U4 AOS1 Knowledge

Question 1

What were Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People?

Answer 1

‘Three Principles of the People’ 1905
• Nationalism – end domination by foreign powers, oust Manchu, Hans should rule themselves
• People’s Livelihood – improve welfare for WC, regulate agricultural land ownership, inc st influence in ind, single fairer tax system
• Democracy – become a republic w pop elected pres + parliament = modelled on W dem but retain Ch trad of entrance exams to civil service
3 phases: 3 yr mil dictatorship/6 yr ‘tutelage period’ to inc awareness + trial dem/9 yrs make constitution + hold elections

Question 2

What were the strengths of Yuan Shikai’s leadership?

Answer 2

• Leader of Beiyang Army = strong, modern + loyal mil force → able to force Emp to abdicate (12 Feb 1912)
• Appointed loyal mil commanders as prov governors → enforce unity + stability (e.g. 2nd rev put down easily)
• Authoritarian style → significant progress + address problems decisively
• Reformed legal system
• Repressed opium farming
• Compulsory + free primary edu
• Standardised nat currency
• Inc crop yield thru intro new techniques e.g. irrigation, flood control, breed hardier livestock
• Apr 1913 secure $100mil loan from foreign bank to deal w issue of govt operating in continuous deficit

Question 3

What were the limitations of Yuan Shikai’s leadership?

Answer 3

• YS’s leadership = dependent on support from provincial gentry + mil → centralising power too much (e.g. 1916 declaration of himself as Emp) = threaten power
• Strength of republicanism → SY’s 3POP/idea of republic = deeply imbedded in intel circles → 6 yr dictatorship tolerated but return to Emp = blatant regression
• Govt operating in deficit → needed $100mil loan Apr 1913 that led to 21D → damaged YS’s rep
• Continued foreign domination → 21D (18 Jan 1915) → J control:
• Extensive rights to econ dev on Manch + Inner Mong
• Control over mining in central Ch
• Control of Liaodong Pen near K

Question 4

What challenges did the GMD face in its attempts to limit the authority of Yuan Shikai?

Answer 4

• YS’s control over mil esp Beiyang Army  easily put down 2nd Rev July 1913
• Increasing dictatorial powers
• June 1912 pressure 4 GMD cabinet members to resign + henchmen assassinate PM Song Jiaoren
• Apr 1913 secure $100mil loan from foreign banks → financially ind from parliament
• Second rev = excuse to inc power:
- Nov 1913 banned GMD
- Jan 1914 dissolve nat + prov parliaments → replaced w advisory councils
- May 1914 new constit extends pres term 5 → 10yrs + inc dictatorial power over mil, dip + $

Question 5

What happened to central political authority following the death of Yuan Shikai?

Answer 5

No clear successor → political vacuum following death
→ Ch ruled by warlords
→ Tibet + Mong declared ind

Question 6

What were the details of the New Culture Movement?

Answer 6

Aim = expose C as antiquated + corrupt social structure → barrier to harmonious soc/modernisation → instead interested in democracy, Marxism, feminism etc

• Cai Yuanpei – chancellor of B Uni → foster comm/give platform to rev intellectuals/advocates
• Hu Shi – popularised ‘baihua’ writing style = more accessible to everyday Ch ppl → inc exposure to rev ideas
• Lu Xun – critic C ideals thru short stories + novels (e.g. The Diary of a Madman 1918) → show that C = outdated + corrupt = barrier to harmonious soc/modernisation
• Chen Duxiu = est New Youth rev lit journal 1915 → promo M + circulate rev ideas in intel circles
• Li Dazhao – M study grp → combo M + nat → promo idea of nat proletarianism where Ch = exploited by foreign nations
• Ding Ling – campaign for women’s rights e.g. right to vote + inc legal status (W influences)

Question 7

What was the purpose of the New Culture Movement?

