Darejan's+response

The victory of the Chinese Communist Party occurred due to a variety of factors. These were, the effective leadership of Mao versus the increasingly ineffective leadership of Chiang kaishek, the military success of the CCP, the Communists achieving civilian support le and the inflation and economic collapse during the Nationalist regime. All can be considered to be contributing factors to the CCP's eventual victory and the simultaneous collapse of the Nationalist regime. 
 * Assess the reasons for the Communist victory: **

Initially, the victory of the CCP can be said to be due to the variation in the quality of leadership displayed by Mao and Chiang. Mao had inspired confidence in his ability to lead in both his officers and the Chinese people during the long march of 1934-35. The Long March had not only inspired confidence in the personality of Mao as a leader but it also resulted in the formation of comradery between himself and leaders such as Zhu De and Lin Bao. Although the foundation for effective leadership may have been laid before the civil war; it was Mao’s prowess as a leader which allowed for such an opportunity to be seized contributing to the victory of the CCP. Whilst maintaining overall control he gave considerable freedom to his commanders in the field. Such freedom allowed officers to actively respond to situations as they arose without being confined to rigid, inflexible plans as was the case with the nationalists. Chiang’s inflexibility and tendency to interfere with the leadership of his generals even when he was unable to appreciate the precise conditions of the battlefield significantly reduced the success of the Nationalists in battle. It can thus be seen that the leadership policies of the two varied greatly in form and those of Mao proved to aid the CCP cause and Chiang’s hindered that of the nationalists. 

Another factor that can be said to have contributed to the communist victory is the military success of the CCP. Mao initially reverted to the Guerrilla tactics that he had devised to defend the Jiangxi soviet. In accordance with Mao’s policies, the armies retreats were orderly, they avoided major battles that would have resulted in casualties and the morale of the troops was kept high with a sung philosophy by Mao himself. //‘ Keep men lose land,land can be taken again. Keep land, lose men, land and men both lost’. // In this way the CCP were able to double their forces to 2 million whilst forcing the GMD to stretch their men thin as they occupied more territory. By January 1948 the Communists had become strong enough to capture Shandong province and drive towards Nanjing. The later battle of Huaihai dealt the nationalists a fatal blow in numbers. Thus, the military success of the communists proved a factor in winning the civil war. 

Another factor was civilian support which the CCP was able to gain in contrast to the nationalists. The communists won over the peasantry who provided food, information and battlefield support for their forces. The entire peasantry of North China was mobilised for the war effort contributing directly to the military success of the CCP. By 1948 1.6 million peasants had joined the PLA indicating the CCP’s success to win the people.. The Shanghai journal captured the nationalists failure //‘... violent rise in prices due to erroneous financial policies are causing sounds of resentment everywhere amongst the urban population’. // This clearly reveals the extent to which the GMD had lost the support of the people which was a factor to the outcome of the civil war. 

Another contributing factor was **e** **conomic collapse and inflation In the Nationalist Regime which left the Chinese people in strife. T ** he peasants were left in poverty and others lost their savings. The nationalists lost support and this was a blow to the nationalist cause. In such a financial crisis discontentment with the current government was unsurprising. 

Thus it can be seen that the victory of the CCP can be attributed to various factors. The military success of the CCP, the economic deterioration and eventual collapse seen in the nationalist regime and the differences in the leadership capability of Chiang and Mao. The fact that these factors existed rendered the CCP the victors and the nationalists unsuccessful in the civil war.


 * A good response, you stated your argument clearly in the introduction and you made good use of primary sources, such as all the quotes used. Prehaps a little more detail in the economic collaspe paragraph would be good, though overall I though it was a good essay and that you express yourself well. = )

Really good essay, especially since it is very logically written under your chosen paragraph headings. Your quotes are also well integrated into the essay- so great work!!!!! **