Chinese Civil War (focusing on 1945-1949)
1927-1949
Records in Chinese
BACKGROUND
The Chinese Civil War (国共内战) denotes the conflicts between the Chinese Nationalist government (headed by the KMT) and the CCP from 1927 to 1945.
According to the Chinese records, the conflict began when Wang Jingwei (汪精卫, the deputy of Jiang who later headed the puppet government in Nanjing) persecuted Communist party members after Sun Zhongshan/Sun Yat-Sen’s death. The CCP, then significantly weaker than the Nationalist government, was forced to relocate. Conflicts continued until the start of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, when the two parties cooperated to fend off foreign invaders. Even then, tension between the parties continued throughout the war.
AFTER THE WAR OF RESISTANCE AGAINST JAPANESE AGGRESSION
After the war with Japan, the U.S. sent diplomats to mediate negotiations between the CCP and the KMT in December 1945. The KMT was at an advantage with a force of around 4.3 million (4,300,000) men, while the CCP had around 1.27 million (1,270,000) men.
While the CCP lost the Battle of Siping (四平战役) in May 1946, Jiang Jieshi (蒋介石, also known as Chiang Kai-shek) was pressured by the U.S. for a ten-day ceasefire on May 31, which later extended to a four-month ceasefire. This bought time for the CCP troops to readjust.
Later in the year, both the U.S. and the UK imposed an embargo of ammunition with China as the response to the KMT’s assassination of various important CCP members like Li Gongpu (李公朴). This was disadvantageous to the KMT, who the western powers largely supported in an effort to combat the spread of communism.
Meanwhile, the CCP continued to receive support from the USSR, which trained some Chinese officers in its military academies and sent an army of 200,000 Korean soldiers to help. Throughout the war, the KMT witnessed decreases in their troops’ numbers, while CCP troops expanded. By February 1949, CCP had the advantage in numbers, having 3.58 million men while the KMT only had 2.04 million enlisted.
Once the KMT realized its position in a significant disadvantage, the party attempted to maintain its control over the Southern half of China, divided by the Yangtze River from CCP. However, the KMT’s diplomatic attempts to secure support from the U.S. were unsuccessful (the U.S. decided to mostly stop participating in the matter). The CCP proclaimed the establishment of a Communist central government in Beijing on October 1, 1949, and Jiang eventually fled to Taiwan from Mainland China in December. The current Communist Chinese state was formed.
Records in English
BACKGROUND
The Chinese Civil War (国共内战), interestingly, is defined as only between 1945-1949 in some English records. The conflict between the CCP and the KMT was put on hold during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but the two parties started competing for footing in Central and Northeastern China after the war was won. The KMT had the advantage of U.S. support, but the Communists had the edge of popular support, as the KMT is known to be corrupt and ineffective in its administration.
THE CONFLICT
In 1945, peacefully settling the conflict still seemed possible. Negotiations occurred until U.S. mediation, but armed conflicts erupted between the two parties before details of terms could be sorted out. After the USSR withdrew from Northeastern China in 1946, the Nationalists took Shenyang (沈阳) and Changchun (长春). The Nationalists continued on the offensive, and occupied various important strongholds like Zhangjiakou (张家口, also known as Kalgan).
The Nationalists established a National Assembly that contained no Communists in late 1946, and Jiang Jieshi charged the CCP with rebellion in March 1947. However, the tide started turning. The Communists’ strategy in maintaining good relationships with the common people proved effective, and the CCP army started to reduce KMT influences in the areas the latter just captured. The CCP’s leader Mao Zedong (毛泽东) was so confident that, in a December 1947 meeting, he announced that the “revolutionary war has reached a turning point.” [See Note 1]
By early 1948, the Nationalists, despite outnumbering the Communists by around 5:1, were on the losing side in conflicts in most major cities. The CCP army has cut off supply routes for Nationalist holds in Northern China by occupying the rural areas, and the KMT was only holding onto larger cities through dropping goods with planes.
The KMT therefore retreated to south of the Yangtze River, hoping to rule at least half of the country. However, territories until KMT control were not faring so well. Cities witnessed rapid inflation and Nationalists efforts to control inflation by setting strict price limits and penalties for financial crimes were not popular with the common people, especially as powerful individuals often avoided persecution for crimes.
In 1949, the CCP made more territorial gains, marching into Beijing (北京), Nanjing (南京), and Qingdao (青岛), along with other major cities. On October 1, 1949, Mao asserted the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Nationalist governors in provinces began to surrender to the Communists, and by December 1949, the CCP took over all of Mainland China.
Analysis on Differences
The Chinese records and English records provided similar basic facts: the Nationalists started with an advantage in the numbers, were on the offensive in the early stages of war, and were supported by the U.S. The Communists were more popular with the people, and won the war when the KMT government proved corrupt and ineffective.
The only subtle difference lies in the undertone of the narratives. The Chinese records were unsurprisingly more pro-CCP, using words like liberating for CCP takeovers. The English records were more pro-KMT, probably because the western world supported the KMT and was (and still is) disapproving of communism and any regime that aligned with the ideal. Both sides’ attitudes can therefore be taken with a grain of salt, and focusing on the facts of events may prove more helpful for learning about this war.