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This page is about second stage of the Chinese Civil War. For political and social developments, and the origin and aftermath of the war, see Chinese Communist Revolution.

Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War 第二次國共內戰 / 第二次国共内战 Other Names National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion 抗共衛國戡亂戰爭 Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion 動員戡亂 Chinese People's War of Liberation 中国人民解放战争 War of Liberation 解放战争
Part of the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949) Part of the Cold War (1947–1991)
Clockwise from top left: PLA soldiers enter Taiyuan PLA soldiers celebrate on the roof of the Presidential Palace, Nanjing Mao Zedong at Xibaipo The PLA enters Chengdu Front page of the People's Daily, October 2nd, 1949 The first flag of the People's Republic of China is raised
Date 10 August 1945 － 1950 1950 － 1979 (Sporadic Conflict mainly between the Taiwan Strait) August 10, 1945 (1945-08-10) － present（79 years）(de jure) Location China and Indochina (Cold War: Korea, Vietnam and Burma) Result Communist victory and takeover of Mainland China People's Republic of China established in mainland China Government of the Republic of China evacuated to Taiwan Minor conflicts persist through the Cold War Both sides claim legitimacy over the whole Chinese territory
Belligerents
Chinese Communist Party People's Liberation Army Chinese Red Army People's Republic of China (after 1949) Communist militia Supported by: Eastern Bloc Soviet Union Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary North Korea Mongolia Poland Romania North Vietnam	Nationalist government (until 1948) Government of the Republic of China (from 1948) Kuomintang National Revolutionary Army (until 1947) Republic of China Armed Forces (after 1947) Supported by: Western Bloc United States (April 1948 - August 1949; arms embargo from July 1946 to May 1947) United Kingdom(arms embargo from August 1946 to May 1947) South Korea Thailand
Commanders and leaders
Mao Zedong Lin Biao Zhou Enlai Zhu De Peng Dehuai Chen Yi Deng Xiaoping Liu Bocheng Ye Jianying He Long	Chiang Kai-shek Li Zongren Chen Cheng Yan Xishan Gu Zhutong Bai Chongxi
Strength
1,270,000 (Sep 1945) 2,800,000 (Jun 1948) 4,000,000 (Jun 1949)	4,300,000 (Jul 1946) 3,650,000 (Jun 1948) 1,490,000 (Jun 1949)
Casualties and losses
250,000 in three campaigns	1.5 million in three campaigns

The Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, called the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion or Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion by the Kuomintang (KMT) , and Chinese People's War of Liberation or simply, War of Liberation, by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was a conflict between the KMT and the CCP for the leadership of China. It was the second stage of the Chinese Civil War. The result of the civil war was that the CCP became victorious, leading to the retreat of the government of Republic of China to Taiwan, the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, and the two regimes between the mainland and Taiwan each declaring itself as the legitimate Chinese government at present.

Background

On August 15, 1945, the Empire of Japan, the common enemy of the Kuomintang and the CCP, announced its surrender, which marked the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The surrender of Japan intensified the rivalry between the KMT and the CCP which was previously weakened by the ongoing war against it.

On the eve of Japan's surrender, the major force of the KMT's army was concentrated in the home front, with almost no regular army present north of the Yangtze River and east of the Pinghan Road. The only army located to the South of the Yangtze River and to the east of the Guangzhou–Hankou railway and only troops from the Third War Area south of the Yangtze River and east of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway were the troops from the third military region.

By April 1945, the CCP along with the Eighth Route Army which was under its leadership had controlled most of the rural areas of northern China, with a total population of around 95.5 million. The CCP had also built up an army that could compete with the KMT. Socially, due to the devastation brought about by the Second Sino-Japanese War, the gentry, which used to be a group that could help stabilize the society, was disintegrated. As a result, the social instability led to an increasing number of the unemployed population, many of some became the supporters of the CCP. So, the size of the People's Liberation Army, the principle military force of the CCP, experienced a rapid expansion.

According to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, the Nationalist Government had the legal status over northeastern China. The Article 5(b) of the treaty stipulated no restriction on the movement be imposed on the government troops from moving into or within northeastern China. In addition, Article 2 stipulated that military mobilization within the territory of China (except for the Northeast) should cease. However, the CCP believed it also had the right to take over the Northeast and refused to comply with this treaty. It continued to deploy troops from the China proper to the Northeast to take over the Soviet troops who were occupying it at the time.

