This Day in History: 16 October 2020
16 October 1934
86 years ago, today, the Long March between the Nationalists and the Chinese Communists began. Beginning at 5:00pm, they confused the Nationalists with their secrecy and rear-guard actions, so that it was several weeks before they realised that the Red Army had fled. This retreating force initially consisted of 86,000 troops, and marchedat night, when the enemy was not near. However, the first disaster came in November, when the Nationalists blocked the Communists' route across the Hsiang River, but they were able to overcome it. After enduring starvation, and aerial bombardment, Mao halted his army at the Great Wall of China a year later, ending the Long March.
The Chinese Civil War had begun between the Nationalists and Communists in 1927. Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Communists employed guerrilla tactics to resist successfully the first four campaigns. However, in the fifth, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalists, raised 700,000 troops to resist the communists. The Long March was the longest continuous march in the history of warfare and marked the emergence of Mao Zedong as the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communists. The Chinese Civil War resumed in 1945, and four years later, the Nationalists were defeated. Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China and served as its chairman until his death in 1976.
No comments:
Post a Comment