War With Japan:

Key Word Glossary

In groups you have 5 minutes to come up with a list of key words relating to China’s war with Japan.

These can be key names (people/places), events and general key

historical vocab that you feel are important to understand on this

topic.

Go to http://padlet.com/rossburrough/japan and add your vocab to

the wall.

Civil War – 1946-49

Learning Objectives:

Examine the aims of the CCP and the GMD and what they offered to the

people of China?

Explain why the CCP won and the GMD lost the civil war?

Key Words, People & Places:Generalissimo

Blueshirt’s

New Life Movement

Rural Service

liberation areas

Rectification of

Conduct

Treaty of Friendship

General George C.

Marshall

Lin Biao

Strong Point Offensive

The Two Chinas 1945-49

LO: Examine the aims of the CCP

and GMD. What

did they offer to the

people of China?

How did Chiang Kai Shek plan to rule?

Mussolini

‘Duce’

‘Blackshirts’

Kai Shek

‘Generalissimo’

‘Blueshirts’

Hitler

‘Fuehrer’

‘Brownshirts’

‘I believe that unless everyone has absolute trust in one man, we cannot

reconstruct the nation and we can not complete the revolution’.

LO: Examine the aims of the CCP

and GMD. What

did they offer to the

people of China?

GMD vs. CCP Aims?

• Modernise China – Railways, Postal Service and

telecommunications along with developing the

countries industry.

• The ‘New Life Movement’- placed stress on public, self-

discipline and honesty.

• ‘Rural Service’ – Students sent to help peasants with

harvest

What were the GMD’s and Chiang Kai Shek’s main aims

& policies for China? How did these differ from the CCP?

Use pages 22-23 to review how these aims effected the

Chinese populous in both the GMD and CCP areas

LO: Examine the aims of the CCP

and GMD. What

did they offer to the

people of China?

Communist Ideology

• In Mao’s Red base in Yenan and other ‘liberation areas’

the CCP experiment with putting their ideologies into

practice and draw supporters from all over the country;

• The CCP favour the peasantry and educate and

empower the poor;

• The Red Army gets access to education and training and

grows a fierce sense of loyalty and discipline to the

communist cause;

• The ‘Rectification of Conduct’ campaign is carried out in

1942-4 and solidifies discipline and political correctness

amongst the CCP;

• The CCP become a centralised, experienced and

cohesive force, headed by charismatic leaders.

LO: Examine the aims of the CCP

and GMD. What

did they offer to the

people of China?

Why did the CCP

succeed?

• Peasants happier:

– Land confiscated

– Rents/taxes reduced

(37.5% to 20% of crop)

– Interest free loans for

peasants

– Outmoded practices

banned

– Women’s Association’s established

– Red Army is disciplined

LO: Examine the aims of the CCP

and GMD. What

did they offer to the

people of China?

China’s PrioritiesLO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

• 4 million Chinese dead, 60

million homeless

• Chinese casualties

estimated to be

10,000,000

• China ravaged by war,

some towns completely

obliterated

• War weary

• Need for peace and

stability, as well as

economic rebirth

GMD

Legitimate rulers of China

Politically experienced, could

offer stability

Support amongst educated (i.e. richer) members of society

CCP

Revolutionaries

Growing experience but not able to guarantee stability across the whole of China

Promised to unleash the power of the (uneducated) peasantry

Starting Positions 1945:

GMD v CCP

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Which side would seem more

appealing to you directly after

the War?

Starting Positions:

GMD v CCP

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Was their ever a

United Front?

• 1937 – Second United Front established but this was not to last. During the war – Civil war still engaged between communists and nationalists;

• 1938 armed clashes began;

• 1941 the Communist New Fourth Army was attacked, 10,000 killed or captured;

HOWEVER

• When the Japanese left the Communists were best placed to gain more land – WHY?

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

China Post WW2

• When war ended in Aug 1945,

the CCP controlled most of the

countryside & the GMD was

stuck in Sichuan province.

• The war ended too soon for

Chiang. He was hoping that

the USA would send armies to

China to defeat the Japanese

AND communists.

• The CCP was already

accepting the surrender of the

Japanese in many areas and

taking over.

‘The CCP had

effectively won the

civil war by 1945.’

Do you agree?

Explain your opinions

in details.

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

China Post WW2

• The Allies decided that Chiang

should be reinstated as ruler of

China. Even Stalin agreed to this

signing the ‘Treaty of Friendship’

• US Dakota planes rushed 110,000

GMD troops to the cities and bases

in the north to accept the surrender

of Japanese troops & equipment

before the Communists could do so.

• In response the Communists moved

into Manchuria and captured many

ex-Japanese weapons.

Why do you

think Stalin

agreed to

reinstate Chiang

rather than Mao

as leader of

China?

