The Chinese Civil War 1945-1949 (Documentary)

Taiwan is a small island at the centre of global  tensions. It’s the world leader in strategically important chip production, and the lynchpin of the  US’ Island Chain strategy to contain China -- and it could be the spark that sets off a great power  war. But how did it get this way? The story of the Taiwanese powder keg goes all the way back  to the 1940s, and China’s unfinished Civil War. The Japanese surrender and the Soviet invasion of  Manchuria in August 1945 have serious consequences for China, which has been resisting a  Japanese invasion since 1937. By 1945, Japan occupies large areas of China, but has  been unable to fully conquer the country, despite the loss of 20 million Chinese civilians  and troops. Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese wartime commander and leader of the Nationalist forces  in the Kuomintang Party, or KMT, suddenly finds himself as one of the victorious allies. But the Japanese surrender comes as a surprise and increases tensions with other factions in  China. Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, officially fights alongside the  KMT against Japan, but in practice their so-called United Front fell apart in 1941.  From 1927-37, the KMT and CCP fought a bloody civil war in which KMT forced the Communists  into the Chinese hinterland. The United Front never healed the rift between the two factions  and tension and distrust continues through to 1945. The CCP did little actual fighting against  the Japanese, and instead worked to expand their bases from their capital at Yan’an. Now that the  Japanese have surrendered, these new so-called Liberated Areas could support the Communists  in a likely resumption of the civil war. During the war against Japan, the US  supported Chiang with arms and training, despite US concerns about corruption and  incompetence in the KMT. Some Americans were more impressed by the Communist movement  based in Yan’an, which successfully presents itself as less corrupt and more representative. However, the US shifted away from the CCP towards the end of the war. In April, the US announced  it will only recognize Chiang’s nationalists. Unsurprisingly, Mao Zedong complains: “We don’t understand why America’s policy seemed to waver after a good start.” (Mitter 356) As the KMT and CCP race for Japanese-held territory, the US supports Chiang with an airlift  into major cities away from KMT base areas, as well as landing 50,000 US Marines in  coastal areas to prevent CCP advance. Competition is especially fierce in Manchuria,  currently occupied by the Soviet Union against Chiang’s wishes.