The Chinese Civil War (simplified Chinese Simplified Chinese Characters are one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the People's Republic of China has promoted them for use in printing in an attempt to increase literacy. They are officially used in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and Singapore: 国 共 内 战; traditional Chinese Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of the two standard sets of printed Chinese characters, the other being simplified Chinese characters. The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han Dynasty, and have been more or less stable since the 5th century The retronym: 國 共 內 戰; pinyin Pinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音 / 漢語拼音), is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hànyǔ (汉语 / 漢語) means the Chinese language, and Pīnyīn (拼音) means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound". The system is now: Guógòng Nèizhàn; literally "Nationalist-Communist Civil War") was fought between the Kuomintang The Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC. The headquarters of the KMT is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and it is currently the majority party in terms of seats in the (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party) and the Communist Party of China The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the world's largest political party. While not a governing body recognized by the PRC's constitution, the Party's position as the supreme political authority and power in the PRC (CPC).[6] The war began in April 1927, amidst the Northern Expedition,[7]. The war represented an ideological An ideology is a set of aims and ideas that directs one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense (see Ideology in everyday society below) and several philosophical tendencies (see Political ideologies), or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant split between the Western-supported Nationalist KMT and the Soviet-supported Communist CPC. In mainland China Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China , excluding Hong Kong and Macau, which are under the jurisdiction of the PRC but run on different economic and political systems. The term never includes Taiwan the war is more commonly known as the "War of Liberation" (simplified Chinese: 解放战争; traditional Chinese: 解放戰爭; pinyin: Jiefang Zhanzheng; literally "War of Liberation").

The civil war carried on intermittently until the Second Sino-Japanese War 2 The official PRC statistics for China's civilian and military casualties in the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937-1945 are 20 million dead and 15 million wounded. The figures for total military casualties, killed and wounded are: Nationalist 3.2 million; Communist 500,000 interrupted it, resulting in the two parties forming a Second United Front The Second United Front was the alliance between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Second Sino-Japanese War or World War II, which suspended the Chinese Civil War from 1937 to 1946. Japan's campaign was defeated in 1945, marking the end of World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict between 1939 and 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The war involved the mobilisation of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in, and China's full-scale civil war resumed in 1946. After a further four years, 1950 saw a cessation of major hostilities—with the newly founded People's Republic of China b. ^ Information for mainland China only. Hong Kong, Macau and territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, are excluded controlling mainland China (including Hainan Island Hainan (Chinese: 海南; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hái-lâm, pinyin: Hǎinán , jyutping: literal meaning: "South of the Sea") is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, all but three percent of its land mass), and the Republic of China The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia comprising the island of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands, which are located off the east coast of mainland China. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the north-east, and the Republic of the Philippines's jurisdiction being restricted to Taiwan Taiwan , also known as Formosa (Chinese: 福爾摩沙; from Portuguese: (Ilha) Formosa, meaning "beautiful (island)"), is the largest island of the Republic of China (ROC) in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China. Since the end of World War II in 1945, the island group has, Penghu 'Peng-hu' was first recorded in unofficial historical records and regional logs in 1171 during the Southern Song Dynasty. From the middle of the 17th century to 1895, Taiwan and the archipelago were ruled by pirates, the colonial Dutch Empire, the Koxinga kingdom, and the Qing Dynasty, successively, Kinmen Kinmen (Chinese: 金門; pinyin:Jīnmén; also romanised Quemoy from coastal Min nan ; literally "Golden Door" or "Golden Gate"), is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China (ROC): Greater Kinmen (大金門), Lesser Kinmen (小金門), and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of, Matsu The Matsu Islands (traditional Chinese: 馬祖列島 or less frequently, 馬祖群島 p=Mǎzǔ Lièdǎo or Mǎzǔ Qúndǎo) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (or Lianjiang) (連江 Pinyin: Liánjiāng), Fujian Province of the Republic of China (ROC). Not all of what is and several outlying Fujianese islands This is a list of islands of the Republic of China administration (islands not administered but are claimed by the ROC are not included on this list). All of these islands are claimed by the People's Republic of China. To this day, since no armistice An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the Latin arma, meaning weapons and statium, meaning a stopping or peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends an armed conflict. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to cease hostilities, or a surrender, in which an army agrees to give up arms has ever been signed, there is controversy as to whether the Civil War has legally ended.[8] Today, the two sides of the Taiwan strait The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait is a 180-km-wide strait between mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast. The narrowest part is 131 km (81.4 mi.) wide have close economic ties.[9]

