Jiangxi Soviet

The Long March

The Long March was the greatest event in Chinese history and the most extreme feat attempted by the People of China. Lead by Mao Zedong, it tells a story of China’s most supreme army (The Red Army), and how they were able to survive under the most life-threatening dangers of nature, accompanied by the difficulties that Chiang Kai-Shek, the leader of the Guomindang, imposed. The whole event is split into four great obstacles which clash with the Red Army.

Escape From the Jiangxi Soviet

During the cooperation between the Guomindang and the Communists, there began a hunt for power which split the two. The start of the Long March commenced at Jiangxi Soviet, where the Communists had set up their main base for the First Red Army. The Guomindang had decided to launch five extermination campaigns to wipe out the communists, under the command of their leader, Chiang Kai-Shek. Whilst Mao Zedong's guerilla tactics managed for the Red Army to survive the first four campaigns, he was taken over by Otto Braun, a Russian agent, who led the army into complete annihilation. By then the communists were surrounded in a circle and completely cut off from their other Red Armies across China.

Otto Braun, a man who didn’t know anything about winning strategies, tried to break through the blockade of Guomindang soldiers, and ended up losing nearly ¾ of the Red Army. The Guomindang victory seemed close, until Mao was reinstated and he began the greatest feat, hence the commencement of the Long March.

Crossing the Dadu River

While Mao had decided to try and reach their extra troops stationed near Shaanxi province in Northern China, it was not easy to complete. The Dadu River, in the middle of their route, was the most successful accomplishment that Mao had managed. Whilst the river itself was too wide to be crossed by boats – it would take hours to cross, and nationalist air and land attacks had to be accounted for – Mao saw the Luding bridge as the road which would...