Slowly but inexorably, the armies of Communist General Chen Yi bore down across the flatlands of the Yangtze delta. In the second week of the South China offensive the Reds' pace had slowed down somewhat, but they triumphantly reported eight Nationalist armies crushed and trapped between the Yangtze and the coast. Hangchow, last coastal railroad gateway to the south, was deserted and lay open to the conquerors. Red armies also bore down on Shanghai.
Shanghai's Garrison Commander Chen Ta-ching spoke bravely of making Shanghai "a second Stalingrad." Quietly and unannounced, Generalissimo Chiang...
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