The Chinese Civil War (simplified Chinese: 国共内战; traditional Chinese: 國共內戰; pinyin: Guó-Gòng Nèizhàn) was a civil war in China fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China, and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China (CPC). The war began in August 1927, with Chiang Kai-Shek's Northern Expedition, and essentially ended when major active battles ceased in 1950.