Editing Chinese Civil War (section)

=== Outbreak of war ===
<gallery widths="200px" heights="180px">
File:Chaing Kai-shek's Strategy 1947.PNG|Situation in 1947
File:Communist Offensives September through November 1948.PNG|Situation in the fall of 1948
File:Communist Offensives November 1948 - January 1949.PNG|Situation in the winter of 1948 and 1949
File:Communist Offensives April - October 1949.PNG|Situation in April to October 1949
</gallery>

As postwar negotiations between the Nationalist government and the CCP failed, the civil war between these two parties resumed. This stage of war is referred to in [[mainland China]] and Communist historiography as the "War of Liberation" ({{zh |s = 解放战争 |p = Jiěfàng Zhànzhēng |links = no }}). On 20 July 1946, Chiang Kai-shek launched a large-scale assault on Communist territory in [[North China]] with 113 brigades (a total of 1.6&nbsp;million troops).<ref name="Đỗ Thanh Bình2002" />

Knowing their disadvantages in manpower and equipment, the CCP executed a "passive defense" strategy. It avoided the strong points of the KMT army and was prepared to abandon territory in order to preserve its forces. In most cases the surrounding countryside and small towns had come under Communist influence long before the cities. The CCP also attempted to wear out the KMT forces as much as possible. This tactic seemed to be successful; after a year, the power balance became more favorable to the CCP. They wiped out 1.12&nbsp;million KMT troops, while their strength grew to about two million men.<ref name="Đỗ Thanh Bình2002" />

[[File:North China Areas of Politico-military Control, 15 August 1947 - DPLA - 1e624ff873a62c9c3c18bc0f50c38da0.jpg|thumb|North China areas of politico-military control in August 1947]]
[[File:PLA Enters Peking.jpg|thumb|The PLA enters Beiping in the [[Pingjin Campaign]]]]
[[File:Lost Horizon? (1948).jpg|thumb|Map of the Far East from the Time magazine showing the situation of the Chinese Civil War in late 1948]]

In March 1947, the KMT achieved a symbolic victory by seizing Yan'an, the capital of the [[Yan'an Soviet]].<ref>Lilley, James R. ''China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia''. {{ISBN|1-58648-136-3}}.</ref> The Communists counterattacked soon afterwards. With KMT efforts for an all-out offensive failing, the Nationalists changed strategy from broad assaults to concentrating on key targets, including Communist-controlled areas in Shandong and Shaanxi.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=56}} This approach also failed.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=56}}

From June to September 1947, the Communists launched offensives and Nationalist-controlled areas became the primary battlefields.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=56}} On 30 June 1947, CCP troops crossed the Yellow River and moved to the [[Dabie Mountains]] area, restored and developed the [[Central Plain (China)|Central Plain]]. At the same time, Communist forces also began to counterattack in Northeastern China, North China and East China.<ref name="Đỗ Thanh Bình2002" />

The period of August 1948 through October 1949 included the three most significant Communist military campaigns of the civil war: the [[Liaoshen campaign|Liaoshen Campaign]] (northeast China), [[Huaihai campaign|Huaihai Campaign]] (east China), and [[Pingjin campaign|Pingjin Campaign]] (Beijing-Tianjin).<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}}

The Liaoshen campaign was launched on 12 September 1948 and led by [[Lin Biao]].<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} The main focus of the campaign was Jinzhou.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} On 14 October, the Communists launched an all-out assault and captured the city in 24 hours.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} Most of the 90,000 Nationalists casualties in this battle were incorporated into the Communist ranks.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} The [[siege of Changchun]] ended on 19 October when the Nationalist garrison surrendered.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} On 1 November, the Communists captured [[Shenyang]].<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} By late 1948, the CCP had taken control of the Northeast through the decisive Liaoshen Campaign.<ref name="Westad2003">Westad, Odd Arne. (2003). ''Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946–1950''. Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|0-8047-4484-X}}. pp. 192–193.</ref> 

[[File:Renault FT-17 in ROC.jpg|thumb|right|[[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] FT tanks]]
The capture of large KMT units provided the CCP with the tanks, heavy artillery and other combined-arms assets needed to execute offensive operations south of the Great Wall. By April 1948, the city of Luoyang fell, cutting the KMT army off from Xi'an.<ref name="Elleman">Elleman, Bruce A. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795–1989. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-21473-4}}.</ref> Following a fierce battle, the CCP captured [[Jinan]] and Shandong province on 24 September 1948. During this period, [[Battle of Weixian]] took place, which was an important battle for the CCP to liberate Shandong. Through the Weixian Campaign, the CCP controlled the Jiaoji Railway and cut off the connection between Jinan and Qingdao. 

