Timeline of the Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with armed conflict continuing intermittently from 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949, resulting in a CCP victory and control of mainland China in the Chinese Communist Revolution.[1][2]

The following is a chronological timeline of the history of the Chinese Civil War (1912–1949):[a]

Background (pre 1927)

See also: History of the Republic of China and Qing dynasty
Date Event Key Figures Notes
1924–1927 First United Front Formed in 1924 as an alliance of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revolutionary Army and set out in 1926 on the Northern Expedition.

First phase: Communist insurgency (1927–1937)

Main article: Chinese Civil War § Communist insurgency (1927–1937)
See also: Encirclement Campaigns

From August 1927 to 1937, the First United Front collapsed during the Northern Expedition, and the Nationalists controlled most of China.

Date Event Key Figures Notes
12 April 1927 Shanghai massacre The violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces supporting General Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party or KMT).
24 December 1937–7  April 1947[b] Second United Front An alliance between the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to resist the Japanese invasion of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, which suspended the Chinese Civil War from 1937 to 1945.

Interlude: Second Sino-Japanese War period (1937–1945)

Main articles: Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War § Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)
See also: Pacific War § Japanese counteroffensives in China, 1944; and Pacific War § Stalemate in China and Southeast Asia

From 1937 to 1945, hostilities were mostly put on hold as the Second United Front fought the Japanese invasion of China with eventual help from the Allies of World War II, although co-operation between the KMT and CCP during this time was minimal and armed clashes between the groups were common. Events below are related to the Chinese Civil War during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).

Date Event Key Figures Notes
January 1941 New Fourth Army incident The Communist New Fourth Army attacked Nationalist forces under Han Deqin.

Second phase: resumption of civil war (1945–1949)

Main article: Chinese Civil War § Resumption of civil war (1945–1949)

The CCP gained control of mainland China and proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949, forcing the leadership of the Republic of China to retreat to the island of Taiwan.[3]

Date Event Key Figures Notes
14 August 1945 Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance A treaty signed by the National Government of the Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 14 August 1945.

See also

References

Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of Chinese history
  • Bernstein, R. (2015). China 1945: Mao's revolution and America's fateful choice. Vintage.
  • Fairbank, J. K., & Goldman, M. (2006). China: A new history (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press.
  • Fenby, J. (2009). Modern China: The fall and rise of a great power, 1850 to the present. Harper Perennial.
  • Fenby, J. (2014). Chiang Kai Shek: China's generalissimo and the nation he lost. Carroll & Graf.
  • Gillin, D. (2011). The Last Imperial War: Warlords, Revolutionaries, and the Making of Modern China, 1927–1950. Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Griffith, S. G. (2013). Chinese Civil War and the Korean War: Military Strategy and Tactics. Taylor & Francis.
  • Hsiung, J. C., & Levine, S. I. (Eds.). (1992). China's Bitter Victory: The War with Japan, 1937–1945. M.E. Sharpe.
  • Lawrance, A. (2017). The Chinese Civil War 1945–49. Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Lynch, M. (2010). The Chinese Civil War, 1945–49. Osprey Publishing.
  • Mao, Z., & Schram, S. (1966). Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. Little Red Book.
  • Meisner, M. (1999). Mao's China and after: A history of the People's Republic. Free Press.
  • Mitter, R. (2013). China's war with Japan, 1937-1945: The struggle for survival. Harvard University Press.
  • Schaller, M. (1989). The US Crusade in China, 1938–1945. Columbia University Press.
  • Schram, S. R. (1966). Mao Tse-tung. Simon and Schuster.
  • Spence, J. D. (1991). The search for modern China. W.W. Norton & Company.
  • Tuchman, B. W. (2014). Stilwell and the American experience in China, 1911–45. Random House.
  • Van de Ven, H. (2017). The Chinese Civil War: A military history. Cambridge University Press.
  • Van de Ven, H. (2003). War and nationalism in China, 1925–1945. Routledge.
  • Westad, O. A. (2003). The Chinese Civil War: 1945–1949. Basic Books.
  • Zarrow, P. (2005). China in war and revolution, 1895–1949. Routledge.

Notes

  1. ^ See Timeline of Chinese history for a full timelines of the history of China.
  2. ^ The Second United Front was dissolved 7 April 1947. After the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong attempted to engage in peace talks. This effort failed and by 1946 the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party were engaged in all-out civil war.

Citations

  1. ^ Li, Xiaobing (2012). China at War: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 295. ISBN 9781598844153. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  2. ^ Lew, Christopher R.; Leung, Pak-Wah, eds. (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Civil War. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 3. ISBN 978-0810878730. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  3. ^ Lew, Christopher R.; Leung, Pak-Wah, eds. (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Civil War. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 3. ISBN 978-0810878730. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2017.