Chinese Civil War
August 1, 1927 – May 1, 1950
Result Communist victory
Armed conflict from 1 August 1927 to 7 December 1949 between the Kuomintang (KMT) government of the Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), interrupted by the Second United Front against the Japanese invasion from 1937 to 1945. The Communists gained the upper hand after 1945, proclaimed the People's Republic of China in October 1949, and the KMT retreated to Taiwan that December. No armistice or peace treaty was ever signed, and both sides claim to be the legitimate government of all China.
Battles and events 27
August 1–5, 1927
September 7, 1927
Autumn Harvest Uprising
Changsha, Hunan (objective of the uprising)
Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, He Jian
December 11, 1927
Guangzhou Uprising
Guangzhou
November 1, 1930 – October 10, 1934
Encirclement Campaigns
Ruijin, Jiangxi (Chinese Soviet Republic base)
Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhou Enlai
October 16, 1934 – October 19, 1935
Long March
Communists evade Nationalist armies and allied warlords
Jiangxi to Yan'an
Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhou Enlai
January 15–17, 1935
December 12–25, 1936
January 7–13, 1941
1945 – 1949
September 10 – October 12, 1945
1946 – 1949
March 15–17, 1946
Battle of Siping
Communist victory
April 17 – May 19, 1946
Second Battle of Siping
Nationalist victory
Second Battle of Siping
Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, Lin Biao
December 17, 1946 – April 1, 1947
March 13–19, 1947
May 13–16, 1947
May 23 – October 19, 1948
September 12 – November 2, 1948
October 5, 1948 – April 24, 1949
November 6, 1948 – January 10, 1949
November 29, 1948 – January 31, 1949
April 20 – June 2, 1949
Yangtze River Crossing campaign
Decisive Chinese Communist Party victory
Nanjing
Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi
May 12 – June 2, 1949
October 25–27, 1949
Battle of Guningtou
Republic of China victory
Battle of Guningtou
Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Yi
November 3–5, 1949
December 11–27, 1949
March 5 – May 1, 1950
Key commanders
Communists 22
Mao Zedong
Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
Deng Xiaoping
Chinese Red Army
Zhou Enlai
Peng Dehuai
Zhu De
Commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army
Lin Biao
Marshal, Commander of the Northeast Field Army; won the Liaoshen and Pingjin Campaigns
Liu Bocheng
Marshal, Commander of the Second Field Army
Chen Yi
Marshal, Commander of the Third Field Army
Su Yu
Deputy commander, Third Field Army, Directed the Huaihai Campaign
He Long
belligerent leader
Xu Xiangqian
belligerent leader
Otto Braun
military commander
Bo Gu
belligerent leader
Zhang Guotao
belligerent leader
Luo Ronghuan
military commander
Liu Yalou
military commander
Nie Rongzhen
military commander
Li Zhen
belligerent leader
Xi Zhongxun
military commander
Ye Fei
military commander
Hu Wei
military commander
Deng Hua
military commander
Nationalists 31
Chiang Kai-shek
Director-General of the Kuomintang, Republic of China
He Yingqin
Chen Cheng
General, Chief of the General Staff; later led the retreat to Taiwan
Li Zongren
General, New Guangxi Clique; Acting President of the Republic of China, 1949
Du Yuming
Lieutenant General, Nationalist field commander; captured at Huaihai
Fu Zuoyi
General, Surrendered the Beiping garrison, January 1949
Tang Enbo
General, Commanded the Nationalist defense of Shanghai, 1949
Wei Lihuang
General, Lost Manchuria in the Liaoshen Campaign
Bai Chongxi
belligerent leader
Xue Yue
belligerent leader
Zhang Xueliang
leader, detained Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an
Yang Hucheng
leader, detained Chiang Kai-shek with Zhang Xueliang
Zheng Dongguo
military commander
Liao Yaoxiang
military commander
Fan Hanjie
military commander
Hu Lian
military commander
Liu Zhi
military commander
Huang Wei
military commander
Chen Changjie
military commander
Guo Jingyun
military commander
He Jian
belligerent leader
Liu Yuzhang
military commander
Fang Chih
military commander
Yen Hsi-shan
belligerent leader
Hu Zongnan
military commander
Zhang Lingfu
military commander
Gu Zhutong
military commander
Lin Biao
Communist commander of the siege
Wang Ching-kuo
military commander
Sun Chu
military commander
Thomas Cassin Kinkaid
military commander

