4.1 - Causes of Chinese Revolution COPY Flashcards
1
Q
Northern Expedition
A
- 1 July 1926 – Jiang announces mobilisation of Northern Expedition
- Declared aim – overthrow warlords and complete the Revolution
- Undeclared aim – destroy Communists
- 27 July 1926 – 85k troops and 6k Huangpu officers march North
- Advantages held by Nationalist Army:
o Northern forces, despite having 750k, were divided and unable to launch a coordinated attach
o Northern troops were badly equipped and poorly trained
o Nationalist Army was disciplined, well financed, professional and directed by Soviets
o Nationalist Army had high morale - Communist agitators moved ahead of Army with the aim of mobilising workers’ and peasants’ support
- 1927 – Nationalist Army was marching on Nanjing and Shanghai after great success
Impacts of Northern Expedition:
o Created national unity – first unified government since Yuan Shikai
o Jiang held enormous power
* Jiang embarked upon decade of modernisation and reconstruction – ‘Nanjing Decade’
2
Q
Shanghai Massacre
A
- Jiang contacts one of his criminal gang links, the Green Gang, led by ‘Big Ears Du’
- Jiang promises legal immunity and the exclusive right to sell opium in Shanghai, if they removed the Communist problem
- Apr 1927 – Big Ears Du formed 2000 man militia, China Mutual Progress Association → massacre began by rounding up Communists and unionist → 5-10k Communists killed
- White Terror spread across other cities under Nationalist Control → hundreds of thousands killed
3
Q
Formation of Jiangxi Soviet
A
- Base in Jinggangshan allowed Mao to test his theories in isolation
- Mao formed the Communist’s First Workers’ and Peasants’ Army – this had broad inclusion
- Jan 1929 – Mao forced to relocate to Ruijin due to raids by the GMD and food shortages
- 7 Nov 1931 – first All China Congress of Soviets held in Ruijin → debate between Mao and 28 Bolsheviks over policy, but Mao proved successful
o Chinese Soviet Republic was proclaimed at the Congress
4
Q
Red Army
A
- Mao’s first and most important innovation
- General Zhu was the Commander in Chief
- Mao was the Chief Political Commissar – worked to give army a sense of self work, discipline and direction
- Political instruction given alongside military training
- Volunteer force
- Allowed captured warlord soldiers to join Red Army
- Lacked symbols of privilege or superiority
5
Q
Red Army Tactics
A
- Guerrilla tactics
- Discovered that guerrilla warfare was the best approach during Jiang’s ‘bandit extermination’ campaigns against CCP
- Aimed to lure Nationalists deep into Communist territory, then use hit and run style tactics to demoralise and exhaust Nationalists
- Relied on mobility and support from local population for information and camuflague
- Peasants provided Red Army with food, shelter, local knowledge and intelligence
6
Q
Mao’s Approach to Land Reform
A
- Policy of redistributing land from rich landowners to peasants → alienated many
- New approach:
o Execute the most brutal landlords
o Redistribute seized land to all (including rich peasants)
o Exploitative rents were abolished
o Fixed grain tax to ensure government received adequate food supplies
7
Q
Mao Loses Influence
(Jiangxi Soviet)
A
- Politburo challenged Mao as dissenting from the correct path of a Marxist Revolution
- Politburo also criticised guerrilla tactics
- Mao ignored calls from Politburo to change → replaced as General Political Commissar of Red Army in Oct 1932
- Upon realising that his influence was reducing, Mao began to study economic and social policies
8
Q
Social Change in Jiangxi
A
- Importance placed on female education
- Campaigns against foot-binding, forces marriages and child slavery
- Equal marriage and divorce rights
- Opium farming discouraged
- Red Postal Service established
- People’s Bank created
9
Q
Collapse of Jiangxi Soviet
A
- German adviser, General Hans von Seekt, adopted new tactic of encircling Communists with barbed wire, and using a scorched-earth policy
- 1m men and 200 aircraft used to target Communists → guerrilla tactics harder to use
- Sept 1934: 60/70 Communist controlled counties lost
- New Communist strategy of positional warfare failed → CCP decided to abandon Ruijin and move to Hunan where another Soviet had been established = Beginning of Long March
10
Q
Regional Pressures on Nanjing Nationalist Government
A
- Regionalism remained a major issue → forced to spend significant time and money to maintain unity
