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,'
