Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/09/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The CCP's Long March began in 1934. Stalin and Soviet Union did not commence supplying arms and munitions to the Red's in any significant quantities until 1945. More to point, truly modern Soviet military equipment was not supplied by Stalin to Red China until the years 1949 -1953. The equipment was supplied to encourage Mao to commit significant troops to intervene in Korea and this policy resulted from Stalin's fear of war with the West (i.e. primarily the USA). You stated in your original post that Mao led a Soviet supplied army in the long retreat known as the Long March (again the retreat commenced in October 1934). In fact Mao's rag tag guerilla army in 1934 acquired their arms as they did since the early twenties from whatever source they could find and were as likely to be carrying American made, Swedish made or Czechoslovakian arms from the Skoda Works as any arms from the Soviet Union. Really reliable, first class, Soviet equipment ( for the Soviet Red Army) did not appear on the scene until 1942. Stalin may have had the largest standing army in the world but it was supplied with inferior arms until the appearance of the T34, Stalin KV tanks, modern artillery, rockets, modern fighter aircraft and small arms. As I said, these appeared in 1942 and later. Quite simply, "push didn't come to shove" until the latter part of the 1940's with respect to Red China. Regards, Greg Afterswift@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 9/3/03 6:36:35 PM, gregj.lorenzo@shaw.ca writes: > ><< Where did you read this? Soviet support of Mao during the Long March was >virtually non-existent. Stalin fully backed and supported the >Nationalists' until the defeat of Japan in August 1945 and only through >in limited support of the Reds after W.W.II when he could see the >writing on the wall with respect to which side was winning the civil war. > >> > >Stalin equivocated. When push came to shove, he supplied Mao. Where do you >suppose Mao got his armament? From the US? > >br >-- >To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > > > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html