Answer 7

dismantle Ch socio-pol structure
• Define nat Ch identity
• Est peace + unity – reduce influence of corrupt warlords + foreign powers + reform nat govt
• Dec influence of C ideas in soc bc barrier to modernisation

Question 8

What caused the May Fourth Movement?

Answer 8

• Ch in WWI on Allies side (20K labourers die on W front) → expectation that Ger defeat → Ch regain Shandong prov → appeal to US Pres WW for nat self-det
• Nat govt secret sign deal 1918 → give Ger concession → J – Ch dip in Versailles X aware of this → protest at ToV but nat self-det X fulfilled

Question 9

How did anti-imperialist feelings increase as an expression of the May Fourth Movement?

Answer 9

• Students in B bring forward ‘day of shame’ protests due for 7 May → 4 May → 3K protest → arrested
• Protests erupt in support of students in cities across Ch
• Workers on strike – Shanghai 1wk
• Boycott J goods

Question 10

What led to the founding of the CCP?

Answer 10

• Russian Rev → Karakhan Manifesto renounced all R’s imp claims to Ch → inc likability of Marxism = modern pol structure which aligned w anti-imp sentiment
• Direct Comintern influence
o Apr 1920 Comintern agents arrive in Ch → est comm cells around Ch + meet w/ Li Dazhao + Chen Duxiu
o July 1921 12 delegates from cells meet secretly for 1st Nat P Congress of CCP = official est of CCP → Chen Duxiu elected Sec-Gen of CCP

Question 11

How did Soviet Comintern influence and support the GMD?

Answer 11

• 23 Jan 1923 Comintern encouraged est of 1UF w Sun-Joffe Declaration
• Late Jan 1923 Comintern agent Mikhail Borodin help SY reorg GMD:
o Intro dem centralism
o Est SY’s 3POP = cohesive ideology – additions to emphasise X warlords/imperial rule + role of workers/peasantry in rev
• 1 May 1924 est Huangpu Mil Academy = funded by Sov → train officers for Nat Army + instil rev values (simple living, initiative, bravery)

Question 12

What was the significance of the First United Front?

Answer 12

• Demo deep disunity of Ch – GMD leading NE against Beijing govt but X co-op w CCP = key for enabling NE success
• Revealed distrust bw CCP + GMD – Wang Jingwei suspicious abt CCP’s intentions to build army → left faction of GMD expel CCP members from Wuhan govt (15 July 1927)

Question 13

Who emerged as the leading contenders in the Nationalist movement following the death of Sun Yat-sen?

Answer 13

Jiang Jieshi
Wang Jingwei
Hu Hanmin

Question 14

What happened during the Northern Expedition?

Answer 14

• 27 July 1926 85K troops + 6K HMA officers start marching Nth – up against 750K troops of northern warlords
• 22 Mar 1927 S under Nat control
• 12 Apr 1927 S Massacre
• 17 Apr 1927 JJ expelled from GMD govt in Wuhan
• 1 Jan 1928 JJ reinstated as CinC
• June 1928 NRA seizes B

Question 15

Why were the Nationalists successful in the Northern Expedition?

Answer 15

Strengths of the NRA:
• Funded by USSR, Shanghai business + sml dynastic fam JJ married into
• Trained at HMA – disciplined + professional + high morale bc strong ideological focus
• JJ advised by Sov Gen Galen
• Tactics – comm agitators moved ahead of NRA troops → radicalise/mobilise peasants + workers → NRA overall inc in size bc defectors + limited warlord defence bc workers’ strikes
• Tactics – strategically elim warlords to cut off resources to big warlord provinces

Weaknesses of warlord forces:
• Divided → X co-ord defence
• Depended on pillaging villages for supplies + weaponry → X well financed/trained

Question 16

To what extent did the Northern Expedition achieve its aim of national rejuvenation?

