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The Long March - Starts
With 160,000 CCP soldiers continually being battered by the National party the leaders decided that fleeing from the enemy would be the best thing to do. The Nationalists were getting help from ex WW1 veteran Hans Von Seeckt and were completely outnumbered and surrounded meaning they had nowhere to go. To escape the encirclement the rearguard tricked the KMT into thinking they had trapped them. With little planning, supplies this march mainly carried out on foot was death to most that went. -
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The Long March
The long march was a plan devised by the communist red army that was led by a mix of Bo Gu and Otto Braun. It was 60,000km long march that was taken out by the Communist parties in a bid to escape the Chinese National Party. -
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The Long March - Battle of the Xiang River
In the crossing of this river the CCP lost 40,000 soldiers in just 2 days. It was the greatest single loss throughout The Long March. Many CCP also defected to the Nationalists during this time or deserted the CCP. -
The long March - Crossing the Mountains
With mountains of up to 5,000m high and the Red Army not equipped for that kind of terrain many suffered up in the mountains. It has been described by those that did it as the worst part of the long march due to a combination of factors. With low oxygen concentration, altitude sickness, exposure, frostbite, avalanches, falls and other injuries thousands of the red army soldiers died crossing the mountain. -
The Long March - The Marshes
Taking a week to complete this was the deadliest part of the long march. With exhaustion, malnutrition and drowning few soldiers made it through. As veteran Xie Vei says on Alpha History it was a deadly place where if you helped you were killed.
https://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/long-march/ -
Zunyi Conference
After such great losses at the Xiang River the CCP decided to regroup and come up with new tactics. The leaders at the time of the river crossing also known as the 28 Bolsheviks were replaced with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Wang Jiaxiang. -
The Long March - Battle of the Luding Bridge
The Luding Bridge crosses the Dadu River and was the spot for a fierce battle. A chain bridge was the only way to get across the gorge that had a raging river below. One false move and they would fall hundreds of meters into the raging torrent below. It is debated how many actually died. Some say as few of 17 but others count much more. -
The Long March - Ends
With a loss of around 145,000 lives on The Long March only 15,000 actually made it to safety in the province of Shaanxi. -
Proclamation of the PRC
Mao Zedong stood at the Tiananmen Gate Tower and proclaimed to a new generation of Chinese people that the CPC was becoming the PRC or the People's Republic of China. -
Agrarian Reform Laws
This set of laws was the law that made legal the confiscating of land and redistribution to the peasants in China. It was in a bid for an agricultural uprising and social reform as the CPC had promised to the peasants they would get a plot of land each which ultimately came from the landlords they worked for. -
Introduction of the Marriage Laws
The marriage laws were introduced to right the wrongs of the KMT and introduce equality in the Chinese people. It prohibited child betrothal and interference of marriage. It also introduced laws that allowed for gender equality, free choice of partners, respect for the old and care for the young. -
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Campaign to Suppress Counter Revoloution
The Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries was the first political campaign launched by the People's Republic of China designed to eradicate opposition elements, especially former Kuomintang functionaries accused of trying to undermine the new Chinese Communist Party government. -
Sino-Soviet Treaty
This treaty was one that aligned the thoughts of those in the Soviet Union and those in China. It was a treaty between the two communist countries that allowed China to grow and prosper after 22 years of civil war and not fail as teh KMT had done. -
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Koren War
This war was fought by the Chinese on the side of communist Korea as the Americans were backing the other side meaning if they won it would have been a threat to mainland China. It started with China funding North Korea but before long they were sending over arms and troops to help win the war. -
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Antis Campaign
It was a campaign to get rid of corruption, waste and bureaucracy in China. This campaign was aimed at the capitalist officials and in reducing the amount of opposition that Mao Zedong had. By introducing the Antis campaign Mao essentially was ridding China of any politicians that weren't of communist belief and creating a country where everyone was focused on the same goal and outcome. -
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First 5 Year Plan
The first 5-year plan was aimed to rapidly increase industrial expansion with the help of Soviet funding. It was a highly successful plan that lead to the constant development of further 5 year plans. -
Death of Stalin
The death of Stalin in the Soviet Union created tension in China as Nikita Khrushchev took over and was did not believe in communism as strong as Stalin the relationship between the two countries broke down. -
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100 Flowers Campaign
This was when Mao Zedong and the communist party encouraged members of the party as well as civilians to state their true thought about the PRC. It was mainly aimed at writers, intellectuals, and his political counterparts. His reason for this was, "Let 100 flowers bloom and let 100 schools of thought contend"