established a defensible base in Yanan

developed a good foundation for successful propaganda

used the Long March to claim that their ideology won patriotic support

Mao's leadership showed that the war was a national struggle and that all classes should cooperate.

effective communication of communist ideas

skilled spies in the GMD who infiltrated CCP to gather information

CCP implements land reform in rural areas

maintained strict discipline of troops, assisting peasants with harvests

ensured fair distribution of food nad supplies

lack of morale

poor leadership

Jiang's serious mistakes: focusing his resources on Manchuria, even though it's far from his real base.

couldn't counter the CCP guerrilla strategies

JJ resists democratic change

GMD becomes repressive

Jiang's policies prioritizing the defeat of the CCP and the upper class alienated liberals and middle-class workers.

failed to win mass support from workers/peasants

GMD was corrupt and inefficient

the taxation system was unfair, burdened peasants

failed to control rampant inflation = devastated Jiang's main support base, the middle class

introduced a new currency in 1948 + implemented rationing, but too late to initiate that change (the economy under GMD collapsed by 1949)