Communist Boots Are Made For Walking - Mao‘s Long March | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1935 Part 3 of 4 - YouTube (1)

In 1935, a group of Chinese dissidents embark on an exhausting and dangerous Long March.

Their friends have been ousted from ruling positions, tortured and killed by the ruling

Nationalist party. They are looking to rebuild their ‘Red Area' from which they will

fight for their cause, while Nationalist leader Chiang Kai Shek still plans to eradicate them.

Led by Chairman Mao Zedong, they are the Chinese Communists, and they are hungry for power.

Welcome to Between-2-Wars a chronological summary of the interwar years, covering all

facets of life, the uncertainty, hedonism, and euphoria, and ultimately humanity's

descent into the darkness of the Second World War. I'm Indy Neidell.

The last time we covered China in a 1926 episode, Chiang Kai Shek had just seized control of

the Nationalist Party- the Kuomintang, and his rival Wang Jingwei was forced into exile.

China was far from unified, though Chiang was on the brink of finally pushing North

to conquer the northern warlords. But his government in the South still faced opposition

from within.

So, that is where we left off. The idea of a unified China is widely supported in many

circles. The Kuomintang, the Chinese Communists, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and the influential

Warlord Feng Yuxiang all support the unification of China.

Okay, in 1926, Chinese nationalism is not necessarily left-wing nor right-wing, but

rather a shared ideal supported by a multitude of ideological movements and individuals.

Though Chiang had gained control over the Kuomintang and purged the communist elements

from its leadership, he still enjoys the support of both Stalin and Feng Yuxiang. Chiang is

careful also not to alienate the Chinese Communists in general. After assuming power, he quickly

lifts martial law, releases communist prisoners and forbids right-wing demonstrations.

The Kuomintang Nationalists Army- the NRA- then does well from the start of the Nothern

Expedition, capturing Nanjing and Shanghai by April 1927.

The NRA, though, is not centrally organized, and is made out of loosely connected alliances

and military groups, all with their own interests. Other than a common national goal, the desire

to gain personal glory and increase power over other military groups within the NRA

are big motivators for those in command of the Nationalist Armies. With a lack of central

control, the Nationalists, the Communists, and the Soviets all attempt to control the

expedition. They grab every chance they can to boost their own position, and as the Northern

Expedition proved to be – against the expectations of many, a success, the internal struggle

only worsens. This all negatively affects the authority of Chiang Kai Shek as Commander-In-Chief

of the NRA, as other military figures get a lot of military prestige and power.

Still, much of China is now under Kuomintang control. But it is not at all clear who will

come out on top as winners and who will be the losers.

The KMT- Kuomintang- at this time is not only divided into factions of power-hungry militants,

it is also far from homogeneous when it comes to their ideology. The communists of the CCP

lost influence in its leadership, as I said, however, they are still more or less a part

of the Kuomintang.

And they see opportunities. The CCP- the Chinese Communist Party- starts searching for ways

to expand their influence over the KMT and China. But they too are divided amongst themselves.

Borodin, Stalin's adviser to the Kuomintang, wants to assert control over KMT institutions.

Communist Party founder and Chairman Chen Duxiu doesn't agree and believes that the

CCP should organize and arm radical labor and peasant movements. In the meantime, Chen

wants to provoke a division between the left-wing of the KMT, with among others Wang Jingwei

who has returned from exile, and the right-wing of the KMT, including Chiang Kai Shek - to

avoid the Kuomintang from ever uniting against the CCP.

Unfortunately for Duxiu, that is precisely what happens.

Before I go there, let me quickly explain why the CCP is so anxious not to offend the

Kuomintang too much. I mean, the Nationalists don't really envision a communist revolution

in China, right? Well... Yes and no. The KMT is first and foremost a nationalistic revolutionary

movement, something they share with the communists. In this sense, even Chiang Kai Shek sees himself

as a revolutionary - something he also played on to get support from the Soviet Union. But

more importantly, the CCP is nowhere near the military power that the Kuomintang with

its National Revolutionary Army is. Armed conflict with them is impossible; thus, the

CCP has to look for other ways to reach their goals.

A new effort to remove communists from the KMT is to be avoided at all costs and to eventually

strengthen their position, Chen Duxiu starts building up an armed wing of the CCP. He asks

the Soviets to support him with military supplies, but the Soviets deny this in fear of an armed

conflict between the two movements. The main goal for the Soviets at this point still is

to unify China.

But support or no support, something is brewing in the Chinese countryside.

Throughout China, most notably in Hunan Province and Shanghai, peasants are uniting and calling

for land reforms. As this peasant movement forms, a man named Mao Zedong is assigned

to write a report on it for the Kuomintang Government. Mao, already active in the communist

movement, reports that ‘the poor peasants are the vanguard of the revolution'.

And the peasant movement grows and grows quickly. By March 1927, over five million members have

joined the Hunan Provincial Peasant Association, which arms peasants and seizes land from large

property owners. This becomes a gruesome and violent peasant rebellion. Battles between

peasants and local militias, paid by local elites, take place. Even Mao acknowledges

that this could have adverse effects on the CCP's goals, as he writes that ‘if assassinations

[…] continue to occur without end, a violent end would ensue should there be a military

setback.'

