Chinese Civil War Worksheets
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Summary
- The Kuomintang at the Start of the Civil War
- Mao Zedong and the Events of the Civil War
- The Civil War After the Second World War
Key Facts And Information
Let’s know more about the Chinese Civil War!
The Chinese Civil War was a protracted military conflict that lasted intermittently from 1927 to 1949 between the Nationalist government Kuomintang (KMT) under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Mao Zedong. The Communist victory and establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) prompted the Nationalist government to retreat to Taiwan due to the conflict.
Depiction of the Chinese Civil War
THE KUOMINTANG AT THE START OF THE CIVIL WAR
- When the Qing dynasty fell in 1911, warlords controlled different parts of China. Yuan Shikai became the country’s president, but part of his plan was to restore the empire with him as the emperor. When Shikai died in 1916, Sun Yat-sen regained control of China with the help of the organisation he founded in 1898, called the League of the Common Alliance.
- This was later renamed to Guomindang or Kuomintang (KMT), a Nationalist party that sought assistance from foreign governments to defeat the warlords.
- In 1921, the Soviet Union agreed to help Sun Yat-sen on the condition that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) be allowed to join the Nationalist government.
- When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, Soviet-educated Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the Guomindang. He allowed the unification of the CCP with his government to defeat the warlords. The CCP, which only had an estimated three hundred members at that time, joined the Kuomintang army, and the First United Front was created to defeat the warlords.
- From 1926 until 1927, the First United Front participated in the Northern Expedition to defeat the warlords and create a unified government.
- By 1927, the front ended when the ‘White Terror’ occurred. This event killed or purified communists from the Nationalist party and started the Ten-year Civil War in China (1927–1937). The CCP leaders were forced to flee to the Jiangxi hills as General Chiang Kai-shek took control of Beijing. By 1931, the CCP members regrouped and formed the Jiangxi Soviet. At that time, the CCP had organised its armed forces into the Red Army.
- In 1934, Chiang Kai-shek led a massive campaign against the CCP, which forced the latter to escape towards the north. This event was eventually known as the Long March. In the Long March, the Red Army, comprising 100,000 soldiers, covered 10,000 km until they reached Shaanxi by 1935. It is said that 95,000 soldiers died, and this is the period when Mao Zedong gained leadership of the Red Army.
- Mao Zedong’s views spread to hundreds of communities encountered during the Long March. Methods for spreading ideology included:
- During mass meetings, chants like ‘kill the landlord’ and ‘split the land’ were chanted.
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- Land expropriation from rich landlords and redistribution to peasants.
- Respectful treatment of peasants and their goods.
- The Red Army followed the Eight Points of Attention. These were new experiences for peasants, as imperial soldiers, warlord armies and Nationalist forces had previously been harsh and avaricious towards them.Cadres who stayed in communities to create party cells implemented education initiatives.
MAO ZEDONG AND THE EVENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR
- Mao Zedong was born on 26 December 1893 in Shaoshan village, Hunan Province, China, to a poor peasant family. Mao was a staunch supporter of anti-imperialism in China. While working at Peking University, he adopted Marxism–Leninism and became a founding member of the CCP. On 7 September 1927, Mao led the Autumn Harvest Uprising, an uprising in Hunan and Jiangxi that led to the establishment of the short-lived Hunan Soviet.
- During the Chinese Civil War, Mao helped establish the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. He became the leader of the CCP during the Long March and the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 until his death in 1976.
- In 1931, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Manchuria, the northern region of China. They massacred 300,000 people and forced the Nationalists and the Communist party to collaborate in the Second United Front. After the Second World War, the Chinese Communists started to organise in the northern part of the country. They formalised their group through the ‘mass line’ policy in which they responded to the needs and demands of the Chinese people.
Japanese troops during the invasion of Manchuria
- Furthermore, they confiscated land from landlords in the area. Thus, when the war ended, around twenty to thirty million Chinese were already living under a Communist system with its military force, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
- The occupation of Manchuria by the Soviet Army forced the Japanese to surrender in 1946.
- When the Soviets withdrew from the region, the Nationalists occupying Mukden, the largest city in the region, and the Communists occupying northern Manchuria scrambled for control of the area.
