Roleplaying Communist China -- All Countries All In playthrough

The Chairman woke up to some bad news. The Southern Expedition had ended ignominiously; while 2 provinces had been secured, goals including the capture of Hainan were not met, and troops came under fire from artillery and a Japanese cruiser. Nevertheless the expedition demonstrates the will of the Red Army.

Our campaign against the Japanese puppet in Manchuria was a success. Yingkow was captured by Communist troops, and with it, a centre of goods production. The invaders in Harbin had been driven out or killed by our artillery. Harbin was captured; Hulunbuir was surrounded. We saved the capital, Hsinking, as a final victory to end the campaign of Japanese aggression. We captured a lot of loot from the invaders -- goods, money, rice, and rare metals. The Expedition to Expel the Japanese has been a marked success.

The image is not up-to-date: Harbin has since fallen and the Japanese have been expelled from Kiamusze. Reporters could not keep up with the progress made by the People's Army
Our cause continued to recieve generous donations from across the world. Bulgaria donated huge quantities of resources to our cause: 2000 food, 5000 goods and oil, 9000 metal, £15,700, and, best of all, 8400 rare materials. Italy donated 10,000 each of rare and goods.

For the first time we had enough of everything. SP Rocket artillery could be researched, armoured tanks produced, Manchuria industrialised. After the revolution, Manchuria will become a second Italy -- first among the industrialised regions of the world. The people of China will remember the generosity of the Bulgars.
(If one asks nicely enough, a defeated nation will be happy to donate resources. At present I am largely reliant on such goodwill)

Our first medium tank was produced! This glorious testament to the People's industry allowed our first brigade of tanks, the 13th Armoured Brigade, to be mustered. The new tanks would join the ranks of captured Japanese equipment and Soviet armoured cars.
In the words of George Orwell, a tank is an inherently tyrannical weapon. However, when the people can produce them, they can be used for revolution! Therefore, it was imperative that the People's Army secure tanks, whether captured or locally produced.

More good news from the north!
The Manchurian campaign had ended decisively in the liberation of the entire region, a testimony to rapid mobile warfare combined with positional artillery battles.
The Red Army reached Hsinking around 12 hours ago.

Parade in Hsinking celebrates the liberation of the region
As armoured cars of the Red Army entered the city, they were greeted by cheering crowds. The foreign military clique was over, though no doubt local bandits will continue to give minor trouble.
Looting of the Kwantung Army headquarters captured reserves of £88,000. Chief industry in Manchuria has been given to the workers and peasants. The collaborators and ruling class have been deposed.
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Day 4 is always a watershed day. It it the day to determine for sure who is inactive, and whose army is best. In Asia, Japan, Persia, and Mongolia, as well as Sinkiang, suffered coups d'etat. We hoped such coups would turn in favour of revolution, but the majority became military dictatorships. However, many trade deals arose as a result, including favourable deals on steel, rice, and other vital materials.

According to the bourgeois newspaper World Herald, the National Revolutionary Army was twice as large as the Red Army. Moreover they had had better equipment from the beginning, and were constructing medium tanks, and although the KMT had less artillery, they were building it at lvl.4 in one city. (Secretly, this is a good thing; it would take 15 hours to build, and high levels meant it would be difficult to outmatch the Red Army in a guerilla war)
We knew that we had inferiority in troops, but with the people's support, our numbers were swelling daily. Manpower had become a problem, but recruiting campaigns among the peasant both in Shansi and in Manchuria will quickly bolster our forces.

Tibetan forces managed to break out of the KMT's blockade today. Troops headed north, with nationalist forces in ruthless pursuit.
Japanese aircraft based out of Taipei and Kyushu destroyed ROCAF fighters based in Wuhan, and proceeded to bombard the city.
While angered at the molestation of Chinese cities, the CCP lacked the air power to stop them. Besides, if the people of the RoC witness the mismanagement of their leaders, perhaps they will see the wisdom of turning to the communist side.

In what became known as the Canton Incident, Red Army troops found themselves firing on British forces in Hong Kong. This was contrary to the will of Comrade Crayfish, who did not want to anger a nation with such a large naval force on their doorstep.
British forces quickly gave pursuit, overtaking the rocket artillery group. While they gave strong resistance, they were slaughtered.
Militia and infantry forces quickly retreated into KMT-controlled territory. Here the British could not follow without violating neutrality.
The Chinese Communist Party takes the time to honour the brave men 14th Rocket Battery, whose exemplary sacrifice, as the first regiment destroyed since the Long March, will embolden Communist forces in China and elsewhere

Chairman Comrade Crayfish announced to the people of China today:
"The Japanese invader has been vanquished by the valiant efforts of the Chinese People's Army. We have recaptured the North-East. We are now in the stage where, due to a de facto ceasefire, the War of Resistance Against Japan is now over.
Therefore, the 2nd United Front, formed against the Japanese, is obsolete; the time to re-unite China has come. The counter-revolutionary Party that has ruled China for too long is coming to an end. It is our goal to liberate China from the counter-revolutionaries and representatives of the bourgeoisie!"

Chairman Crayfish proposed a new slogan: 向南進軍, 抗擊國民黨! (March South, fight the Kuomintang!) We knew that, however dedicated, the Red Army was inferior to the KMT on paper, but was growing rapidly.

