The Chinese Civil War was a long conflict fought between the Kuomintang (KMT), or Nationalist Party, and the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The KMT was led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the CPC was led by Mao Zedong.

The war was interrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War (part of WWII), during which the two sides formed an uneasy alliance to fight Japan.

The civil war resumed in full force after the defeat of Japan in 1945.

The Communists were ultimately victorious due to several factors.

The CPC gained widespread support from the peasantry by promising land reform.

The KMT government was plagued by corruption and economic mismanagement, leading to hyperinflation.

Mao Zedong's guerrilla warfare tactics proved highly effective against the KMT's conventional forces.

In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of the KMT forces fled to the island of Taiwan.

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China in Beijing.