This article is about the 1927 massacre. For the 1925 massacre, see May Thirtieth Movement.
1927 killings of Chinese Communist Party members and alleged sympathizers by the Kuomintang
Shanghai massacre
Communists being rounded up during the purges
Date
12 April – 15 April 1927
Location
Shanghai, China
Result
Split within the Kuomintang
End of the First United Front
Start of Autumn Harvest Uprising
Belligerents
Republic of China
Kuomintang
Green Gang
Chinese Communist Party
Left Kuomintang
Commanders and leaders
Chiang Kai-shek (NRA commander-in-chief) Bai Chongxi (NRA commander in Shanghai) Du Yuesheng (Green Gang leader)
Chen Duxiu (CCP general secretary) Zhou Enlai
Units involved
Republic of China Army; Green Gang and other Shanghai gangs
Chinese Communist Party; Kuomintang leftists; Shanghai labor union militias
Strength
Approx. 5,000 soldiers of the 2nd Division of the 26th Army and members of various gangs
Thousands from labor union militias
Casualties and losses
Minimal
5,000[1]–10,000[2] killed
Shanghai massacre
Traditional Chinese
四一二事件
Transcriptions
Alternative name
Traditional Chinese
四一二清黨
Simplified Chinese
四一二清党
Transcriptions
Alternative name（2）
Traditional Chinese
東南清黨
Simplified Chinese
东南清党
Transcriptions
Alternative name（3）
Traditional Chinese
四一二清黨
Simplified Chinese
四一二清党
Transcriptions
Alternative name（4）
Traditional Chinese
四一二慘案
Simplified Chinese
四一二惨案
Transcriptions
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The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces supporting General Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party or KMT). Following the incident, conservative KMT elements carried out a full-scale purge of communists in all areas under their control, and violent suppression occurred in Guangzhou and Changsha.[3] The purge led to an open split between left-wing and right-wing factions in the KMT, with Chiang Kai-shek establishing himself as the leader of the right-wing faction based in Nanjing, in opposition to the original left-wing KMT government based in Wuhan, which was led by Wang Jingwei.
By 15 July 1927, the Wuhan regime had expelled the Communists in its ranks, effectively ending the First United Front, a working alliance of both the KMT and CCP under the tutelage of Comintern agents. For the rest of 1927, the CCP would fight to regain power, beginning the Autumn Harvest Uprising. With the failure and the crushing of the Guangzhou Uprising at Guangzhou however, the power of the Communists was largely diminished, unable to launch another major urban offensive.[4]
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