Fifth Encirclement Campaign
Part of the Chinese Civil War
Location of Jiangxi
Date September 25, 1933 - October 10, 1934 Location Jiangxi province Result Nationalist Government victory; Red Army forced onto Long March
Combatants
National Revolutionary Army	Chinese Red Army
Commanders
Chiang Kai-shek Chen Jitang	Wang Ming Zhou Enlai Bo Gu Li De
Strength
500,000 under Chiang Kai-shek, 300,000 under Chen Jitang, 200,000 form other warlords of Manchuria, Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian and Guangxi. 1 million total mobilized	130,000
Casualties
?	Over 40,000

The Fifth Encirclement Campaign was a series of battles fought during the Chinese Civil War from September 25, 1933 to October 1934 between Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (nationalist) and the Chinese communists. During this campaign, Kuomintang force has successfully overran the communist base of Jiangxi Soviet and forced the communists on the run, which would later known as the Long March. Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang called this campaign the Fifth Encirclement Campaign (Chinese: 第五次围剿) at the time, while the Chinese communists call it the Fifth Counter Encirclement Campaign (Chinese: 第五次反围剿). Combatants Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... Image File history File links Made by uploader based on a large scale map of China by woodhome and hunry of the XZQH forums. ... Jiangxi (Chinese: 江西; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsi) is a southern province of the Peoples Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jiangxi (Chinese: 江西; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsi) is a southern province of the Peoples Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south. ... Combatants Nationalist Party of China and allied warlords Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek various, eventually Mao Zedong Strength over 300,000 First Front Red Army: 86,000 (October 1934) 7,000 (October 1935) The Long March (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a massive military retreat undertaken... Image File history File links Republic_of_China_Army_Flag. ... The National Revolutionary Army (NRA) (Chinese: 國民革命軍; pinyin: guo2 min2 ge2 ming4 jun1) was the national army of the Republic of China. ... Image File history File links Peoples_Liberation_Army_Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... Alternate meaning: Shining Path The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA); Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), including strategic nuclear forces, an army, navy and air force, serves as the military of... Image File history File links Republic_of_China_Army_Flag. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was the Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... This October 2006 does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Peoples_Liberation_Army_Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949 to... Qin Bangxian or Bo Gu (秦邦宪或博古) (1907-April 8, 1946) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1934-1935. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was the Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... This October 2006 does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning south of the lake). Hunan is sometimes called 湘 (pinyin: Xiāng) for short, after the Xiang River which runs through the province. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Guangxi (Zhuang: Gvangjsih; old orthography: ; Simplified Chinese: 广西; Traditional Chinese: 廣西; Pinyin: GuÇŽngxÄ«; Wade-Giles: Kuang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kwangsi), full name Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Zhuang: Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigih; old orthography: ; Simplified Chinese: 广西壮族自治区; Traditional Chinese: 廣西壯族自治區; Pinyin: GuÇŽngxÄ« Zhuàngzú ZìzhìqÅ«) is a Zhuang autonomous region of... Combatants Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... The Encirclement Campaigns were a series of campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army during the early stage of Chinese Civil War betwen 1930 - 1934. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Chinese Red Army Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Lu Diping Zhang Huizan Mao Zedong Zhu De Strength 100,000 40,000 Casualties 9,000 kill, 6,000 captured  ? The First Encirclement Campaign (Chinese: ) was a series of battles launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government that intended to... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Chinese Red Army Commanders He Yingqin Zhu De Strength 200,000 30,000+ Casualties 30,000  ? The Second Encirclement Campaign (Chinese: ) was another series of battles launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government in hope to encircle and destroy the Jiangxi Soviet after the previous campaign have... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Chinese Red Army Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Zhu De Strength 300,000 30,000+ Casualties 30,000  ? The Third Encirclement Campaign (Chinese: ) was the third campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government in hope to destroy the Red Army in Jiangxi. