Ib Extended Essay: Why Was The Chinese Communist Party Able To Achieve Victory Over The Kuomintang In The Chinese Civil War? Essay - 1,154 words

... iet trained officers whose conventional tactics failed miserably. The main goal of the Communist strategy was to reduce the numbers of the Kuomintang troops. They were not concerned with holding specific geographical areas. This strategy allowed the Communists the be more flexible in their attacks. Mao Tse Tung stated that the Americans and Nationalists would never be able to understand the guerrilla warfare tactics, since the only way guerrilla warfare can succeed is if the army has the support of the people, which the Communist Army did.10 As previously mentioned, the support of the Chinese people was more or less on the side of the Communists, since the people saw the Nationalists as imperialist American supporters.


Moreover, the Communist troops were ordered to avoid large battles and to engage the enemy only when there was a high probability of victory. The Communists had the qualities that the Kuomintang lacked, responsible leadership and party unity. 2. Rural Land Reforms A very important factor in the Chinese Communist Partys victory was the support of the people from rural areas. In his On Coalition Government, Mao Tse Tung states that, peasants are the basic foundation of a democratic China. 11 The directives for land reform were announced by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on March 4, 1946.


The main purpose of the reform was to transfer land from the landlords to the peasants. Many methods of reform were introduced. Land was confiscated directly, land was sold to the tenants, and landlords voluntarily donated land. During the land reforms, village meetings were often held where peasants were permitted to recall all the exploitation conducted by their landlord. After, the peasants demanded repayments, which were often more than the landlord could afford. Also, in the villages, voluntary conscription in the Chinese Communist army was encouraged by party members. It may be argued that the Chinese Communist Party conducted the land reforms in order to show its commitment to the poorer rural areas of China.


Perhaps, it was not truly the Communist Partys intention to eliminate the economic power of the landlords, but instead to show the peasants that they could exercise their power locally and play an active role in the revolution. 3. Urban Reforms By 1948, the Communists had made significant gains in the war. The Communists forces moved out from their base rural areas into the cities. In the cities, the party made efforts to eliminate drug abusers, beggars, prostitutes, and thieves. Outside visitors looked highly upon these changes. However, the Communist Partys main goal in the urban areas was to increase the productive capacity. The Communists created labour unions where workers were rewarded for efficiency and productivity.


Also, to reduce the effects of inflation, which were very evident in the cities, the Chinese Communist Party introduced its own currency that was not associated with the Nationalist currencies. To some extent, the changes made by the Chinese Communists improved the situation in the previously Nationalist dominated cities. Through reforms the Communists had gained considerably support in both rural and urban areas by 1948. Chapter VI. Brief Summary of the Course of the War To quickly summarise the course of the Chinese Civil War, starting from July 1946, the Chiang Kai Shek and the Kuomintang appeared to be making advances. They captured nearly all of Central and South China and, in March 1947, captured the Communist capital, Yanan. However, as previously mentioned, the Kuomintang troops were dispersed and unable to take control of transportation routes.


The momentum of the war began to shift in April 1947 and by November 1948 the Communists had captured all of Manchuria. After b ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: chinese, chinese civil, chinese communism, chinese communist, chinese communist party, chinese people, chinese revolution

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