communist victory in civil war 1946-49

Question 1

how many phases did the civil war consist of?

Answer 1

• Phase 1: july 1946-may 1947
• Phase 2 : may 1947- Nov 1948
• phase 3 : dec 1948 - oct 1949

Question 2

what happened during phase 1?

Answer 2

-GMD took initiative and forced communists to defend themselves
- GMD captured larger cities
- GMD established a controlled “corridor” along the coast of Manchuria. -> CCP forced to retreat northwards
- CCP lost Yan’an which Lin Biao moved the Communist Eighth route army to Manchuria
- South china the ccp were forced to abandon isolated positions in the Yangzi River area and lost a major city (zhangjiakou)
- OCT 1946 renewed GMD offensive failed to break PLA defences in Northern Manchuria
- in rural Manchuria ccp used guerilla warfare
- spring 1947 ccp controlled northern manchuria and Lin Biao decided to adopt an offensive strategy

Question 3

What happened in Phase 2?

Answer 3

• May 1947 PLA launched full scale assaults on GMD; they were unsuccessful but serious losses on GMD side sapping morale
• throughout 1947 ccp maintained pressure on nationalists using guerilla tactics
• 1948 movement by ccp from guerilla tactics to conventional fighting tactics with massed forces of infantry and artillery
• April 1948 in northern china the PLA captured Luoyang on the yellow river; made significant gains in Shandong isolating the GMD main city of Jinan
• june 1948 ccp captured Kaifeng (on the yellow river) a crucial gateway from the coast into western interior of china
• ccp not threaten nationalist control over Xian and Sichuan in the west
• Ccp won spectacular victories in manchuria in october and in november isolating GMD forces from the rest of china

Question 4

what happened in phase 3?

Answer 4

• capitalises successes in manchuria and shandong, PLA launched two offensive in northern china capturing the VITAL railway junction of Xuzhou in Jan 1949
• Beijing was capturing in 31 Jan 1949 bringing all of china under communist control
• PLA attacked key cities on the Yangzi River
• 23 April capture of Nanjing
• shanghai fell in may
• after wuhan capture in may, PLA forces divided for final assault on GMD territory
• one force led by Peng Debuai struck westward from Wuhan towards Xian and Lanzhou (taken in Aug 1949)
• another PLA force led by Lin Biao marched south and captured Guangzhou in oct while part of Lin Biao’s forces was sent southwestwards to mop up the remaining GMD resistance in Guizhou and Chongqing (taken in Nov)
• by late sept more of china was under communist control
• mao called a Political Consultative Conference in Beijing
• consisted of mainly communists but also representatives from 14 other parties
• it elected members of the new central government of the People’s republic of china; Mao as chairman
• Jiang fled to Taiwan to escape capture and established Guomindang government
• 1 Oct 1949 Mao appeared in Tiananmen Square in beijing to declare the People’s republic of china

Question 5

who was Lin Biao(1908-71)?

Answer 5

• graduated from Whampao Military Academy in 1925
• established as one of the communist partys most able military commanders
• early 1930s - talents as guerilla leader put to the test during communist struggle for survival in Jiangxi in
• during civil war, PLA commander in manchuria and northern china
• successfully transformed PLA from guerilla force to modern professional army

Question 6

what was stalins view on CCP success?

Answer 6

• surprised and concerned by the speed of success
• main concern about USA intervention to prop Jiang if ccp looked like it would win
• told Mao to cease the PLA advance at the Yangzi River
• wanted Mao to establish a separate Communist China in the north
• mao ignored stalin

Question 7

The communist victory in 1949 was mainly what type of victory?

Answer 7

Military

Question 8

Why did the communists win?

Answer 8

Mainly, It was due to tactics and strategy of the PLA
Also due to other factors like politics, economics, social, and diplomatic

Question 9

What was the use of guerrilla tactics?

Answer 9

• communists used it to fight against the numerically superior forces.
• it was highly effective against the Japanese, it was equally successful against the nationalists in Manchuria
• it prepared ground for communist victory
• after Manchuria the PLA went on the offensive and advanced through the rest of china

Question 10

How effective were guerrilla tactics?

Answer 10

Mao (1930s) had written when fighting a superior enemy communist forces should establish base areas in the fight against campaign of surprise attacks against the enemy’s weakest points.
Using tactics “wear and tear” the communists were able to pick off nationalist units one by one
This drained morale of the GMD troops
The communists were able to dominate rural areas and strike vital communication routes.
This caused the GMD to become increasingly isolated in their city strongholds

Question 11

What was the tactical flexibility of the PLA?

