The Triumph Of Mao And The CCP, 1934-49 Flashcards
The Long March
- 80,000 to 100,000 Communist broke out of the Jancy Soviet on the 16th of October and began to march north to find a place of safety. Otto Braun encouraged GMD forces to follow and fight them in urban areas, but this led to heavy losses.
- Mao and Zhu De (former warlord turned Communist) took over at Zunyi January 1935. New tactic involves dividing the forces in regrouping in order to escape.
- Thousands died of hunger, drowned or froze and when they arrived in Yunan in northern China in October 1935, only 10,000 of the original 80,000 marchers had survived.
Results of the Long March
- Events of the long march became a display of outstanding braving: extreme conditions: route was north across mountains, rivers and deserts, May 1935 March is cross the Yangtze River and then the Dadu river where 22 soldiers were said have swung across the river.
- Long march provided excellent propaganda and created martyr for the communists. Implemented the ideas of comradeship and self sacrifice. Encouraged support for the red Army from the peasants who had been treated well. Establishment of Mao as the leader, set up bas in Yanan where they would stay for the next 10 years.
- However, GMD called it the great retreat, safety in your Nan was not secured, only one eighth of the match is survived and nationalist control of China seem to be certain as Chiang’s government was recognised by the West and Soviet union, while the CCP were struggling to survive.
War with Japan Causes
- Japan had a long history of wanting to win Chinese territory: late 19th to early 20th century, Japan had modernised economy and army grown strong, shown by defeat of China in 1895 and of Russia 1905.
- Japan’s economic growth began to slow in 1920s because it cannot get the raw material such as oil that I needed to expand and therefore had ambitions to expand its territory such as China.
- 1931, Japanese invasion of Manchuria and turn it into a puppet state.Manchurian appeared to be independent but was in fact controlled by Japan under Puyi. 1932, Japanese renamed the province Manchukuo and move to Shanghai. 1937, Japanese expanded into new territories, initially Chiang had allowed this (thinking CCP was greater risk to country than Japan) however this approach made him unpopular and in July 1937, war was declared.
2nd United Front Formation & Japanese War Events
- December 1936, warlords pressured Chiang to work with Communist to force the Japanese out, so a second united front was formed. First four years when bad, Japanese captured major cities including Shanghai Beijing and Nanjing forcing the government to flee to Chongquing.
- Chinese people suffered extreme violence from Japanese troops: ‘Rape of Nanjing’ In December 1937 including 30,000 killed and 20,000 women and girls repeatedly raped by gangs of soldiers. Wang Jingwei convinced to be new leader of Japanese China.
- 1941, Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December (to stop USA involving), allies supplied China with resources and Soviet Union sent planes, two atomic bombs dropped in August 1945 ended the war
CCP success in Japanese War
- Party membership of CCP expanded, by 1941 is growing from 0.04 mil in 1937 to 1.2 mill, explained by Mao’s popular policies in the Yanan Soviet( Troops kinds of peasants who informed them of the position of Japanese, provided food and shelter and recruited into the red Army, and rent controls were applied on landlords rather than trying to wipe out them as a class enemy so gain their support him).
- Red army in 1940 launched the ‘100 regiments offensive’, 40,000 attacked the Japanese in northern and central China and destroyed over 965 km of railway lines. This increased support as it showed they were eager to remove Japanese in comparison to the GMD.
- Used to guerilla tactics, propaganda about communism saving China.
Limitations of GMD in Japanese War
- Performance was poor: Chiang saw communists as the real enemy, for example in January 1941 GMD attacked the Communists in South China in spite of the corporation promised in the second united front. American cheese of staff for Southeast Asia called Josef still well said this was a waste of resources. When in 1944 the Japanese launched a new offensive, GMD didn’t fight back and instead use troops to besiege the Communists in Yanan.
- GMD area suffered from heavy bombing, their guerrilla warfare had little impact on the army, often lacked the will to fight - breaking down under pressure, had to recruit by force and discipline was tough so less loyalty, government was dishonest, Unpopular with peasants because of high taxes and treated badly by troops who tried to conscript them
The Civil War: Causes, 1946-1949
- The dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan ended the Second World War suddenly, before either the GMD or the CCP were ready to take control of China.
- The GMD held a large area in southern and central China, and the CCP controlled the countryside in northern and north-eastern China from their base in Yanan. As the Japanese retreated from the occupied territories in north and central China, both sides tried to occupy as much territory as they could. This was further complicated by the Soviet Union, which sent its Red Army into Manchuria in August 1945
- Chiang was in the stronger position. The GMD was recognised as the real government in China, and the Americans insisted that the Japanese admit defeat to the GMD. When Chiang tried to set up a new government which gave almost total power to the GMD, the Communists left the talks.
