Timeline of the Chinese Civil War

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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]

Contents

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

Background (pre 1927)

DateEventKey FiguresNotes
19241927 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)

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

DateEventKey FiguresNotes
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 19377  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)

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).

DateEventKey FiguresNotes
January 1941New Fourth Army incident

Second phase: 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]

DateEventKey FiguresNotes
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

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.