Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945

by Rana Mitter

Chiang did not want yet more troops who would not obey his commands, and the Communists, still wary after a decade of persecution by Chiang’s forces, were unwilling to lose any control over the Red Army, which had been formed under conditions of great difficulty as the party fled from its Nationalist enemies. The Communists wanted cooperation, whereas Chiang’s preferred term was “assimilation.” Chiang wrote on July 27: “We mustn’t let [the Red Army] be too independent.”36 Mao, in turn, had let his negotiators at Guling know that they must not cede too much: “We have decided to adopt the policy of holding no more talks with Chiang if he refuses to compromise.”37 Finally, the urgency of the moment forced an agreement. Chiang compromised, allowing the Communists to set up their own military headquarters. Mao then confirmed that reorganization would be completed before August 15, and specified that the CCP would provide three divisions of 45,000 men, along with 10,000 local troops who would defend various key points in the north, including the front in the northwestern province of Suiyuan.38 On August 2 Chiang legalized the Red Army. Of all the concessions that Chiang made to the Communists, the most important was permission to establish their own armed forces.