Groundwork was laid for the liberation. The war was expected to have three stages:
(1) the Red Army begins a mass offensive, taking the KMT leadership by surprise
(2) The KMT begins a counteroffensive. The Red Army digs in, and in indefensible positions, retreats to positions of strength.
(3) a Red Army counter-offensive
[Expand for operative plans]


Stars indicate Red Army stronghold; red lines represent the first stage of rapid occupation and, arrows the final destinations. Blue arrows represent secondary goals; though no less important these are executed later.

At the same time, the Red Army recieved its first truly modern of equipment today; a battery of Soviet-designed truck-mounted rocket artillery. These purportedly splendid weapons provide an important addition to the people's arsenal, augmenting the primitive wooden-framed launchers used by guerillas.

Early in the morning, Chairman comrade Crayfish gave the order to March South and Fight the Kuomintang.
Under the cover of darkness, communist troops moved into position across China to capture key positions.
Now was the moment of truth: the turning point of the war for the liberation of China. If the initial capture failed, the future of the CCP was doubtful.

The Liberation War Begins

We knew that we could not resist the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army in a pitched battle. Therefore, the strategy was to infiltrate key areas and hold out using guerilla tactics, while using mobile warfare where, and when, it became possible. In the best case, a sufficiently fierce offensive might even lead to the collapse of the KMT leadership.
Morale was nevertheless high as we marched to the front lines. The Red Army were fighting for their freedom, and for the livelihoods of the workers and peasants. They may have been poorly equipped, but so were KMT forces. We were honed in skill from war with Japan. They were mostly unscrupulous bandits, or poor conscripts held on only by the grog ration. We had no doubt that we would win.

Clockwise from top: Kan-su (object: hold the line, invade Tsinghai); Lan-chou (object: hold the Szechuan Line); Changsha (object: capture ordnance foundry & weapons); Hebei-Peking (object: capture undefended border cities), Outer Mongolia (object: same), Kwantung (object: advance inland)

Initially, the going was easy:

Out of Phase I goals, Xi'an and Hsuchow fell without much of a fight. Troops poured into Tsinghai province. Militia stormed into the western city of Chi-chang, taking the artillery garrison by surprise. In the South, troops captured Macau and bombarded Guilin.

Guerillas stormed Changsha, capturing an entire battery of 15cm fortress guns intact -- a valuable asset.
At this point it got tough; the KMT was beginning to give fierce resistance as troops were moved in from the south.
South China was lost as the KMT advanced from Yunnan. This was our first taste of defeat -- only one militia regiment survived, garrisoning Hong Kong.


There was much fighting around Chengtu. Our artillery rained down shells on the garrison of tanks stationed there.
After a heavy bombardment, the 5th Motorised Regiment drove in with little resistance, capturing the Nationalist capital, and with it £244,000 in government bonds from the Central Bank.
Our forces searched the city from top to bottom for the Nationalist leaders. It appeared that the cowardly Chiang Kai-shek had made good his escape to continue fighting in from secret bases.

At this point, the Red Army had captured most of central China and the Chinese heartland, including the cities of Chengtu and Chungking. It was time to dig in and weather the KMT assault. Guerilla warfare would continue in South China.
Apt, although through recruiting campaigns the CCP's largely overcome that problem.

Diplomatically, there was now some good news: the CCP had successfully opened relations with two countries in the Middle East. Both were willing to support the Red Army -- Iraq recognising the Yan'an Soviet -- and were our first formal allies since the collapse of the Second United Front.

Japanese troops ignored the de facto ceasefire and landed at Yingkow just behind the de-militarised zone. While the first wave was easily thwarted, the second, carrying motorised troops, captured the city and begun moving inland. This required troops to be diverted, and convinced Chairman Crayfish of the wisdom of investing in coast defences and a small brown-water navy.
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The war against the KMT counter-revolutionaries had now assumed a rough cyclic stalemate. We would push forwards, and local militias would hold the line in mountains or forest. KMT forces including artillery and tanks would counter-attack. Then, guerillas and Red Army forces would surround and ambush the KMT forces and kill them all. A slow advance was made.
We marched into Szechuan. We had to cross the mountains to capture the southern cities. This front was very trying.
The cold made fighting and marching difficult, and the terrain was treacherous Tanks and guns needed to be manhandled across streams. Nevertheless, morale continued to be high; it was a second Long March; but a victorious advance, not a retreat.

Positional Warfare on the mountainous Szechuan Front

Hochou, in the core of the Yan'an Soviet fell to the Nationalists. Lanzhou, the main Communist base in the north-west was threatened. The 10th Infantry Regiment and its attached people's militia fought bravely to halt the advance, performing a heroic act of sacrifice for the nation. Their sacrifice bought time for reinforcements including rockets and an armoured brigade to be mustered in the defence of the soviet.

Red Army soldiers patrolling the Great Wall, near Hochou.

Shanghai, the main Nationalist toehold remaining on the east coast, was surrounded by Red Army troops. It was known that at least 3 troops, likely high-level irregulars or infantry, were taking refuge in the city; likely more. It would not be taken without a fierce fight.
We laid artillery -- ironically, captured from the Changsha Arsenal -- to bombard the KMT troops. These were joined by trucks carrying rocket artillery.

Rocket artillery would arrive several hours later.
By this point we were assured of victory. All major enemy positions in the east were surrounded. Nationalist forces had been routed and were confined to the south or west. From miserably small beginnings, the workers and peasants, under the Chinese Communist Party, controlled most of the key areas against the counter-revolutionary forces.

China now resembled this