Introduction
With the formation of the new Chinese Republic under Sun Yatsen soon led to the formation of the GMD. In March 1912, Sun Yatsen abdicated in favour of Yuan Shikai. In April, The Guomin Dang (GMD) was formed with Sun Yatsen as its leader. After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, his former subordinates seized power in provinces, refusing to acknowledge the central government's authority. This began the Warlord period in China. The Treaty of Versailles caused further humiliation to the Chinese, giving German concessions in China to Japan instead of returning them to China. This led to student demonstrations on May 4th, 1919. In 1925, Jiang Jieshi took control of the GMD and waged war against the warlords. Among members of the GMD were Communists such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. However, Jiang still believed the Communists endangered his authority. After taking Shanghai, he turned on the strikers, killing many and their Communist leaders. In 1928, Jiang was able to sufficiently overcome the warlords to take Beijing and create a central government in Nanjing. Jiang also created a stable currency, but the Japanese still remained in control of Manchuria.
Mao's rise in the Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed in 1921, with encouragement from the USSR's Comintern. Even though the CCP wasn't headed by Mao at that time, he was one of the 12 members that attended the 1st National Congress of the party. After Jiang Jieshi broke the alliance with the CCP during 1927, Mao believed that revolution would succeed if established in the peasant classes. Therefore, Mao tried in 1927 to establish the revolution in Hunan, when it was put down Mao was forced to move into the mountains of Jinggangshan. This is where he formed the Red Army. The success of the Red Army came from how the soldiers were treated. Ranks had to obey the officers orders, but Mao and the officers would go through the same hardships as the ranks. Lower ranks were not allowed to be beaten, unlike the GMD army which used force to fill their ranks with peasants. Even though conditions for soldiers in the Red Army were better, the GMD still had superior firepower over the CCP. This led to the CCP resorting to guerrilla tactics. Small groups of soldiers would disguise themselves as villagers, then attack the GMD's army when they least suspected it. In 1929, Mao formed the Jiangxi Soviet. He encouraged land redistribution, even telling peasants to kill their richer landlords. In 1930, after a failure to stop the CCP, the GMD surrounded the CCP stronghold. This forced Mao to escape through the Long March. This brought the CCP from Hunan to Shanxi in the North, where Mao re-established CCP rule in Yan'an. This was also where he began implementing self criticism campaigns.
When Japanese forces invaded China in 1937
When Japanese forces invaded China in 1937