Chinese Civil War

:See Taiping Rebellion for the Chinese Civil War of 1851 to 1864 that killed 20 to 50 million people

Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)

During the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria, Chiang Kai-shek, who saw the Communists as a greater threat, refused to ally with the Communists to fight against the Japanese. On December 12, 1936, Kuomintang Generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng kidnapped Chiang Kai-Shek and forced him to a truce with the Communists. The incident became known as the Xian Incident. Both parties agreed to suspend fighting and form a Second United Front to focus their energies against the Japanese. In 1937 Japanese airplanes bombed Chinese cities and well-equipped troops overran eastern China. Cities that were overrun included Beijing and Guangzhou.

Related Topics:
Manchuria - Chiang Kai-shek - Zhang Xueliang - Yang Hucheng - Xian Incident

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The alliance that was created with the Communists was in name only. The level of actual cooperation and coordination between the CPC and KMT during the Second World War was minimal. In the midst of the Second United Front, the Communists and the Kuomintang were still vying for territorial advantage in "Free China" (i.e. those areas not occupied by the Japanese or ruled by puppet governments). The situation came to a head in late 1940 and early 1941 when there were major clashes between the Communist and KMT forces. In December 1940, Chiang Kai-shek demanded that the CPC?s New Fourth Army evacuate Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces. Under intense pressure, the New Fourth Army commanders complied, but they were ambushed by Nationalist troops and soundly defeated in January 1941. This clash, which would be known as the New Fourth Army Incident, weakened the CPC position in Central China and effectively ended any substantive cooperation between the Nationalists and the Communists and both sides concentrated on jockeying for position in the inevitable Civil War.

Related Topics:
New Fourth Army - Anhui - Jiangsu - New Fourth Army Incident

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