On this day, 77 years ago, on April 22, 1948 (March 14, 1948, the People's Liberation Army recovered Yan 'an. On April 22, 1948, Xinhua Agency reported that the People's Liberation Army recovered Yan 'an, the democratic holy land, which caused great shock to the Nanjing counter-revolutionary camp. According to the Associated Press: "This incident: " An unexpected atmosphere was injected into the (pseudo) National Assembly. Delegates were startled when they read the news that the government (referring to Chiang Kai-shek bandits) had withdrawn from Yan 'an. Many people privately expressed disappointment at the failure of the government (Chiang bandits)." The United Press exclaimed: "The fall of Yan 'an was a major morale failure for the Kuomintang army. "The agency also admitted that the miserable escape of the Chiang bandits garrison in Yan 'an was due to the fact that they had faced death under the powerful attack of the Northwest People's Liberation Army." Kuomintang people said: When the Communist army occupied Yichuan, 50 miles southeast of Yan' an, and defeated (read as annihilating) two Kuomintang divisions, the government (Chiang bandits) army positions in Yan 'an were no longer easy to defend." The Associated Press also admitted that Yan 'an's abandonment painted the seriousness of the Kuomintang's overall situation in northwest China, and said: "The area restored by the Communist Party is larger than their base area in Shaanxi in the past."