Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War Explained

Conflict:Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War

Partof:the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949)
Part of the Cold War (1947–1991)
Date:10 August 1945 - 1950
1950 - 1979 (Sporadic Conflict mainly between the Taiwan Strait)
- present( years)(de jure)
Place:China and Indochina
(Cold War: Korea, Vietnam and Burma)
Result:
Combatant1:----Supported by:
Eastern Bloc
Combatant2:----Supported by:
Western Bloc
Commander1:
Commander2:
Strength1:
  • 1,270,000 (Sep 1945)
  • 2,800,000 (Jun 1948)
  • 4,000,000 (Jun 1949)
Strength2:
  • 4,300,000 (Jul 1946)
  • 3,650,000 (Jun 1948)
  • 1,490,000 (Jun 1949)
Casualties1:250,000 in three campaigns
Casualties2:1.5 million in three campaigns

The Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, called the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion or Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion by the Kuomintang (KMT), and Chinese People's War of Liberation or simply, War of Liberation, by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was a conflict between the KMT and the CCP for the leadership of China. It was the second stage of the Chinese Civil War. The result of the civil war was that the CCP became victorious, leading to the retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan, the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, and the two regimes between the mainland and Taiwan each declaring itself as the legitimate Chinese government at present.

Background

On August 15, 1945, the Empire of Japan, the common enemy of the Kuomintang and the CCP, announced its surrender, which marked the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The surrender of Japan intensified the rivalry between the KMT and the CCP which was previously weakened by the ongoing war against it. [3]

On the eve of Japan's surrender, the major force of the KMT's army was concentrated in the home front, with almost no regular army present north of the Yangtze River and east of the Pinghan Road. The only army located to the South of the Yangtze River and to the east of the Guangzhou–Hankou railway and only troops from the Third War Area south of the Yangtze River and east of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway were the troops from the third military region. [4]

By April 1945, the CCP along with the Eighth Route Army which was under its leadership had controlled most of the rural areas of northern China, with a total population of around 95.5 million. The CCP had also built up an army that could compete with the KMT.[5] Socially, due to the devastation brought about by the Second Sino-Japanese War, the gentry, which used to be a group that could help stabilize the society, was disintegrated. As a result, the social instability led to an increasing number of the unemployed population, many of some became the supporters of the CCP. So, the size of the People's Liberation Army, the principle military force of the CCP, experienced a rapid expansion. [6]

According to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, the Nationalist Government had the legal status over northeastern China. The Article 5(b) of the treaty stipulated no restriction on the movement be imposed on the government troops from moving into or within northeastern China. In addition, Article 2 stipulated that military mobilization within the territory of China (except for the Northeast) should cease. However, the CCP believed it also had the right to take over the Northeast and refused to comply with this treaty. It continued to deploy troops from the China proper to the Northeast to take over the Soviet troops who were occupying it at the time. [7]

Outbreak of the war

Surrender and takeover

On August 15, the Japanese Emperor announced the surrender of the Empire of Japan. [8] The CCP-controlled Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army refused Chiang's order to wait the government forces to arrive and receive Japanese surrender, as stipulated in the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance. Instead, they launched an offensive on all fronts against the Japanese and collaborationists. In addition, the CCP ordered the Japanese to surrender to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army unless they were encircled by the government forces.[9] [10] On August 16, Mao Zedong, the chairman of the CCP, published the article "People's Enemy Chiang Kai-shek Sends Out a Signal for Civil War" in the CCP-owned Xinhua News Agency. In the article, Mao falsified the remarks made by Wu Kuo-chen, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government by slandering that Wu accused Chiang Kai-shek of "sending out a signal of civil war" by intending to deal with the opponents "with military justice". in fact, Mao was deliberately breaking with the KMT and preparing to launch a civil war to topple the government in the name of opposing the civil war.

