At this stage it may be desirable to have an idea about the causes which led to the fall of the Nationalists. In the main the following factors operated for the failure of the Nationalists.
First, the Kuomintang suffered from fierce internal conflict and could never offer a united front. The high degree of corruption among the Kuomintang further rendered them weak. Secondly, ChLng Kai Shek could not provide effective leadership to Kuomintang and failed to rise up to the situation.
Thirdly, the failure of the Nationalists to curb the run-away inflationary tendency also greatly contributed to its failure. No doubt in 1948 the Nationalist Government made a serious bid to check the inflation by issuing new currency and ordering the surrender of all gold, silver coins and foreign currency, but the new currency also soon lost the confidence of the people.
In view of this failure of the Nationalists the people deadly turned against it and preferred any government in its place. On the other hand, the Communists party was very well organized.
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Its members were highly disciplines and its leaders were competent administrators who were committed to relieve the country of its woes. Fourthly, Chiang Kai Shek looked upon landed gentry for support and wanted to revive, the old system of administration which was not acceptable to common people.
On the other hand, the Communists carried out liberal reforms and their policy of breaking up of large estates was immensely popular with the peasants. Similarly, the middle class traders were very happy with the Communist policy of tax control over trade.
Fifthly, the blind faith in Marxist ideology and the extensive military training which they had received also equipped the Communists with fanaticism and capacity to fight against the government. It has been argued that the lack of moral with the nationalist’s soldiers mainly accounted for the failure of Chiang Kai Shek.
Commenting on the defeat of Chiang Prof. Hartmann says, “What has happened in my judgment is that the almost inexhaustible patience of the Chinese people in their misery ended.
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They did not bother to overthrow this government. There was really nothing to overthrow. They simply ignored it throughout the country. They took the solution of their immediate village problem into their own hands…
They completely withdrew their support from this government and when that support was withdrawn the whole military establishment disintegrated.” Prof. Hartmann asserts that the Communists did not create the revolutionary spirit. They simply exploited these weaknesses.