The Improviser’s War: How Mao Zedong Actually Won

Small Wars Journal | Stephen L. Nelson

Mao Zedong did not win the Chinese Civil War because he was a military genius. He won because he took advantage of outside help and his enemy’s mistakes. Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fell apart thanks to bad American advice and poor handling of the economy. Meanwhile, the Communists kept picking up defectors and Japanese-trained troops as they went along.

The Soviets gave Mao safe havens in North Korea. This let the PLA move troops around and bring in ethnic Koreans. At the same time, Japanese war crimes pushed the peasants towards Mao. Chiang made things worse by forcing people into the army and messing up the currency, which only confused everyone. The economy was in shambles. Chiang tried to fix things by printing more money, but that just made it worse. In the end, Mao won because he was practical and kept his army safe while his enemies wore themselves out. It was not about fancy ideology.

Comment

The PLA’s win in 1949 does not really prove that self-reliant peasant warfare is the magic formula. What mattered more was outside help and taking in trained soldiers from the old Japanese puppet armies. That gave the PLA skills and firepower that slogans and ideology could not.

Mao’s side depended on outside support, especially through North Korea. When the Soviets left Manchuria in 1946, they made sure to leave behind huge piles of Japanese weapons. These were sent straight to the PLA across the border. Thanks to this safe zone, the PLA kept its strength while Chiang’s forces wore themselves out in battles they could not win.

Strategic Question for Discussion

What alteration would have occurred in the People's Liberation Army's move to conventional warfare if the Soviet withdrawal from Manchuria in 1946 had not successfully secured the North Korean logistical corridor?

History shows that without the North Korean corridor, the PLA would have had a hard time getting the weapons and trained men it needed to beat the Nationalists in Manchuria. Without that safe area for supplies and retraining, Mao’s forces probably would have been stuck fighting as guerrillas for much longer, and maybe would never have won a clear victory.

Share your assessment in the comments below.

To read in details click here