Answer 16

Aims:
• overthrow all warlords + wipe out reactionary power
• Implement 3POP
• Complete the nat rev

Successes:
• overthrow all warlords + wipe out reactionary power
- Eliminated warlord puppet govt in Beijing

• Implement 3POP
- Nationalism → semblance of nat unity bc 1st time Ch united under single govt since death of YS

• Complete the nat rev
- Ch official govt = under nat control

Failures:
• overthrow all warlords + wipe out reactionary power
- Hunan still under warlord control but allied w GMD

• Complete the nat rev
- GMD control max only 1/3 terr + 2/3 pop

Fulfill the 3POP:
- Democracy → NE inc power + prestige of JJ → Chairman of GMD CEC + St council + Sec-gen of GMD + head of mil council → 3 yr mil dictatorship stage

Question 17

What led to the Shanghai Massacre?

Answer 17

• NRA capture S 22 Mar 1927 → JJ immediately concerned abt comm influence e.g. M4M S workers staged 1 wk strike → JJ fears CCP = “fifth column aid for the Nationalists” (Fenby)
• JJ order ‘Green Gang’ to deal w comm ‘problem’ in exchange for legal amnesty + exclusive selling rights for opium in S
→ 12 Apr 1927 GG employ 2K-men militia dressed in workers’ overalls → round up + kill 5-10K unionists + workers

Question 18

What were the consequences of the Shanghai Massacre?

Answer 18

Marked beginning of Nat’s WT → “a bloodbath that virtually destroyed both the CCP” - Meisner
(membership dropped from 57K in early 1927 → 10K end of 1920s)

BUT forced M into hiding in mountains → consolidate ideas + build army + peasant rapport

“Necessity was the mother of the CCP’s reinvention” - Womack

Question 19

How did Comintern have influence over the leadership of the CCP?

Answer 19

Jan 1931 Li Lisan replaced w 28Bol (Bo Gu + Wang Ming = leaders)  advocate for Sov-style, prole-based rev

Jan 1933 CCP leadership move to Ruijin  series of campaigns by Bo Gu  undermine M’s influence over CCP policy + mil

Question 20

How did Comintern have influence over CCP strategy?

Answer 20

• Uprisings following the end of 1UF
- Nanchang (1 Aug 1927)
- Guangzhou (11 Dec 1927)
→ both times Nat retook cities w/in days + inc persecution of comm (5700 killed after Guangzhou)
• 23 July 1930 Li Lisan (at behest of Comintern) orders series of campaigns on Yangzi River
→ counter-prod bc prompted proactive GMD repression of CCP (begin encirclement campaigns)
• Advisor Otto Braun → abandon guerrilla tactics + adopt positional warfare during 4th Encirclement Campaign → fail:
11-16 Apr 1934 Battle of Guangchang → 4000 comm losses
Sep 1934 60/70 counties in JS fallen to GMD

Question 21

What significant strategies and reforms were developed by Mao Zedong and Zhu De during the Jiangxi Soviet period?

Answer 21

• Land reform
- Kill most exploitative landlords = universally unpop
- Redist land to all peasants incl rich peasants
- Abolish exploitative rents
- Intro 15-20% grain tax = acceptable to peasantry + sufficient to support RA
• Econ + social reforms
- Equal right to marriage/divorce for women
- Est RA
- Est red postal service
- Est ‘People’s Bank’ → own currency
• Use of RA  inc peasant support

Question 22

How did Mao develop the Red Army in Jiangxi?

Answer 22

• Pol instruction given alongside mil training in simple, understandable lang – pol commissars served alongside officers
• RA = volunteer force – captured warlord/Nat soldiers had choice to return home w/ some travelling money ( → spread goodwill for CCP) or join RA
• RA rehearsed communist values thru removing symbols of priv/superiority:
- Officers X badges/honours to signify rank
- Officers ate same food + lived amongst them
- Officers X allowed to beat common soldiers
- Post-battle meetings → soldiers praise + raise concerns → create sense of comm/maintain accountability/foster culture of learning + reflection → develop tactics
- RA soldiers X on active duty = expected to help comm → win respect of peasantry (reflected in Mao’s Eight Points for Attention)
• Code of conduct chanted by soldiers as they marched
→ reminder of expectations
→ boosts morale
→ accessible to illit soldiers

Question 23

What were the strengths of the Nationalist government during the Nanjing Decade?