- When the Nationalists occupied Changchun, the northeast part of the region, a 15-day truce was held from 6 to 22 June, and fighting took place in different areas of China. The Allies’ terms of the unconditional surrender required Japanese troops to surrender to KMT troops but not to the CCP, which was present in some of the conquered territories. In Manchuria, where the KMT lacked troops, the Japanese surrendered to the Soviet Union.
- Chiang Kai-shek reminded Japanese troops to remain at their stations to meet the KMT, but Communist forces quickly began accepting Japanese surrenders and fighting any who resisted. General Albert Coady Wedemeyer of the United States (US) Army became disturbed by these developments and requested that seven American divisions be sent to China; however, US General George C. Marshall responded that it should not be prioritised over Japan and Korea.
- The first post-war peace talks, attended by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, took place in Chongqing from 28 August to 10 October 1945. Chiang came into the meeting with an advantage because he had recently negotiated a goodwill deal with the Soviet Union while the Communists were still pressuring the Japanese to surrender in some areas.
- Mao was escorted by American ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, who was loyal to Chiang but also wanted to assure Mao’s safety given the history between the two Chinese leaders. It ended with the signing of the Double Tenth Agreement. Both sides emphasised the significance of a peaceful reconstruction, but the summit produced no tangible outcomes. Battles between the two sides continued even as peace talks were underway until a settlement was reached in January 1946. However, significant campaigns and fully fledged clashes between the CCP and Chiang’s army were temporarily avoided. Hurley resigned on 26 November 1945, believing that Chiang had violated his deal with the Communists. Marshall succeeded Hurley in December 1945.
- In the final month of the Second World War in East Asia, Soviet forces launched the massive Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation against Japan’s Kwantung Army in Manchuria and along the Chinese–Mongolian border.
- This operation annihilated the Kwantung Army in three weeks. It resulted in the USSR seizing all of Manchuria by the war’s end, leaving a total power vacuum for local Chinese troops.
THE CIVIL WAR AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
- The Civil War marked an ideological schism between the Communist CPC and the KMT’s version of nationalism. It persisted periodically until late 1937 when the two parties formed the Second United Front to fight the Japanese menace and keep the country from collapsing. However, the CPC–KMT collaboration was only in name. During the Second World War, the two parties cooperated and coordinated only minimally. During the Second United Front, the CPC and the KMT continued to compete for territorial advantage in ‘Free China’, areas not invaded by the Japanese or administered by Japanese puppet governments.
- In general, the CPC benefited from developments in the Second Sino-Japanese War since its guerilla war methods gained popular support in Japanese-occupied areas, while the KMT was forced to defend the country against the main Japanese campaigns because it was the legal Chinese government.
- Under the conditions of the US-mandated Japanese unconditional surrender, Japanese troops were required to submit to KMT troops rather than the CPC, which was present in some of the conquered areas. In Manchuria, where the KMT lacked troops, the Japanese surrendered to the Soviet Union.
- On 21 June 1946, a tenuous armistice between the warring factions collapsed, resulting in a full-scale war between the CPC and the KMT. On 20 July 1946, Chiang Kai-shek launched a massive assault on Communist territory, marking the end of the Chinese Civil War. After three years of rigorous military conflicts, Mao Zedong established the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949, with Beijing as its capital.
- Following the fall of Sichuan, Chiang Kai-shek and nearly two million Nationalist Chinese fled to Taiwan from mainland China. In December 1949, Chiang declared Taipei, Taiwan, the Republic of China’s interim capital and maintained his government’s status as China’s sole lawful authority.
- During the war, both the Nationalists and the Communists committed major crimes, with both sides intentionally killing millions of non-combatants.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Chinese Civil War
- What was the Chinese Civil War?
The Chinese Civil War was a conflict over control of China between the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong.
- When did the Chinese Civil War happen?
The war occurred in two main phases:
1927–1937 (interrupted by WWII) and 1946–1949 (resumed after WWII and ended with Communist victory) - What caused the Chinese Civil War?
It stemmed from ideological differences—Nationalists favoured a centralised republic, while Communists wanted a socialist state. Power struggles and the breakdown of the United Front (a temporary alliance) also contributed.