Contents

Background

The Qing Dynasty The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China, the last of the ruling Chinese dynasties, collapsed in 1911.[9] China was left under the control of several major and lesser warlords in the Warlord era The warlord era is the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang. To defeat these warlords, who had seized control of much of Northern China Northern China and Southern China (pinyin: Huánán), also referred to in China as simply (Chinese: 北方; pinyin: Běifāng) the North and (Chinese: 南方; pinyin: Nánfāng) the South, are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined. Nevertheless, the self-perception of, the anti-monarchist and national unificationist Kuomintang The Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC. The headquarters of the KMT is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and it is currently the majority party in terms of seats in the party and the president of the Republic of China The President of the Republic of China is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC) (commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s). The Republic of China was founded in 1911 governing China. As a consequence of the World War II and the Chinese Civil War, however, the ROC lost control of mainland China to the Chinese Communists while gaining and, Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Republican China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China. He was the first provisional, sought the help of foreign powers. Sun Yat-sen's efforts to obtain aid from the Western democracies were ignored, however, and in 1921 he turned to the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ. For political expediency, the Soviet leadership initiated a dual policy of support for both Sun and the newly established Communist Party of China The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the world's largest political party. While not a governing body recognized by the PRC's constitution, the Party's position as the supreme political authority and power in the PRC, which would eventually found the People's Republic of China b. ^ Information for mainland China only. Hong Kong, Macau and territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, are excluded. Thus the struggle for power in China began between the KMT and the CPC.

In 1923, a joint statement by Sun and Soviet representative Adolph Joffe Adolph Abramovich Joffe (October 10, 1883, Simferopol – November 16, 1927, Moscow) was a Communist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and a Soviet diplomat of Karaite Jewish descent in Shanghai Originally a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew to importance in the 19th century due to its favorable port location and as one of the cities opened to foreign trade by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The city flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became a multinational hub of finance and business by the 1930s. After 1990, pledged Soviet assistance for China's unification.[10] The Sun-Joffe Manifesto was a declaration for cooperation among the Comintern The Communist International was an international communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919. The International intended to fight "by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie and for the creation of an international Soviet republic as a transition stage to the complete abolition, KMT The Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC. The headquarters of the KMT is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and it is currently the majority party in terms of seats in the and the Communist Party of China The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the world's largest political party. While not a governing body recognized by the PRC's constitution, the Party's position as the supreme political authority and power in the PRC.[10] Comintern The Communist International was an international communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919. The International intended to fight "by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie and for the creation of an international Soviet republic as a transition stage to the complete abolition agent Mikhail Borodin arrived in China in 1923 to aid in the reorganization and consolidation of the KMT along the lines of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунистическая Партия Советского Союза, tr. Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Sovetskogo Soyuza, IPA [kəmʊnʲɪˈsʲtʲiʨɪskəjə ˈpartʲɪja sɐˈvʲeʦkəvə sɐˈjʊzə], abbr.: КПСС (KPSS)) was the ruling and only legal political party in the Soviet. The CPC joined the KMT to form the First United Front The First United Front of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed in 1923 as an alliance to end warlordism in China. Together, they formed the National Revolutionary Army and set out in 1926 on the Northern Expedition. The CCP joined the KMT as individuals, making use of KMT's superiority in numbers to help spread.[4]

In 1923, Sun Yat-sen sent Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He was an influential member of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Sun Yat-sen's close ally. He became the commandant of Kuomintang's Whampoa Military Academy and took Sun's place in the party when the latter died in 1925. In 1928, Chiang led the, one of Sun's lieutenants from his Tongmeng Hui The Tongmenghui , also known as the Chinese United League or the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, was a secret society and underground resistance movement organized by Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 August 1905. This new alliance was created through the unification of Sun's Xingzhonghui, or Revive China Society, the Guangfuhui, days, for several months' military and political study in Moscow Moscow (pronounced /ˈmɒskoʊ/ in British English or /ˈmɒskaʊ/ in American English, Russian: Москва , tr. Moskva, IPA [mɐˈskva]; see also other names) is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political,.[11] By 1924, Chiang became the head of the Whampoa Military Academy The Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy (traditional Chinese: 黃埔軍校; simplified Chinese: 黄埔军校; pinyin: Huángpŭ Jūnxiào), was a military academy in the Republic of China (ROC) that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th, and rose to prominence as Sun's successor as head of the KMT.[11]

The Soviets provided much of the studying material, organization, and equipment including munitions for the academy.[11] The Soviets also provided education in many of the techniques for mass mobilization. With this aid Sun Yat-sen was able to raise a dedicated "army of the party," with which he hoped to defeat the warlords militarily. CPC members were also present in the academy, and many of them became instructors, including Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Zhou was instrumental in the Communist Party's rise to power, and subsequently in the development of the Chinese Communist economy and restructuring of Chinese society who was made a political instructor of the academy.[12]

