The Beginning of the Long March
The Long March began in 1934. During a war with the Nationalists, or the Kuomintang, when it became clear that the Mao’s southern Red Army was at a loss, Mao issued a retreat. This retreat that stretched from the Jiangxi Mountains to northern China became known as the Long March. The purpose of the retreat was to meet up with the northern Red Army in order to counter attack the Kuomintang. Despite its name, the Long March wasn’t a single march, it was more like a number of smaller marches strung together. Considering the Red Army's battles tactics, the Long March wasn't even a strategic retreat. Soldiers literally ran for their lives because they were being chased down anded by groups of Nationalists, small militias, and/or local land lords.
The Long March lasted about 368 days and 6,000 miles. The Red Army started from Jiangxi on October the sixteenth, 1934 crossed twenty-four rivers, eighteen mountain ranges, and eleven provinces before it ended at Yennan, Yanan. 235 days out of the march were day marches and eighteen days were night marches. Soldiers of the Red Army averaged a conflict a day and had fifteen major battles. Three major battles became known as major events of the Long March. There were many obstacles during the Long March. Some of the most memorable are the crossing of the Yangtze River, the Tatu River, and the Luding Bridge. These three events were composed of run-ins with the Nationalists, but none included any fighting. The reason these three events are so important is because if the Red Army had failed, their journey would’ve been greatly lengthened.
Yangtze River
At the beginning of December, the Red Army was surrounded by Nationalists at the Yangtze River. They were held back an entire day to think of a plan. Since the river was surrounded, they had little time to waste and less time to think. However, with the help of his generals, Mao devised a plan. That night, his soldiers dressed up as Nationalists and crossed the river in ferry boats. This and other events of the Long March tested the loyalty of Mao’s officers to the Red Army, China, but most importantly, himself.
Tatu River or Dadu River
The Tatu river was the last major river the communists had to cross in order to reach safety. After crossing the river, they would be in out of the Kuomintang's reign, and it would be much harder for the Nationalists to send supplies and support to their army. The Red Army beat the Nationalists to the Tatu River near the end of May. They crossed through Lolo Village. With his excellent persuasive skills, Mao convinced the Lolo that the Koumintang were their bitter enemy and they should hold them back while the Red Army gained a lead. If Mao had failed in convincing the Lolo, he and his army would’ve been forced to cross through Tibet. This detour would've allowed extra time for the Kuomintang to catch up with them. The Lolo held the Nationalists back while the Red Army advanced. Further up the river, Mao's army ran into another conflict with the Nationalists at Luding Bridge.
Luding Bridge
Luding Bridge was already captured by the time the Red Army reached it. Mao knew that ferrying across the river would take too long and was too dangerous. So, he ordered his men to overtake Luding Bridge. The bridge is a suspension bridge held up by iron link chains and wooden planks. Many of the planks were missing, so the two soldiers who crossed the bridge had to do so by its bare chains and captured it for the soldiers to cross. The Red Army went on to seize the village on the other side. They crossed the bridge on May 27th. Later Mao remarked that crossing Luding Bridge was the easiest part of the march.