Answer 23

• Econ growth
- 1927-36 highways inc 606%
- 1927-36 factories inc x2
- 1929-36 aircraft x40 bc est nat airline
- Est Central Bank of Ch
- Devised modern style budget
• Formal government structure
o 5 bureaus (yuans) of govt:
o Exec
o Legislative
o Judiciary
o Examination
o Control
• Supported by Western powers bc anti-comm  self-determination successes
- 10/23 Eur concessions renounced  Ch has control of customs + tariffs
- Ch diplomats part of high-level talks at LoN
• Autocratic rule of JJ  semblance of nat unity
- Generalissimo
- Auth over Fam, Huangpu, Pol Study + CC cliques
- WJ opp govt + factions’ attempts to lim JJ’s auth = fail
- Fascism = ‘stimulant for declining society’
- GMD claim 24K comm + 155K LW symp arrested + ‘reformed’ 1927-37

Question 24

What were the limitations of the Nationalist government during the Nanjing Decade?

Answer 24

Ch X fully united:
• Max control 1/3 terr + 2/3 pop
• Hunan still under warlord control but allied w GMD
→ 80% budget = mil

Criminality + corruption:
• 1932 est Blue Shirts – 14K members by 1935 → CCP claim GMD killed 300K ppl during ND
• Control Yuan = ineffective
- 1931-32 69.5K reports of infringements/poor efforts (corruption) by GMD off → only 268 found at fault + 13 off sacked
Economy:
• Issues collecting tax bc corruption + bureaucracy
- Slow transfer of taxes from prov to nat govts
- Prov have ‘special taxes’ e.g. Guansu 44 diff taxes
- Collecting tax yrs in advance e.g. Sichuan prov 1971 tax collected in 1933
- Taxes 11x higher in some prov → extra pocketed by officials
• Ongoing conflict w CCP → 80% govt rev spent on mil → print more money → severe hyperinflation by 1940s

Question 25

What were the intentions of the New Life Movement?

Answer 25

Prod ‘moral rejuvination’ of Ch by reemphasising C values → counteract comm ideas → support JJ’s F-influenced vision of strong leader

Question 26

What were the impacts of the New Life Movement?

Answer 26

• Failed to create Ch identity or achieve pol tutelage bc followed out of fear • Leaders = embodiments of what X to do – Soong Meiling = heavy smoker + Big Ears Du = head of S Opium Suppression Bureau → funded govt w $ from opium • Urban movement – rural areas little impact • BUT provided GMD w another excuse to target comm o GMD claim 1927-37 24K comm + 155K LW symp = arrested + ‘reformed’ o CCP claim GMD murdered 300K ppl during ND

Question 27

What was the role and significance of Jiang Jieshi’s leadership during the Nanjing Decade?

Answer 27

Autocratic style → semblance of nat unity modelled on rise of Fascism in Eur o 1931 JJ name himself Generalissimo o F = ‘stimulant for declining society’ – concerned abt influence of comm, opium + govt laziness o 1932 est Blue Shirts → 14K members by 1935 o Auth over Fam, Huangpu, Pol Study + CC cliques o GMD claim 24K comm + 155K LW symp arrested + ‘reformed’ 1927-37

Question 28

Why did the Long March begin?