Communist members were allowed to join the KMT on an individual basis.[10] The CPC itself was still small at the time, having a membership of 300 in 1922 and only 1,500 by 1925.[13] The KMT in 1923 had 50,000 members.[13]

Northern Expedition (1926–1928) and KMT-CPC split

Just months after Sun Yat Sen Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Republican China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China. He was the first provisional's death in 1925, Chiang-Kai-Shek, as commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (simplified Chinese: 国民革命军; traditional Chinese: 國民革命軍; pinyin: Guómín Gémìng Jūn, sometimes shortened to 國軍 or National Army) was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule, set out on the Northern Expedition[13]. By 1926, however, the KMT had divided into left and right wing factions.[13] The Communist bloc within it was also growing. In the March 1926 Zhongshan Warship Incident, after thwarting an alleged kidnapping attempt against him, Chiang imposed restrictions on CPC members' participation in the top KMT leadership and emerged as the pre-eminent KMT leader.

Government troops rounding up prisoners.

In early 1927; the KMT-CPC rivalry led to a split in the revolutionary ranks. The CPC and the left wing of the KMT had decided to move the seat of the KMT government from Guangzhou Guangzhou (simplified Chinese: 广 to Wuhan Wuhan (simplified Chinese: 武汉; traditional Chinese: 武漢; pinyin: Wǔhàn) is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in central China. It lies at the east of Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han River. Arising out of the conglomeration of three, where Communist influence was strong.[13] But Chiang and Li Zongren Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen (13 August 1890 - 30 January 1969), courtesy name Delin (德鄰), was prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang (KMT) military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. He served as vice-president and acting president of the Republic of China under the 1947 Chinese Constitution, whose armies defeated warlord Sun Chuanfang, moved eastward toward Jiangxi Jiangxi (Chinese: 江 . The leftists rejected Chiang's demand and Chiang denounced the leftists for betraying Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People The Three Principles of the People, also translated as Three People's Principles, or collectively San-min Doctrine, is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation. Its legacy of implementation is most apparent in the governmental organization of the Republic of China by taking orders from the Soviet Union. According to Mao Zedong, Chiang's tolerance of the CPC in the KMT camp decreased as his power increased.[14]

On April 7, Chiang and several other KMT leaders held a meeting arguing that communist activities were socially and economically disruptive, and must be undone for the national revolution to proceed. As a result of this, on April 12, Chiang turned on the CPC in Shanghai. The KMT was purged of leftists by the arrest and execution of hundreds of CPC members.[15] This was called the April 12 Incident or Shanghai Massacre by the CPC.[16] The massacre widened the rift between Chiang and Wang Jingwei's Wuhan. Attempts were made by CPC to take cities such as Nanchang, Changsha, Shantou, and Guangzhou. An armed rural insurrection, known as the Autumn Harvest Uprising was staged by peasants, miners and CPC members in Hunan Province led by Mao Zedong.[17] The uprising was unsuccessful.[17] There were now three capitals in China: the internationally recognized republic capital in Beijing,[18] the CPC and left-wing KMT at Wuhan,[19] and the right-wing KMT regime at Nanjing, which would remain the KMT capital for the next decade.[18]

The CPC had been expelled from Wuhan by their left-wing KMT allies, who in turn were toppled by Chiang Kai-shek. The KMT resumed the campaign against warlords and captured Beijing in June 1928.[20] Afterwards most of eastern China was under the Nanjing central government's control, and the Nanjing government received prompt international recognition as the sole legitimate government of China. The KMT government announced in conformity with Sun Yat-sen, the formula for the three stages of revolution: military unification, political tutelage, and constitutional democracy.[21]

CPC vs KMT and the Long March (1927–1937)

During the 1920s, Communist Party of China activists retreated underground or to the countryside where they fomented a military revolt, beginning the Nanchang Uprising on August 1, 1927.[22] They combined the force with remnants of peasant rebels, and established control over several areas in southern China.[22] The Guangzhou commune was able to control Guangzhou for three days and a "soviet" was established.[22] KMT armies continued to suppress the rebellions.[22] This marked the beginning of the ten year's struggle, known in mainland China as the "Ten Year's Civil War" (simplified Chinese: 十年内战; pinyin: Shínían Nèizhàn). It lasted until the Xi'an Incident when Chiang Kai-shek was forced to form the Second United Front against the invading Japanese.

A Communist leader addressing Long March survivors.

