Chinese Civil War: Practices of War and the Impact on the Outcome Notes

Key Questions

1. What was the significance of tactics and strategy on the outcome of the war?
2. What was the impact of foreign intervention on the outcome of the war?
3. What was the role of the mobilisation of human and economic resources on the outcome of the war?

Strategic Operations

The First Phase of the War

The Jiangxi Soviet

1. The CCP retreated into Jiangxi province to survive the GMD onslaught, establishing what became known as the Jiangxi Soviet.
2. Mao argued that the United Front with the GMD would destroy the CCP, and he believed the revolution should be based on peasants rather than urban workers.
3. Mao organized the Jiangxi Soviet around this principle, emphasizing that the peasants were central to revolutionary success.
4. This view contrasted with orthodox Marxism but gained support as Mao successfully mobilized peasants in rural areas.

Division within the CCP

1. Mao’s strategy emphasized peasant-led revolution, guerrilla warfare, and land reform in controlled areas.
2. The Comintern, however, insisted on urban uprisings, leading to failed attacks known as the “Li Lisan Line.”
3. These failures weakened the CCP in the cities and confirmed the party’s reliance on rural support.
4. Li Lisan was dismissed, and leadership tensions grew between Moscow-trained Communists and Mao.

GMD Attempts to Exterminate the CCP

1. Jiang Jieshi carried out five “Encirclement Campaigns” between 1930 and 1934, aimed at destroying the Jiangxi Soviet.
2. The Red Army, under Mao and Zhou Enlai, used guerrilla tactics and peasant support to defeat the first four campaigns.
3. By the fifth campaign, the GMD deployed 800,000 troops with modern weaponry and forced the CCP into retreat.

The Long March

1. In 1934, the CCP broke through GMD lines at Ruijin and began a 9,600-kilometre retreat known as the Long March.
2. The march lasted over a year and led to the death of more than 90 percent of the 90,000 who started.
3. Despite heavy losses, it became a powerful symbol of CCP resilience and unity.

Key Events of the Long March

1. At the Xiang River crossing, poor strategy led to 50,000 deaths, discrediting the Moscow-trained leaders.
2. At the Zunyi Conference in 1935, Mao consolidated leadership of the CCP.
3. The Red Army used deception to cross the Upper Yangtze River and carried out the dramatic crossing of the Luding Bridge.
4. Disputes with Zhang Guotao split the Red Army, but Mao retained control of a core force.
5. The Red Army endured deadly conditions in the Songpan Marshes before finally reaching Shaanxi in 1935.

Yan'an Soviet

1. After the Long March, Mao and his remaining forces established a base in Yan’an, Shaanxi.
2. This base became the new centre of the Chinese Communist movement.

Mao and Revolutionary Warfare

1. Mao’s struggle against the GMD was a revolutionary war, since it aimed not only to defeat the Nationalists militarily but also to impose a new revolutionary ideology on China.
2. The choice for the Chinese people was between Maoism, which sought to completely restructure society, the economy, and government, and Nationalism, which essentially tried to preserve the existing system.
3. Mao believed that the peasants were the key to revolutionary success, so his priority was to win their support and convince them of the Communist cause.

Setting Up Base Areas

1. Mao planned to establish “base areas” in remote regions, where the CCP could organize peasants and educate them in Communist ideas.
2. Within these bases, peasants would be introduced to new systems of taxation and justice provided by the CCP, which Mao argued were fairer than those they had endured before.
3. Respect for the peasants was a core principle, demonstrated by the “Eight Rules of the Eighth Route Army,” which emphasized treating all people with dignity.
4. This respectful approach helped secure the trust and loyalty of the rural population.

The Organization Phase

1. Once base areas were established, CCP leaders would extend their influence into neighbouring villages to repeat the same process.
2. This gradual expansion was what Mao called the “organization phase.”
3. The strategy aimed to steadily gain control of the countryside, which would eventually isolate the cities and make it possible for the CCP to take political control of China.

