THE MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN CHINA’S MILITARY SITUATION* November !$, !($*
The military situation in China has reached a new turning point and the balance of forces between the two sides in the war has undergone a fundamental change. The People’s Liberation Army, long superior in quality, has now become superior in numbers as well. This is a sign that the victory of the Chinese revolution and the realization of peace in China are at hand. At the end of the second year of the war, that is, at the end of June this year, the Kuomintang army still had a total of some 3,650,000 men. This was 650 , 000 less than the 4 , 300 , 000 men the Kuomintang had in July 1946 when it started the country-wide civil war. The Kuomintang recruited about 2 , 440 , 000 men during the two years of war, which is the reason why the decrease was only 650 , 000, although in that period approximately 3 ,090 , 000 were wiped out or captured, or deserted ( 2 , 640 , 000 were wiped out or captured). Recently a sudden change took place. In the first four months of the third year of the war, from July 1 to November 2 when Shenyang was liberated, the Kuomintang army lost 1 , 000 , 000 men. Its replacements during these four months have not yet been ascertained; supposing it was able to recruit 300 , 000 men, then the net decrease would be 700 , 000 . Thus the whole of the Kuomintang’s armed forces — army, navy and air force, regulars and irregulars, combat troops and men in the rearervice establishments — are now only some 2 , 900 , 000 . On the other hand, the People’s Liberation Army, which had 1 , 200 , 000 men in June 1946 , grew to 2 , 800 , 000 in June 1948 and has now increased to more than 3 , 000 , 000 . Thus, the numerical superiority long enjoyed by the Kuomintang army has rapidly turned into inferiority. This is the result of heroic fighting by the People’s Liberation Army during the past four months in all the war theatres of the country; it is especially the result of the Sui-Ki and Tsinan campaigns1 on the southern front and of the Chinchow, Changchun, Liaohsi and Shenyang 287
