Chinese Civil War
Civil war between KMT and CCP, ending in Communist victory.
The Chinese Civil War was a long-running conflict between the Republic of China (ROC) government, run by the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Fighting started on August 1, 1927, and continued on and off until the Communists won, forcing the KMT to flee to Taiwan on December 7, 1949. The war is usually split into two main periods with a break in between. In 1926 and 1927, the KMT and CCP were allies in the First United Front, successfully fighting warlords in central China during the Northern Expedition. The CCP calls this the First Revolutionary Civil War. This alliance fell apart, and open war between the KMT and CCP began on August 1, 1927. The CCP calls this the Second Revolutionary Civil War, which lasted until 1937. From 1937 to 1945, fighting mostly paused as the Second United Front formed to fight the Japanese invasion of China, with help from World War II Allies. Still, armed clashes between the two sides were common. The civil war started up again as soon as Japan’s defeat looked certain, with the Communists gaining the advantage in the second phase from 1945 to 1949, often called the Chinese Communist Revolution. The CCP calls this the Third Revolutionary Civil War. The Communists took control of mainland China and announced the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in October 1949, while the ROC government retreated to Taiwan in December. Starting in the 1950s, a lasting political and military standoff began across the Taiwan Strait, with the ROC on Taiwan and the PRC on the mainland each claiming to be the only legitimate government of all China. ROC guerrilla forces also kept operating on the mainland and in northern Burma until 1961. After the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, both sides quietly stopped open fighting in 1979, but no armistice or peace treaty was ever signed. **Background**
**First United Front**
After the Qing dynasty fell and the 1911 Revolution, Sun Yat-sen became president of the new Republic of China, but was soon replaced by Yuan Shikai. Yuan failed in a short attempt to make himself emperor, and after his death in 1916, China fell into power struggles. The Kuomintang, led by Sun Yat-sen, set up a new government in Guangzhou to challenge the warlords who controlled much of China and blocked a strong central government. When Western countries ignored Sun’s requests for help, he turned to the Soviet Union. In 1923, Sun and Soviet representative Adolph Joffe signed the Sun–Joffe Manifesto in Shanghai, promising Soviet support for China’s unification and cooperation among the Communist International (Comintern), KMT, and CCP. The CCP began as a study group of Chinese intellectuals and was officially founded in 1921 at its First National Congress in Shanghai’s French Concession. The KMT and CCP then formed the First United Front, aiming to defeat regional warlords, unify China, and push out Western and Japanese imperialist powers that controlled Chinese ports and territories under unequal treaties from the Opium Wars, the First Sino-Japanese War, and World War I in Asia. Comintern agent Mikhail Borodin arrived in 1923 to help reorganize both the CCP and KMT along Soviet Communist Party lines. In 1923, Sun sent his lieutenant Chiang Kai-shek to Moscow for several months of military and political study. Chiang later became head of the Whampoa Military Academy, which trained the next generation of military leaders. The Soviets supplied the academy with teaching materials, organization, and equipment, including weapons, and taught mass mobilization techniques. With this help, Sun built a dedicated “army of the party” to defeat the warlords. CCP members also joined the academy, many becoming instructors, including future communist premier Zhou Enlai, who served as a political instructor. Communist members could join the KMT as individuals. The CCP was still small, with 300 members in 1922 and only 1,500 by 1925. In 1923, the KMT had 50,000 members. After Sun died in 1925, the KMT split into left- and right-wing factions. Right-wing KMT members feared the Soviets were using the CCP to destroy the KMT from within. In March 1926, Chiang Kai-shek, now commander in chief of the KMT army, began removing communists from key positions in what became known as the Canton Coup. The CCP then opposed Chiang’s leadership and the Northern Expedition, passing a resolution against it at a party meeting. In March 1927, the KMT held its second party meeting, where the Soviets helped pass resolutions against the Expedition and limiting Chiang’s power. Soon, the KMT was clearly divided. **Shanghai Massacre**
In early 1927, the KMT–CCP rivalry split the revolutionary forces. The CCP and the KMT’s left wing moved the KMT government from Guangzhou to Wuhan, where communist influence was strong. But Chiang and Li Zongren, whose armies had defeated warlord Sun Chuanfang, moved east toward Jiangxi. The leftists refused Chiang’s demand to remove communist influence from the KMT, and Chiang accused them of betraying Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People by following Soviet orders. According to Mao Zedong, Chiang’s tolerance of the CCP within the KMT shrank as his power grew.
- start_date
- 1 August 1927
- end_date
- 7 December 1949
- belligerents
- Kuomintang (KMT) vs. Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
- phases
- Three revolutionary civil wars (CCP terminology); two phases with interlude
- outcome
- Communist victory; ROC retreat to Taiwan; PRC proclaimed October 1949
Lore & Background
The war is generally divided into two phases with an interlude. The Communists gained control of mainland China and proclaimed the People's Republic of China in October 1949, while the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan in December. A lasting political and military stand-off between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has ensued, with no armistice or peace treaty ever signed.
