In April 1927, the National Revolutionary Army reached Shanghai which had a large majority of Communists. Chiang Kai-shek was determined to rid China from Soviet influence and tore through the city, arrested and executed known members of the Communist Party, and purged the government of them. As many as 12,000 people were killed. This event is known as the Shanghai massacre.

Chiang didn't stop there, however. He initiated a large-scale massacre throughout all of China, known as the White Terror. Over 300,000 people were killed, and blood ran thick in the streets. The Communists who were still left in China mostly moved into rural districts where the Kuomintang wasn't present.