Editing Long March (section)

{{Short description|1934–1936 Red Army retreat during the Chinese Civil War}}
{{Other uses|Long March (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Changzheng}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| partof            = [[Chinese Civil War]]
| image             = Map of the Long March 1934-1935-en.svg
| image_size        = 280px
| caption           = '''Overview map'''<br /> Light red areas show Communist enclaves. Areas marked by a blue "X" were overrun by Kuomintang forces during the [[Fourth Encirclement Campaign]], forcing the Fourth (north) and Second (south) Red Armies to retreat westward (dotted lines). The heavy dashed line is the route of the First Red Army from [[Jiangxi]]. The withdrawal of all three Red Armies ends in the northeast enclave of Shaanxi.{{infobox clutter|date=August 2024}}
| date              = 16 October 1934{{snd}}19 October 1935 {{nwr|(1 year, 3 days)}}{{efn|Dates correspond to First Red Army}}
| place             = [[South Central China|Southern]], [[Southwestern China|Southwestern]], and [[Northwestern China]]
| result            = Communists evade Nationalist armies and allied warlords
| combatant1        = {{flagdeco|ROC}} [[Nationalist government|Nationalist China]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of China Army.svg}} [[National Revolutionary Army]]
* Allied warlords
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|Second War Flag of Chinese Soviet Republic.svg}} [[Chinese Red Army]]
| commander1        = {{ubl
 | {{flagdeco|Republic of China}} [[Chiang Kai-shek]]
 | {{flagdeco|Republic of China}} [[Xue Yue]]
 | {{flagdeco|Republic of China}} [[Bai Chongxi]]
}}
| commander2        = {{ubl
 | {{flagdeco|Chinese Soviet Republic}} [[Mao Zedong]]
 | {{flagdeco|Chinese Soviet Republic}} [[Zhu De]]
 | {{flagdeco|Chinese Soviet Republic}} [[Zhou Enlai]]
 | {{flagdeco|Chinese Soviet Republic}} [[Peng Dehuai]]
 | {{flagdeco|Chinese Soviet Republic}} [[Lin Biao]]
 | {{flagdeco|Chinese Soviet Republic}} [[Deng Xiaoping]]
 | {{flagicon image|Flag of the Communist Party of Germany.svg}} [[Otto Braun (communist)|Otto Braun]]
}}
| strength1         = Over 300,000
| strength2         =
;First Front Red Army
:69,000 (October 1934)
:7,000 (October 1935)
| notes = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes|headercolor=#C3D5EF
| s = 长征
| t = 長征
| p = Chángzhēng
| w = {{tonesup|Chʻang2-cheng1}}
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|ch|ang|2|zh|eng|1}}
| y = Chèuhng-jīng
| j = Coeng4-zing1
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|c|oeng|4|.|z|ing|1}}
| tl = Tiông-ting
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Chinese Civil War}}
The '''Long March''' ({{lang-zh|s=长征|p=Chángzhēng|l=Long Expedition}}) was a military retreat by the [[Chinese Red Army]] and [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) from advancing [[Kuomintang]] forces during the [[Chinese Civil War]], occurring between October 1934 and October 1935. About 100,000 troops retreated from the [[Jiangxi Soviet]] and other bases to a new headquarters in [[Yan'an]], [[Shaanxi]], traversing some {{convert|10000|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=off}}. About 8,000 troops ultimately survived the Long March.

After the defeat of the Red Army in [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s [[Fifth encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet|Fifth Encirclement Campaign]], on 10 October 1934 the CCP decided to abandon its Jiangxi Soviet and headquarters in [[Ruijin]], Jiangxi. The [[First Front Red Army]] of some 86,000 troops headed west, traveling over the rugged terrain of China's western provinces, including eastern [[Tibet]]. The Red Army broke several of Chiang's blockades with heavy losses, and by the time it crossed the [[Xiang River]] on 1 December had only 36,000 men left. Its leaders, including [[Communist International|Comintern]] military adviser [[Otto Braun (communist)|Otto Braun]] and Moscow-trained [[Bo Gu]], decided to take the troops through [[Hunan]], but Chiang set up defenses to block their way. [[Mao Zedong]], who was not a member of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|Politburo]], suggested going through [[Guizhou]] instead, which was accepted. On New Year's Day 1935, the Red Army crossed the [[Wu River (Yangtze tributary)|Wu River]], and a week later held the [[Zunyi Conference]], which reduced Soviet influence in the Politburo and established Mao's position as ''[[de facto]]'' leader.

Employing [[guerrilla warfare]], Mao maneuvered to avoid direct confrontation with Chiang's forces and led the Red Army out of encirclements by local warlords. The First Front Army met the Fourth Front Army, led by [[Zhang Guotao]], in Maogong, [[Sichuan]]; they disagreed on the route to take to Yan'an and split up. The First Front Army arrived in Yan'an on 19 October 1935 with about 8,000 survivors, ending the Long March. The Fourth Front Army was largely destroyed by Chiang and [[Ma clique]] attacks, and its remnants joined the Second Front Army led by [[He Long]]. All three armies met on 22 October 1936.

Mao's leadership during the retreat brought him immense prestige and support among many within the otherwise-shattered Communist Party. It marked the beginning of his long ascent to primacy, and would be featured heavily in his public image, through the founding of the [[People's Republic of China|People's Republic]].