Answer 11

• the communists were willing to give up ground when faced with superior forces
  -this allowed them to gain forces for when it is more favourable to fight
  -eg tactical retreat from Manchuria at the start of the civil war (Yan’an 1946)
  -mao said “jiang thinks that when he seizes the devils lair he will win. In fact, he will lose everything. We give jiang Yan’an. He will give us china”

Question 12

What was the morale amongst PLA troops?

Answer 12

Mao believed a successful army needs soldiers loyal and motivated to the ideological cause.
-political indoctrination was necessary for their training
-communist soldiers had a lot more to lose and sacrifice than their nationalist counterparts
- soldiers also had to spread the communist message
- if they were the first communist in a new area they would be the ‘face’ of the party

Question 13

What was the discipline of the PLA forces?

Answer 13

Since 1928, Mao had impressed on the communists the need for proper discipline and that treatment of civilians had to be fair and respectful.
He wanted to fulfill the promise that the “army and the people were one”
Actions were just as important as words
Communists genuinely offered a better future

Question 14

What was the PLA military leadership?

Answer 14

• Lin Biao -> military commander of outstanding abilities, veteran of the long march, and the war against Japan. Adept at conventional battle strategies.

Question 15

Nationalist military weakness?

Answer 15

Nationalist forces faced mounting problems as the war progressed
-jiang sent his best troops to Manchuria without securing complete control over northern and central china. Forces were spread too thinly and supply lines too long. DEATH TRAP for the NRA
- corrupt and incompetent GMD leadership, many leaders lacked the ability to plan or organise an efficient supply of equipment, ammo and supplies for the troops. Many officers stole money
-Jiang was a poor military leader, hardworking but lacked delegation abilities. Made impractical and contradictory decisions
- mainly a conscription army, the forces lacked fighting spirit
- when taking previously communist areas the NRA troop were known for brutality and ill discipline

Question 16

How many nationalist troops were there during the civil war?

Answer 16

2,200,000

Question 17

How many nationalist artillery pieces were there during the civil war

Answer 17

21,000

Question 18

How many communist troops were there during the civil war?

Answer 18

1,560,000

Question 19

How many communist artillery pieces were there during the civil war?

Answer 19

22,800

Question 20

What was the political unity like among the CCP?

Answer 20

-during Yan’an communist inhabitance Mao established himself as the undisputed leader of the Chinese communist party
-leadership was authoritarian and he was determined to establish a political line
-Mao Zedong thought was accepted and followed by the rest of the party.
- debates over policy and strategy were allowed through top party leadership but were no longer the focus
- Mao’s reputation was established during the Yan’an years due to his policy of building a party based on peasant support and his strategy of fighting guerrillawas worked for party unity.
- it gave mao the aura of confidence and authority- it impressed lower communists and non-members

Question 21

what was ‘democratic dictatorship’ amaong the communsits?

Answer 21

-in areas under communist control ‘liberated areas’ Mao imposed a form of government that combined elements of dictatorship and democracy
-political activity and decision-making were made by the party but at a local level the peasants could get involved in ‘revolutionary committees’ and mass meetings
- the committee dealt with education, health, farming, and land reforms as well as political and military training
- this helped build up support in areas that never had a say before

Question 21

peasant support and land reform

Answer 21

• in rural society, peasant support was important for a successful political party.
• land reform was introduced to benefit the poorest peasants and win their support for the cause.
• during the second united front Mao had moderated his land reform policy from confiscation to campaigns for rent reductions.
• 1946, return to confiscations with their ‘land to tillers’ programme. violence was an integral part of this process.
  -landlords and richer peasants were subject to humiliation and violence
• in many cases, whole families were subject to the horrors- children called ‘little landlords’
• 1948. the campaign of terror had become so violent that some CCP members began to petition Mao for restraint
• mao temporarily called a halt, claiming excesses had been due to mistakes of lower-level communist officials.

Question 22

the use of propaganda for political victory?

Answer 22

• CCP was experienced in using propaganda to rally support
• PLA troops were important in the spread of communist propaganda
• PLA troops received political indoctrination and became ‘agents’ of liberated areas
• CCp stressed the patriotic nature of their struggle for ‘national liberation’ and their promise to bring democracy and social reform to China

Question 23

what was the nationalist political weakness?

