1150 Ch. 28 • The Cold War and the End of European Empires

In Greece, the departure of German troops led to a bloody civil war tha
lasted until 1949, pitting Greek Communists against an alliance of force:
that supported the monarchy. The Soviet Union held to an agreement made
with Churchill in 1944 not to intervene militarily, but it provided the Com
munists with considerable material assistance. The United States an<
Britain aided the monarchist forces, who finally prevailed in 1949 and ther
banned the Communist Party.
The Cold War soon reached Asia. Japan’s defeat left China divide(
between the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek (1887—1975)
which held the south, and the forces of the Communist leader Mao Zedonj
(1893-1976). In the civil war that followed, Mao’s Communist forces grad
ually pushed the nationalist forces out of China. In full retreat by 1949
Chiang Kai-shek's army occupied the large island of Formosa (Taiwan)
There Chiang established a government that claimed to represent all o
China. On the mainland, Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China
The Soviet Union quickly recognized the new, giant Communist state, whih
the United States recognized the nationalist government of Taiwan a
China’s legitimate government. In the atmosphere of the Cold War, th«
United States and its allies worried they would be facing a unified Commu
nist front that included China.

People in Beijing welcome Chinese Communist forces, 1949. Note the portrait o

Mao Zedong in the center.