The Huaihai Campaign of late 1948 and early 1949 secured east-central China for the CCP.<ref name="Westad2003" /> It was the largest military operation of the civil war.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=57}} A large number of KMT troops deserted and changed sides in these conflicts.<ref name="Coble2023" />{{Rp|204}} The outcome of these encounters were decisive for the military outcome of the civil war.<ref name="Westad2003" />

The [[Pingjin Campaign|Pingjin campaign]] lasted 64 days, from 21 November 1948 to 31 January 1949.<ref name="Finkelstein">Finkelstein, David Michael. Ryan, Mark A. McDevitt, Michael. (2003). ''Chinese Warfighting: The PLA Experience Since 1949''. M. E. Sharpe. China. {{ISBN|0-7656-1088-4}}. p. 63.</ref> The PLA suffered heavy casualties while securing [[Zhangjiakou]], Tianjin along with its port and garrison at [[Taku Forts|Dagu]] and [[Beijing|Beiping]].<ref name="Finkelstein" /> The CCP brought 890,000 troops from the northeast to oppose some 600,000 KMT troops.<ref name="Elleman" /> There were 40,000 CCP casualties at Zhangjiakou alone. They in turn killed, wounded or captured some 520,000 KMT during the campaign.<ref name="Finkelstein" /> The KMT's defeat in the Pingjin campaign ended its ability to be an effective fighting force on the mainland.<ref name=":02" />{{RP|page=58}}

[[File:ROC_Retreat_to_Taiwan.svg|thumb|The Nationalists' retreat to Taipei: after the Nationalists lost [[Nanjing]] they next moved to [[Guangzhou]], then to [[Chongqing]], [[Chengdu]] and finally, [[Xichang]] before arriving [[Taipei]] in 1949.]]

After achieving decisive victory through the Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin campaigns, the CCP destroyed 144 regular and 29 irregular KMT divisions, including 1.54&nbsp;million [[veteran]] KMT troops.<ref name="Đỗ Thanh Bình2002"/><ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=58}} 

Stalin initially favored a [[coalition government]] in postwar China, and tried to persuade Mao to stop the CCP from crossing the Yangtze and attacking the KMT positions south of the river.<ref>Donggil Kim, "Stalin and the Chinese Civil War." ''Cold War History'' 10.2 (2010): 185–202.</ref> Mao rejected Stalin's position and on 21 April, began the [[Yangtze River Crossing Campaign]]. On 23 April, they captured the KMT's capital, Nanjing.<ref name="Zhang2002" /> The KMT government retreated to Canton (Guangzhou) until 15 October, [[Chongqing]] until 25 November, and then Chengdu before [[Chinese Nationalist Party retreat to Taiwan|retreating to Taiwan]] on 7 December. By late 1949, the People's Liberation Army was pursuing remnants of KMT forces southwards in southern China, and only [[Tibet]] was left. A Chinese Muslim [[Hui people|Hui]] cavalry regiment, the 14th [[Dungan people|Tungan]] Cavalry, was sent by the Kuomintang to attack Mongol and Soviet positions along the border during the [[Pei-ta-shan Incident]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAs9AAAAIAAJ&q=warlords+and+muslims |title=Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949 |first=Andrew D. W. |last=Forbes |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-25514-7 |pages=215, 225 |access-date=28 June 2010}}</ref>

The Kuomintang made several last-ditch attempts to use [[Kham]]pa troops against the Communists in southwest China. The Kuomintang formulated a plan in which three Khampa divisions would be assisted by the [[Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama|Panchen Lama]] to oppose the Communists.<ref>{{harvnb|Lin|2010|p=117}}: "China's far northwest. A simultaneous proposal suggested that, with the support of the new Panchen Lama and his entourage, at least three army divisions of anti-Communist Khampa Tibetans could be mustered in southwest China."</ref> Kuomintang intelligence reported that some Tibetan tusi chiefs and the Khampa Su Yonghe controlled 80,000 troops in Sichuan, Qinghai and Tibet. They hoped to use them against the Communist army.{{sfn|Lin|2010|p=xxi}}