Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War
Map of the long march
Date 1927–1949 (sometimes disputed) Location China Result CPC victory
Belligerents
KMT	CPC
Commanders and leaders
Chiang Kai-shek	Mao Zedong

The Chinese Civil War (Chinese: 中国内战) was a civil war fought from 1927 to 1949 because of differences in thinking between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT), or Chinese Nationalist Party). The war was a fight for legitimacy of the government of China. The war began in April 1927 because of the Northern Expedition (國民革命軍北伐) and mostly ended in 1950. Some people say the war has not ended, but no large battles have started since that year. Relations between the Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are still poor because both claim to be the legitimate sovereign government of all of China.

The Chinese Civil War was the third-largest war of all time, after World War 1 and World War 2. It was part of the Interwar period in the aftermath of the Great War from 1918 to 1939 and was also part of the Cold War in the aftermath of World War 2 from 1945 to 1949. The war is usually divided into two parts: 1927-1937 and 1946-1949. It started and stopped several times before the Second Sino-Japanese War and there was less fighting after the Empire of Japan had invaded. The war between the CPC and the KMT started again in 1946 after Japan's defeat in World War II. The CPC took control of most of China, and the KMT had only islands left. About two million Chinese fled to Taiwan in late 1949. In 1950, no large battles were started. The loss of the KMT in Mainland China is said to be for several reasons:

• The Yan'an Rectification Movement helped Mao have more control of the CCP,
• The ceasefire of 1946 stopped the KMT for a time.
• Problems happened between the people and the KMT in the places of its control.
• The Soviet Union gave Japanese guns to the CPC.
• Help from the United States was uncertain to the KMT.

No agreement was made between the two governments and so some say that the war has not ended. Both governments have many military weapons to be used against only against each other, both still say they are the legitimate government of China, and both seek diplomatic relations with other countries as the only legitimate government.