Chinese Civil War EA2

20th Century Wars

Long Term Causes

Instability under Manchu rule

Imperialism & Foreign influence in China → threat of the West

Political rebellions

creation of political parties

Why was Manchu rule unstable?

majority population → peasants

extreme poverty

unequal taxation

population growth → famine

What was imperialism & foreign influence like in China?

divided into spheres of influence

exploited resources

unfair trade

christianity threatened culture

What political rebellions happened in China?

Pu Yi: Rules in 1908 → milt. does not support → provinces declare independence → Manchu overthrown → Republic

Goals: resist the West, reform, modernize, unify china (regionalism present)

What political parties were created before the CCW?

Guomindang (GMD)

• est by sun yixian 1912

• based on 3 principles: democracy, nationalism, people’s livelihood (land redist. & reform)

• Jiang Jieshi takes over

Communist Party of China (CCP)

• est after ToV

• Momentum from student-lead protests

• support for protests

• led by Mao Zedong

How were the long term causes of the Chinese Civil War and Spanish Civil War similar?

• class/wealth divide → popularity of marxism/communism and the republicans

• church involved (christianity) → in spain already powerful and accepted, in china it was new and people were trying to limit it

• regionalism - states loyal to themselves, lacks central government

• a lot of protests and rebellions

• aid from foreign countries

• USSR involved trying to spread communism (only succeeds in China)

What were some differences in the long term causes of the CCW and the SCW?

China

• more ideological

• support from younger gens

• has more foreign influence as the cause (hatred of west)

Spain

• dozens of political parties making the politics the main reasons for the war

• general support

short term causes

Regionalism & warlords

foreign influence of USSR & comintern

first united front

northern exhibition

Split of First united front

Regionalism & Warlords

after death of Yuan → republic collapsed

china broke into small states, each controlled by a warlord & their private armies

• ruled independently → seperate taxes, laws, currencies

• constant war

peasants suffered the most

no warlord willing to give up power to central gov.

impact: embarrassement for Chinese civilians - warlords & foreign influence = more nationalism

how did foreign influence of USSR & Comintern influence the CCW?

trying to spread communism and overthrow “international bourgeoisie”

funded international revolts to promote communism

What was the first united front and how did it influence the CCW?

CCP and GMD unite to defeat warlords and gain control over china → centralize china into one united country

led directly to the northern exhibition

• 2 years

• destroyed warlords

• removed some foreign influence

after the northern exhibition → GMD announced their legitimacy as rulers of china, putting the capital at Nanjing → CCP didn’t like that and challenged their role → break up of 1st united front & CIVIL WAR!!

what were some similarities between the short term causes of the CCW and SCW?

comintern influences

broke into small states before uniting/civil war again (catalonia and chinese states); regionalism

divided political parties

unification of some kind to defeat a greater enemy (popular front and united front)

baseline problems remain after monarchy/dynasties dissolve (poverty, famine, class divide, unequal rep)

communism & socialism heavily present

class, rural vs suburb/city divide

republic collapse

What were the immediate causes of the CCW?

GMD attacks CCP

• warlord fighting over!

• ideological differences apparent and both want control! uh oh

• popular support (peasants) for CCP → angered Jiang (support from landlords/middle class)

• “purification movement” (massacre communists, ¼ mil killed by GMD)

• CCP retreated to mountains → GMD pushed them → CIVIL WARRRRRRR

What were the strengths/successes of the CCP

• long march

• propaganda - strength & support for Mao

• increased support for fighting Ja. & aligning with GMD

• dedicated soldiers and have a strong purpose

• fighting tactics - knowledge of terrain (guerrilla war)

What were the weaknesses/failure of the CCP

• lost 90% of CCP soldiers → have to retreat

• no weapons, money

What were the strategies/goals of the CCP?

guerilla fighters - non conventional tactics → equalizing playing field → war of attrition

• trying to avoid disadvantageous head-to-head fighting/direct confrontation

fight and implement marxism

Maoism - political revolutionary of peasants; independent from foreign influence

• different from trad. marxism b/c only focuses on peasants

focus on surviving (that would be a win) → make enemies give up

no risks

react to GMD

counter-attacks

dependent on support

education, training of peasants

civilians are combatants (85% of population supporting CCP)

what were the strengths of the GMD?

weapons

money

upper class support - investments

what were the failures/weaknesses of the GMD?

poor treatment of peasants → unpopular

lost support for not fighting Ja.

failure to implement Sun’s 3 principles of democracy

assumed US would aide in Ja. loss

what were the strategies/goals of GMD?

traditional warfare, infantry

eliminate communists, unite people & carry out Sun’s 3 principles of democracy (failed)

focused on middle/urban class

strat: surround arounds of communist support to cut off supllies & resources → 5 encirclement campaigns

1st 4 campaigns launced between 1930-1933 → while Ja was invading Manchuria

What were the similarities between the practices of war in the SCW and the CCW?

