20th October 1935: The 6,000 mile Long March by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China

The communists had been fighting a Civil War against the nationalist Kuomintang since 1927 and, by 1934, the Jiangxi Soviet was surrounded by Chiang Kai-shek’s anti-Communist troops. Facing certain starvation if the siege was allowed to continue, the communists opted to abandon the Soviet in a controlled breakout that began on 16 October 1934.

Numbering nearly 100,000 people, the fleeing Red Army faced almost daily assaults from the Nationalists as they struggled north on a year-long journey that covered up to sixteen miles a day. Although the primary aim of the march was to establish a safe base away from Nationalist interference, the Long March also served as a useful propaganda tool as Red Army troops came into direct contact with the local peasantry. The Eight Points of Attention, a set of orders for the good behaviour of troops, was central to this. The Eight Points ensured that the Red Army treated peasants with respect and gratitude, in stark contrast to the Nationalists who were known to confiscate property and supplies.

Although the three armies involved in the march didn’t fully unite until two days after the arrival of the first troops, their journey to the foot of the Great Wall marked the successful end of the Red Army’s flight to safety.

It was during the Long March that Mao Zedong emerged as the best person to lead the Chinese Communist Party, and his survival alongside less than 10% of the original troops mythologised him and reinforced his authority.