And Mao's assessment proves to be on point. The violence can not be contained. An uprising

in Shanghai turns into total chaos, and the KMT loses control. Communist supporters kill

whomever they suspect supports the Nationalist authorities while police forces crackdown

on the insurgents. Wang Jingwei can do nothing to stem the tide and the CCP and the KMT end

up turning on each other. In truth, the backstory is much more complicated than I just explained,

and a lot more people played big parts.

Anyhow, power games played by Kuomintang, the Communist Party, the Peasants movement,

the Shanghai Revolt, and the tensions that have been building up for the better part

of the 1920's lead to an all-out eruption of violence.

On April 12, 1927, the Guangxi forces, with the approval of Chiang Kai Shek, massacre

the Communists in Shanghai in an effort to end the revolts. This ‘White Terror' spreads

through China as Communists are murdered on the streets and in their homes. Others are

imprisoned and tortured. Thousands of people lose their lives. Forced to flee the cities

under control of the KMT, the Communists seek refuge in the countryside. As Chiang's forces

clear their territory, the government, and the party of communists, any other dissidents

are silenced or are subtly advised to ‘go abroad for a vacation'.

With the Communists driven from power and the United Front just a memory of more peaceful

times, Chiang finishes his Northern Expedition in 1928, from which point he is a lot closer

to being the leader of a unified China. There were still though many forces at play pushing

and pulling Chiang in different directions, forcing him to direct his attention to any

resisting warlords and any opposition from within his own party.

So… forward to 1934. The Chinese Communist Party barely survived the 1927 purges and

lost virtually all their power in the Chinese cities. They were driven to rural areas - where

the Kuomintang didn't have too much influence and where Communist sympathetic peasants were

‘in charge'. Once the Nationalists took up arms against the Communists, this was no

longer just a political struggle for power. Armed conflict seems to be the only way out

– for both sides. The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army of China, or just ‘Red Army',

was set up in 1927, shortly after the purges. Because this new phase of the situation requires

an army. This is civil war.

The communists continue organizing their movement in the rural Jiangxi province throughout the

late 20s and early 30s in relative peace because Chiang is occupied dealing with other problems.

In 1931,The Jiangxi-Fujian Soviet, practically known as the Chinese Soviet Republic is founded

by General Zhu De and Mao Zedong, who by know has risen the ranks as a revolutionary and

functions as the Chairman and Prime Minister of the Chinese Soviet Republic.

This functions as a state within a state, within the Republic of China, itself governed

by Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek and the Kuomintang. Ever since the White Terror, Chiang has wanted

to wipe out the communists for good. However, despite the successes of the Northern Expedition,

Chiang still doesn't control a united country- He is master of the cities, but in between

lay stretches of lands inhabited by peasants that are not really his to command.

That is where Mao excels. He sees this as a peoples war. The Red Army, though inferior

in numbers, could hold out in rural areas with the support of the people.

The communists don't need big fortified cities. Instead, they lure Chiang's armies

to the countryside, stretching the Nationalist Armies supply lines. That is what Mao calls

‘Mobile Warfare'. As opposed to Guerrilla Warfare, Mobile Warfare is less about sabotaging

and making small scale attacks. Instead, it is about maintaining a relatively sizeable

army, but never going head-on against a numerically and technologically superior army when you

know the odds are against you. You only hit them, or parts of them, when you know for

a fact that you will win the encounter.

So Mao and the Communists, with the general support of the people, are relatively secure

in the Jiangxi province. Until 1934.

Chiang and the National Government have by now introduced ‘Peace preservation forces'

to consolidate his military power throughout the entirety of China. Not just to battle

communists, but also the large number of ‘bandits' and remnants of insurgent warlord factions.

The Nanchang Headquarters is established to oversee local governments and tries to extend

its influence through the construction of irrigation networks, infrastructure, and the

creation of food supplies. At the same time, the NRA launches several ‘suppression campaigns

to defeat the communists'. Despite some setbacks in 1933, including the

Nationalist Fuijian rebellion, Nationalist Forces launch the fourth and fifth campaigns

to eradicate the communists in the Jiangxi Soviet in 1934. In the ‘Anti-Communist Annihilation

campaign', over one million men are mobilized. They are equipped with heavy artillery and

an air force - things the communists don't have.

But the Communists don't do massive battles, remember? They are all about mobility and

evasion.

The NRA's answer to Mao's Mobile warfare is called ‘Fortism' and is all about ‘caution

and patience'. A series of inter-connected fortifications is built. A corridor of fortified

blockhouses and machine-gun outposts surrounding the ‘Red Area' disrupt Communist supply

lines and dissuade the Red Army from seeking confrontation. Additionally, improved infrastructure

allows for a better supply chain and makes a long, defensive offensive sustainable. Slowly

but steadily, those fortifications will be moved closer to the centre of the communist

territory, effectively eliminating all communist resistance.

The communists panic and decide that their Guerrilla and Mobile Warfare won't stand

a chance against the superior defensive tactics of the NRA, and they take a huge gamble. They

go with old-fashioned positional warfare, in other words, they choose to face the Nationalists

head-on. In a decisive battle at Guangchang, ‘the northern gate of Jiangxi province,'