"A selection of over 200 archive photographs, most of which have not been published before, depict the battle for power that took place across the breadth of the country. The armies, air forces and navies of the opposing sides are shown in a series of graphic images, as is the ordeal of the long-suffering Chinese civilians who were caught up in a conflict that cost millions of lives"--Back cover.

"Rare photographs from wartime archives"--Cover.

Introduction -- 1. Unreal peace, 1945-6 -- 2. The fighting begins, 1946 -- 3. Nationalist ascendancy, 1947 -- 4. The cockpit of Asia, Manchuria, 1947 -- 5. The Nationalists lose Manchuria, 1948 -- 6. Natonalist decline, January-October 1948 -- 7. The Huai-Hai challenge, November 1948-January 1949 -- 8. Nationalists in despair, December 1948-April 1949 -- 9. Fall of the north: Nationalist defeat in northern China, 1948-9 -- 10. The fall of Shanghai, 25 May 1949 -- 11. The long retreat: Nationalist defeats, 1949 -- 12. Communist victory: the fall of the south, 1949 -- 13. The aftermath, 1950-4.