It was Chiang Kaishek himself who in the last months of the war listed five basic reasons why his forces had lost:
• Lack of skill and judgement of his military commanders, who fought 'muddle-headed battles'. They planned poorly and issued orders irresponsibly.
• Lack of training of the rank-and-file soldiers, who were incompetently led by their officers.
• Low Nationalist morale. This was a result of the complacency among the high-level officers, many of whom were concerned solely with their own self-interest. (It should be added that the Nationalist recruitment methods were so harsh that the conscript Nationalist armies lacked spirit and purpose.)
Study Source D. What information does it contain regarding the last stages of the Civil War?
Map of the final stages of the Chinese Civil War, 1946-49.
• The GMD was unable to inspire the forces in the field because as an organization it lacked discipline and effective propaganda, attributes in which Mao and the Communists excelled.
• The Nationalists' failure to make effective use of the arms and resources with which they were provided by the USA. Too often the weapons fell into Communist hands.
To Chiang's list could be added the Nationalists' general unpopularity among
Ordinary Chinese people, which made it difficult for Chiang's forces to control
Regions except by severe repression, which was invariably counter-productive.
World History