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Chinese Red Army Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Chen Cheng Cai Tingkai Zhu De Mao Zedong Wang Ming Zhou Enlai Bo Gu Li De Strength Around 500,000 70,000 Casualties 30,000  ? The Fourth Encirclement Campaign (Chinese: ) was the fourth campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist... Combatants Nationalist Party of China and allied warlords Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek various, eventually Mao Zedong Strength over 300,000 First Front Red Army: 86,000 (October 1934) 7,000 (October 1935) The Long March (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a massive military retreat undertaken... now. ... The Second United Front was the alliance between the Kuomintang and Communists during the Second Sino-Japanese War that suspended the Chinese Civil War from 1937 to 1940. ... The New Fourth Army Incident occurred during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), during which the Chinese Civil War was in theory suspended, uniting the Communists and Nationalists against the Japanese. ... Shangdang (上党) campaign was a series battles fought between the communist force under the leadership of Liu Bocheng and the nationalist Yan Xishan’s Kuomintang force from September 10, 1945 thru October 12, 1945. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Commanders  ?  ? Strength  ?  ? Casualties 16,000  ? The Longhai Campaign (Chinese: ) was series of battle launched by Peoples Liberation Army in Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region against the National Revolutionary Army. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Commanders  ? Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping Strength  ? 50,000 Casualties 17,000  ? The Dingtao Campaign (Chinese: ) was series of battle launched by the Peoples Liberation Army against the National Revolutionary Army in Dingtao region, Xuzhou. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Commanders  ?  ? Strength  ?  ? Casualties 35,000  ? The Zhengtai Campaign (Chinese: ) was a serie of battles launched by the Peoples Liberation Army around Zhengtai Railway in hope to connect the military region of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Shanxi-Heibei-Shandong-Henan. ... The Liaoshen Campaign was an important series of battles in the Chinese Civil War fought in the north-eastern province of Liaoning. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast and North China Field Army Commanders Zheng Dongguo Xiao Jingguang Strength ~100,000 100,000 Casualties unknown; ~330,000 civilian deaths minimal The Siege of Changchun (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ChángchÅ«n Wéikùnzhàn) was a besiege... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast Field Army Commanders Fan Hanjie Lin Biao Strength ~200,000 250,000 Casualties 20,000 deaths, 80,000 captured unknown Battle of Jinzhou (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Jînzhou ZhÄ«zhàn) was a battle between the Peoples Liberation... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast and North China Field Army Commanders Fu Zuoyi Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan Strength ~500,000 1,000,000 Casualties ~520,000 (including non-combat losses) 40,000 Pingjin Campaign (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: PíngjÄ«n Zhànyì), known as... Combatants Republic of China, National Revolutionary Army Peoples Republic of China, Peoples Liberation Army Commanders Tang Enbo Ye Fei Strength Roughly 40,000 garrisoned troops from the ROC 18th Army, air support from ROC Air Force, maritime support from ROC Navy. ... Combatants Republic of China Army Peoples Liberation Army Commanders Liu Lien-Yi (劉廉一) Hu Wei (胡煒) Strength Unknown from 221st Division, 67th Division, 75th Division 20,000 men+ from 61st Division with additional unit Casualties 2173 killed and wounded 3660+ killed 677+ captured The Battle of Dengbu Island (登步島戰役) was a conflict... Combatants Republic of China Army Peoples Liberation Army Commanders Wang Kuan-Yao (汪光堯) Ye Fei (葉飛) Strength 6000+ men from 75th Division 1,300 men+ Casualties Less than 100 500+ killed 700+ captured 3 torpedo boats sunk The Battle of Nanri Island (南日島戰役) was a conflict between the Republic of China Army... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Chinese Red Army Commanders Hu Lian 胡琏 Ye Fei 叶飞 You Meiyao 游梅耀 Strength 10,000 11,000 Casualties 2,664 killed 715 captured 1,250 total Dongshan Island Campaign (东山岛战役) was a series battles fought on the Eastern Mountain (Dongshan, 东山) Island, Fujian between the nationalists and the communists during... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Commanders Wang Shen-Ming (王生明) Zhang Aiping Strength 1000+ men 5,000 men+ 137 warship 184 planes Casualties 567 killed 519 taken as prisoners 393 killed 1024 wounded The Battle of Yijiangshan Islands (一江山島戰役) was a conflict between forces of the Republic of China... Combatants Republic of China Navy Peoples Liberation Navy Commanders 何德崇 Unknown Strength 1 Patrol Craft 8 Gun Boats Casualties 3 killed 4 wounded 4 Boats sunk 2 Boats damaged The Battle of Dong-Yin(東引海戰) was a naval conflict between forces of the Republic of China Navy and the Peoples... Combatants Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was the Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... The Kuomintang of China (abbreviation KMT) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung1-kuo2 Kuo2-min2-tang3) [1], also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party in the Republic of China, now on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Jiangxi Soviet, formally called the Chinese Soviet Republic (中华苏维埃共和国 Pinyin: Zhōnghuá SÅ«wéiāi GònghÄ“guó), also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, existed from 1931 to 1934. ... Combatants Nationalist Party of China and allied warlords Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek various, eventually Mao Zedong Strength over 300,000 First Front Red Army: 86,000 (October 1934) 7,000 (October 1935) The Long March (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a massive military retreat undertaken...

