1934 : The Long March
The embattled Chinese Communists break through Nationalist enemy lines
and begin an epic flight from their encircled headquarters in
southwest China. Known as Ch'ang Cheng--the "Long March"--the retreat
lasted 368 days and covered 6,000 miles, nearly twice the distance
from New York to San Francisco.
Civil war in China between the Nationalists and the Communists broke
out in 1927. In 1931, Communist leader Mao Zedong was elected chairman
of the newly established Soviet Republic of China, based in Kiangsi
province in the southwest. Between 1930 and 1934, the Nationalists
under Chiang Kai-shek launched a series of five encirclement campaigns
against the Soviet Republic. Under the leadership of Mao, the
Communists employed guerrilla tactics to resist successfully the first
four campaigns, but in the fifth, Chiang raised 700,000 troops and
built fortifications around the Communist positions. Hundreds of
thousands of peasants were killed or died of starvation in the siege,
and Mao was removed as chairman by the Communist Central Committee.
The new Communist leadership employed more conventional warfare
tactics, and its Red Army was decimated.
With defeat imminent, the Communists decided to break out of the
encirclement at its weakest points. The Long March began at 5:00 p.m.
on October 16, 1934. Secrecy and rear-guard actions confused the
Nationalists, and it was several weeks before they realized that the
main body of the Red Army had fled. The retreating force initially
consisted of 86,000 troops, 15,000 personnel, and 35 women. Weapons
and supplies were borne on men's backs or in horse-drawn carts, and
the line of marchers stretched for 50 miles. The Communists generally
marched at night, and when the enemy was not near, a long column of
torches could be seen snaking over valleys and hills into the
distance.
The first disaster came in November, when Nationalist forces blocked
the Communists' route across the Hsiang River. It took a week for the
Communists to break through the fortifications and cost them 50,000
men--more than half their number. After that debacle, Mao steadily
regained his influence, and in January he was again made chairman
during a meeting of the party leaders in the captured city of Tsuni.
Mao changed strategy, breaking his force into several columns that
would take varying paths to confuse the enemy. There would be no more
direct assaults on enemy positions. And the destination would now be
Shensi Province, in the far northwest, where the Communists hoped to
fight the Japanese invaders and earn the respect of China's masses.
After enduring starvation, aerial bombardment, and almost daily
skirmishes with Nationalist forces, Mao halted his columns at the foot
of the Great Wall of China on October 20, 1935. Waiting for them were
five machine-gun- and red-flag-bearing horsemen. "Welcome, Chairman
Mao," one said. "We represent the Provincial Soviet of Northern
Shensi. We have been waiting for you anxiously. All that we have is at
your disposal!" The Long March was over.
The Communist marchers crossed 24 rivers and 18 mountain ranges,
mostly snow-capped. Only 4,000 troops completed the journey. The
majority of those who did not perished. It 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. Learning of the
Communists' heroism and determination in the Long March, thousands of
young Chinese traveled to Shensi to enlist in Mao's Red Army. After
fighting the Japanese for a decade, the Chinese Civil War resumed in
1945. Four years later, the Nationalists were defeated, and Mao
proclaimed the People's Republic of China. He served as chairman until
his death in 1976.
history.com/tdih.do
1793 : Marie-Antoinette is beheaded
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5441
1946 : Nazi war criminals executed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5442
1991 : Handguns in Texas
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5443
#########################################
The embattled Chinese Communists break through Nationalist enemy lines
and begin an epic flight from their encircled headquarters in
southwest China. Known as Ch'ang Cheng--the "Long March"--the retreat
lasted 368 days and covered 6,000 miles, nearly twice the distance
from New York to San Francisco.
Civil war in China between the Nationalists and the Communists broke
out in 1927. In 1931, Communist leader Mao Zedong was elected chairman
of the newly established Soviet Republic of China, based in Kiangsi
province in the southwest. Between 1930 and 1934, the Nationalists
under Chiang Kai-shek launched a series of five encirclement campaigns
against the Soviet Republic. Under the leadership of Mao, the
Communists employed guerrilla tactics to resist successfully the first
four campaigns, but in the fifth, Chiang raised 700,000 troops and
built fortifications around the Communist positions. Hundreds of
thousands of peasants were killed or died of starvation in the siege,
and Mao was removed as chairman by the Communist Central Committee.
The new Communist leadership employed more conventional warfare
tactics, and its Red Army was decimated.
With defeat imminent, the Communists decided to break out of the
encirclement at its weakest points. The Long March began at 5:00 p.m.
on October 16, 1934. Secrecy and rear-guard actions confused the
Nationalists, and it was several weeks before they realized that the
main body of the Red Army had fled. The retreating force initially
consisted of 86,000 troops, 15,000 personnel, and 35 women. Weapons
and supplies were borne on men's backs or in horse-drawn carts, and
the line of marchers stretched for 50 miles. The Communists generally
marched at night, and when the enemy was not near, a long column of
torches could be seen snaking over valleys and hills into the
distance.
The first disaster came in November, when Nationalist forces blocked
the Communists' route across the Hsiang River. It took a week for the
Communists to break through the fortifications and cost them 50,000
men--more than half their number. After that debacle, Mao steadily
regained his influence, and in January he was again made chairman
during a meeting of the party leaders in the captured city of Tsuni.
Mao changed strategy, breaking his force into several columns that
would take varying paths to confuse the enemy. There would be no more
direct assaults on enemy positions. And the destination would now be
Shensi Province, in the far northwest, where the Communists hoped to
fight the Japanese invaders and earn the respect of China's masses.
After enduring starvation, aerial bombardment, and almost daily
skirmishes with Nationalist forces, Mao halted his columns at the foot
of the Great Wall of China on October 20, 1935. Waiting for them were
five machine-gun- and red-flag-bearing horsemen. "Welcome, Chairman
Mao," one said. "We represent the Provincial Soviet of Northern
Shensi. We have been waiting for you anxiously. All that we have is at
your disposal!" The Long March was over.
The Communist marchers crossed 24 rivers and 18 mountain ranges,
mostly snow-capped. Only 4,000 troops completed the journey. The
majority of those who did not perished. It 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. Learning of the
Communists' heroism and determination in the Long March, thousands of
young Chinese traveled to Shensi to enlist in Mao's Red Army. After
fighting the Japanese for a decade, the Chinese Civil War resumed in
1945. Four years later, the Nationalists were defeated, and Mao
proclaimed the People's Republic of China. He served as chairman until
his death in 1976.
history.com/tdih.do
1793 : Marie-Antoinette is beheaded
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5441
1946 : Nazi war criminals executed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5442
1991 : Handguns in Texas
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5443
#########################################
No comments:
Post a Comment