Answer 23

• GMD suffered a loss of popular support as the war progressed -> the Three Principles (nationalism, democracy, people’s livelihood) had attracted widespread support from China’s educated middle class in the 1920s and 1930s
• the party had failed to defend national interests; had created a dictatorial regime and had done little to improve the livelihood of the people.
• the regime was corrupt and inefficient. local officials abused their powers by taking bribes and extorting money. taxes used for administration and the army were not collected in fair efficient ways. resulted in Jiang having to borrow money and heavy debt
• the fear of revenge by landlords if the GMD government recaptured control of an area pushed peasants towards supporting the communists. GMD used landlords’ militias to regain control of villages. once back in control, landlords exacted revenge on the peasants who participated in the land reforms. rent areas were collected at gunpoint and executions took place.
• serious mismanagement of the economy by the nationalist government. due to heavy expenditure Jiang’s government printed more banknotes; causing prices to rise and value to decrease. those living on fixed incomes were hit by inflation. they introduced a new currency and began to ration food and more control on wages. this was too little too late. reformations failed and by 1949 there was an economic collapse in GMD-controlled areas. paper money became worthless. support even among the middle class drained.

Question 24

american assistance to the GMD?

Answer 24

• usa provided financial and military aid to the nationalists
• gave nearly 3 billion in addition to the large amount of arms
• Mao pointed out Jiang’s reliance provided that China could never become independent with nationalist leadership
• Jiang was regarded as an unreliable ally
• after Truman was elected for a second term in Nov 1948 US financial aid stopped
• during the Manchurian occupation, the Red Army aided the PLA
• PLA officers were sent to Russia for training and Red Army established 16 military training institutions including airforce, artillery, and engineering schools
• captured Japanese arms were sent to the PLA
• long-standing animosities between Mao and Stalin stood between cooperation
• soviet assistance was conditional
• Mao put the CCP about a partnership with the USSR

Question 25

regional issues

Answer 25

• the communist regimes in 1949 aimed to bring the whole of the Chinese empire under its control and to establish a strong unified state.
• chinas enormous size and ethnic, cultural and religious differences provided a challenge. even more difficult due to the fragmentation of the Chinese empire
• In 1940 china was divided into ten zones: Manchuria, inner Mongolia, northeast China, east-central China, Guangzhou and Taiwan controlled by the Japanese; much of the rest of China was controlled by the GMD whilst the communists controlled areas around Yan’an
• much of the provenance of Shanxi was ruled by warlords and Xinjiang had fallen under the control of the USSR. Tbet had asserted its independence
• the defeat of Japan in 1945 and the victories of the communists began to unify China under communist rule
• In 1949 Oct new government in Beijing was not in control of the whole territory in China
• The two most westerly province of Xinjiang and Tibet had not yet been conquered while the island of Taiwan had been taken over by Jiang Jeishi
• maos regime focused on taking control over Xinjiang
• military campaign during Oct 1949 secured control over the capital city Urumqi
• armed resistance to communists continued until 1945
• communist rulers understood that in the short term they would hae to introduce different systems of local governments in different areas according to circumstances
• 1949 basic division between areas where communists had been able to establish presence beforehand and the ‘new liberated areas’
• ‘old liberated areas’ like Manchuria and north china and Northeast China the CCP had strong peasant support and local government
• Oct 1949, theres places were placed under ‘peoples democratic governments’
• ‘new liberated areas’ which included China’s south of the Yangze River0 communist victory was achieved by military conquest as the CCP lacked both mass support and local organisations in these areas
• remnants of the GMD, secret societies and people from ethnic minorities were still violent to the ccp
• ‘New liberated areas’ were governed by military control commissions in the early years of communist rule.

Question 26

economic issues - industry and agriculture

Answer 26

• much of China’s infrastructure had been damaged by the constant conflict
• estimated that half the railway lines have been destroyed
• many rivers (used for communication and transport) have been blocked by damaged ships
• many cities had a shortage of electrical power due to destroyed power stations
• before leaving Manchuria, the USSR Red Army striped machinery from factories to send back to the USSR
• industrial production in 1949 was 44% of 1937 levels
• Young men who fought in the wars took local food supplies with them
• food production in 1949 was 30% below 1937
• many food shortages
  -foreign trade had decreased meaning the great port cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Tianjin had decayed
• the economy was destroyed causing wealthy people to move their money to Hong Kong or Taiwan resulting in a shortage of capital.