Describe Relations
between the CCP
and the GMD
between:
1921-1935
FIRST UNITED FRONT (1923)
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
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
 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
FIRST UNITED FRONT
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
GMD however also
wanted to control the
communists from within


REASONS FOR COLLAPSE
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
Sun Yat-sen’s death brought the underlying
conflict to the surface (Replaced by Chiang KaiShek 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

IMPACT
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

NORTHERN EXPEDITION (1926-27)
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

NORTHERN EXPEDITION (1926-27)
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)

Mar 1927: Shanghai had fallen and more
than half of the area originally occupied by
Northern warlords had been ceded to the
nationalist army
SEPARATION (1927)

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
SEPARATION (1927)
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)
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

CONFLICT IN SHANGHAI
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
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

SHANGHAI MASSACRE (1927)
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)
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)
Nonetheless, the KMT began a campaign of
murder against the Communists
 First United Front hence broke up

THE END