The Long March established Mao Zedong's leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and enabled its survival to eventually found the People's Republic of China.
Key Facts
- Duration
- October 1934 – October 1935
- Distance traveled
- approximately 10,000 km
- Initial troop strength
- 86,000 troops
- Survivors upon arrival
- approximately 8,000 troops
- Zunyi Conference
- January 1935, established Mao as de facto leader
- Final destination
- Yan'an, Shaanxi
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Chiang Kai-shek's Fifth Encirclement Campaign, the Chinese Red Army suffered decisive defeat and could no longer hold its Jiangxi Soviet base. On 10 October 1934, the CCP abandoned its headquarters in Ruijin, Jiangxi, and approximately 86,000 troops began moving westward to escape encircling Nationalist forces and find a defensible new base of operations.
The Red Army conducted a year-long fighting retreat of roughly 10,000 kilometres across rugged western Chinese terrain, breaking through several Kuomintang blockades with heavy casualties. The pivotal Zunyi Conference in January 1935 reduced Soviet Comintern influence and elevated Mao Zedong to de facto leadership. The First Front Army arrived in Yan'an on 19 October 1935 with around 8,000 survivors, concluding the march.
The Long March preserved the Chinese Communist Party's core leadership and military force, allowing regroupment in Yan'an. Mao's conduct during the retreat earned him lasting prestige within the party. The episode became a central founding myth of the People's Republic of China, proclaimed in 1949, and cemented Mao's political primacy for decades.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Mao Zedong, Bo Gu, Otto Braun, Zhang Guotao, He Long.
Side B
1 belligerent
Chiang Kai-shek.