<P> The Chinese Civil War was a war fought between the Kuomintang ( KMT ) - led government of the Republic of China and the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) . Although particular attention is paid to the four years of Chinese Communist Revolution from 1945 to 1949 , the war actually started in August 1927 , with the White Terror at the end of Generalissimo Chiang Kai - shek 's Northern Expedition , and essentially ended when major hostilities between the two sides ceased in 1950 . The conflict took place in two stages : the first between 1927 and 1937 , and the second from 1946 to 1950 , with the Second Sino - Japanese War in 1937 -- 1945 separating them . The war marked a major turning point in modern Chinese history , with the Communists gaining control of mainland China and establishing the People 's Republic of China ( PRC ) in 1949 and forced the Republic of China ( ROC ) to retreat to Taiwan . It resulted in a lasting political and military standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait , with the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC on mainland China with both officially claiming to be the legitimate government of all China . </P>
<P> The Chinese Civil War was a war fought between the Kuomintang ( KMT ) - led government of the Republic of China and the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) . Although particular attention is paid to the four years of Chinese Communist Revolution from 1945 to 1949 , the war actually started in August 1927 , with the White Terror at the end of Generalissimo Chiang Kai - shek 's Northern Expedition , and essentially ended when major hostilities between the two sides ceased in 1950 . The conflict took place in two stages : the first between 1927 and 1937 , and the second from 1946 to 1950 , with the Second Sino - Japanese War in 1937 -- 1945 separating them . The war marked a major turning point in modern Chinese history , with the Communists gaining control of mainland China and establishing the People 's Republic of China ( PRC ) in 1949 and forced the Republic of China ( ROC ) to retreat to Taiwan . It resulted in a lasting political and military standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait , with the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC on mainland China with both officially claiming to be the legitimate government of all China . </P>
describe the two phases of civil war in china
describe the two phases of civil war in china
White Terror Second Sino - Japanese War
White Terror Second Sino - Japanese War