In 1930 the Central Plains War broke out as an internal conflict of the KMT. It was launched by Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Wang Jingwei. The attention was turned to root out remaining pockets of Communist activity in a series of encirclement campaigns. There were a total of five campaigns.[23] The first and second campaigns failed and the third was aborted due to the Mukden Incident. The fourth campaign (1932–1933) achieved some early successes, but Chiang’s armies were badly mauled when they tried to penetrate into the heart of Mao’s Soviet Chinese Republic. During these campaigns, the KMT columns struck swiftly into Communist areas, but were easily engulfed by the vast countryside and were not able to consolidate their foothold.

Finally, in late 1933, Chiang launched a fifth campaign that involved the systematic encirclement of the Jiangxi Soviet region with fortified blockhouses.[24] Unlike in previous campaigns in which they penetrated deeply in a single strike, this time the KMT troops patiently built blockhouses, each separated by five or so miles to surround the Communist areas and cut off their supplies and food source.[24]

In October 1934, the CPC took advantage of gaps in the ring of blockhouses (manned by the troops of a warlord ally of Chiang Kai-shek's, rather than the KMT themselves) to escape Jiangxi. The warlord armies were reluctant to challenge Communist forces for fear of wasting their own men, and did not pursue the CPC with much fervor. In addition, the main KMT forces were preoccupied with annihilating Zhang Guotao's army, which was much larger than Mao's. The massive military retreat of Communist forces lasted a year and covered what Mao estimated as 12,500 km (25,000 Li), and was known as the famous Long March.[25] The march ended when the CPC reached the interior of Shaanxi. Zhang Guotao's army, which took a different route through northwest China, was largely destroyed by the forces of Chiang Kai-shek and his Chinese Muslim ally, the Ma clique. Along the way, the Communist army confiscated property and weapons from local warlords and landlords, while recruiting peasants and the poor, solidifying its appeal to the masses. Of the 90,000-100,000 people who began the Long March from the Soviet Chinese Republic, only around 7,000-8,000 made it to Shaanxi.[26] The remnants of Zhang's forces eventually joined Mao in Shaanxi, but with his army destroyed, Zhang, even as a founding member of the CPC, was never able to challenge Mao's authority. Essentially, the great retreat made Mao the undisputed leader of the Communist Party of China.

Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)

Main article: Second Sino-Japanese War Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was severely weakened in power by the Second Sino-Japanese War.

During the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria, Chiang Kai-shek, who saw the CPC as a greater threat, refused to ally with the CPC to fight against the Japanese. On December 12, 1936, KMT Generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek and forced him to a truce with the CPC. The incident became known as the Xi'an Incident.[27] Both parties suspended fighting to form a Second United Front to focus their energies and fighting against the Japanese.[27] In 1937, Japanese airplanes bombed Chinese cities and well-equipped troops overran north and coastal China.

The alliance of CPC and KMT Second united front was in name only.[28] The CPC rarely engaged the Japanese in major battles but proved efficient in guerrilla warfare. The level of actual cooperation and coordination between the CPC and KMT during World War II was minimal.[28] In the midst of the Second United Front, the CPC and the KMT were still vying for territorial advantage in "Free China" (i.e. areas not occupied by the Japanese or ruled by Japanese puppet governments).[28] The situation came to a head in late 1940 and early 1941 when there were major clashes between the Communist and KMT forces. In December 1940, Chiang Kai-shek demanded that the CPC’s New Fourth Army evacuate Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces. Under intense pressure, the New Fourth Army commanders complied. In 1941 the New Fourth Army Incident led to several thousand deaths in the CPC.[29] It also ended the Second united front formed earlier to fight the Japanese.[29] In general, developments in the Second Sino-Japanese War were to the advantage of the CPC. The KMT's resistance to the Japanese proved costly to Chiang Kai-shek. In 1944 the last major offensive, Operation Ichigo was launched by the Japanese against the KMT.[30]

Immediate post-war clashes (1945–1946)

From left to right: US diplomat Patrick J. Hurley, Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek, Chang Ch'ün, Wang Shi Jie (王世杰), Mao Zedong

Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.[30] Under the terms of the Japanese unconditional surrender dictated by the United States, Japanese troops were ordered to surrender to KMT troops and not to the CPC present in some of the occupied areas.[31] In Manchuria the Japanese surrendered to the Soviet Union. However the KMT had no forces in Manchuria. Chiang Kai-Shek ordered the Japanese troops to remain at their post to receive the Kuomintang and not surrender their arms to the communists.[31]

The first post-war peace negotiation was attended by both Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong in Chongqing from August 28, 1945 to Oct 10, 1945.[32] Both sides stressed the importance of a peaceful reconstruction, but the conference did not produce any concrete result.[32] Battles between the two sides continued even as the peace negotiation was in progress, until the agreement was reached in January 1946. However, large campaigns and full scale confrontations between the CPC and Chiang's own troops were temporarily avoided.