List of major KMT-CCP conflicts in late 1945
Battle NameApproximate TimeReasons for OutbreakResult
Shangdang CampaignSept 10 - Oct 12A clique of the KMT, Yan Xishan's troops took over Xiangyuan and Lucheng, which were occupied by the Eighth Route Army after Japan's surrender, and accepted the surrender of the Japanese army in Changzhi. The Eighth Route Army launched an offensive.Ten of the Yan Xishan's divisions were annihilated, and Changzhi was occupied by the Eighth Route Army.
TianjinPukou Railway CampaignOct 15 - Dec 14The New Fourth Army blocked the government army from moving north along the Tianjin–Pukou railway to accept the surrender of the Japanese Army.The New Fourth Army captured a large area of Shandong. Part of Shandong and Central China, the two regions controlled by the CCP, were linked together.
Peking–Suiyuan Railway CampaignOct 18 - Dec 14A clique of the KMT, Fu Zuoyi's troops accepted the Japanese surrender in Suiyuan. The Eighth Route Army besieged Fu's troops to try to block them from moving further north.The Eighth Route Army besieged the cities of Guisui and Baotou for a month and a half. It later retreated after failing to capture either city.
Handan CampaignDec 24 - Nov 2The government army went north along the Peking–Hankow railway to accept the Japanese surrender. The Eighth Route Army besieged them to try to block them from going north.The Eighth Route Army besieged and annihilated seven government divisions.
nowrapBattle of Shanhai PassNov 15The government army on US-owned transport docks were refused to land in Dalian by the Soviet Union, the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast Democratic Allied Army. The government army moved to Huludao then, but they still were stilled denied landing. In the end, they moved to Qinhuangdao to land since the city was not under Soviet control. Afterwards, they were blocked by the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast Democratic Allied Forces when they were on their way to the Shanhai Pass.The government army defeated the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast Democratic Allied Army and occupied the Shanhai pass and Jinzhou.

Early negotiations

See main article: Chongqing Negotiations and Political Consultative Conference (1946). On August 14, 1945, Chiang Kai-Shek invited Mao Zedong to go to Chongqing, the wartime capital of China, to negotiate with each other and reduce the disagreements between the KMT and the CCP.[11] On August 24, Mao agreed under the order made by Joseph Stalin in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[11] After the negotiation, an agreement was reached on October 10. One of the few key policies reached in the agreement stipulated that the CCP recognize the Nationalist government as the sole legitimate Chinese government while the KMT recognize the CCP as a legal opposition party. In addition, the agreement scheduled a future meeting between the major political factions in China to discuss unsolved problems.[12]

Showdown of the war

The Three Campaigns

See main article: Liaoshen campaign, Huaihai campaign and Pingjin campaign.

The Yangtze River Crossing campaign

See main article: Yangtze River Crossing campaign.

Sporadic conflict on the Taiwan Strait

See also: First Taiwan Strait Crisis and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.

See also

Notes

  1. Web site: Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Butterworth) to the Acting Secretary of State . Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, the Far East: China, Volume VIII . Office of the Historian.
  2. 胡美 . 任东来 . 1946~1947年美国对华军火禁运的几个问题 . 《美國研究》 . 2007年 . 第3期 .
  3. Book: 汪朝光 . 《中国近代通史》第10卷:中国命运的决战(1945-1949).
  4. 汪朝光 . 〈国民政府对抗战胜利之初期因应〉 . 《抗日战争研究》2003年第2期.
  5. Book: (美)胡素珊 . 《中国的内战:1945—1949年的政治》 . 中国青年出版社 . 王海良 等 译 . 1997 . 978-7-5006-2519-3 . 北京.
  6. Book: 張 . 玉法 . 中國現代史 . 1977 . 東華書局 . 台北.
  7. Web site: 國家發展委員會檔案管理局 . 會議前的東北問題 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240103191225/https://art.archives.gov.tw/Theme.aspx?MenuID=113 . 2024-01-03 . 2024-02-19 . 檔案支援教學網 . January 2014 . live.
  8. 刘晓岳:《中国抗日战争史丛书:日本投降与中国受降》,中国友谊出版公司, 2001年
  9. Book: 《中华民国史》第4卷 . 2006 . 南京大学出版社 . 978-7-305-04242-3 . 张宪文等 . 2005.
  10. Book: 张宪文 . 《中华民国史》第四卷 . 南京大学出版社 . 2006 . 南京 . 朱德:〈命令冈村宁次投降〉(1945年8月15日),《朱德选集》,北京:人民出版社,1983年.
  11. Book: . 《近代中國史綱》 . 香港 . 中文大學出版社 . 1986 . 第三版 .
  12. Web site: 28 August 2015. Road to the second KMT-CCP civil war. 28 May 2021. End of Empire. en-US.

Further reading