 This resulted in great casualties for his Northeast Army, which received no support in manpower or weaponry from Chiang Kai-shek.On December 12, 1936, a deeply disgruntled Zhang Xueliang kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an, hoping to force an end to the conflict between KMT and CPC.To secure the release of Chiang, the KMT agreed to a temporary end to the Chinese Civil War and, on December 24, the creation of a United Front between the CPC and KMT against Japan.