In the last month of World War II in East Asia, Soviet forces launched the mammoth Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation to attack the Japanese in Manchuria and along the Chinese-Mongolian border.[33] This operation destroyed the fighting capability of the Kwantung Army and left the USSR in occupation of all of Manchuria by the end of the war. Consequently, the 700,000 Japanese troops stationed in the region surrendered. Later in the year, Chiang Kai-shek realized that he lacked the resources to prevent a CPC takeover of Manchuria following the scheduled Soviet departure. He therefore made a deal with the Russians to delay their withdrawal until he had moved enough of his best-trained men and modern material into the region. KMT troops were then airlifted by the United States to occupy key cities in North China, while the countryside was already dominated by the CPC. The Soviets spent the extra time systematically dismantling the extensive Manchurian industrial base (worth up to 2 billion dollars) and shipping it back to their war-ravaged country.[34]

The truce fell apart in June 1946, when full scale war between CPC and KMT broke out on June 26. China then entered a state of civil war that lasted more than three years.[35]

Fighting in mainland China (1946–1950)

The PLA enters Beijing in the Pingjin Campaign and control the later capital of PRC

With the breakdown of talks, an all out war resumed. This stage is referred to in Communist media and historiography as the "War of Liberation" (simplified Chinese: 解放战争; pinyin: Jiěfàng Zhànzhēng). The United States assisted the KMT with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new surplus military supplies and generous loans of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military equipment.[36] They airlifted many KMT troops from central China to the Northeast (Manchuria). President Truman was very clear about what he described as "using the Japanese to hold off the Communists". In his memoirs he writes "It was perfectly clear to us that if we told the Japanese to lay down their arms immediately and march to the seaboard, the entire country would be taken over by the Communists. We therefore had to take the unusual step of using the enemy as a garrison until we could airlift Chinese National troops to South China and send Marines to guard the seaports".[37] Over 50,000 Marines were sent to guard strategic sites.

Although General Marshall himself stated that he knew of no evidence that the CPC were being supplied by the Soviet Union,[38] the CPC were able to capture a large number of weapons abandoned by the Japanese, including some tanks but it was not until large numbers of well trained KMT troops surrendered and joined the communist forces that the CPC were finally able to master the hardware.[39] But despite the disadvantage in military hardware, the CPC's ultimate trump card was its land reform policy. The effective propaganda machine of the CPC continued to make the irresistible promise in the countryside to the massive number of landless and starving Chinese peasants that by fighting for the CPC they will be able to take farmland from their landlords.[40] This strategy enabled the CPC to access an almost unlimited supply of manpower to use in combat as well as provide logistic support, despite suffering heavy casualties throughout many civil war campaigns. For example, during the Huaihai Campaign alone the CPC were able to mobilize 5,430,000 peasants to fight against the KMT forces.[41]

In March 1946 despite repeated requests from Chiang, the Soviet Red Army under the command of general Malinovsky continued to delay pulling out of Manchuria while he secretly told the CPC forces to move in behind them, because Stalin wanted Mao to have firm control of at least the northern part of Manchuria before the complete withdrawal of the Soviets.[42], which lead to full scale war for the control of the Northeast.

In March 1947 the KMT achieved a symbolic victory by seizing the CPC capital of Yenan.[43] But by late 1948 the CPC eventually captured the northern cities of Shenyang and Changchun and seized control of the Northeast after struggling through numerous set-backs while trying to take the cities, with the decisive Liaoshen Campaign.[44] The New First Army, regarded as the best KMT army, had to surrender after the CPC conducted a deadly 6-month siege of Changchun that resulted in more than 300,000 civilian deaths from starvation. The capture of large KMT formations provided them with the tanks, heavy artillery, and other combined-arms assets needed to prosecute offensive operations south of the Great Wall. By April 1948 the city of Luoyang fell, cutting the KMT army off from Xi'an.[45] Following a fierce battle, the CPC captured Jinan and Shandong province on September 28, 1948.

The Huaihai Campaign of late 1948 and early 1949 secured east-central China for the CPC.[44] The outcome of these encounters were decisive for the military outcome of the civil war.[44] The Beiping-Tianjin Campaign resulted in the Communist conquest of northern China lasting 64 days from November 21, 1948 to January 31, 1949.[46] The People's Liberation Army suffered heavy casualties from securing Zhangjiakou, Tianjin along with its port and garrison at Dagu, and Beiping.[46] The CPC brought 890,000 troops from the Northeast to oppose some 600,000 KMT troops.[45] There were 40,000 CPC casualties at Zhangjiakou alone. They in turned killed, wounded or captured some 520,000 KMT during the campaign.[46]

On April 21, Communist forces crossed the Yangtze River, capturing Nanjing, capital of the KMT's Republic of China.[25] In most cases, the surrounding countryside and small towns had come under Communist influence long before the cities. By late 1949, the People's Liberation Army was pursuing remnants of KMT forces southwards in southern China. The KMT government retreated from Nanjing on April 23 successively to Canton (Guangzhou) until October 15, Chongqing until November 25, and Chengdu before retreating to Taipei on December 10.

