Civil War

Wednesday, 11 May 2011

7:49 PM

1st Phase - 1927-37

The First Phase of the Chinese Civil War 1927-37

- CCP splits in two

1. Moscow trained central-leadership went underground in Shanghai, tried to organise
urban revolts but failed. From 1931 Mao used the failure the Moscow directed leadership
to consolidate his power as the real leader of the CCP.
2. Mao led another group to the countryside of Hunan and Jiangxi where they est.
independent soviet areas. There Mao and Zhu De founded the Red Army.

1930-1934  Chiang Kai-Shek launched a series of five military Campaigns of

Encirclement and Extermination against the CCP in the Kiangsi Soviet. During these
campaigns Mao and Zhu De successfully developed the tactics of guerrilla warfare from
base areas in the countryside.
• Tactics of mobile infiltration and guerrilla warfare developed by Mao helped the
CCP fight off the first four campaigns.
• For the fifth one, Chiang gathered about 700, 000 troops (you know, the casual
700,000) and est. a series of blockhouses around the CCP positions. The Central
Communist Party abandoned Mao’s guerrilla tactics and used regular warfare tactics
against the better equipped (had American weapons) and larger Nationalist forces. As a
result, the CCP suffered heavy losses and were nearly crushed completely.
BUT in order to avoid total extermination, on Oct. 15, 1934, the remaining 85000 troops,
15000 admin personnel and 35 women broke through the Nationalist lines and fled
westward. This was the start of the LONG MARCH. Mao not in control at this point of
events, Zhu De is in control.

The Long March

Long March: Commences October 1934

6000 miles north, a retreat.
Somewhere between 100, 000 and 200, 000 began the march. Only those who were not
injured could march. Many were left behind and slaughtered by KMT.
During the first three months of the march the Communists were subjected to constant
bombardment form Chiang’s air forces and attacks from his army, losing over half their
men this way. Moral was low when they arrived in Tsun-i. At a conference there in 1935,
Mao established dominance of the party.
Travelled over 18 mountain ranges and 24 rivers
Days without eating
Only 7000 and 8000 Red Army troops survived
Long March Video
- Began during 1934 60, 000 communists had been massacred.
April 1934: communists losing, totally surrounded.
Chang-Kai Shek wanted to stamp communism out.
Red Army equipment and munition less than that of nationalists (armed with US
weapons).
 The Long March was a military retreat North to give the Communists an opportunity to
regroup.
Mao was not yet the leader, but agreed with retreat.
No real objective at the start.

2nd phase 1946-49

During the Second Phase of the Civil War 1946-49

REASONS FOR USSR INVOLVEMENT

Stalin’s position/ foreign intervention:
Political, and territorial.
- wanted to prevent the rise of a strong central government in China
- wanted to gain territory around and at China’s borderlands

Since Stalin thought that Mao would make a stronger ruler of China than Chiang, his policy
was to support the nationalists and hostile to the CCP.

US objectives:
- create a pro-American China as:
a) a huge market for US capital and trade
b) a pro-American neighbour of the USSR

Serious fighting broke out for the second time between armies in Manchuria in April 1946.
Initially, the KMT were successful. In March 1947 they seized Yenan.
BUT by mid 1947 they were overstretched in occupying all the areas gained, and the CCP
launched a counter-offensive in Manchuria.
The People’s Liberation Army (new name for the Red Army) won victories in Manchuria in
1948, took Beijing in early 1949 and Nanjing in April 1949.

Why did the Communists win?

(Some of this information is split further down, but here are some notes)

It’s important to be aware of the many advantages the Nationalists had, including the fact
they were recognised and supported by the USA and the USSR, they had a large, US
equipped army, the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) they fought against were experienced
in guerrilla warfare, not modern warfare with modern weapons and the nationalists had a
monopoly of air power.

However:

Downfalls of the Nationalists Reasons for CCP success

- The KMT was a government of industrialists, - CCP were able to present themselves
bankers and landlords. It made no attempt to as more patriotic than the KMT who
gain the support of the peasantry would more reliably resist foreign
- It was inefficient  little attempt was made to influences and forces
improve the conditions of the masses, high taxes
and forced labour was resented, the admin of the
KMT was notoriously corrupt (laws were not
applied impartially to rich and poor alike, KMT
did not prevent hoarding of rice during famines
by profiteers, US aid went into pockets of
officials)
- captured the peasants hearts, with Mao
- paid for the wars by printing money. Led to
hyperinflation.
- The KMT forces were allowed to loot and
pillage the countryside
- KMT relied upon a hated secret police system
- the KMT lacked good generals and was poorly
led
KMT was more interested in wiping out
communists than dealing with threat of Japan,
invasion of Manchuria
- They were seen as more effective
fighters than the KMT during the Sino-
Japanese War
- Mao was successful in cultivating the
support of the peasantry
- The Long March assumed a position of
some sort of national epic and it’s spell
gaining the idea that he had the
“mandate of heaven’
- Mao had capable general (like Zhu De
and Lin Biaou)
 Mao took advantage of
KMT weaknesses
- strong, popular, basic ideology
- The CCP were not allowed to loot and
pillage countryside “repay, replenish,
repair”
-communist land policy far more
attractive