Evening star., 1951-06-05
Comparative Peace
Deterioroted in '46

In 1946 the situation Of COM
parative peace which had been
brought about as a result of the
agreements in the early part of
the year began to deteriorate.
Fighting broke out in various
places.
Gen. Marshall, in trying to stop
this fighting. through the execu-
tive headquarters, got drawn into
greater detail in some of the po-
'litical negotiations between the
two parties, because this fighting
rapidly took on political aspects.
Therefore, the whole discussions
between the Communists and the
Nationalist in the attempt to
work out the interim government,
and the long-term constitutional
government, got into more and
more confusion and trouble. e.
The result Of the breakdown was
that the situation developed into
one of very considerable fighting
by the end of 1916. and when Gen.
Marshall left China in l947
the American effort to mediate in
this struggle between the Govern
Iment and the Communists ended.
Gen. Marshall issued a long
statement. . It sums up very
clearly his understanding of the
difficulties which brought failure
to his mission, and his under
of the difficulties in the
Chinese government, which could
not really permit. it to function
unless they were removed.
Liberals Suffered Most.
These difficulties. in some re-
SpectS, had their roots in the fact
that the liberal elements in the
Kuomintang Party were the ones
which were dealt with much more
severely by the war and the in
f1ation Imitation and war tend to
eliminate the middle class and
that is where the liberal elements
came into the Kuomintang, and
as the imitation and the war went
forward, the power in the party
shifted more to the extreme right
wing, and Gen. Marshall, in his
farewell message, spoke of the i'm
portance of more liberal leader
ship in the Kuomintang Party it.
self.
Until the. end of '46 and the
early part of AT, the gains, the
military gains made by the Ma
tionalist government appeared to-
be impressive, but i'll fact they
were not, and Gen. Marshall re-
peatedly pointed out to the gov
ernment that what it was doing
was Overwhelming itself mill
tarily and politically, since it
neither had sufficient troops to
garrison this whole area nor did
it have sufficient administrators
to administer the areas hat it
was taking over.
Therefore what it was doing BY
this military advance was weaken
ing itself both militarily and
through administrative ineptitude,
because it didn't have the neces-
sary administrators; it was not
giving the people of the occupied
areas what they had ben led to
expect when the National govern
ment came in, so politically it was
doing itself harm. and militarily
it was doing itself harm.
Gen. Barr points out it was dur
ing this period that what he calls
the war psychology took posses
sion of the Chinese Nationalist
army. He had pointed out over
and over again that in modern
warfare the most disastrous of all
things to do is to retreat into a
city behind walls and take a de-
fensive position. Modern warfare
must be war of maneuver.
Forced Into Defensive.
Therefore, time and time and
time again these Nationalist lines
got pushed way forward; finally.
the troops at the end take up de-
fensive positions behind some
kind of walls. a long line of COM
munication has to be guarded,
which eventually is out, and over
and over again the troops at the
end Of the line either go over to