Chinese Civil War and the Cold

war

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The Chinese Civil War 19271950

War fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)led Nationalist Government of the Republic of
China, against the Communist Party of China
(CPC), both claiming to be the legitimate
government of China.
It led to the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan
and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in
mainland China
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Second Sino-Japanese War

Japan's campaign was defeated in 1945,
marking the end of hostilities in World War II.
China's full-scale civil war resumed in 1946.
1950 saw the cessation of major military
hostilities with the newly founded People's
Republic of China controlling mainland China.

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Immediate post-war clashes (19451946)

US diplomat Patrick J. Hurley, Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek,

Chang Ch'n, Wang Shi Jie. Mao Zedong
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The first post-war peace negotiation

August 28, - October 10, 1945.
was attended by both Chiang Kai-shek and
Mao Zedong in Chongqing .
Both sides stressed the importance of a
peaceful reconstruction.
Battles between the two sides continued even
as the peace negotiation was in progress, until
the agreement was reached in January 1946.

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The Nationalist-Communist Civil War

(19471949)
The war represented an ideological split
between the KMT's Nationalism, and the
Communist CPC.
In mainland China is known as the War of
Liberation.
In Taiwan is known as Third Internal
Revolutionary War.

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Fighting in mainland China (19461950)

By the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the
balance of power in China's civil war had shifted
in favour of the Communists.
Their "Liberated Zone" contained 19 base areas,
including 1/4 of the country's territory and 1/3 of
its population; this included many important
towns and cities.
The Soviet Union turned over all of Japanese
weapons and their own supplies to the
Communists,
North-eastern China was given to the Chinese
from the Soviets.
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Trumans point of view

It was perfectly clear to us that if we told the
Japanese to lay down their arms immediately
and march to the seaboard, the entire country
would be taken over by the Communists. We
therefore had to take the unusual step of using
the enemy as a garrison until we could airlift
Chinese National troops to South China and send
Marines to guard the seaports".
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Cold war issues

Japanese troops were ordered to surrender to
KMT troops and not to the CPC present in
some of the occupied areas.
In Manchuria, where the KMT had no forces,
the Japanese surrendered to the Soviet Union.
Chiang Kai-Shek ordered the Japanese troops
to remain at their post to receive the
Kuomintang and not surrender their arms to
the communists.
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The United States supported the

Kuomintang.
The US equipped and trained over 500,000
KMT troops, and transported KMT forces to
occupy newly liberated zones.
American aid included substantial amounts of
both new and surplus military supplies.
Within less than 2 years after the SinoJapanese War, the KMT had received 4.43
billion dollars from the US - most of which was
military aid.
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Outbreak of War
On 20 July 1946, Chiang Kai-shek launched a
large-scale assault on Communist territory
with 113 brigades (1.6 million troops) this
marked the final phase of the Chinese Civil
War.
Knowing their disadvantages in manpower
and equipment, the CPC executed a "passive
defence" strategy.
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People's Republic of China

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed
the state with its capital Beijing.
Chiang Kai-shek and approximately 2 million
Nationalist Chinese retreated from mainland
China to the island of Taiwan.
There remained only isolated pockets of
resistance ending soon.

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Establishment of the People's Republic

and the Kuomintang retreat to Taiwan

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Taiwans claims
Most observers expected Chiang's
government to eventually fall in response to a
Communist invasion of Taiwan.
In the onset of the Korean War in June 1950.
President Truman ordered the Seventh Fleet
to prevent the ROC and PRC from attacking
each other.

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Relationship between the two sides since 1950

"Forget not that you're in J" a rock in Quemoy Island with Chiang Kaishek's admonition to ROC fighters not to retreat, and to retake the
mainland.
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First Taiwan Strait crisis, September 3, 1954

On January 20, 1955, the PLA took nearby
Yijiangshan Island, with the entire ROC garrison
of 720 troops killed or wounded defending the
island.
On January 24 of the same year, the United States
Congress passed the Formosa Resolution
authorizing the President to defend the ROC's
offshore islands.
It ended in March 1955 when the Peoples
Liberation Army (PLA) ceased its bombardment.
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Second Taiwan Strait Crisis August 23, 1958

Air and naval engagements between the PRC
and the ROC military forces.
Artillery bombardment of Quemoy (by the
PRC) and Amoy (by the ROC)
PLA patrol boats blockaded the islands from
ROC supply ships.
The United States rejected Chiang Kai-shek's
proposal to bomb mainland China artillery
batteries.
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End of the hostilities

Since no armistice or peace treaty has ever
been signed, the PRC still actively claims
Taiwan as part of its territory and continues
military threats against Taiwan.
The ROC mutually claims mainland China
They both continue the fight over diplomatic
recognition.
There is a debate as to whether the Civil War
has legally ended.
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Sources
Compiled by Violeta Fonseca from various sources (Tuesday, 10
February 2015)

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