1938-1949 Flashcards
Event: The Second United Front
- TF: September 1937-January 1941
- Nationalists ended the Front by attacking Communist forces that did not follow order to move
- Differences were largely set aside in order to defend China from the Japanese
- Catalyst for the actual formation was the full-scale invasion by the Japanese in July 1937
Event: The Yan’an Way
- TF:
- 5P
- TF: 1934-
- As at Jiangxi reinforced many of the ideals which became fundamental to the Chinese Communists
- Moderate land reform policies
- Social reforms:
- Evening schools
- University of Anti-Japanese Resistance
- Mass line: Communist Party should learn from the masses and develop programmes providing revolutionary leadership
- Greatest source of income: Opium sold to Japanese-controlled areas
- On New Democracy: 1940
Stats: The Yan’an Way
- 50 million people by 1940
- Increase in Party Membership:
- 40,000 in 1937
- 800,000 1940
- On New Democracy: 1940
Views: The Yan’an Way
Ryan:
- Mao established himself as a revolutionary theorist and consolidated his grip on the Party leadership
- Struggle, sacrifice, selflessness, diligence and courage were celbrated as the Yan’an Way
Mao:
- Take the ideas of the masses and concentrate them… persevere in the ideas and carry them through’
- Correct revolutionary consciousness
- Dogma is less useful than excrement… of what use are they?
Event: Rectification Campaigns
Unity-Criticism-Unity - Mao’s two-edged sword to both purge the party of unsupportive members and increase his prominence in the party
Views: Rectification Campaigns
Ryan:
By 1944, when the Rectification Campaign had drawn to a close, the leadership cult and political dominance of Chairman Mao had been well and truly established
Event: The Second Sino-Japanese War
- TF: 1937-1945
- Attack on Marco-Polo Bridge: 7 July 1937
- Attack on Shanghai 12 August - followed by Declaration of War on Self-Defence - 15 August
Views: The Second Sino-Japanese War
Prince Takamatsu:
- We’re really going to smash China so it will be ten years before it can stand straight again
Ryan:
- There was little point in trying to defeat such a superior foe
Event: Incompetence of the GMD Army
- Mistreatment of GMD troops - lack of morale
- When a battalion withdrew, many men were left behind, wounded but alive
- Officers beat their soldiers and didn’t give them enough supplies
- GMD army appeared weak to the people
Stats: Incompetence of the GMD Army
- 50% of those rounded up for service died before they reached military training camps
- 1.5 million died from mistreatment/disease
Views: Incompetence of the GMD
Stillwell:
- ‘Practically zero’ effort by GMD towards fighting Japan
- The Chinese soldier is excellent material, wasted and betrayed by stupid leadership
Ryan:
- By actively participating in a war of resistance the Generallisimo was ruining the morale of his soldiers and appearing weak to the people
Overview: Competence of the CCP Army
- CCP gained from the Sino-Japanese War - Nationalists bore the brunt of Japanese invasion while Communists were left alone (mostly)
- Communist propaganda portrayed Communists as patriots
- Guerrilla campaigns
- Disrupted supply and communications lines
Event: The Rape of Nanjing
300,000 killed in Nanjing
Event: Breakdown of the Second United Front
- Not following orders from the GMD, January 1941 fighting resumes between GMD and CCP
