The Long March

On October 22, 1936 -- 72 years ago today -- one of the most successful retreats in military or political history ended when the three Communist armies trying to gain control of China reunited in Shaanxi...

During the 1930's China was under the control of the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party, a pro-Western government led by General Chiang Kai-shek. In 1931 Mao Zedong and his comrade Zhu De launched the Soviet Republic of China, or Chinese Soviet Republic, in Jiangxi, southern China.

In 1934 General Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces -- a relatively well-equipped professional army -- had surrounded the rag-tag Communist guerrilla forces. The Kuomintang/Nationalist (KMT) forces baited the communists into engaging in fixed battles, in which they were vastly outmatched and soundly defeated. The destruction of Mao's forces and the end of the civil war was near:

In August 1934, with the Red Army depleted by the prolonged conflict, a spy placed by Zhou Enlai in the KMT army headquarters in Nanchang brought news that Chiang Kai-shek was preparing a major offensive against the Communist capital, Ruijin. The Communist leadership decided on a strategic retreat to regroup with other Communist units, and to avoid annihilation. The original plan was to link up with the Second Red Army commanded by He Long, thought to be in Hubei to the west and north. Communications between divided groups of the Red Army had been disrupted by the Kuomintang campaign, and during the planning to evacuate Jiangxi, the First Red Army was unaware that these other Communist forces were also retreating westward.

More than 100,000 communist troops broke up into three armies to fight and maneuver through the KMT forces. The completed the breakout and moved along different routes. Mao's force moved through some of the most difficult terrain in China, including mountain ranges, swamps and arid grasslands. According to Mao they covered almost 8,000 miles in 370 days, but modern researchers put the distance at closer to 3,700 miles (still impressive). A few years ago some British researchers walked the route and completed the 3,700 mile route in 384 days. When he arrived in Shaanxi only 25,000 troops remained. Months later the other two Communist forces rejoined Mao -- the "Union of the Three Armies" -- on October 22, 1936.

click to enlarge the map:

While the Long March was technically a Long Retreat, it ultimately led to victory. Along the route Mao's forces "bonded" with peasants across the country, many of whom followed the Red Army (willingly or not is unclear). Mao also eliminated his rivals in the Communist hierarchy and consolidated his power. When the three armies reunited they were out of the reach of the KMT forces far in the south, and were able to critically regroup, build support among the peasants and receive aid from international Communist sympathizers.