Describe Relations between the CCP and the GMD between: 1921-1935

1. Describe Relations between the CCP and the GMD between:1921-1935

2. The Soviet Union had recognized China as a potential ally The CCP was not regarded as suitable for revolution Fall of capitalism – a key event that had to occur before the rise of communism – had also not taken place in China yet The GMD was thought to be the most suitable for the revolution First United Front (1923)

3. 1922: Comintern finally convinces CCP to work towards a coalition with the KMT to create a united front • Aim: • Liberate the Chinese from the clutches of foreigners and the warlords that currently ruled China • National unification and independence First United Front

4. Under the agreement it was stated that KMT would become the central force in the revolution CCP would support it with the aim of removing foreign intervention entirely from the country First United Front

5. An attempt to end the Warlord Era in China The CCP joined the GMD to expand their influence & spread communism, making use of their superiority in numbers and eventually subvert it from within First United Front • GMD however also wanted to control the communists from within

6. Both parties had conflicting aims and the front was unsustainable CCP favoured violent revolutions GMD favoured gradual reforms CCP aims and methods threatened GMD supporters REASONS FOR COLLAPSE

7. Sun Yat-sen’s death brought the underlying conflict to the surface (Replaced by Chiang Kai-Shek as leader of the KMT) As the Northern Expedition had been successful in uniting China, GMD felt it did not need the support of the CCP Both parties hated each other and the alliance was hence not a committed one Each party also had their own desire for political power REASONS FOR COLLAPSE

8. Chiang Kai Shek purged the communists from the front while the Northern Expedition was only half complete Resulted in a Civil War Lasted until 1936 when Second United Front was formed IMPACT

9. Chiang aimed to destroy the power of the northern warlords by force The CCP also wished to test their newly-recruited army of 8m Saw the march as a chance to liberate the peasants in the north along the way in order to achieve their main goal for the coalition in the first place: to seize power over all of China Northern Expedition (1926-27)

10. As the two armies gradually conquered China, they began their own attempts to spread their own ideologies via propaganda Competed for the support of the people they had liberated (e.g. peasants) Northern Expedition (1926-27)

11. Mar 1927: Shanghai had fallen and more than half of the area originally occupied by Northern warlords had been ceded to the nationalist army Northern Expedition (1926-27)

12. By now Chiang had grown increasingly wary and alarmed at the tactics and the growing support for the CCP • Encouraged workers to join trade unions to demand better wages • Labour problems hit the Chinese property-owning classes: the main supporters of the KMT • Communists also began to organize the people the CCP had liberated during their march into communist blocs • Increased fears of revolution • Most of CCP’s aims & tactics contradicted that of the KMT’s Separation (1927)

13. KMT was moving towards closer relations with the wealthy classes and industrialists in Shanghai as well as the KMT conservatives Nationalisation of trade unions had still been acceptable while the KMT still required the support of the CCP Separation (1927)

14. However due to the KMT’s close political ties with the rich the Communist activities became increasingly frustrating as the march progressed Thus once China had been all but fully conquered and the two parties’ influence extended the alliance finally broke down Separation (1927)

15. Workers in Shanghai, led by the CCP, rebelled against the warlord who ruled the area CCP set up a Communist council to run the city, but Chiang & his army invaded the city and eradicated all the Communists in Shanghai Conflict in Shanghai

16. Later also did the same for Guangzhou and executed all the Communists in the area, causing many others to retreat to the countryside for fear of their lives Once the expulsion of the Communists had taken place, Chiang was in sole control of the cities & Nanjing Now prepared to conquer rest of China Conflict in Shanghai

17. By 1926, with the increasing power of the CCP, the right-wing of the KMT, led by Chiang, had decided that the power of the Communists had to be cut back 1927: Chiang, determined as he was to seize Shanghai during the march north, formed a purge committee to accomplish this task Shanghai Massacre (1927)

18. When news of this reached Shanghai, now in the hands of the Communists, a general strike, backed by the CCP, broke out Chiang responded by sending out execution squads to murder suspected Communists Uncertainty amongst the Communists both in China & SU about what the KMT wanted Obviously had no idea what the true situation was as they had from the start forbidden any opposition to the KMT Shanghai Massacre (1927)

19. Nonetheless, the KMT began a campaign of murder against the Communists First United Front hence broke up Shanghai Massacre (1927)

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