According to the Battle Summary in the 4 Years' Liberation War, from July 1946 to June 1950, the PLA eliminated 8,071,350 KMT forces and bandits, among them over 6,360,000 surrendered/defected/captured. Another calculation put the total enemy eliminated to about 10,658,000, which is based on combined unit reports. The PLA suffered more than 260,000 KIA and 1,040,000 WIA.[47][48][49]

CPC establish People's Republic of China / KMT retreat to Taiwan

Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.
<Fellow Chinese compatriots! I formally declare today the establishment of the Central People's Goverment of the People's Republic of China!>
Mao Zedong, on the occasion of the foundation of the People's Republic of China, at the rostrum of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, Beijing, October 1, 1949

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China with its capital at Beiping, which was renamed Beijing. Chiang Kai-shek and approximately 2 million Nationalist Chinese retreated from mainland China to the island of Taiwan.[50] There remained only isolated pockets of resistance, notably in Sichuan (ending soon after the fall of Chengdu on December 10, 1949) and in the far south.

A PRC attempt to take the ROC controlled island of Kinmen was thwarted in the Battle of Kuningtou halting the PLA advance towards Taiwan.[51] In December 1949, Chiang proclaimed Taipei, Taiwan, the temporary capital of the Republic of China and continued to assert his government as the sole legitimate authority in China.

The Communists' other amphibious operations of 1950 were more successful: they led to the Communist conquest of Hainan Island in April 1950, capture of Wanshan Islands off the Guangdong coast (May-August 1950) and of Zhoushan Island off Zhejiang (May 1950).[52]

Relationship between the two sides since 1950

Main article: Cross-Strait relations See also: Political status of Taiwan

Most observers expected Chiang's government to eventually fall in response to a Communist invasion of Taiwan, and the United States initially showed no interest in supporting Chiang's government in its final stand. Things changed radically with the onset of the Korean War in June 1950. At this point, allowing a total Communist victory over Chiang became politically impossible in the United States, and President Harry S. Truman ordered the United States Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan straits to prevent the ROC and PRC from attacking each other.[53]

In June 1949, the ROC declared a "closure" of all mainland China ports and its navy attempted to intercept all foreign ships. The closure covered from a point north of the mouth of Min river in Fujian province to the mouth of the Liao river in Manchuria.[54] Since mainland China's railroad network was underdeveloped, north-south trade depended heavily on sea lanes. ROC naval activity also caused severe hardship for mainland China fishermen.

After losing mainland China, a group of approximately 12,000 KMT soldiers escaped to Burma and continued launching guerrilla attacks into south China. Their leader, General Li Mi, was paid a salary by the ROC government and given the nominal title of Governor of Yunnan. Initially, the United States supported these remnants and the Central Intelligence Agency provided them with aid. After the Burmese government appealed to the United Nations in 1953, the U.S. began pressuring the ROC to withdraw its loyalists. By the end of 1954, nearly 6,000 soldiers had left Burma and Li Mi declared his army disbanded. However, thousands remained, and the ROC continued to supply and command them, even secretly supplying reinforcements at times.

After the ROC complained to the United Nations against the Soviet Union supporting the PRC, the UN General Assembly Resolution 505 was adopted on February 1, 1952 to condemn the Soviet Union.

Though viewed as a military liability by the United States, the ROC viewed its remaining islands in Fujian as vital for any future campaign to defeat the PRC and retake mainland China. On September 3, 1954, the First Taiwan Strait crisis began when the PLA started shelling Quemoy and threatened to take the Dachen Islands.[54] On January 20, 1955, the PLA took nearby Yijiangshan Island, with the entire ROC garrison of 720 troops killed or wounded defending the island. On January 24 of the same year, the United States Congress passed the Formosa Resolution authorizing the President to defend the ROC's offshore islands.[54] The First Taiwan Straits crisis ended in March 1955 when the PLA ceased its bombardment. The crisis was brought to a close during the Bandung conference.[54]

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis began on August 23, 1958 with air and naval engagements between the PRC and the ROC military forces, leading to intense artillery bombardment of Quemoy (by the PRC) and Amoy (by the ROC), and ended on November of the same year.[54] PLA patrol boats blockaded the islands from ROC supply ships. Though the United States rejected Chiang Kai-shek's proposal to bomb mainland China artillery batteries, it quickly moved to supply fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles to the ROC. It also provided amphibious assault ships to land supply, as a sunken ROC naval vessel was blocking the harbor. On September 7, the United States escorted a convoy of ROC supply ships and the PRC refrained from firing. On October 25, the PRC announced an "even-day ceasefire" — the PLA would only shell Quemoy on odd-numbered days.