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

International Context

• US yet to establish desire to completely eradicate

communism and prioritise the stability of Asia;

• Russia sympathetic to CCP, but do not concentrate on

further campaigns that may lead to more fighting;

• Both wanted to see a unified government with both parties

represented.

• Based on your knowledge of Chiang Kai

Shek and Mao’s relationship, how likely do

you think a coalition would be after WW2?

• In Dec 1945, the USA sent General George C.

Marshall to try to prevent a civil war in

China. He failed and war broke out in early

1946.

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Which group was

stronger!

The Communists had 1.2m

members, 900,000 soldiers,

19 base areas, 90m

population but lacked

heavy military equipment

and only 600 artillery pieces.

GMD had 2.7m

soldiers, 39

newly trained

divisions, x10

artillery and

large air force.

How did the CCP live up the

Sun Yatsen’s 3 principles and

how did the GMD betray

them? How was this translated

into military success?

CCP

Strengths

GMD

Weaknesses

Political

Military

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

The Final Struggle

The struggle for Manchuria

July 1946 – May 1947

• The GMD immediately took the

initiative by launching an offensive

which captured most of the cities

of Manchuria except for Harbin in

the far north.

• The CCP even lost their base at

Yenan. GMD numbers, resources

and air power helped dramatically.

Chiang committed ½ million of his

best troops to capture Manchuria.

• A renewed offensive by the GMD in

Oct 1946 failed to break through

the CCPs defences.

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

July 1946 - May 1947

• After October 1946, the now

Peoples Liberation Army

(formerly Red Army) led by Lin

Biao, began to adopt an

effective guerrilla warfare

strategy against the GMD.

• From rural bases, the PLA

ambushed GMD units, forcing

them to remain in the cities.

• Railway lines were then blown

up to cut the cities off from

supplies and reinforcements.

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

July 1946-May 1947

PROBLEMS IN THE CITIES

• Civilians suffered in Guomindang

held cities – inflation (money lost its

value, wages bought less in shops)

workers went on strike

• 1kg rice rose to 1 million Chinese

dollars

• Riots and disorder rose and

people joined the Communists

• ‘Blueshirts’ tried to restore order –

Censorship of press, black lists

drawn up and systematic murder

‘To tell the truth,

never, in China or

abroad has there

been a

revolutionary party

as decrepit and

degenerate as we

are today; nor one

lacking in spirit,

discipline, and

even more,

lacking standards

of right and

wrong’ CKS 1947

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

The ‘Strong Point Offensive’

May 1947 – Nov 1948

• US Govt. given US$200mil in

military aid since 1945, but

could now see the GMD were

finished – cut further aid

• During this period, the PLA

moved from a strategy of

guerrilla warfare to one of

conventional battles with

massed forces of infantry and

artillery - Strong Point Offensive

Why was it

important to

move from

guerrilla warfare

to conventional

warfare?

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Dec 1948 - Oct 1949

THE BATTLE OF HUAI

HAI

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Dec 1948 - Oct 1949

• Jan 1949 - Chiang Kai-Shek

realised all was lost and fled to

the island of Formosa and

established a GMD

government and set up

Taiwan.

• Took 200,000 GMD soldiers as

well as of of China’s gold

reserves.

• From then until 1975 Chiang

Kai Shek ruled Taiwan as the

‘Republic of China’

How do you think

Chiang would

explain his defeat?

What is the legacy

of this history

today?

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Dec 1948 - Oct 1949

• After a rest, in April 1949, the PLA

attacked key cities on the Yangtzi

River, capturing Nanjing on 23rd

April and Shanghai in late May.

• Wuhan was captured in May and

the way to the south was now

open. The army then divided:

• Xi’an & Lanzhou captured in

August.

• Guangzhou captured in October.

• Chongqing captured in November.

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

The People’s Republic of

China (PRC) Established

• By late Sep 1949, most of China

was under Communist control.

• Mao called a conference in

Beijing. 14 political parties were

represented and the

conference elected members

of the new central government

of the People’s Republic of

China (PRC).

• On 1st Oct 1949, Mao

proclaimed the founding of the

PRC and he was elected

Chairman.

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

The Chinese People have Stood up!

1st October 1949, Mao officially announces the founding of the PRC

from the Forbidden City.

Chiang – ‘Why have you

failed?

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Which of these reasons for the victory of the Communists

refer to the CCP and which refer to the GMD. Write CCP

or GMD in the column on the right.

Why did the Communists

win the civil war?

Use the information in the previous slide to write a bullet

point plan for the the above question.

Lay out your points under the below headings:

• Introduction

• Strengths of the CCP

• Tactics of the CCP

• Weaknesses of the GMD

• Tactics of the GMD

• Peasants

• Conclusion

LO: Explain why the CCP won and the

GMD lost the civil

war?

Homework TIMELINE This is the other major task too.

Timeline – Ensure your

timeline is up to date,

complete and as

detailed as possible.

There will be a test on

this next lesson!