- Militarist governors, on occasion, broke away from Nanjing and ruled independently → 23 campaigns to subdue rebellious provinces
- Nanjing Government initially only controlled 4 provinces
11
Q
Financial Challenges on Nanjing Nationalist Government
A
- Income tax was difficult to enforce and collect, and corruption remained a problem → government continually short on funds
- 80% of spending was on the military
- Budget was in deficit throughout Nanjing Decade → damaging inflationary pressures under HH Kung, who dealt with the debt crisis by printing new banknotes
- Excessive taxation:
o ‘Special taxes’ on everyday items → heavy burden on common people
o Some provinces collected tax years in advance – for example, Sichuan Province collected tax for 1971 in 1933
o Some provinces had tax rates 11x higher than the official rate - Failures of civil service – laziness of officials demonstrated as some read newspaper or slept during work
12
Q
New Life Movement
A
- Launched Feb 1914
- Aims:
o Create national moral rejuvenation through discipline and traditional values
o Militarise the lives of citizens to create courage, swiftness, tolerance of hard work and sacrifice for the nation
o Create a self aware, politically conscious and committed citizenry
o Be an alternative to communism - Introduced 96 rules that detailed ideal behaviours to contribute to the goal of building a new nation
- Impact:
o Very limited impact, especially in rural areas
o Thugs loyal to Nationalists beat and intimidated those who broke the rules
o Intruded into people’s lives
o Discouraged feminist ideals – instead, women were encouraged to maintain the household
13
Q
Overview of Long March
A
- Journey took a year – 16 Oct 1934 to 1935
- Travelled 12,000km at rate of 27km/day
- Fought daily skirmished against the GMD, and 15 pitched battles
- Over 60 towns occupied
- 100k set out on the March, but only 7-20k survived
14
Q
Beginning of Long March
A
- Only party leaders knew of the March → many soldiers believed it would only last a few weeks
- 28k left to defend Jiangxi Soviet, but suffered terribly when the Nationalists took control of the region
- Jiang did not realise for a few weeks that the Communists had left, potentially due to an agreement between the Communists and southern warlords
- Carried tonnes of equipment, including printing presses, books and records → slow progress marching
15
Q
Battle of Xiang River
A
- 25 Nov – 3 Dec 1934
- Jiang ordered an offensive to halt Communists
- Communists attacked with artillery and aircraft → only 30k left to continue
- Led to growing anger in the army
- 12 Dec 1934 – Mao told the CCP leadership that the March was hampered by a predictable route (‘Head on, straight on’) and carrying too much equipment → changing direction to Guizhoz province where Nationalist troop morale was supposedly low
16
Q
Zunyi Conference
A
- 7 Jan 1935: Red Army capture Zunyi → called for 12 days’ rest to decide on next steps
- 15 Jan 1935 – Zunyi Conference takes place
- Mao strongly criticised leaders of March (including Bo Go and Braun) and was backed by two senior Politburo members and three Generals
- Mao trusted due to his guerrilla strategist and military commissar role → Mao given role of Chief Advisor to Zhou Enlai
- Mao, Wang Jiaxiang and Zhou now in control of March – ‘Central Triad of Leadership’
17
Q
Long March after Zunyi Conference
A
- Mao made a number of reforms to the military:
o Increased number of commissars to build morale
o Troops given explanations of their movement
o Slogans introduced to reinforce tactics and rules
o Reverted to guerrilla warfare tactics - Experienced some victories, such as in the Battle of Loushan Pass
- Held meetings with villagers and peasants to explain the Red Army → built stronger bonds with the peasantry
- Red Army was not always kind:
o Some young men recruited by force
o Some landlords and merchants had their property taken
o Towns were sometimes ransacked and left in ruin
18
Q
Battle of Luding Bridge
A
- Nationalist troops began to close in on the Red Army → forced to rush to the Luding Bridge
- Getting to the bridge first was essential for the Communists
- Vanguard unit arrived 29 May 1935 – found the bridge guarded by enemy troops and planking on the bridge had been destroyed
- Communists eventually crossed the bridge and defeated Nationalists → became legendary later in Mao’s rule
