The Long March: CCP Escapes Nationalist Encirclement
October 1934 – October 1935 · 20th Century
In October 1934, approximately 86,000 Chinese Communist Party soldiers and officials broke through Nationalist encirclement in Jiangxi province to escape Chiang Kai-shek's forces. The Red Army retreated 6,000 miles across 18 mountain ranges and 24 rivers, fighting Nationalist troops throughout the journey. During the Zunyi Conference in January 1935, Mao Zedong gained control of party leadership. By October 1935, only 8,000 survivors reached Shaanxi province. The retreat prevented the CCP's destruction and provided a foundation story that attracted new recruits in the late 1930s.
Key Figures
Mao ZedongChiang Kai-shek
Locations
Shaanxi
Topics
communismChinaChinese Civil WarRed Army
Connected Events — 2 Connections
The Long March relocated the CCP to Yan'an, where Japan's 1937 invasion forced a fragile CCP-Nationalist alliance that ultimately strengthened the Communists' position Second Sino-Japanese War Begins; Nanjing Massacre
The CCP's 1921 founding set in motion the revolutionary movement that Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists nearly destroyed, forcing the desperate 6,000-mile Long March retreat in 1934 Chinese Communist Party founded
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