- Fighting occurred again, and by December 1945, both sides were at war: no official declaration of war was made (but around July 1946)
The Battle of Huai-ha
- 1948, November Chiang chose to make a stand at Xuzhou, a key site on the Longhai railway that linked central China to the GMD’s capital Nanjing and to the great port of Shanghai.
- Men who had abandoned Chiang’s NRA joined PLA. NRA lacked aircraft to protect its forces. Mao’s order to the PLA to destroy the area surrounding Xuzhou meant the Nationalists did not have enough food to feed the NRA troops.
- The battle lasted for 2 months 4 days. Chiang refused to allow the leaders of his army units to retreat, which resulted in the loss of 200,000 men. They finally surrendered on 10 January 1949.
- It broke the strength of the NRA and opened up central China to the Communists. Furthermore, from that point onwards the USA was not prepared to give any more funding to the GMD. It had already given more than US$3 billion, and believed that Chiang had wasted it.
Military Reasons for CCP success in the Civil War
- Mao was a skilled leader who gave the overall plan for the war and allowed his generals to provide the detailed strategy.
- Lin Biao was an outstanding military general for the PLA. He was particularly skilled in directing guerrilla warfare.
- The PLA used a wide range of tactics: guerrilla warfare in the mountainous regions of China & conventional warfare in attacking the GMD in pitched battles in the cities.
- The PLA was a disciplined army that was motivated by its belief in communism.
- When it passed through villages, it treated the local population with respect. This developed support for communism and encouraged men to join the Reds and villagers to give supplies to the army.
Military Reasons for GMD failure in the Civil War
- Chiang was a poor military leader who could not give authority to those with the necessary military skills.
- The GMD made tactical errors, such as sending troops into Manchuria before they controlled the rest of northeastern China. Manchuria proved to be a death trap for the GMD because it could not supply its troops. The GMD lost half a million men there.
- The NRA was a conscript army that was poorly supplied and cruelly treated. Poor treatment led to a high number of deaths and desertions, which reduced the strength of the army.
The Civil War: First Stage
In the first stage, between July 1946 and May 1947, the GMD was initially successful. It captured a number of large cities in the north and established a route through to Manchuria. It was so successful that the Communists lost control of Yanan. However, the communist army, now renamed the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), developed successful guerrilla tactics and by May 1947, it had secured control of northern Manchuria. This significantly strengthened the Communists.
The Civil War: Second Stage
The second stage of the conflict occurred between May 1947 and November 1948. The PLA launched full-scale attacks on the GMD and switched to conventional warfare; the army pushed into central and western China, although it continued to enjoy victories in Manchuria in the north. The GMD became increasingly cut-off from the rest of China in its shrinking territory.
The Civil War: Third Stage
The final stage lasted from December 1948 until October 1949. By January 1949, the Communists had taken control of large areas of the north, including the capital city of Beijing. By late September 1949, most of China was under communist rule. On 1 October 1949, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Mao declared the new government, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with himself as its leader. Chiang fled to Taiwan and set up an alternative GMD government there.
Political Reasons for CCP success in the Civil War
The political success of communism attracted significant support for Mao’s cause and encouraged much support for the CCP in the Chinese population. This meant that the CCP was more likely to receive assistance from local populations during the Civil War.
The strength of the CCP came firstly from its political unity. Mao’s leadership was unchallenged, and this created a secure chain of command that prevented disputes during the Civil War.
Furthermore, the involvement of local populations in committees to discuss reforms in the areas under communist control created a positive impression of what might be called a ‘democratic dictatorship’, in which government would be seen as acting for the benefit of the masses.
This image was strengthened by the skilful use of propaganda. The CCP used posters as a means of spreading key messages, as well as relying on the PLA troops, who were indoctrinated with communist ideals, to win over local populations by treating peasants kindly.
Economic and Social Reasons for CCP success in the Civil War
- support from the peasants, the great mass of the population of China
- During the Civil War, the CCP introduced land reforms that took away land from the richer peasantry and gave it to the poorer villagers
- poorer peasants criticised their richer neighbours and frequently involved violence, so they had much to fear from a return of the GMD: risked the revenge of the landlords if the GMD took back the village.
- The support of the middle classes in towns and cities was also important to the communist victory. Many teachers, students and policemen were won over to the CCP as a result of its loyalty to China that it had demonstrated when it resisted the Japanese, which differed from the initial GMD policy of allowing the Japanese to take land.
