Chinese Civil War 1927-37 and 1945-9 © Copyright PresentationGo.com – The free PowerPoint library Chinese Civil War 1927-37 and 1945-9

The short-term causes of the Chinese Civil War Key Question: How did the Second Sino- Japanese War of 1937-45 contribute to the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War?

Background The Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in July 1937. It saw the Japanese rapidly extend their territorial control in China through brutal military conquest. During this period of foreign invasion the civil hostilities between the Nationalists and the CCP largely ceased as both focused on combating the Japanese. But animosities between the Nationalists and the Communists remained, and in the wake of the Japanese surrender in August 1945, civil conflict broke out on a larger scale.

The Second Sino-Japanese War 1937-45 More substantial conflict broke out between the CCP and the Nationalists following the end of the Second Sino- Japanese war in 1945. In large part this was due to the impact that the Japanese invasion, and subsequent occupation of much of China, had on both parties. The CCP was strengthened, having used the opportunity provided by the war to enlarge its areas of control in the countryside of northern China. The Nationalists emerged militarily stronger due to the assistance they had received from the USA, but politically weaker due to the criticisms of their policies which had been unable to prevent the Japanese occupation.

The early months of the Sino-Japanese war, August – November 1937 The Sino-Japanese War broke out following a clash between Chinese and Japanese troops near the Marco Polo bridge close to the border of Japanese – held territory in Northern China on July 7, 1937. The skirmish quickly escalated and by August, Japan invaded China’s largest city, Shanghai. Shanghai was taken by Japanese forces by the end of October, with the Chinese suffering 250,000 casualties.

The Japanese advance west, November 1937 to October 1938 After the fall of Shanghai, Japanese troops rapidly advanced westwards, taking the capital, Nanjing, in December 1937. The capture of the city was accompanied by devastating violence in what has become known as the Rape of Nanjing. In this slaughter, as many as 300,000 of the civilian population were murdered, and tens of thousands raped and tortured by Japanese troops. The Japanese conquest and occupation was frequently brutal.

The Japanese advance west, November 1937 to October 1938 In the face of the Japanese advance the Nationalist government moved China’s capital to Chongqing in October 1938. To Chiang this was represented a strategic withdrawal but many in China felt that the Nationalists abandoned them by retreating beyond the immediate reach of Japan’s military, weakening support across China for the Nationalists.

The increase in CCP strength 1937-45 If the Japanese invasions were a disaster militarily and politically for Chiang, they represented an opportunity for the CCP. The size of CCP-controlled territory in northern China grew considerably from their base area at Yanan. In large parts this made possible by the isolation of the Nationalists in Chongqing and their preoccupation with the fight against the Japanese. In addition, the Japanese occupying forces in northern China were primarily concerned with holding the cities and railway lines, leaving the countryside largely to the CCP.

The increase in CCP strength 1937-45 The Communists exploited this development by enacting land reforms that appealed to peasants, thereby expanding their base areas, which became known as the liberated areas. There were several important Communist attacks against the Japanese military. One such assault was the Hundred Regiments Campaign in July and August 1940, when Communist guerrillas destroyed railways to important coalmines in Jinxing. Red Army guerrilla units continually harassed and sabotaged Japanese troops and supply lines in the countryside.

The increase in CCP strength 1937-45 However, such attacks where regarded by the communists as secondary to the consolidation and extension of the liberated areas in the countryside. The communists continued to operate, officially at least, as part of the United Front Alliance against Japan, although there were difficulties. These culminated in January 1941 when Nationalist troops attacked the Communist 4th Route Army, killing 3000 for disobeying the United Front agreement that Red Army troops would not operate south of Yangtze River. This incident, however, strengthened CCP propaganda vilifying Chiang for prioritizing attacks on fellow Chinese rather than fighting Japan.

The increase in CCP strength 1937-45 The success of the CCP in gaining strength and supporters in this period can in part be seen in the increase in membership to the CCP. The size of the Red Army also grew from approximately 22,000 troops in 1936 to 910,000 in 1945. Additional strength was provided by the Communist militias to which the majority of male peasants were expected to give their services.

US Intervention By the end of 1941, Japan occupied Manchuria, much of northern China and the eastern coast and had penetrated inland in central China to the region of Wuhan. The Nationalist government, at Chongqing, was subjected to relentless aerial bombardment and was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain crucial supplies, especially after the occupation of Burma by Japan in 1942 cut crucial supply routes. The Nationalists were helped, however, by the assistance they received from the USA following its declaration of war against Japan in December 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

US Intervention In particular, US Air power assisted in transporting vital supplies over the Himalayas. However, the relationship between the Nationalists and their US allies was uneasy. The US commanding officer in the China-India-Burma theater, Joseph Stilwell, came to regard Chiang’s military leadership as incompetent, corrupt and cowardly.

Renewed Japanese offensive 1944 Japan launched a major new offensive to sweep southwards in May 1944, codenamed the Ichigo Offensive. By September Japan occupied all the southern and eastern China. The Nationalists had lost over half a million troops and were more isolated than ever at Chongqing. Chiang’s position was further weakened because Nationalist military incompetence was widely blamed for Japan’s military success.

Japanese surrender, August 1945 The Second Sino-Japanese war, and Second World War, came to an abrupt end when two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the USA on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The formal Japanese surrender came on September 2, 1945. Japan’s subsequent rapid withdrawl from China created the opportunity for renewed civil conflict between the Nationalists and the CCP. Both parties raced to fill the power vacuum left by the departing Japanese troops, who had been instructed to give their surrender to the nearest Chinese troops in the region, whether they were Nationalist or CCP forces.

Japanese surrender, August 1945 Territory was not the only potential prize. Both groups were keen to capture Japanese weapons, which were particularly important for the CCP, which lacked modern weaponry. The end of the Sino-Japanese War set the stage for a renewed and intensified civil war. Not only had the war strengthened both parties in military terms, but the conclusion of war set the stage for a race for control of territory between the CCP and the Nationalists which provided the impetus for an immediate resumption of civil conflict. By the end of August 1945, despite the fact that officially a truce existed between the two sides, clashes had already begun for control.