Republicans in Spain & CCP/GMD had support from USSR & comintern → weapons

both had shift in power from one side to other GMD → CCP

• Republicans → CCP

• Republicans → Nationalists

lower class supports for communists

Republicans and GMD used encirclement

nationalistic party on offensive

Republican & CCP lack modernized weapons

What were the differences in the practices of the SCW and the CCW?

Guerrilla (China) and Traditional (Spain)

spain had moe international involvement and 1st stage of China didn’t have any international involvement

goals differed

• CCP wanted attrition, remove enemy (make them surrender)

• Nationalists wanted resources, industry control

Significant events of the CCW

Long March

Mao’s Revolutionary Warfare Model

First Phase of Civil War

Second United Front

Second Phase of Civil War

What was the long march?

5th attempt to encircle CCP → GMD sent 800 000 men w/ air cover and artillery (conventional)

Mao order retreat (6 000 miles on foot)

90% of men died in CCP

at the same time as Japan expanding along China’s coast (‘31-’37 Nanjing)

Why was the long march considered a success despite losing 90% of their men?

because they didn’t end up surrendering

GMD lost a lot of men

people leaving GMD in 1000s and joining CCP

GMD troops demoralized

What was the first phase of the civil war?

red army under mao and Zhou Enlai faced increasingly strong GMD forces (300 000 men)

red army defeated GMD

CCP allowed GMD to enter their territory & round up communists but staged ambushes

1933 - CCP forced GMD back to the coast

ends with the long march

GMD demoralized

CCP moralized, supported by peasants

ends w/ 2nd united front

Mao’s revolutionary warfare model

1. setting up bases of operations

2. organization phase-trained in guerrilla warfare, education

3. defense of bases - booby traps, leaves -covered ditches, perimeter

4. Guerrilla phase - offensive, watching, ambushing

5. Protracted war - war of attrition, survive → succeed

6. seizing power (conventional combat)

ended with being success

creates loyal population motivated by ideology - more committed for the “greater good”

Ready to fight for Mao

Second United Front

Mao was a leader who followed through on his promises (taxes, women’s rights, education, land reform) → popularity skyrockets

GMD lost land to Ja, corruption, ill-treated troops economic problems (different style of leadership)

• low on supplies, lacked control, led to repression, high death toll, support

Second united front receiving aid from USA

GMD lost territory, control, support, supplies, troops

CCP gained support, unaffected by Ja expansion

Second Phase of Civil War

USSR controlled Manchuria → CCP forces came to occupy → clashed w/ GMD

US Gen. Marshal sen mediate

US supported coalition gov, did not support a single party state (continued to fund GMD)

CCP condemned US

temporary truce gave time for Mao to rebuild

truce broke and fighting resumes July, 1947

what were the impacts of th second phase of the civil war on the CCW?

higher degrees of international involvement

CCP offensive becomes more conventional fight

becomes part of global Cold War

red army offensive against railways (guerrilla) → offensives in cities (conventional)

GMD morale decreases even more

N. China under communist control; CCP wins Nanjing & Shanghai

land reform more popular

how was the international involvement of the CCW?

Cairo conference - Jiang, FDR, Churchill meet to discuss post-war world

us support

• using planes to move GMD troops

• anti-communists given ‘blank-check’ → 50 000 Marines sent to guard strategi sites, 100 000 US troops → Shandong

• gave equipment, supplies, & trained 500 000 GMD troops

• transported GMD forces to occupy liberated zones

• would do whatever it took to defeat communists

USSR

• reluctant

• didn’t want china as an enemy if they became too powerful

• less support than us

• gives training, independent aid, Ja weapons salvaged from WWII

• difference in goals between Mao and Stalin

What is the difference between how foreign involvement impacted the Spanish civil war and the Chinese Civil War?

SCW

• International aid greatly impacted the outcome

• Lack of support for the republicans → weakened → strengthened Nationalists

CCW

• CCP didn’t get barely any foreign aid

• GMD got a lot of foreign aid from US → still lost

How did the CCW end?

Oct 1949

• Mao proclaimed est. of People’s Republic of China (PRC)

Dec 1949

• GMD fled to Taiwan → Jiang proclaimed Taiwan the Republic of China (ROC)

Effects of the CCW on China?

tensions between PRC & ROC - progresses w/ separate govs.

CCP consolidated control - authorization rule (Nazism) est.

Society becomes militarized, utilized youth

Mao → god like status (from lack of religion)

suppression of individual rights

Effects of the CCW on Asia as a whole?

inspired communist uprisings in region

Mao aides spread of communism (Cambodia, N. Korea, Viet. War)

• leads to korean war

division/confusion over ROC (Taiwan) vs. PRC (China)

Effects of the CCW on the USSR?

Sino-Soviet Treaty of Alliance

Soviet aide in construction & technology

Stalin feared Mao as a rival

Relations decrease after stalin’s death (Mao misses his bestie) → sino-soviet split in 1960s

Impact on the Cold War

globalization of cold war

refused to recognize PRC (W. nations & UN)

US increased aid to Ja & S. Korea

SEATO used to buffer threat of China

• anti-communist nations in Asia, Asian NATO