Lesson 2- What Was The Impact Of The Civil War? Flashcards
Who were the NRA?
National Revolutionary Army of the Guomindang (GMD)
What was the Left GMD and the Democratic League?
Made up of breakaway Nationalists who despaired (to lose hope) of Chiang’s leadership and the GMD’s policies.
They wanted a compromise settlement with the CCP.
Define Nepotism
Giving position and special favours to cronies (a close friend or companion) and family members.
Define inflation
a fall in the value and purchasing power of money
What are South and North Dynasties?
A reference to the partition of China during civil wars of the fifth and sixth centuries AD
What was the main reason that the Civil War began?
Began with the GMD’s attempt to seize Manchuria in 1946
Why was Manchuria important?
Manchuria was an important region due to its rich natural resources including coal, fertile soil, and various minerals.
When was the Civil War?
1946-49
Who was the leader of the GMD after 1925 and during the Civil War?
Chiang Kai-Shek
What did Chiang do when he accepted defeat?
He transferred his remaining forces to the island of Taiwan
What did Chiang do in Taiwan?
Began the construction of a separate Nationalist state.
How did Mao eventually dominate central and southern China?
The PLA pushed out from its northern bases in China and built up momentum
When was Mao in a position to claim total victory and to declare the birth of a new Communist nation, the PRC?
By October 1949
How many troops did the NRA have compared to the PLA?
5 million outnumbered those of the PLA by over four to one
Who did Chiang receive millions of dollars worth of military equipment from?
USA
What were the 9 weaknesses of the GMD?
1.Internal divisions
2.Unpopularity
3.Strategic errors
4.Losing ‘the struggle for the hearts of the people’
5.The GMD’s political failings
6.The GMD’s failure to win the localities
7.Limited base of the GMD’s support
8. The GMD’s economic failings
9. The NRA’s conscription methods
What were high ranking officers of the GMD doing?
Passing information to the CCP
Chiang could never really rely on his supporters
A problem Mao did not have
What splits occurred in the GMD ranks?
rival factions opposed to Chiang , such as the Left GMD and the Democratic League
What did Chiang acknowledge had happened to the morale of the GMD?
He acknowledged that the morale had become ‘cripplingly low’
Because Chiang was unable to sustain a genuinely popular following among the people, what did he resort to?
Coercion -persuasion through force
What methods of coercion did Chiang resort to?
-Property was seized
-Money was expropriated (seized)
-Enforces were enlisted (stole/intimidated to gain support)
-Protesters were arrested in large numbers
-Summary executions (when a person is killed without a trial) became commonplace
What did Shanghai witness in August 1948?
Particularly bloody scenes, including street-corner beheadings and shootings by government troops.
What were the consequences of the GMD terror?
Alienated (experiencing or inducing feelings of isolation/withdrawment) the Nationalists
Diminished band of supporters
Dismayed their foreign sympathisers, most significantly, the Americans
Why do military historians emphasise that Chiang’s basic military failing was his eagerness to establish a grip on Northern China?
These were the areas where the Nationalists were at their least influential
How did Chiang sacrifice the advantage that his greater resources initially gave him?
He rushed his armies into Manchuria in the hope of a quick victory over the CCP.
What strategic error did Chiang make when it came to appointing commanders?
Chiang appointed commanders according to their personal loyalty to him (nepotism) rather than their military skills
what did the Communists prove adept (very skilled) at winning?
What Mao called the ‘struggle for the hearts of the people)
What are the Three People’s Principles?
Created by Sun Yat-Sen (previous leader of GMD)
They can be summarised as nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people.
Because of what did Mao claim an understanding of and sympathy with the masses of the Chinese peasantry?
The GMD corruption and their dependence on US aid
who was, ironically, better positioned to fulfill the ‘Three People’s Principles’?
CCP
What did the land policy which CCP put in place do?
Seize property off of landowners and redistribute amongst peasants.
How could you describe the CCP’s land policy?
As much expedient (convenient despite immoral) as it was idealistic
How did Mao change the land policy to gain maximum support?
-In areas where it paid to be moderate in order to win support of the local gentry, the CCP was quite prepared to recognise landowners’ rights
-In areas where there was no such gain to be made, the peasants were encouraged to seize the land and publicly degrade (disrespect) its former owners.
Why could Chiang not use the CCP’s repressive policy to is advantage?
His own regime was equally repressive
What was the GMD’s record in government?
One of incompetence (do not know what they are doing) and self-seeking
what were the GMD’s attempts at reform seen as by the contemporaries (peer) ?
Unimpressive
How did the CCP use the GMD’s political failings to their advantage?