Answer 28

• Dec 1930 GMD launch ‘Bandit Extermination + Encirclement Campaign’ • Initially guerrilla warfare → 30K RA hold off against 100K NRA troops → escalated to 200K then 300K in 2nd + 3rd Campaigns → 28B adopt positional warfare tactic • 5th Encirclement – von Seekt advises new GMD tactics = X search & destroy • set up ‘blockhouses’ linked by roads + barbed wire → ‘concrete and steel noose’ • 1mil troops • 200 reconaissance aircraft • scorched earth policy  famine → Battle of Guangchang 11-16 Apr 1934 4000 comm losses → Sep 1934 60/70 counties in Jiangxi Sov fallen to GMD → 28B + Braun (M excluded) decide to move CCP from Ruijin  Hunan (550km west)

Question 29

What was the initial size of the Long March and what were its tactics and intentions?

Answer 29

* Sml force – 100K (80K troops + 20K CCP support staff) * Braun advise ‘Head On Straight On’ stategy → 4 hrs on, 4 hrs off bee line for Hunan w heavy equip (x-ray machines, printing presses, library books, govt files etc.) → 27km per day * Aim to set up new CCP base in Hunan

Question 30

How did the Battle of Xiang river impact on the nature of the march?

Answer 30

• Battle of Xiang River (25 Nov – 3 Dec 1934)  only 30K left by end bc deaths + desertions →12 Dec 1934 Tongdao M critic Braun’s ‘Head On Straight On’ strategy bc GMD easily laid trap + heavy equip = unnecessary → CCP change tactics → head SW to Guizhoz prov + ditch heavy items

Question 31

What happened at the Zunyi Conference?

Answer 31

15-17 Jan 1935 Zunyi Conf • M critic 28B + Braun for handling of 5EC + LM • M backed by x2 Politburo + eventually Zhou

Question 32

Why was the Zunyi Conference a critical turning point in the Long March?

Answer 32

* Change of leadership - 28B X longer in charge of LM – M, Zhou + Wang now ‘Central Triad of Leadership’ (Braun) w Wang + Zhou * M reemerges as key party member - given role as chief advisor to Z + promo to Politburo Standing Comm * Change strategy – head south-west + ditch heavy equip

Question 33

What changes in strategy emerged after Zunyi?

Answer 33

M collecting reward from period of experimentation in Jiangxi as ‘social laboratory’ (Davin) bc reforms to army: • Change name to 1st Front Army (like RA in Jiangxi) • Pol commissars inc efforts → boost morale • Mvmts expl to troops • Catchy slogans → boost morale e.g. ‘March Nth to Defeat the J = portrays fleeing as patriotic defense against J • Braun’s positional warfare strategy abandoned → guerrilla tactics reintro • Large meetings in villages/towns → expl purpose of RA • Rules repeated = enforce good conduct → build rel w peasants

Question 34

What is the significance of the Battle of Luding Bridge?

Answer 34

May 29 1935 ‘This bridge is the centre of the Long March myth’ (Chang and Halliday) Epitomises the LM spirit = bravery, perseverance, sacrifice → foundation ethos of Yenan

Question 35

What difficulties were faced by the Long Marchers as they crossed the Great Snowy Mountains and the High Grasslands?

Answer 35

Gr Snowy Mt • Dressed in cotton clothes + sandals • Troops died from slipping down cliffs + exposure • Only 10K survivors reached Sichuan High Grasslands • One big swamp → swallow men + horses whole • Ate weeds, boiled belts + solid remains of faeces • Rampant dysentery + diarrhoea • Only 7-8K survive

Question 36

What is the significance of the Long March to the development of the CCP?

Answer 36

Organisational: • M = prominant leader w/in CCP • Peasant focused rev, M-style army = main party line • Dec 1935 est new sov base in Yan’an • Every PRC leader 1949-mid 1990s = vets of LM Psychological: • Est ‘LM spirit’ = values of perseverance, determination, discipline, bravery → form new Ch identity = foundation ethos of Yenan

Question 37

How did Jiang’s government respond to Japanese military aggression in northern China?

