Role of conflict (DP IB History: SL): Revision Note

Summary

• Conflict played a decisive role in Mao’s emergence as a leader because prolonged warfare weakened the Guomindang (GMD)

• The conflict with the GMD allowed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to expand its military strength, political influence, and popular support

• The Chinese Civil War, the Long March, and the Sino-Japanese War enabled Mao to strengthen his leadership within the CCP

• Military conflict created instability, social disruption, and nationalist resentment, all of which increased support for the CCP

• Mao’s successful use of military organisation allowed the CCP to eventually defeat the GMD by 1949

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Chinese Civil War

• The Chinese Civil War began in 1927 after Chiang Kai-shek launched the Shanghai Massacre against the communists

  • This conflict ended cooperation between the GMD and the CCP

• The Shanghai Massacre was part of the wider 'White Terror'

  • This was a campaign carried out by the GMD against communists and suspected left-wing supporters across China

  • Thousands of communists were arrested or killed during the White Terror, forcing the CCP to retreat into rural areas

• The violence of the Civil War radicalised the CCP

• It also strengthened Mao’s belief that revolution in China would require armed struggle and peasant support

• Conflict with the GMD allowed Mao to present the CCP as victims of repression and defenders of ordinary Chinese people against a brutal nationalist government

• The Civil War also forced the CCP to develop effective military organisation, discipline, and guerrilla warfare tactics

Mao’s military leadership

• Mao increased his influence within the CCP because many communist leaders recognised the effectiveness of his military strategies during periods of conflict

  • Mao argued that guerrilla warfare and peasant mobilisation were more suitable for Chinese conditions than traditional urban revolution

• The CCP established rural communist bases

  • These were where Mao developed the communist military and political organisation

  • Many were located in Jiangxi during the early 1930s,

• Mao’s leadership became increasingly important because the survival of the CCP depended upon military adaptability and support from rural populations

Japanese invasion of China

• The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the outbreak of full-scale war in 1937 transformed the political situation within China

• Japanese aggression weakened the authority of the GMD

  • Many Chinese people believed Chiang Kai-shek focused too heavily on defeating the communists rather than resisting Japan

  • The CCP benefited from growing nationalist anger because the communists portrayed themselves as patriotic defenders of China against foreign imperialism

• Communist guerrilla forces gained support in northern China by resisting Japanese occupation and organising local resistance movements

  • The war created conditions that allowed the CCP to expand its membership, military strength, and territorial control

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The Long March (1934–1935)

• The Long March began in October 1934 after the GMD's encirclement campaigns forced the CCP to retreat from Jiangxi province

• Approximately 80,000–100,000 communist soldiers and supporters began the retreat

  • The march covered roughly 9,000 kilometres across some of China’s most difficult terrain

  • Only around 8,000–10,000 survived the march

• Despite severe losses, the Long March became one of the most important symbols in CCP history

  • It demonstrated communist determination, sacrifice, and discipline

• During the Zunyi Conference in January 1935, Mao emerged as the dominant leader of the CCP

  • The Long March strengthened Mao’s authority because surviving communists increasingly viewed him as the leader most capable of ensuring the CCP's survival

• Communist propaganda later presented the Long March as a heroic revolutionary struggle, helping strengthen support for Mao and the CCP

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Guerrilla warfare

• Mao successfully adapted guerrilla warfare tactics to Chinese conditions

  • These relied on:

    • Mobility

    • Surprise attacks

    • Support from local peasants

  • CCP forces avoided large-scale direct battles against stronger GMD armies

    • They focused on weakening enemy forces gradually

  • Guerrilla warfare allowed the CCP to survive despite:

    • Limited weapons

    • Smaller troop numbers

    • Economic weakness

• Mao argued that communist forces should maintain close relationships with peasants to secure food, shelter, recruits, and intelligence

• The success of guerrilla warfare strengthened Mao’s position within the CCP

  • His military strategies appeared far more effective than earlier communist approaches

Xi’an incident (1936)

• In December 1936, Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by his own generals during the Xi’an Incident

  • They demanded that he cooperate with the CCP against Japan

  • Chiang was forced to agree to the Second United Front between the GMD and the CCP

• The United Front allowed the CCP to avoid destruction by the GMD and focus on expanding communist influence during the war against Japan

  • The incident strengthened the CCP politically because the communists appeared committed to national unity and resistance against foreign aggression

Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)

• The Sino-Japanese War created massive social and political disruption throughout China

  • It weakened GMD control

  • Created opportunities for communist expansion

• CCP forces used guerrilla warfare effectively against Japanese troops, particularly in rural northern China

• Communist soldiers often treated peasants more respectfully than both Japanese troops and GMD forces

  • This helped the CCP gain rural support

• During the war, CCP membership increased dramatically

  • It went from 40,000 members in 1937 to over 1.2 million by 1945

• The Red Army, later reorganised into the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army, expanded communist influence throughout the occupied regions

• The GMD suffered heavily during the war from:

  • Military losses

  • Inflation

  • Corruption

  • Declining public support

Final phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949)

• After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the conflict between the CCP and the GMD resumed immediately

• The CCP benefited from increased military strength, rural support, and superior morale developed during the anti-Japanese war

  • Communist forces captured large amounts of Japanese weapons in Manchuria after the Soviet occupation of the region in 1945

• Mao’s military commanders, including Zhu De and Lin Biao, led successful campaigns against GMD forces

  • The CCP increasingly gained support because many Chinese people viewed the communists as more disciplined and effective than the corrupt GMD government

• In October 1949, Mao officially proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China after the CCP's victory in the Civil War

Importance of conflict

• Conflict created the conditions that allowed Mao and the CCP to expand their military, political, and social influence throughout China

• Warfare weakened the GMD economically, militarily, and politically while strengthening the communist organisation and leadership

• Mao’s success depended heavily upon his ability to use guerrilla warfare, peasant mobilisation, and nationalist resistance effectively during periods of conflict

• However, conflict alone did not explain Mao’s rise because communist ideology, social reform, and GMD weaknesses also contributed significantly to the CCP's victory

Historiography
Orthodox interpretation

Orthodox historians argue that Mao’s military leadership and guerrilla warfare strategies were decisive in ensuring communist survival and eventual victory

Revisionist interpretation

Revisionist historians argue that the Japanese invasion and the GMD failures contributed more to the CCP's success than Mao’s military genius alone