Tactical Withdrawal

One day last week a fleet of transports appeared off Chushan Island southeast of Shanghai, and the 150,000 Nationalist soldiers on the island were ordered to board ship. Not until they were at sea did the soldiers learn that they were bound for Formosa.

The day after the evacuation, Communist troops waded ashore on Chushan. The day after that the Nationalist evacuees from the island reached Keelung, Formosa's northern port. Bands played as the troops landed, bringing with them women, children, goats, pigs and firewood. Madame Chiang Kai-shek made a speech of welcome, and each incoming soldier got seven Formosan dollars (70-c- U.S.) together with a pamphlet explaining that he had been withdrawn from Chushan in the interest of defending Formosa.

This time official explanations of a "tactical withdrawal" seemed to be justified. Loss of the Chushan base would make it almost impossible for the Nationalists to keep up their naval blockade of Shanghai, but Chiang Kai-shek could not afford to have his remaining forces nibbled away piece by piece.

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