his would have to be
undertaken by the Western powers, not by China. The communists, on their
side, set up a guerrilla organization behind the Japanese lines, so
that, although the Japanese controlled the cities and the lines of
communication, they had little control over the countryside. The
communists also attempted to infiltrate the area held by the
Nationalists, who in turn were interested in preventing the communists
from becoming too strong; so, Nationalist troops guarded also the
borders of communist territory.

American politicians and military advisers were divided in their
opinions. Although they recognized the internal weakness of the
Nationalist government, the fighting between cliques within the
government, and the ever-increasing corruption, some advocated more help
to the Nationalists and a firm attitude against the communists. Others,
influenced by impressions gained during visits to Yen-an, and believing
in the possibility of honest co-operation between a communist regime and
any other, as Roosevelt did, attempted to effect a coalition of the
Nationalists with the communists.

At the end of the war, when the Nationalist government took over the
administration, it lacked popular support in the areas liberated from
the Japanese. Farmers who had been given land by the communists, or who
had been promised it, were afraid that their former landlords, whether
they had remained to collaborate with the Japanese or had fled to West
China, would regain control of the land. Workers hoped for new social
legislation and rights. Businessmen and industrialists were faced with
destroyed factories, worn-out or antiquated equipment, and an unchecked
inflation which induced them to shift their accounts into foreign banks
or to favour short-term gains rather than long-term investments. As in
all countries which have suffered from a long war and an occupation,
the youth believed that the old regime had been to blame, and saw
promise and hope on the political left. And, finally, the Nationalist
soldiers, most of whom had been separated for years from their homes and
families, were not willing to fight other Chinese in the civil war now
well under way; they wanted to go home and start a new life. The
communists, however, were now well organized militarily and well
equipped with arms surrendered by the Japanese to the Soviet armies as
well as with arms and ammunition sold to them by KMT soldiers; moreover,
they were constant