History of China: 1936-1949

This is the second essay about china. The first was about 1920-1936. Read about History of China: 1920-1936... Now for 1936 to 1949...

The CCP gained some support from Jiangxi, but it was insufficient for a revolution. Realizing that only a unified China could defeat the Japanese with the rise of nationalism, Mao offered to cease fighting with KMT and form a coalition. This gained him the support of nationalistic citizens. Chiang refused, demanding that Mao submit to him and allow his troops to be part of KMT. However, this changed after the Xian Incident. On 7th December, Chiang returned to Xian, aiming to... start the 6th suppression campaign. Zhang Xue Liang refused to participate and was dismissed from his post. Encouraged by the anti-Japanese demonstrations by the National Salvation League, Zhang arrested Chiang and announced a united front with CCP. Chiang was ironically saved by CCP, who felt dealing with him was easier than with Zhang. On December 15, after Zhou Enlai’s arrival, Chiang accepted the coalition. The Second United Front was formed in September 1937, officially ending the civil war ad beginning an alliance against Japanese invaders. The Red Army became the government-controlled National Revolutionary Army. The United Front did not stop friction and military clashes started in 1939 when KMT blockaded Communist territories resulting in food shortages and inflation. The most serious clash was the New Fourth Army Incident where Chiang’s troops were wiped out. This ended the front. The Second Sino-Japanese War took place from 1937-1941. The KMT forces lacked equipment and morale. By December 1937, their capital Nanking fell to the Japanese. Chiang moved the capital to Wuhan. By October 1938, Guangzhou fell and so did Wuhan in December. Chiang retreated to Chungking. The Japanese soon controlled plains of North and Central China, coastal areas, railways, large cities and ports. Mao knew that Japan lacked manpower to occupy China. He thus chose to operate behind enemy lines with guerilla tactics. He adopted the idea of a base area, where the guerilla unit had excellent knowledge of their base’s terrain, had warm support of its locals and the ability to organize them to defend it. By actively opposing the Japanese, the CCP won the support of nationalistic citizens. From 1937-1940, the CCP moved eastwards from their bases in Yanan and occupied parts of North China. Japanese retaliated with the 1941 Three All Campaign which advocated mass killings and destruction of property. However, this only made the people more anti-Japanese. Instead of fighting, Chiang traded space for time. He waited in Chungking for the Japanese to be worn out before countering. He was also hoping for Western aid. However, his army became demoralized because they lacked purpose. Also, due to the retreat, he was deprived of revenue from the coastal areas. Rapid printing of paper money led to inflation. The war exposed many KMT’s weaknesses like profiteering and corruption, leading to their decline. The Red Army gathered over a million men by the end of war. Bands of 300-400 operated separately, communicating by wireless. They managed to capture 90% of former territories. The surrender of the Japanese after the atomic bombings in Yokohama and Hiroshima was soon followed by the Chinese civil war. In the first phase from 1946-1947, the KMT, with foreign aid, aimed to seize more territories, causing them to be over extended. From summer 1946 to spring 1947, KMT troops advanced through Manchuria and North China, but due to lack of manpower, only captured cities. CCP stuck to guerilla tactics to avoid confronting KMT head-on. They also concentrated mainly on North China. Yenan fell to KMT in 1947 in 1947. CCP continued to grow, recruiting new soldiers with some from KMT. CCP gradually cut off communication lines between KMT cities. In mid-1947, KMT troops in Manchuria were isolated and Chiang had to airlift supplies. Since CCP already controlled much of the countryside in North China and Manchuria by the second phase from 1947-1949, Mao decided to seize KMT’s communication centers and cities. Both armies engaged in positional battles and by April 1948, CCP recaptured Yenan. They were ready to attack major cities by September. In late 1948, Lin Piao destroyed KMT forces in Manchuria, capturing 200000 rifles and 400000 KMT troops. Later in the Battle of Hwai-wai, Chiang’s entire army was defeated, losing 500000 soldiers. Chiang unsuccessfully tried to negotiate peace with CCP, and resigned before fleeing to Taiwan with several thousand troops and loyal commanders. By October 1 1949, China was in CCP’s hands and Mao proclaimed the Chinese People’s Republic.