Chinese Civil War Learning Path

War overview, dates, and phases

The Chinese Civil War (between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party) is generally divided into two main phases separated by an interlude. Hostilities began when the KMT and CCP broke from their alliance in the First United Front, with civil war starting on 1 August 1927. The first phase lasted until 1937, when fighting was largely paused as the Second United Front formed to resist the Japanese invasion of China. The interlude ran from 1937 to 1945, during which the KMT and CCP cooperated against Japan but continued to compete for influence and territory in areas not under Japanese control. After Japan’s defeat became imminent, the civil war resumed in earnest in 1945, marking the second phase (1945–1949). The Communists gained the upper hand, proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949, and the KMT government retreated to Taiwan on 7 December 1949, ending the main continental phase of the war.

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First United Front and Northern Expedition

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