Prelude

After the failure of the 4th encirclement campaign in the spring of 1933, Chiang Kai-shek immdiately mobilized over half a million troops to for the next encirclement campaign. The nationalist troops eventually totalled more than a million, most of which was consisted of regional warlords' forces, and the largest was Guangdong warlord Chen Jitang's force, totalled more than 300,000, (or 30% of the total nationalist force), which was mobilized to blockade the southern border of the Jiangxi Soviet. However, like most of the warlords who were half heartedly drawn to the campaign, they only wanted to keep their own power and did not actively participated in the fiercest battles, so they only participated in blockade and guard the newly occupied communist regions after being conquered by Chiang Kai-shek's own troops, who did most of the fighting. Guangdong, often spelt as Kwangtung, is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This October 2006 does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

Chiang Kai-shek took the job of the commander-in-chief of the campaign and sent up his headquarter in Nanchang. In addition to succeeding in mobilizing many warlords' troops, Chiang also adopted his German advisors' strategy, which involved the systematic encirclement of the Jiangxi Soviet region with fortified blockhouses. This method proved to be very effective. In an effort to break the blockade, the Red Army under the orders of the three man committee consisted of Bo Gu, Zhou Enlai and Li De (Otto Braun) besieged the forts many times but suffered heavy casualties with little success, resulting the Jiangxi Soviet shrunk significantly in size due to the Chinese Red Army's disastrous manpower and material loss. Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. ... Qin Bangxian or Bo Gu (秦邦宪或博古) (1907-April 8, 1946) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1934-1935. ... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949 to... Otto Braun to the left, 1932 Otto Braun (28 January 1872 - 14 December 1955) was a German Social Democratic politician, who was Prime Minister of Prussia. ... Alternate meaning: Shining Path The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA); Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), including strategic nuclear forces, an army, navy and air force, serves as the military of...

First Phase

The campaign officially started on September 25, 1933 when the first Kuomintang assult on the communist positions begun, and merely three days later, the communists lost Lichuan (黎川). Although the communist force managed to stopped the nationalist force at the southwest of Lichuan (黎川), its following operations ended in failure: when the 24th division of the Chinese Red Army attempted to take Xiaoshi (硝石) on October 9, 1933, it ended in disaster: not only Xiaoshi (硝石) remained firmly in the nationalist hand, the communists were forced to withdraw several days later with heavy casualties. Witnessing the success of his tactic, Chiang Kai-shek issued a new order from his Nanchang headquarter on October 17, 1933, requiring his troops to follow the principle of on the defensive tactically, but on the offensive strategically in order to perfect his German advisors' strategy. In contrast, the communist leadership, namely, the three men committee, refused to adjust their tactics and still stubbornly and rigidly continued the futile fights between Kuomintang's blockhouses in the hope of defeating the enemy outside the communist base. The result was obivous, from September 25, 1933 to the mid November 1933, not only the Chinese Red Army failed to achieve the unrealistic dream of defeating the enemy outside the communist base, but it also suffered great loss, while the nationalist force suffered very little under the protection of their fortifications. is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to twenty thousand soldiers. ... is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Second phase

On December 11, 1933, a total of eight columns of Kuomintang force ventured out their fortifications and begun the new offensive. The communist leadership not only failed to concentrated their forces by splitting the Chinese Red Army into two, but also decided to clash head on with the nationalist force with numerical and technical superiority. As a result, the communist force suffered once again without achieving any victories. By the end of January 1934, the warlords' forces begun to participate in the battles, and the forces of Fujian warlords struck from the east in coordination with the nationalist forces in the north and the south, further pressuring the communist force into smaller regions, inflicting severe casualties on the Chinese Red Army during the period between January 1934 and March 1934. December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... A military column is a formation of soldiers, marching together single file, one behind another. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Third phase

On April 10, 1934, eleven divisions of the nationalist troops begun their attack on Guangchang (广昌), and the communists decided to concentrate a total of nine divisions to defend Guangchang and hopefully, crush the enemy in the area north of Guangchang (广昌). Due to the nationalist numerical and technical superiorities, communist strongholds at Ganzhu (甘竹)、Great Luo Mountain (大罗山)、Yanfuzhang (延福嶂) fell. On the dawn of April 19, 1934, the communists launched an unsuccessful counterattack at the nationalist force at the Great Luo Mountain (大罗山), only to be driven off with heavy loss. On April 27, 1934, the nationalists launched their final assult on Guangchang (广昌), succeeding in taking it by the evening and inflicting over 5,500 casualties of its communist defenders on the same day. The remanents of the shattered communist defense force was forced to flee in the separate direction to the south and west under the cover of the darkness. is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to twenty thousand soldiers. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Final phase

