to depend on an air lift not on
lis schedule even before he reached 0
he Caves of Yenan, and the surprise a
f his life awaited him there. o
Here is where Tse-tung strategy
ONES in He hated to lose the caves, II
more for sentimental reasons than u
nything else, but here he saw II
eaven-sent equipment so badly needed :
yhen it comes to take the walled =
tiles. The big surprise was: All OPP 7
osition in front had all melted away h
he caves were all wide open, not ID
ven cat in the vacant caves. Ev-
rything had been moved into the hills G.
lot even shot was fired and all the Ii
:. S. siege equipment fell intact into :;