Timeline of the Chinese Civil War


The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party, with armed conflict continuing intermittently from 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949, resulting in a CCP victory and control of mainland China in the Chinese Communist Revolution.
The following is a chronological timeline of the history of the Chinese Civil War :

Background (pre 1927)

DateEventKeyFiguresNotes
19241927First United Front
Formed in 1924 as an alliance of the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party to end warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revolutionary Army and set out in 1926 on the Northern Expedition.

First phase: Communist insurgency (1927–1937)

From August 1927 to 1937, the First United Front collapsed during the Northern Expedition, and the Nationalists controlled most of China.
DateEventKeyFiguresNotes
12April1927Shanghai massacreThe violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces supporting General Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang.
24December19377 April1947Second United Front
An alliance between the ruling Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party to resist the Japanese invasion of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, which suspended the Chinese Civil War from 1937 to 1945.

Interlude: Second Sino-Japanese War period (1937–1945)

From 1937 to 1945, hostilities were mostly put on hold as the Second United Front fought the Japanese invasion of China with eventual help from the Allies of World War II, although co-operation between the KMT and CCP during this time was minimal and armed clashes between the groups were common. Events below are related to the Chinese Civil War during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
DateEventKeyFiguresNotes
January1941New Fourth Army incident

Second phase: resumption of civil war (1945–1949)

The CCP gained control of mainland China and proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949, forcing the leadership of the Republic of China to retreat to the island of Taiwan.
DateEventKeyFiguresNotes
14August1945Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and AllianceA treaty signed by the National Government of the Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 14 August 1945.