The three men committee of the communist leadership deepened their mistake by further dividing its force into six different parts by early July 1934, still daydreamed being able to drive out the enemy, which was ruthlessly crushed by the harsh reality: On August 5, 1934, 9 divisions of the nationalist force ventured out newly fortified positions on the occupied communist regions, started another round of fierce assult, taking regions north of Yiqian (驿前), and soon the adjacent regions. By the late September 1934, the Jiangxi Soviet was left with only Ruijin (瑞金)、Huichang (会昌)、Xingguo (兴国)、Ningdu (宁都)、Shicheng (石城)、Ninghua (宁化)、and Changding (长汀) counties/towns. is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to twenty thousand soldiers. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Jiangxi Soviet, formally called the Chinese Soviet Republic (中华苏维埃共和国 Pinyin: Zhōnghuá SÅ«wéiāi GònghÄ“guó), also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, existed from 1931 to 1934. ... Ruijin (Chinese: (瑞金,pinyin: rui jin) is a small city in the mountains bordering Fujian Province in south-eastern Jiangxi. ... Huichang (traditional Chinese: 會昌; simplified Chinese: 会昌) is a county, under the juridiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Xingguo, 兴国, is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Ningdu (宁都) is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Shicheng, 石城, is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Cuijiang, or Ninghua, Fujian province, China. ... Changding, Fujian province, China. ...

It was after this when Zhou Enlai's spy ring within Chiang Kai-shek's headquarter in Nanchang succeeded in delivering important intelligence to the communists to reveal the dangerous situation the communists had faced and the decision to abandon the Jiangxi Salient was finally made, resulting in the beginning of the Long March. As a result of the communist failure to defeat the fifth encirclement, the largest communist base was lost and it was not until 15 years later would the communists be able to return. Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949 to... Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. ... Combatants Nationalist Party of China and allied warlords Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek various, eventually Mao Zedong Strength over 300,000 First Front Red Army: 86,000 (October 1934) 7,000 (October 1935) The Long March (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a massive military retreat undertaken...

Conclusion

The communist failure was mainly due to the extreme leftist policy of the new communist leadership which displaced Mao Zedong, and the critical mistakes the new leadership made included: “Mao” redirects here. ...

• The fifth encirclement campaign was a war of attrition, the communist lacked the necessary replacement of troops its enemy enjoyed, so head-on clashes must be avoided at all cost, like Mao had done. However, the new communist leadership mistakenly believed the era of guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare was over, and it was the time for regular warfare, in which both sides fought on the equal terms. However, the communist force was far from equal to its nationalist counterparts because it lacked the numerical and technical superiority. The result was the obvious decimation of the communist force.

• Hostility toward all nationalist troops. During Mao's reign, warlords and their forces were distinguished from Chiang Kai-shek and his forces, so that the communists were able to achieve some kind of neutrality with the warlords' forces that were drafted by Chiang, and thus avoid most direct confrontations. As a result, communists only had to fight around 50,000 Chiang Kai-shek's own troops in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and to a great degree, the 4th Counter Encirclement Campaigns. When the new communist leadership tookover, all nationalist troops were regarded as enemies of equal danger, and the communists tried to fight all warlords and their forces drafted into the campaign by Chiang Kai-shek, so instead of having to fight an enemy force that was much smaller than it was on paper, the communists actually had to fight an enemy that was as large as it appeared on paper, a feat the communists could not afford.

• Static defense: in addition to match the nationalist tactics in the head-on clashes during attacks, the new communist leadership also ordered the Chinese Red Army to do the same in the static defense, which led to disasters due to the nationalist technical superiority: the concrete fortifications of the nationalists were immune to virtually all communist bombardments, while the communist bunkers built with wood and mud were not immune to anything, not only the nationalist artillery, but also the forces of nature, such as heavy rain. The hastily constructed bunkers with poor construction material only served to help the nationalists by become a death trap for the communist defenders, as these bunkers offered very little protection and greatly limited the Red Army 's mobility.

• Ignorance on the important of intelligence. The new communist leadership totally lacked the proper realization of the important of the intelligence. The communists were already able to break the nationalist codes in the previous counter encirclement campaigns, which had helped greatly in the earlier communist successes, but the new communist leadership did not trust the cryptography enough to make the entire battles plans according to the intelligence. The problem continued until the Long March when Mao finally returned to power.

• Much increased nationalist strength. In previous campaigns, the nationalist did not have enough troops to guard the newly conquered regions, so their troops were only stationed at important cities / towns / forifications while huge gaps were left in between these garrisons. Communists were therefore able to use mobile and guerrilla warfare tactics to penentrate deep into the heart of the nationalist controlled regions by exploiting these huge gaps, and achieving final victories. Although the nationalist mobile strike force still numbered around 50,000 during the fifth encirclement campaign just like the previous ones, Chiang had ten times of troops at his disposal with a total of half a million, and thus were able to fill all gaps left behind by the mobile strike force. As a result, the encirclement in this campaign was much more effective than previous campaigns. The elimination of gaps between the nationalist garrison in their newly conquered regions consolidated and ensured the nationalist control over the regions and compressed the available space for the enemy to maneuver, thus deprived communists any chance of victory.