Texan in a Desert Storm

From the 1930s Xinjiang Province in western China was under escalating USSR intervention, which resulted in a short-lived Russian-backed East Turkestan Republic (ETR) began as a Muslin rebellion (伊寧事變) at Ili, Tarbaghatai and Altai in late 1944.  Aimed at preventing more massacre to the ethnic Chinese by the Uighur, Kazakh and White Russian soldiers, the Central Aviation Committee set up a North American Detachment equipped with armed AT-6Ds in support of the advancing army.  This was the first close-in anti-insurgency operation by the CAF trainer fleet.

To have much hope alleviate remote desert, any redoubled effort from the impoverished China needed Western help, e.g. the Eurasia (a subsidiary of the Lufthansa) Ju-52 tri-motor’s regular flight to Kumul since 1935.  Though the struggle the Nationalists centre offering add up to a credible operation, but Stalin tend to progress in unexpected ways under Mao’s “New China”.  Merely the tip of an iceberg, the ETR was omen of a much worse Soviet ambition to split China.

Under the PROC, Outer Mongolia was erased from the Chinese map on Oct 1, 1949, in collaboration with this area was annexed by USSR.  Feb 14, 1950, Mao and Stalin signed the inequitable Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance, in Moscow Mao declared unconditionally supporting Mongol separation.  At this pivotal point of division of China, by comparison the PROC spiral into turmoil, the ROC in Taiwan enjoyed some unanticipated peace.  Its trainer asset still used the line of North American, namely AT-6 Texan, AT-16 Harvard IIB and top-of-the-line T-28 Trojan.