Answer 37

• Follow policy of appeasement → trading space for time = “saving the nation by the winding path” e.g. JJ order govr of Manchuria X resist J invasion bc mil X strong enough • appeal to foreign powers (LoN Lytton Commission → J leave LoN)

Question 38

How did Jiang’s errors or those of his Nationalist generals decrease support for the GMD?

Answer 38

• ‘trade space for time strategy’ = embarrassing + at cost of civ lives (, flooding of Yellow River etc) → “Pop dissatisfaction grew when it became clear that appeasing the J did nothing” (Ryan) • Corruption damaged GMD rep bc hurt peasants most + opposite of ‘Free China’ + took away resources needed to fight J • JJ’s army = still x3 bigger than CCP + equipped w US weaponry + support BUT lacked governance/org skills – CCP control more terr + GMD req US help to airlift forces back to central Ch + US marines secured ports while waiting for GMD to arrive → GMD = weak

Question 39

What policies and strategies were implemented by the CCP at Yan’an?

Answer 39

Land + tax reform: • 1935-37 surplus land taken from merchants/landlords redist to poor • 1937 (bc 2UF) land only taken if abandoned BUT • Interest on loans/mortgages 18% 1.5% • Rent capped @ 25% harvest • Land reform carried out by poor peasant associations • Tax benefits for landlords investing in local ind/sons in RA Social change: • Womens’ associations → support for women exp abuse or too poor to feed kids → edu midwives abt sterile equip to dec infant mortality → extra food rations for preg women + nursing mums • Literacy 1% 1936 50% 1943 • Nights schools • Letters on RA packs + end of furrows • Est Uni of Anti-J Resistance` Econ change: • Off duty RA soldiers help peasants + peasants land set aside for RA soldiers while away → symb rel • Co-op bw soldiers, women + peasants associations  Y comm self-sufficient • Prod own matches, soap etc • Women’s spinning co-op prod maj of comm’s clothing needs • RA prod 40% of own food needs (sig bc 1935-36 big famine in Ch killed 30mil ppl) • CCP est co-ops for peasants to sell prod BUT main source of income (40%) = opium farming (secret)  sold to J-occupied regions in Nth Political change: • Some pol rep in border regions – pop elected • 1/3 CCP, 1/3 other LW, 1/3 anyone but J-collab, landlords, ‘local-bullies’ or RW GMD • Theory + practice of ‘mass line’ • Cadres given ind to meet local needs • Work amongst peasants, listen to concerns, implement practical sols • ‘from the people, to the people’

Question 40

What were causes of Mao’s Rectification Campaign?

Answer 40

• Wang Ming (28B) arrival in Y  M’s auth ‘did not extend beyond his cave’ • Lack of rev understanding among new recruits → unity + discipline need improvement to create ‘correct rev consciousness’

Question 41

What was the purpose of Mao’s Rectification Campaign?

Answer 41

* inc pop understanding of MZ Thought * elim enemies * avoid becoming ideologically stagnant → belief in ‘cont rev’

Question 42

What was the nature of Mao’s Rectification Campaign?

Answer 42

• Purging process - M/allies give lecture - Break up into sml groups  discuss ideas - Identify unreliable ppl  punished w ‘stuggle sessions’ = encouraged to self-criticise + scrutinised by peers - Intense study of M’s writings + manual labour - Execution of those who still resisted → effective bc removed pol rivals Wang Ming + Ding Ling • Maoist virtues - Cadres = humble → work amongst ppl - Prioritise ppl>materialism - Everyone should embrace LM spirit = struggle, sacrifice, perseverance, diligence + ingenuity → intrinsic to rev success • Theory - Ideology = important for unity/purpose BUT only means to an end – must have a practical application + adjusted to fit current exp - M criticised ‘book learning’ + dogma of orthodox Marxism - M-L → tailored to ‘specific concrete Ch cond • Allies - Chen Boda = Head of CCP Prop Bureau → write speeches + CCP history → glorify M’s role → build cult of personality - Kang Sheng = Dir of CCP Soc Affairs Dept = secret police  arrest + execute ppl who resist ideological ‘reform’ • Growth of CCP - 1940 ‘On New Democracy’ → embrace all soc class to form united front vs J = fusion of nat + comm - Inc literacy (1% 1936 → 50% 1943), avoid 1935-36 famine, good treatment by RA, some pol rep in border regions, empowerment of peasant associations, land reform etc → peasant support → peasants = maj → vanguard class of rev

Question 43

How did the Xian incident lead to the Second United Front?