Despite the end of the hostilities, the two sides have never signed any agreement or treaty to officially end the war.

Since the late 1980s, there has been growing economic exchanges on between the areas governed by the ROC and PRC while the Taiwan straits remain a dangerous flash point.[9] The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995–96 escalated tensions between both sides when the PRC tested a series of missiles not far from Taiwan.[55]

Beginning in the early 21st century, there has been a significant warming of relations between the KMT and the Communist Party of China with high level exchanges such as the 2005 Pan-Blue visit. But despite the improved relations between the two parties, direct talks between the presidents of the ROC and PRC have not yet occurred. And as recently as late 2009, polls in Taiwan have suggested that the DPP are becoming popular again, due KMT's policies with the PRC.

Commanders during the Civil War

Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang)

Chinese Communist Party

Warlords

List of Chinese Civil War weapons

Handguns

Rifles

Submachine Guns

Machine Guns

Heavy Machine Guns

Anti-Tank Weapons

Grenades

Misc

See also

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Notes

  1. ^ News.bbc.co.uk
  2. ^ Tsang, Steve. Government and Politics. pp. 241.
  3. ^ Tsang, Steve. The Gold War's Odd Couple: The Unintended Partnership Between the Republic of China and the UK, 1950–1958. pp. 62.
  4. ^ a b c Hsiung, James C. Levine, Steven I. [1992] (1992). M.E. Sharpe publishing. Sino-Japanese War, 1937–1945. ISBN 156324246X.
  5. ^ http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/massacre.html
  6. ^ Gay, Kathlyn. [2008] (2008). 21st Century Books. Mao Zedong's China. ISBN 0822572850. pg 7
  7. ^ Hutchings, Graham. [2001] (2001). Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674006585.
  8. ^ Leslie C. Green. The Contemporary Law of Armed Conflict. p. 79.
  9. ^ a b c So, Alvin Y. Lin, Nan. Poston, Dudley L. Contributor Professor, So, Alvin Y. [2001] (2001). The Chinese Triangle of Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0313308691.
  10. ^ a b c March, G. Patrick. Eastern Destiny: Russia in Asia and the North Pacific. [1996] (1996). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275955664. pg 205.
  11. ^ a b c Chang, H. H. Chang. [2007] (2007). Chiang Kai Shek - Asia's Man of Destiny. ISBN 1406758183. pg 126
  12. ^ Ho, Alfred K. Ho, Alfred Kuo-liang. [2004] (2004). China's Reforms and Reformers. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275960803. pg 7.
  13. ^ a b c d e Fairbank, John King. [1994] (1994). China: A New History. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674116739.
  14. ^ Zedong, Mao. Thompson, Roger R. [1990] (1990). Report from Xunwu. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804721823.
  15. ^ Brune, Lester H. Dean Burns, Richard Dean Burns. [2003] (2003). Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations. Routledge. ISBN 0415939143.
  16. ^ Zhao, Suisheng. [2004] (2004). A Nation-state by Construction: Dynamics of Modern Chinese Nationalism. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804750017.
  17. ^ a b Blasko, Dennis J. [2006] (2006). The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century. Routledge. ISBN 0415770033.
  18. ^ a b Esherick, Joseph. [2000] (2000). Remaking the Chinese City: Modernity and National Identity, 1900–1950. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824825187.
  19. ^ Clark, Anne Biller. Clark, Anne Bolling. Klein, Donald. Klein, Donald Walker. [1971] (1971). Harvard Univ. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese communism. Original from the University of Michigan v.1. Digitized Dec 21, 2006. p 134.
  20. ^ Guo, Xuezhi. [2002] (2002). The Ideal Chinese Political Leader: A Historical and Cultural Perspective. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275972593.
  21. ^ Theodore De Bary, William. Bloom, Irene. Chan, Wing-tsit. Adler, Joseph. Lufrano Richard. Lufrano, John. [1999] (1999). Sources of Chinese Tradition. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231109385. pg 328.
  22. ^ a b c d Lee, Lai to. Trade Unions in China: 1949 To the Present. [1986] (1986). National University of Singapore Press. ISBN 9971690934.
  23. ^ Lynch, Michael Lynch. Clausen, Søren. [2003] (2003). Mao. Routledge. ISBN 0415215773.
  24. ^ a b Manwaring, Max G. Joes, Anthony James. [2000] (2000). Beyond Declaring Victory and Coming Home: The Challenges of Peace and Stability operations. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275967689. pg 58
