>The Chinese Civil War primarily occurred in two phases, the first from 1927 to 1937 and the second from 1945 to 1949, after being interrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War. The conflict was between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang/KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the Communists ultimately achieving victory in 1949 and establishing the People’s Republic of China.
Also the fact they paused a civil war
Gold-Ad-2581 on
Allies big4? Never heard of it.
Eric1491625 on
Likewise, the CCP held almost 0 of the largest cities in 1946 but won the civil war anyway.
Same story with the Taliban and Afghan government in 2021.
That’s what happens when you have countries that are overwhelmingly rural. Controlling all the big cities when big cities comprise <20% of your population doesn’t mean that much…
Northern_Baron on
I’m seeing some broad parralels in this with Ukraine today. Its honestly amazing what they have achieved, even seems surreal.
DrEpileptic on
See also: the mystery of Vietnam and how it goes from a genuinely well trained force with a sizable population that actually defeats and successfully resists… Japan, China, Itself, France, Itself and the US, China again?, and ends a genocide it lowkey took part in instigating while it’s at it. I could meme on them, but they do seem to be rapidly developing and surpassing expectations, despite already having broken expectations before.
Rex_Africae on
Not to mention that both sides followed broadly similar military doctrines, but each had its own strengths. The Chinese had the advantage in manpower, while the Japanese held the edge in equipment, mobility, and overall troop quality. After 1905, Chinese and Japanese military traditions became closely linked. Japan had become the preferred place for Chinese officers to study abroad – more than 10,000 Chinese students were attending Japanese military academies during the late Qing era.
Japanese doctrine at the time was heavily influenced by a romanticized view of the samurai past. It glorified aggressive tactics such as surprise attacks, close-quarters combat, night assaults, and constant offensive action. Chinese officers trained in Japan, including Chiang Kai-shek himself, brought these concepts back to China and tried to adapt them to Chinese conditions.
However, while China could imitate the tactics employrd by the Japanese, it struggled to replicate the psychological foundation behind them. Japanese soldiers were driven by a deeply rooted honor culture that valued reputation and duty above life itself. This cultural “X factor” made Japanese troops willing to fight to the death rather than retreat or surrender.
Chiang Kai-shek attempted to instill similar fanaticism through appeals to the “Spirit of Whampoa” – a more formal, ideological call to die for Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary ideals, but it failed to inspire the same level of devotion. In reality, no other army developed an equally extreme fighting spirit until the rise of the Chinese Red Army and its commissar system, which was able to motivate troops to comparable levels of self-sacrifice.
Depend_Pt_throwaway on
The UN security council consists of:
Great Britian, albeit a few blunders, never surrendering & being the intelligence behind the allied war effort.
the Soviet Union with vast mannpower enough to not only resist a war of extinction, but also pushing the enemy back to their capital
China waging the longest theater of the war EVEN while having a civil war AND losing major cities to the enemy.
the United States being the lynchpin behind the allied war effort with logistics up the ass & even getting ice cream & cake to the frontlines somehow.
the big 4 in all
AND then there’s France…
…
…you know, Brazil was originally considered for the 5th member of the UNSC
Beat_Saber_Music on
It is notable the Chinese still fought like hell throughout the first year. They dealt notable casualties on the Japanese in Shanghai, they delayed the Japanese plenty in the battle of Wuhan, and they halted the Japanese in Changsha.
8 Comments
>The Chinese Civil War primarily occurred in two phases, the first from 1927 to 1937 and the second from 1945 to 1949, after being interrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War. The conflict was between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang/KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the Communists ultimately achieving victory in 1949 and establishing the People’s Republic of China.
Also the fact they paused a civil war
Allies big4? Never heard of it.
Likewise, the CCP held almost 0 of the largest cities in 1946 but won the civil war anyway.
Same story with the Taliban and Afghan government in 2021.
That’s what happens when you have countries that are overwhelmingly rural. Controlling all the big cities when big cities comprise <20% of your population doesn’t mean that much…
I’m seeing some broad parralels in this with Ukraine today. Its honestly amazing what they have achieved, even seems surreal.
See also: the mystery of Vietnam and how it goes from a genuinely well trained force with a sizable population that actually defeats and successfully resists… Japan, China, Itself, France, Itself and the US, China again?, and ends a genocide it lowkey took part in instigating while it’s at it. I could meme on them, but they do seem to be rapidly developing and surpassing expectations, despite already having broken expectations before.
Not to mention that both sides followed broadly similar military doctrines, but each had its own strengths. The Chinese had the advantage in manpower, while the Japanese held the edge in equipment, mobility, and overall troop quality. After 1905, Chinese and Japanese military traditions became closely linked. Japan had become the preferred place for Chinese officers to study abroad – more than 10,000 Chinese students were attending Japanese military academies during the late Qing era.
Japanese doctrine at the time was heavily influenced by a romanticized view of the samurai past. It glorified aggressive tactics such as surprise attacks, close-quarters combat, night assaults, and constant offensive action. Chinese officers trained in Japan, including Chiang Kai-shek himself, brought these concepts back to China and tried to adapt them to Chinese conditions.
However, while China could imitate the tactics employrd by the Japanese, it struggled to replicate the psychological foundation behind them. Japanese soldiers were driven by a deeply rooted honor culture that valued reputation and duty above life itself. This cultural “X factor” made Japanese troops willing to fight to the death rather than retreat or surrender.
Chiang Kai-shek attempted to instill similar fanaticism through appeals to the “Spirit of Whampoa” – a more formal, ideological call to die for Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary ideals, but it failed to inspire the same level of devotion. In reality, no other army developed an equally extreme fighting spirit until the rise of the Chinese Red Army and its commissar system, which was able to motivate troops to comparable levels of self-sacrifice.
The UN security council consists of:
Great Britian, albeit a few blunders, never surrendering & being the intelligence behind the allied war effort.
the Soviet Union with vast mannpower enough to not only resist a war of extinction, but also pushing the enemy back to their capital
China waging the longest theater of the war EVEN while having a civil war AND losing major cities to the enemy.
the United States being the lynchpin behind the allied war effort with logistics up the ass & even getting ice cream & cake to the frontlines somehow.
the big 4 in all
AND then there’s France…
…
…you know, Brazil was originally considered for the 5th member of the UNSC
It is notable the Chinese still fought like hell throughout the first year. They dealt notable casualties on the Japanese in Shanghai, they delayed the Japanese plenty in the battle of Wuhan, and they halted the Japanese in Changsha.