The Civil War (30/11/23)

• July 1946: All out war for control of China begins
• The nationalists troops numbered 4.3 million at the start of the war
• The communists troops numbered 880,000 at the start of the war
• Phase One: July 1946 to May 1947

  • GMD force CCP into defensive position by capturing large cities, creating a corridor on the coast of Manchuria
  • PLA reorganised into single leadership in 1946
  • In Spring 1947, Lin Biao adopted an offensive strategy as the CCP had begun to gain more land
• Phases 2: May 1947 to November 1948

  • In May 1947 the PLA had launched full scale assults on GMD positions. This caused heavy losses for GMD and dented the soldiers morale despite CCP not winning
  • 1948 PLA moved to fighting conventional battles, capturing Luoyang on the Yellow River in April 1948
  • June 1948 - the CCP captured Kaifeng a crucial gateway to Western China.
  • CCP won spectacular victories in Manchuria in October and November successfully isolating the Communists
• Phase 3: December 1948 to October 1949

  • PLA launched two new offensives in Northern China, capturing the vital railway junction of Xuzhou in January 1949
  • CCP captured Beijing on 31st January 1949, meaning the whole of Northern China was under the CCP
  • PLA capture Nanjing on 23 April 1949
  • Shanghai and Wuhan both fell to CCP in May and PLA forces were divided fo the final assult on GMD territory
  • Peng Dehuai marched West towards Xian and Lanzhou both of which were captured in April 1949
  • Lin Biao marched South capturing Guangzhou in October 1949
• At the end of the war, Jiang Jieshi fled to Taiwan and established an independent GMD government