  25. ^ a b Zhang, Chunhou. Vaughan, C. Edwin. [2002] (2002). Mao Zedong as Poet and Revolutionary Leader: Social and Historical Perspectives. Lexington books. ISBN 0739104063. p 65, p 58
  26. ^ Bianco, Lucien. Bell, Muriel. [1971] (1971). Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915–1949. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804708274. pg 68
  27. ^ a b Ye, Zhaoyan Ye, Berry, Michael. [2003] (2003). Nanjing 1937: A Love Story. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231127545.
  28. ^ a b c Buss, Claude Albert. [1972] (1972). Stanford Alumni Association. The People's Republic of China and Richard Nixon. United States.
  29. ^ a b Schoppa, R. Keith. [2000] (2000). The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231112769.
  30. ^ a b Lary, Diana. [2007] (2007). China's Republic. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521842565.
  31. ^ a b Zarrow, Peter Gue. [2005] (2005). China in War and Revolution, 1895–1949. Routledge. ISBN 0415364477. pg 338.
  32. ^ a b Xu, Guangqiu. [2001] (2001). War Wings: The United States and Chinese Military Aviation, 1929–1949. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313320047. pg 201.
  33. ^ Bright, Richard Carl. [2007] (2007). Pain and Purpose in the Pacific: True Reports of War. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1425125441.
  34. ^ Lilley, James. China hands : nine decades of adventure, espionage, and diplomacy in Asia , PublicAffairs, New York, 2004
  35. ^ Hu, Jubin. [2003] (2003). Projecting a Nation: Chinese National Cinema Before 1949. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9622096107.
  36. ^ p23, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, William Blum, Zed Books 2004 London.
  37. ^ Harry S.Truman, Memoirs, Vol. Two: Years of Trial and Hope, 1946–1953 (Great Britain 1956), p.66
  38. ^ New York Times, 12 Jan 1947, p44.
  39. ^ Zeng Kelin, Zeng Kelin jianjun zishu (General Zeng Kelin Tells his story), Liaoning renmin chubanshe, Shenyang, 1997. p. 112-3
  40. ^ Ray Huang, cong dalishi jiaodu du Jiang Jieshi riji (Reading Chiang Kai-shek's dairy from a macro-history perspective), Chinatimes Publishing Press, Taipei, 1994, p. 441-3
  41. ^ Lung Ying-tai, dajiang dahai 1949, Commonwealth Publishing Press, Taipei, 2009, p.184
  42. ^ Michael M Sheng, Battling Western Imperialism, Princeton University Press, 1997, p.132 - 135
  43. ^ Lilley, James R. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia. ISBN 1586481363.
  44. ^ a b c Westad, Odd Arne. [2003] (2003). Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946–1950. Stanford University Press. ISBN 080474484X. p 192-193.
  45. ^ a b Elleman, Bruce A. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795–1989. Routledge. ISBN 0415214734.
  46. ^ a b c Finkelstein, David Michael. Ryan, Mark A. McDevitt, Michael. [2003] (2003). Chinese Warfighting: The PLA Experience Since 1949. M.E. Sharpe. China. ISBN 0765610884. p 63
  47. ^ http://www.huaxia.com/zt/js/06-033/2006/00488853.html
  48. ^ http://www.gmw.cn/content/2007-08/29/content_662647.htm
  49. ^ http://www.china.com.cn/news/60years/2009-09/23/content_18586264.htm
  50. ^ Cook, Chris Cook. Stevenson, John. [2005] (2005). The Routledge Companion to World History Since 1914. Routledge. ISBN 0415345847. p 376.
  51. ^ Qi, Bangyuan. Wang, Dewei. Wang, David Der-wei. [2003] (2003). The Last of the Whampoa Breed: Stories of the Chinese Diaspora. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231130023. pg 2
  52. ^ MacFarquhar, Roderick. Fairbank, John K. Twitchett, Denis C. [1991] (1991). The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521243378. pg 820.
  53. ^ Bush, Richard C. [2005] (2005). Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 081571288X.
  54. ^ a b c d e Tsang, Steve Yui-Sang Tsang. The Cold War's Odd Couple: The Unintended Partnership Between the Republic of China and the UK, 1950–1958. [2006] (2006). I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1850438420. p 155, p 115-120, p 139-145
  55. ^ Behnke, Alison. [2007] (2007). Taiwan in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 082257148X.

External links

Chinese Civil War
Main events pre-1945 Main events post-1945 Specific articles

Part of the Cold War

Primary participants

[[zh:国

Categories: Chinese Civil War | Concurrent wars to World War II | Wars of independence

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