Defending the Bases

1. As the CCP collected taxes and governed in the base areas, they inevitably attracted GMD attacks.
2. Mao trained peasants to use guerrilla-style, hit-and-run tactics, exploiting their knowledge of the terrain and strong support from the local population.
3. When the GMD pursued CCP forces into these hostile areas, they became vulnerable to ambushes or would find that the guerrillas had disappeared into the community.
4. Over time, this constant harassment wore down enemy forces and lowered morale.
5. Furthermore, when the GMD resorted to harsh tactics, such as mass attacks or looting, they only alienated the population further and strengthened support for the Communists.

The Guerrilla Phase

1. Mao emphasized that survival was always possible through retreat, as demonstrated by the Long March.
2. If forced to abandon one base, the CCP could retreat, establish new bases, and continue building their forces.
3. Each retreat created opportunities for more peasants to join the movement, ensuring that guerrilla warfare could continue indefinitely.

Protracted War

1. Mao believed that his strategy would result in a long conflict, which he described as a “protracted war.”
2. He argued that as the number of guerrilla fighters increased, so too would the frequency and effectiveness of their attacks on the enemy.
3. Over time, this gradual growth in strength would eventually shift the balance of power in favour of the guerrillas.

Seizing Power

1. Once the guerrilla forces had gained enough strength, the revolution would enter the “open” or “mobile” phase.
2. In this stage, smaller guerrilla units would merge together to form a conventional army capable of confronting the enemy directly.
3. By 1946, when the second phase of the Chinese Civil War began, the CCP had already reached this stage.
4. After victory, Mao emphasized that a period of consolidation would be necessary to eliminate the remnants of the old regime and secure Communist power.

End of the First Stage of the Civil War – The Second United Front (1937)

1. The Long March ensured the survival of the CCP and established Mao as the undisputed leader.
2. Meanwhile, Jiang Jieshi still viewed the Communists as the main threat, even though Japan had already invaded Manchuria in 1931.
3. Jiang appealed to the League of Nations but avoided direct confrontation, famously remarking that the Japanese were a “disease of the skin” while the Communists were a “disease of the heart.”

Rising Japanese Threat

1. In 1932, Jiang attempted to resist Japanese attacks on Shanghai, but after heavy losses he agreed to a truce.
2. By 1933, Japanese forces advanced to the Great Wall, deepening Chinese resentment and fuelling anti-Japanese nationalism.
3. Mao called for a new United Front to unite all Chinese forces against Japan, gaining support from northern warlords such as Zhang Xueliang and Yan Xishan.

Comintern Pressure and the Xi’an Incident

1. It was the Comintern – not Mao – that ultimately pushed for the alliance. Stalin feared further Japanese expansion from Manchuria and believed only Jiang could lead an effective resistance.
2. In December 1936, warlord Zhang Xueliang kidnapped Jiang Jieshi in Xi’an, where Jiang had been planning another campaign against the CCP.
3. While some wanted Jiang executed, the Comintern ordered his release after 13 days, showing Soviet influence.
4. In April 1937, the Second United Front was formally established. The civil war was suspended in favour of a “National War of Resistance” against Japan.

Benefits of the Alliance

1. The GMD gained material support, particularly from the USSR and potentially from the USA.
2. The CCP gained political legitimacy, as they could no longer be dismissed as mere “bandits.”
3. The CCP also hoped that the prolonged war against Japan would weaken and exhaust the GMD militarily and politically.

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident and Japanese Advance

1. In July 1937, clashes between Chinese and Japanese forces at the Marco Polo Bridge triggered full-scale war.
2. The Japanese quickly captured Beijing, and by August, Jiang’s forces were heavily defeated in the Battle of Shanghai, suffering around 300,000 casualties.
3. The GMD relocated the capital from Nanjing to Chongqing, leaving Nanjing vulnerable.
4. In late 1937, Japanese forces committed mass atrocities in what became known as the “Rape of Nanjing.”

Why was the CCP able to survive the first phase of the war?

CCP Successes