"Traitorous Truman"

[Rooney]

Well, Truman actually did play a role in the fall of China to the Reds and the much heralded General George C. Marshall played the leading role. In the Spring of 1945 Communist Chinese forces took the Manchurian cities of Changchun, Harbin and Siping and with it control of the China Eastern Railway. By the fall of 1945, however, Nationalist General Jiang had effectively reversed the Reds and taken back most of the major cities and rail lines in Manchuria. However, the Communist Central Committee ordered Red commander Lin Biao to hold Harbin, Changchun and the East Central Railway at all costs. This made little sense because of the reversals until one looks at General Marshall and his "peace plan."

Marshall arrived in China in December 1945 at the behest of President Truman. Truman apparently wanted to stave off a civil war which was silly and naive, but that does not surprise anyone who knows about the President from Pendergast. Marshall tried to save the Communists by convincing Jiang to abandon Manchuria, but he refused to do so. He actually was able to take Changchun and Siping from the Reds. In June 1946 Marshall was able to attain a cease-fire and it gave the Reds enough time to use the railway hub of Harbin to escape from the surrounding Nationalist forces in Manchuria. It was from here where the Nationalists lost the momentum and the Red victory of 1949 was achieved.

So Truman and Marshall did indeed "lose" China by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.