Evaluate the impact of the First United Front on the Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of the First United Front on the Guomindang (GMD) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), weighing up the strengths and limitations. Candidates may offer equal coverage of the GMD and the CCP, or they may prioritize their evaluation of one. However, both aspects will be a feature of the response. Candidates may refer to the military advice and equipment the GMD received from the Comintern and how under their influence it became a more disciplined and organised party. The GMD was also able to use CCP support amongst the peasantry to eliminate the warlords and to increase their control. The CCP also benefited from the First United Front as they gained support from the peasants during the Northern Expedition. Candidates may refer to the White Terror and the Encirclement Campaigns as examples of the negative impact the United Front had on the CCP. Both strengths and limitations must be clearly indicated but there does not need to be an equal focus on each.