Outbreak of the war

Surrender and takeover

On August 15, the Japanese Emperor announced the surrender of the Empire of Japan. The CCP-controlled Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army refused Chiang's order to wait the government forces to arrive and receive Japanese surrender, as stipulated in the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance. Instead, they launched an offensive on all fronts against the Japanese and collaborationists. In addition, the CCP ordered the Japanese to surrender to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army unless they were encircled by the government forces. On August 16, Mao Zedong, the chairman of the CCP, published the article "People's Enemy Chiang Kai-shek Sends Out a Signal for Civil War" in the CCP-owned Xinhua News Agency. In the article, Mao falsified the remarks made by Wu Kuo-chen, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government by slandering that Wu accused Chiang Kai-shek of "sending out a signal of civil war" by intending to deal with the opponents "with military justice". in fact, Mao was deliberately breaking with the KMT and preparing to launch a civil war to topple the government in the name of opposing the civil war.

List of major KMT-CCP conflicts in Late 1945
Battle Name	Approximate Time	Reasons for Outbreak	Result
Shangdang Campaign	Sept 10 - Oct 12	A clique of the KMT, Yan Xishan's troops took over Xiangyuan and Lucheng, which were occupied by the Eighth Route Army after Japan's surrender, and accepted the surrender of the Japanese army in Changzhi. The Eighth Route Army launched an offensive.	Ten of the Yan Xishan's divisions were annihilated, and Changzhi was occupied by the Eighth Route Army.
Tianjin–Pukou Railway Campaign	Oct 15 - Dec 14	The New Fourth Army blocked the government army from moving north along the Tianjin–Pukou railway to accept the surrender of the Japanese Army.	The New Fourth Army captured a large area of Shandong. Part of Shandong and Central China, the two regions controlled by the CCP, were linked together.
Peking–Suiyuan Railway Campaign	Oct 18 - Dec 14	A clique of the KMT, Fu Zuoyi's troops accepted the Japanese surrender in Suiyuan. The Eighth Route Army besieged Fu's troops to try to block them from moving further north.	The Eighth Route Army besieged the cities of Guisui and Baotou for a month and a half. It later retreated after failing to capture either city.
Handan Campaign	Dec 24 - Nov 2	The government army went north along the Peking–Hankow railway to accept the Japanese surrender. The Eighth Route Army besieged them to try to block them from going north.	The Eighth Route Army beseiged and annihilated seven government divisions.
Battle of Shanhai Pass	Nov 15	The government army on US-owned transport docks were refused to land in Dalian by the Soviet Union, the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast Democratic Allied Army. The government army moved to Huludao then, but they still were stilled denied landing. In the end, they moved to Qinhuangdao to land since the city was not under Soviet control. Afterwards, they were blocked by the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast Democratic Allied Forces when they were on their way to the Shanhai Pass.	The government army defeated the Eighth Route Army and the Northeast Democratic Allied Army and occupied the Shanhai pass and Jinzhou.

Early negotations

Main articles: Chongqing Negotiations and Political Consultative Conference (1946)

On August 14, 1945, Chiang Kai-Shek invited Mao Zedong to go to Chongqing, the wartime capital of China, to negotiate with each other and reduce the disagreements between the KMT and the CCP. On August 24, Mao agreed under the order made by Joseph Stalin in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After the negotiation, an agreement was reached on October 10. One of the few key policies reached in the agreement stipulated that the CCP recognize the Nationalist government as the sole legitimate Chinese government while the KMT recognize the CCP as a legal opposition party. In addition, the agreement scheduled a future meeting between the major political factions in China to discuss unsolved problems.

Showdown of the war

The Three Campaigns

Main articles: Liaoshen campaign, Huaihai campaign, and Pingjin campaign

The Yangtze River Crossing campaign

Main article: Yangtze River Crossing campaign

Sporadic conflict on the Taiwan Strait

See also: First Taiwan Strait Crisis and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis

See also

• Aftermath of World War II
• 1947 Chinese National Assembly election
• Greek Civil War
• Korean War
• First Indochina War

Further reading

• Bernstein, Richard. China 1945: Mao’s Revolution and America’s Fateful Choice. New York: Vintage Books, 2015.
• Fairbank, John King, and Albert Feuerwerker, eds. 1986. The Cambridge History of China. Volume 13, Republican China 1912-1949. Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Kurtz-Phelan, Daniel. The China Mission: George Marshall’s Unfinished War, 1945-1947. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.
• Lary, Diana. China’s Civil War: A Social History, 1945-1949. Cambridge etc.: Cambridge university press, 2015.
• Pepper, Suzanne. Civil War in China: The Political Struggle, 1945-1949. Lanham, Ma.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999.
• Stuart, John Leighton. Fifty Years in China: the Memoirs of John Leighton Stuart, Missionary and Ambassador. New York: Random House, 1954.
• Westad, Odd Arne. Cold War and Revolution: Soviet-American Rivalry and the Origins of the Chinese Civil War, 1944-1946. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.