Answer 43

• 3 Dec 1936 JJ fly → Xian to order resume 6EC • 12 Dec 1936 Zhang’s troops capture JJ + place under house arrest → JJ released (to M’s digust but Stalin insisted) on cond that he X anti-comm campaigns + agree to 2UF • 9mo negotiations – hurried bc new J attack 7/7/1937 • M promise RA will begin offensive vs J on 20 Aug 1937 regardless of 2UF negotiations outcome • 22 Sep 1937 2UF declared

Question 44

What were the details of the Second United Front agreement?

Answer 44

* Y = autonomous region → M able to cont dev ‘Y Way’ + Rect Camp * RA absorbed into NRA * GMD in control of mil stategy → CCP X blamed for GMD’s tactical failures later

Question 45

How did the war with Japan impact on the Nationalist government?

Answer 45

• Iso in Chongqing → deprived of main powerbase in central + coastal Ch • Smuggling → dec in Nat income tax + custom tariff revenue 67% to 6.3%  govt print more banknotes → hyperinflation: - Prices rise 50% in 1 mo - Prices rose avg 237% 1942-44 • Chaos fuelled corruption w/in govt - 30% aid ended up on black market - Members of govt got rich off of speculation + insider trading - Secret police target subversive voices – esp students + intell - Inc restrictions of freedom of press + speech - 70-90% crops = tax on peasants in Nat jurisdiction BUT support from US thru Lend Lease (JJ stockpiled for future anti-comm campaigns anyway)

Question 46

How did the war with Japan impact on the CCP?

Answer 46

• iso location in Yanan → avoid most necessary fighting w J BUT still want to demo themselves as patriotic defenders of Ch o Late 1940 Hundred Regiment Off → 22K troops die o J brutal treatment of peasantry → inc CCP pop Post 2UF → return to guerrilla tactics, land reform + patriotic appeal → 1937 40K members → 1945 1mil+ members

Question 47

What were American observations of the Communists at Yan’an?

Answer 47

July 1944 Dixie Mission  US diplomats recog CCP as high morale, organisation + discipline = polar opp to Stilwell’s assessment of GMD

Question 48

What were General Stilwater’s observations of Jiang Jieshi’s strategy?

Answer 48

JJ’s strategy damaged GMD rep - highly criticised by US General Stilwell (chief US advisor) • Misused Lend Lease by stockpiling resources for future anti-Comm campaigns • Stalemate/’trading space for time’ strategy → Nat war effort by 1938 = “practically zero” + govt X able to “get the idea of offensive into their heads” (Stilwell) → bad bc only option = stay and die or retreat → no morale + damage rep of JJ bc looks weak • Maltreatment of conscripted soldiers o Beating by off = common o Prov w inadequate supplies o Roped together naked → X escape → 50% of Ch deaths in WWII = bc of neglect/maltreatment • Pay delivered to off in lump sums → off pocket salaries of dead/deserted troops • Attempted to deal w corruption w/in mil by issuing orders w poor intel  confusion • Poorly co-ord defense against J Apr 1944 Ichigo Off → J capture multi key cities + newly built US-funded airfields

Question 49

How does the GMD’s role in the Henan Famine support Stilewell’s assessment of the GMD?

