In a Chungking office, floodlights flanked a wooden desk. One after another, in businesslike fashion, three soldiers sat down at the desk and signed a document. The three soldiers were U.S. General of the Army George C. Marshall, in blouse and pinks; Chinese Government General Chang Chih-chung, in dress uniform; Communist General Chou Enlai, in a sober blue business suit. The document, which might be a turning point in Chinese politics, was an agreement for fusion and reorganization of the Government and Communist Armies.
The agreement, reached weeks ahead of the expected...