Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War
Part of the interwar period, the Chinese Communist Revolution and the Cold War (from 1947)
Clockwise from top left
Communist troops at the Battle of Siping; National Revolutionary Army troops at the Shangdang Campaign; Chiang Kai-shek inspecting soldiers; ROCA members board a ship to retreat to Taiwan in 1949; Mao Zedong in the 1930s; CCP general Su Yu inspecting the troops shortly before the Menglianggu campaign
Date
  • 1 August 1927[1] – 26 December 1936 (first phase)
    (9 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
  • 10 August 1945 – 7 December 1949 (second phase)
    (4 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Result Communist victory
Territorial
changes
  • Communist control of mainland China
  • People's Republic of China established
  • Nationalist government retreat to Taiwan
Belligerents

1927–1936:
Republic of China (1912–1949) Republic of China

1927–1936:
Chinese Communist Party

Fujian People's Government (1933–1934)

1945–1949:
Republic of China (1912–1949) Republic of China

1945–1949:
Chinese Communist Party

Commanders and leaders
(Director-General of the Kuomintang) (Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party)
Strength
2 million (regular)
2.3 million (militia) (June 1946)[2][3][4]
1.2 million (regular)
2.6 million (militia) (July 1945)[3][5]
Casualties and losses
1.5–1.7 million (1945–1949)[6][4][7]
370,000~ killed[8][9]
2.8+ million (1945–1949)
263,800 killed
190,000 missing
850,000 wounded (1945–1949)[10][6]
  • Above one estimate 1945–1949 set for combatants, with overall up to 6 million (including civilians)[6]
  • Early phase, 1928–1937: c. 7 million (including civilians)[11]
  • Concluding phase, 1945–1949: c. 2.5 million (including civilians)[12]
Chinese Civil War
Traditional Chinese國共內戰
Simplified Chinese国共内战
Literal meaningKuomintang-Communist Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with armed conflict continuing intermittently from 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949, resulting in a CCP victory and control of mainland China in the Chinese Communist Revolution.

The war is generally divided into the First Kuomintang-Communist Civil War and the Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War with an interlude: from August 1927 to 1937, the First United Front collapsed during the Northern Expedition, and the Nationalists controlled most of China. From 1937 to 1945, hostilities were mostly put on hold as the Second United Front fought the Second Sino-Japanese War with eventual help from the Allies of World War II, although co-operation between the KMT and CCP during this time was minimal and armed clashes between the groups were common. Exacerbating the divisions within China further was the formation of the Wang Jingwei regime, sponsored by Japan and ostensibly led by Wang Jingwei, which was established to nominally govern the regions of China that came under Japanese occupation.

The civil war resumed as soon as it became apparent that Japanese defeat was imminent, with the CCP gaining the upper hand in the second phase of the war from 1945 to 1949.

The CCP gained control of mainland China and proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949, forcing the leadership of the Republic of China to retreat to the island of Taiwan.[13] Starting in the 1950s, a lasting political and military standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has ensued, with the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC in mainland China both claiming to be the legitimate government of all China. After the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, both tacitly ceased to engage in open conflict in 1979; however, no armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed.[14]

  1. ^ Li, Xiaobing (2012). China at War: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 295. ISBN 9781598844153. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  2. ^ Li, Xiaobing (2007). A History of the Modern Chinese Army. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-7224-8. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hsiung, James C. (1992). China's Bitter Victory: The War With Japan, 1937–1945. New York: M.E. Sharpe publishing. ISBN 1-56324-246-X. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b Sarker, Sunil Kumar (1994). The Rise and Fall of Communism. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 9788171565153. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  5. ^ 曹, 前发. "毛泽东的独创:"兵民是胜利之本"". 中国共产党新闻网. 人民网-中国共产党新闻网. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Lynch, Michael (2010). The Chinese Civil War 1945–49. Osprey Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-84176-671-3.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Ho. Studies in the Population of China. p. 253.
  8. ^ Ho. Studies in the Population of China. p. 253.
  9. ^ White, Matthew (2011). Atrocities. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 381. ISBN 978-0-393-08192-3.
  10. ^ The History of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Beijing: People's Liberation Army Press. 1983.
  11. ^ "Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls". Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls". Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  13. ^ Lew, Christopher R.; Leung, Pak-Wah, eds. (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Civil War. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 3. ISBN 978-0810878730. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  14. ^ Green, Leslie C. The Contemporary Law of Armed Conflict. p. 79.

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