Answer 49

1942-43 Henan Famine → 2-3mil deaths 1. Forced grain req – GMD fault 2. Corrupt off taking needed but still inadequate support from govt – GMD fault 3. Flooding of Yellow River (7 June 1938) – GMD fault 4. Severe drought spring 1942

Question 50

What was the overall impact of the war on China?

Answer 50

* 3 mil Ch soldiers killed * 18mil civ killed * 95mil ref * Mass destruction of towns + cities

Question 51

CCP strengths during the Civil War

Answer 51

• Ceasefire gave CCP time to consolidate strength in countryside • “sit them to death” guerrilla tactic → exploiting NRA’s low morale/psych vulnerability • M’s leadership = motivating + decisive bc commands respect + power → able to quickly move from def to off strategy in 1948 + transform PLA from guerrilla to modern army by 1948 • Organised pol structure which empowered peasants → offered effective admin of countryside for 1st time → able to actually harness peasant support + retreat in orderly manner • Focussed goal, mobile + adaptable → X sentimental abt loss of Yanan bc prioritise keeping troops>land → able to spread NRA thin + expose their inability to govern • Valued reputations – offered Nat POWs to join PLA or gave $ to go home + Jan 1949 B residents surprised PLA behaved respectfully • CCP’s identification w peasantry (bc good treatment + land reform pols) → support for ‘people’s war’ against JJ → supply PLA w food, intel + recruits o “Conscription, a tragedy in the government-controlled areas, was an honour in Liberated Areas” – Bianco

Question 52

GMD weaknesses during the Civil War

Answer 52

• Low morale bc X resist J, rigid strategy, maltreatment, neglect → “Three Don’t Cares: 1. Don’t care to fight 2. Don’t care about the people 3. Don’t care about myself” o Looting, pillaging, murdering + raping = common practices of NRA • Corruption → reduced quality of govt + tainted rep • Unable to deal w inflation → lose support of MC • JJ appt mil comm based on loyalty X skill • Corruption, misuse of aid + poor treatment of local pops → US support ends circa 1947/48 • Unable to garner support of peasantry bc treated badly – seize land + $, forced enlistment, arrest + execute protesters (Aug 1948 public beheadings + firing squads in Shanghai) → “alienated the nationalists” – Lynch → justifies CCP’s claim to be liberating Ch bc GMD = oppressive force • Unorganised retreat → CCP appropriate GMD’s stockpiled US supplies (tanks, jeeps, guns)

Question 53

What during the Civil War?

Answer 53

* End of WWII → race for terr + arms in Manch following J retreat → CCP + USSR alongside e/o * JJ use US forces to airlift NRA into Manch cities → CCP retreat to countryside to build support of Manch peasantry + encircle cities → “sit them to death” * Gen Marshall neg ceasefire (10 Jan 1946) but over by May 1946 * Mar 1947 NRA take Yanan but CCP = focused + mobile + M X sentimental  retreat in orderly manner + prioritise keeping troops * M use himself as bait to lure NRA to ambush – “Hu came in like a fist. We forced him open like a hand; now we are cutting off the fingers one by one” * 1 May 1946 RA renamed PLA * 1947 CCP intro new land law = revoke all landlord rights + empower PAs to seize + redist land * Apr + May 1947 PLA switch to offensive strategy → gain lots of US supplies GMD abandoned in unorg retreat * 1948 PLA switch from guerrilla to conventional warfare → surround Nat cities → lg scale surrender from NRA (327K in one city) * 21 Jan 1949 JJ flee to T → vice-pres Li Zongren left to neg peace * 31 Jan 1949 PLA takes B * 23 Apr 1949 PLA takes Nat cap of Nanjing * 1 Oct 1949 PRC proclaimed at Tiananmen Sq

Question 54

Top 3 reasons for CCP victory in the Civil War

Answer 54

1. GMD's alienation of supporters 2. CCP's ability to galvanise peasant support 3. M's leadership + organisation → able to actually exploit GMD's weaknesses + use support