Reader's Guide
The Chinese Civil War reshaped modern China, ending with the establishment of the People's Republic of China on the mainland and the Republic of China's continued existence on Taiwan. The conflict's roots lay in the breakdown of the First United Front, the Shanghai massacre of 1927, and subsequent armed uprisings. The war's two phases—separated by the Second United Front against Japan—saw the CCP grow from a small party into a dominant military force. After 1949, ROC guerrilla forces operated in mainland China and northern Burma until 1961. Following the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, both sides tacitly ceased open conflict in 1979, but no formal peace has been reached. The war's legacy includes the ongoing political division across the Taiwan Strait, with both sides claiming to be the legitimate government of all China.
Did You Know?
- The war began on 1 August 1927 with the CCP's Nanchang Uprising.
- The CCP calls the conflict the First, Second, and Third Revolutionary Civil Wars.
- No armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed between the two sides.
The Alliance That Was Meant to Unite China
After the Qing dynasty's collapse and the brief, failed imperial experiment of Yuan Shikai, China splintered under the rule of competing regional warlords. Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang set up a rival government in Guangzhou, yet Western nations dismissed his requests for assistance. Soviet agent Mikhail Borodin then arrived to reorganize and consolidate both parties along the model of the Soviet Communist Party. Chiang Kai-shek, after months of military and political study in Moscow, was placed at the head of the Whampoa Military Academy, where the Soviets furnished teaching materials, organizational structure, munitions, and techniques for mass mobilization. Communist members were admitted into the KMT on an individual basis, and figures like Zhou Enlai served as political instructors. The alliance's shared objectives were to defeat the warlords, unify the nation, and expel the Western and Japanese imperialist powers that had seized Chinese ports and territories through the unequal treaties following the Opium Wars and World War I.
The Shanghai Massacre and the Rupture
By early 1927, the once-unified revolutionary front had fractured along ideological lines. The CCP and the left wing of the KMT relocated the government seat from Guangzhou to Wuhan, a center of strong communist influence, while Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren pushed eastward after their armies defeated warlord Sun Chuanfang. When the leftists refused Chiang's demand to eliminate Communist influence within the KMT, he denounced them as traitors to Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People for taking orders from the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong later noted that Chiang's tolerance of the CCP diminished as his own power grew. On 7 April, Chiang and several KMT leaders convened and declared that Communist activities were socially and economically disruptive and had to be undone for the Nationalist revolution to proceed. Five days later, on 12 April, General Bai Chongxi ordered hundreds of arrests and executions of communists in Shanghai. The CCP named this the 12 April Incident; the Western world came to call it the Shanghai massacre.
The Interlude Against Japan
The two sides, along with eventual assistance from the Allied powers in World War II, directed their military efforts outward against the Japanese occupier rather than against each other. Nevertheless, the truce was fragile and imperfect: armed clashes between Nationalist and Communist forces remained a common occurrence throughout the period, revealing that the deep ideological and political rivalry had never truly been resolved. The interlude was not a genuine peace but a strategic pause, with both sides preserving strength, consolidating territory, and positioning for the confrontation that would inevitably resume once the external threat receded.
Victory, Retreat, and an Unresolved Peace
In October 1949, the CCP proclaimed the People's Republic of China, and by 7 December the KMT government had completed its retreat to the island of Taiwan. What followed was not a concluded war but a perpetual stand-off. Both the PRC on the mainland and the ROC in Taiwan claimed legitimacy over all of China, and a lasting political and military confrontation solidified along the Taiwan Strait. ROC guerrilla units continued operating in mainland China and northern Burma until 1961, a reminder that the conflict had not ended with the retreat. After the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, both sides tacitly ceased open military engagement in 1979. Yet no armistice and no peace treaty has ever been signed between the two governments, leaving the conflict technically unresolved and the question of China's political unity perpetually open.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Chinese Civil War?
It was a decades-long armed struggle between the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government and the Chinese Communist Party. The conflict unfolded in intermittent phases and ultimately redrew the political map of China.
When did the Chinese Civil War start and end?
Hostilities opened on 1 August 1927 and closed on 7 December 1949, when the KMT pulled its forces back to Taiwan. The war was not continuous; it moved through distinct phases separated by a truce period.
Who were the main belligerents?
The two principal sides were the Kuomintang (KMT), which headed the Republic of China, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Their rivalry defined every phase of the conflict from the first skirmishes to the final retreat.
How did the Chinese Civil War end?
The Communist Party secured victory, forcing the Republic of China government to withdraw to the island of Taiwan. The People's Republic of China was formally proclaimed in October 1949, locking in the split between mainland China and Taiwan.
Why is the Chinese Civil War considered important?
It decided which political system would rule mainland China and produced the enduring separation between the PRC and the ROC in Taiwan. Its outcome still shapes East Asian geopolitics today.
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