1. MAO’S CONSOLIDATION -The Long March had a symbolic value, it showed that Jiang’s control was not absolute. -Yan’an was isolated enough to ensure Mao was out of the reach of the GMD and the communists gradually began to build up their base there and gather support against the Japanese. -The GMD still refused to fight the Japanese in Manchuria. Jiang ordered Zhang Xueliang to attack the Red Army in Shaanxi.

2. -Mao, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De appealed to Zhang in their “Letter To All Officers And Men Of The Northeastern Army” to cease the fire and join the communists against the Japanese. -Zhang agreed and stopped all military actions. Jiang was angry because Zhang disobeyed his orders. Zhang placed Jiang under house arrest, insisting he joined the communists to fight against the Japanese. -Jiang reluctantly accepted and preparations were started to conform the SUF in 1937. -On July, 1937 Japan attacked China and the Sino-Japanese war broke out. Despite the political failings of the GMD, China was more united than before. -The GMD had the control of 25% of China and 66% of the population. The announcement of the SUF had helped the people to unify against a common enemy.

3. -Meanwhile in Yan’an Mao had started his revision of Marxist- Leninist thought, transposing the urban based “bourgeoisie- proletarian” model of the Marxist revolutionary theory to the rural realities of China. -He was aided in his creation of Maoist ideology by Chen Boda (his secretary), and Mao was gradually emerging as the leader of the communists.

4. THE SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1937-1945) AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR CHINA -The Japanese moved south from Manchuria and fast seized Beijing, after the fall of Shanghai, Nanjing became threatened, Jiand moved GMD government to Wuhan and later to Chongqing in Sichuan province (free China).

5. -Nanjing was captured in December 1937. The entire eastern seabord of China was soon under Japanese control, despite frequent air attacks Chongqing did not fall. -Initially the Soviet Union was the only foreign power that helped China. Japan had the control of vast areas of China but it failed trying to destroy the nationalist government. -When the USA entered WW II, Jiang expected the Americans win the war for the GMD, so he could carry on his fight with the communists. Jiang said “The Japanese are a disease of the skin, but the communists are a disease of the heart.” -By 1939, Jiang had decided to break the alliance and ordered his troops to attack their forces. The GMD tried to annihilate the communist armies in the south, Jiang withdrew all financial support to Mao. These actions led to widespread criticism internally and externally. Jiang’s army was involved in corruption, his soldiers were not receiving enough food, as their officers were selling the food on the black market.

6. -The conditions of the soldiers were appalling, they were tied up at night to prevent their deserting. Jiang initiated a conscription policy, after six years of war Jiang only had 4 million soldiers; many of them died in action, through sickness, and others had simply deserted to the enemy or gone home. The peasantry was the most affected with Jiang’s policies, so they started to turn to the CPC, Jiang lost popularity in the countryside. -Jiang’s leadership was becoming more dictatorial, he ignored reports of bribery and corruption within his government. He failed to take control of the financial situation. It simply printed more money which led to inflation and eventually hyperinflation. -The press was censored, the secret police were everywhere and arrest, torture and execution became the norm. -China’s intellectuals were disenchanted with Jiang and started to support the communists.