Chinese Civil War Pt 2 Outline 4

Key Events of the Long March

Crossing the Xiang River

• The CCP led by the Twenty Eight Bolsheviks did not strategize and simply led their men in a line across the river where the GMD’s forces could just attack

  • Also burdened with furniture and unnecessary equipment

• Around 50,000 died

Zunyi Conference - January 1935

• CCP used guerilla tactics to capture Zunyi(town)

• Mao decided as the new leader in a party conference; Twenty Eight Bolsheviks were unreliable

Upper Yangtze River Crossing

• Mao led the Red Army toward Sichuan to meet up with Zhang Guotao’s army of 40,000

• Had to cross the Yangtze River; GMD destroyed all boats so Mao pretended his army was constructing a bridge

• CCP crossed the river in another place before the GMD realized

The Luding Bridge

• Mao was moving quickly and the Red Army arrived at the Dadu River

• GMD did not burn down the bridge created by locals in worry of local outrage

• Specific detail events unclear

  • CCP claims 22 volunteers crossed the bridge holding onto chains while throwing grenades at enemies who fired machine guns at them

    • 5 survived, but took out machine gun posts allowing others to place new wooden boards

• CCP morale booster, many members of GMD switched sides

Disputes between Zhang Guotao, Zhu De and Mao

• 10,000 CCP finally met with Zhang’s 45,000 men in Sichuan

• Mao wanted to go north to the Shaanxi Soviet to fight the Japanese; Zhang wanted to stay in West Sichuan or go further west to stay near the USSR

  • Mao and Zhang could not agree and split up – Zhu De went with Zhang but the GMD attacked them and split their forces

    • Zhu fled to join Mao, while Zhang’s forces were destroyed

Songpan Marshes

• Mao had to cross the deadly unmapped Songpan Marshes to get to Shaanxi

• Threats

  • Deep mud where men could drown

  • Aggressive Local Tribes

  • Starvation & eating poisonous fruits

• 7,000/10,000 men made it

Shaanxi

• Mao’s army arrived in Shaanxi in October 1935 and set up a communist base in Yan’an

  • Endured 15 major battles (and other smaller skirmishes) to arrive here

Mao and Revolutionary Warfare

• Not just a war for power, but also for revolutionizing China

• Mao believed peasants were key to revolution

• Set up remote base areas to teach communism, create new tax/justice systems

• Treated peasants well and gained their trust

• Base areas expanded, called the ‘organization phase’

• Main goal was to take countryside first, isolate cities

• Defended bases with guerrilla tactics

  • hit-and-run, used terrain & locals

• Provoke GMD into overreactions and turn peasants against them

• The final stage would be to have the guerrilla units unite into regular army and then take cities

End of First Stage – Second United Front (1937)

• Long March saved CCP, made Mao top leader

• Jiang saw Japan as less dangerous than CCP (“disease of the skin vs disease of the heart”)

• Mao called for United Front vs Japan

• Comintern (not Mao) pushed for alliance

• Jiang kidnapped in Xi’an 1936 and was released after 13 days

• April 1937: Second United Front formed

• Civil war paused so they could focus on Japanese invasion

• GMD hoped for USSR + USA support

• CCP gained legitimacy, they were not just “bandits” anymore

• Hoped war would weaken GMD

• War started at Marco Polo Bridge, July 1937

• GMD lost 300,000 in Battle of Shanghai, moved capital to Chongqing

• Nanjing left behind and then Rape of Nanjing happened

Why CCP Survived First Stage

CCP Successes

• Long March, survival, achieved base in Yan’an

• Huge propaganda win

  • said they were going north to fight Japan

• Gave Mao control of CCP

• Gained fighting experience, tight revolutionary group

• Offer to unite with GMD vs Japan which made CCP look patriotic

GMD Mistakes

• Focused on CCP instead of Japan, looked unpatriotic

• Treated peasants badly

• Didn’t apply Sun’s Three Principles

• Looked corrupt and repressive

The Sino-Japanese War

• War vs Japan changed everything

  • affected both CCP and GMD

Impact on GMD

• Moved capital to Chongqing, let Japan take east coast

• Sent best troops to Yan’an instead of fighting Japan

• Hoped USA would win war for them

  • bad for morale

• Lost tax base due to Japanese occupation so they printed money which led to inflation

