Chinese Civil war Flashcards
Causes of the War
what were the two main parties in the Chinese Civil War?
The Chinese nationalist party(KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
What was the main cause of the war?
Tension between the two Chinese Parties rose after their short truce to fight off the Japanese. Their truce didn’t last long because Chiang the leader of the nationalists decided to invade the province behind Mao’s communist party. Also many regional jealousies, regional indifference, or ignorance of the conditions of the country at large.
Short term causes of the war
Economic collapse
Shanghai Massacre
Hyperinflation
Long Term causes of the war
Weak Central Government
KMT& CCP Fallouts
Second Sino-Japanese war
Key events
The formation of the People’s Republic of China
Battle of HuaiHai
The Second Sino-Japanese War
The Shanghai Massacre
Battle of Manchuria
The Long March
Economic collapse
In 1949 Mao Tse-Tung gained control of China, and his reign began a new political era for China. The Sino-Japanese War left China in devastation, many Chinese were poor and left either dead or homeless. Mao began to implement a lean-to-one-side policy which basically meant that Chinese people would have to lean to the side of imperialism or socialism, part of this policy was to appeal to the soviet union in order to get financial assistance. In 1950 Mao requested financial assistance from Russia who granted China $3Economy Collapsing -00,000,000 loan after they were denied assistance by the US. That money was being used for reforms that were due to begin. Land and marriage reforms were put in place. This was the beginning of Mao’s plan(The Great Leap Forward) to increase China’s economy, the main problem with this plan is that peasants exaggerated their output numbers to impress the chairman and they did not keep their share of the food like they had been required to and in consequence to that a famine occurred.
Shanghai Massacre
In April 1927, The Guomindang (known as the Nationalist Party), massacred hundreds of members of the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai. Many were either arrested, tortured, or killed. This event was a momentous moment in the Chinese Revolution. Communists that did survive ended up in hiding or even were forced to move to places where the Guomindang couldn’t have control.
Hyperinflation
After the civil war, the nationalist government took over. However, this government was unstable and, therefore, lacked the necessary capacities to manage the economy. As a result, the government could not manage finances, and the money supply rapidly increased. This led to hyperinflation in China, and the currency was severely devalued to the point where the average person could not afford common goods and services.
Weak Central Government
As the war progressed, it seemed increasingly likely that the Communist Party would win. This was due to their superior military organization and morale, as they used weapons seized from Japan. Furthermore, years of mismanagement and corruption in the National government led to fading support. All of these events combined to allow Mao Zedong to proclaim the establishment of the PRC.
KMT & CCP
As the war progressed it seemed more and more likely that the communist party would win. This was due to their superior military organization and morale as they used weapons seized from Japan. Furthermore, years of mismanagement and corruption in the National government led to fading support. All of these events together allowed Mao Zedong to proclaim the establishment of the PRC. After the CCP claimed victory after the Chinese Civil Mao declared the Chinese government as the People’s Republic of China effectively making China a one-party state. To this very day, China is still under the People’s Republic of China rule.
Second Sino-Japanese war
This war was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from (1937-1945). The initial cause of the war was China’s full-on resisting the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory in 1931. Japan had used the Mukden Incident as a reason to invade China. Under the Chinese Nationalist government (Kuomintang) Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of China. The leader of Japan was Emperor Hirohito. Although China had a more massive military, Japan had the advantage of modernization which in the end gave them the victory over China as well as many conquered countries. These countries include Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanjing.
Practices of war
Ideology, popular mobilization, governance
Guerilla operations
Mastery of continental land warfare
Both sides familiar with European political-military ideas and training
CCP urban revolt
KMT focused on territories rather than enemy armies leading to its eventual defeat
Chiang Kai-Shek (KMT)
Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao
Both key military forces
Chiang Kai-Shek (or the KMT) wanted to unify the Chinese government (they were split into three groups: The Nationalists, The Communists, and the Japanese)
Mao (CCP)
Mao (or the CCP), wanted to overthrow the Government because he saw it as corrupt.
When the KMT lost support from the public, the CCP took advantage and arose in 1921.
Communist Purge on April 12, 1927, declared by Chiang Kai-Shek, Mao was one of the few who survived.
All wanted the collapse of the imperial system.
Outcomes of the war
Chinese civil population suffered- Forgein aid supplies were hijacked and sold. The reconstruction of the industry was halted and unemployment rose. A thriving black market emerged and crime rates increased. Soldiers raped, looted, and committed further acts of brutality against China’s civilian population.
Displaced refugees- The displacement of millions of refugees with the collapse of the economy due to hyperinflation and corruption and the flooding of 500 villages.
Millions of casualties- China’s civil population suffered causing millions of casualties (exceeding 6 million)
In General:
There due to the immense human loss there was grief within families and communities. With many casualties it caused many to flee war torn regions which created a humanitarian crisis as there were limited resources to support the refugees. The conflict also created a climate of fear and uncertainty causing social structures to breakdown and created a widespread distrust within communities. There was also heavy psychological trauma due to the loss and violence that was witnessed. During the chinese civil war there was a total death count of 4,212,000 casualties.