Made capital out of this by portraying themselves as essentially different
-Their initial willingness to co-operate with the GMD despite its murderous attitude towards them, suggested a high degree of selflessness
What did Chinese leaders, since imperial days find difficult?
To maintain their authority in the regions
What happened as a result of China being so large?
Communications were slow
What were the customary ways to solving a problem?
To do a deal with those who held power in the regions
What unofficial agreements were made?
That the central government would not interfere with the local power structure provided the local leaders recognised the ultimate authority of the Chinese government.
What was rarely done?
Rules were seldom written down but the understanding provided a workable system
What did Chiang disregard (ignore)?
The convention/usual way of the government or the unofficial agreement
What were the local power structures?
Officials, businessmen, lawyers and financiers who administered the regions during Japan’s occupation and expected to continue after the GMD’s return to power in 1945.
What did Chiang give little thought to after 1945?
The local power structures
How did Chiang give little thought to the local power structures?
He simply tried to impose GMD rule by dismissing the officials already there and replacing them with Nationalist appointees, who were invariable ignorant of their prevailing (current) political and social conditions.
What did the short signed policy do?
Alienated the local communities and the GMD
What was a fundamental flaw in the composition of the GMD?
They undermined their claim to be a party of the people
Who did the GMD become as a party who represents who?
Not the masses, but a social and political elite who had little interest in the impoverished peasants and workers which alienated Chiang’s party which became associated with aloofness (emotionally distant) and nepotism
What was Chiang’s book called and when was it published?
1943-‘New life Movement’
What did Chiang’s book try to encourage?
Tried to encourage Chinese people to abandon selfish thoughts and work for the good of the nation.
They were principles which were hard to relate to after the GMD behaved so badly
What factor finally undermined the GMD (not politics or war)?
Economics
What success of the Communists under Mao obviously played an essential role in preparing the way for their takeover in 1949?
Military and political
what was the most significant economic reason for the GMD failure?
Inflation
When did the chronic but relatively mild rise in prices that China had experienced throughout the republican period begin to climb uncontrollably?
1941
What was soaring inflation initially caused by?
The Japanese occupation of China’s most productive provinces after 1937
How much of the governments expenditure was spent on maintaining an army of military troops in 1945?
80%
In 1945, because of the costs needed to maintain the army, what was government expenditure not being spent on?
-Education
-Infrastructure
-Healthcare
-Industry
-Agriculture
What did the government do to meet revenue needs?
The government resorted to heavy taxation of individuals and companies
It also borrowed heavily from abroad and greatly increased the issue of paper currency
What did the inflation rate reach during the civil war?
1000%
When did China’s monetary system collapse?
1949
What were the consequences of the financial failure?
Demoralised people
Discredited the GMD government
what was especially damaging to the GMD in terms of public relations?
Their practice of conscription
Because more manpower was need for the war and they were unable to raise volunteers, what did the GMD do?
Chiang’s government authorised the rounding of peasants by armed recruitment squads
Once conscripted and enlisted, how were the troops treated by their officers?
They were treated with contempt (disrespect, as if they are worthless)
What did the President of the Chinese Red Cross say which described the barbarity (extreme cruelty or brutality) suffered by the Nationalist conscripts?
He said, “They were tied to one another to prevent their escaping, were savagely beaten if they upset their officers, and were starved of food.”
What was Chiang’s first basic reasons for why his forces lost to the CCP?
- The GMD’s military commanders had lacked skill and judgement and had fought ‘muddle-headed battles’
Name the 4 communist strengths
- Mao’s opportunism
- Mao’s dominance of the CCP and PLA
- Mao’s leadership
- Mao’s outplaying of Stalin
How did high level officers begin to behave in the GMD?
High level officers began being complacent (self-satisfied, over-confident and smug) and ended as defeatist (a person who expects or is excessively ready to accept failure)
Why did Chiang rush his armies into Manchuria in the hopes of a quick victory over the CCP?
He did this in reversal of the ‘trading space to buy time’ strategy he had followed against the Japanese.
What did Chiang failing to exploit his sides initial advantages show?
The poor showing of the GMD militarily, politically and economically that gave eventual victory to his opponents.
What was Chiang’s 2nd basic reason why his forces lost to the CCP?
- rank and file soldiers lacked training and were incompetently led
What was Chiang’s 3rd basic reason for why his forces lost to the CCP?
- GMD morale was low-high-level officers were only concerned with self-interest
What was Chiang’s 4th basic reason for why his forces lost to the CCP?
- GMD unable to inspire its forces in the field: lacked discipline and effective propaganda