• Inflation hit middle class hard

• Army was corrupt and abusive

  • conscription was hated

• Couldn’t get US aid easily

  • ports/roads blocked

• Still filled with factionalism, didn’t control much territory

• War drained GMD militarily, financially, psychologically

• Public lost respect

  • looked like they were waiting for US to do the work

Impact on CCP

• Mao’s policy: 70% expansion, 20% dealing with GMD, 10% fighting Japan

• By 1945: CCP liberated 678 towns

• Introduced land reform, schools, reduced taxes, canceled debt

• Won peasant support through real reform

• Treated women equally

  • new rights to marry, vote, military, education

• Tried to be self-sufficient during GMD blockade

  • taxed in goods, grew food

• Rectification Campaigns 1941–44

  • enforced Maoist ideas, removed opposition

• Built unity in CCP, crushed Soviet-aligned factions

• 1940: Hundred Regiments Offensive

  • biggest CCP campaign vs Japan

• CCP seen as real nationalists fighting for China

• Used anti-American & anti-GMD propaganda effectively

Second Phase of Civil War (1946–49)

Failure of USA

• Tried to broker peace

  • wanted stable China, no Cold War escalation

• General Marshall got both sides to agree to peace plan

• But both moved troops to Manchuria anyway

• Peace failed, war restarted

• US was stuck and wanted peace, but still sent aid to Jiang

• CCP said US was backing imperialist puppet (GMD)

• Presence of US meant good propaganda for Mao

Initial GMD Victories (1945–47)

• GMD had 4 mil troops vs CCP’s 1 mil

• Took Manchuria first, used US transport and troops

• CCP got Soviet help

  • weapons from captured Japanese stockpiles

• GMD pushed CCP out of cities

• Mao went back to guerrilla base strategy

• GMD looked like corrupt occupiers so people turned on them

• Marshall’s truce fell apart, GMD took central Manchuria by May 1946

• CCP demanded ceasefire, blamed USA

CCP on the Offensive (1947–48)

• 1947 truce saved CCP HQ from destruction

• CCP used truce time to train, launch land reforms

• In July, war resumed, PLA used guerrilla attacks

• GMD retook Yan’an but couldn’t hold Manchuria

• CCP cut off GMD railways & supplies

• March 1948: GMD lost Manchuria, 40,000 troops lost

Collapse of GMD Resistance

• PLA took Xuzhou with mass artillery

• Jan 1949: took Tianjin + Beijing

• GMD lost all of North China

• April–May: PLA took Nanjing, then Shanghai

• October: Guangzhou fell

• November: rest of GMD resistance crushed

• Oct 1, 1949: Mao declared People’s Republic of China

Reasons for Communist Success

CCP Strengths

• Guerrilla tactics worked in every phase

• Lin Biao = strong commander, turned PLA into full army

• Good behavior of PLA won peasant support

• Mao’s leadership was flexible, smart, and revolutionary focused

• Spread of communist ideas in every captured area

  • land reform, schools, fair taxes

• Towns taken over by PLA

  • food control, crime down, fair taxes

• Strong intelligence network (GMD had spies working for CCP)

GMD Weaknesses

• Political repression alienated middle class

• Economy collapsed

  • inflation was out of control

• Army had low morale, corruption, poor leadership

• Bad military calls

• Lost support from every social class

Role of Foreign Support

USA

• Sent $3 billion, arms, and transport help to GMD

• US troops held cities like Tianjin and Beijing for GMD

• Tried to mediate peace, failed

• Pressured Jiang into truces

• Presence gave Mao anti-imperialist propaganda

USSR

• Hesitant to back CCP at first

• Backed United Fronts, not early CCP wins

• 1945: gave CCP weapons in Manchuria

• Helped train pilots, set up military colleges

• Stalin told Mao not to go south in 1949 which Mao ignored

• 1950: USSR finally excited, signed alliance with PRC

• But made China pay for weapons, Mao saw USSR as selfish