Chinese Red Army

Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army
中國工農紅軍
Flag of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army
Active	1928–1937
Disbanded	1937
Country	China
Allegiance	Chinese Communist Party
Branch	Central Military Commission
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Headquarters	Jinggang Mountains (1928-1929) Ruijin, Jiangxi Soviet (1929-1934) Yan'an, Yan'an Soviet (1935-1937)
Engagements	Chinese Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai, Zhu De

Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army
Traditional Chinese	中國工農紅軍
Simplified Chinese	中国工农红军
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Gōngnóng Hóngjūn Bopomofo ㄓㄨㄥ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄋㄨㄥˊ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄐㄩㄣ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jonggwo Gongnong Horngjiun Wade–Giles Chung1-kuo2 Kung1-nung2 Hung2-chün1 Tongyong Pinyin Jhongguó Gong-nóng Hóng-jyun IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.kwǒ kʊ́ŋ.nʊ̌ŋ xʊ̌ŋ.tɕýn] Hakka Romanization Tiong-kok Kûng-nùng Fùng-kiûn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jūnggwok Gūngnùhng Hùhnggwān Jyutping zung1 gwok3 gung1 nung4 hung4 gwan1 IPA [tsʊŋ˥ kʷɔk̚˧ kʊŋ˥ nʊŋ˩ hʊŋ˩ kʷɐn˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-kok Kong-lâng Âng-kun

The Chinese Red Army, formally the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ^[a] or just the Red Army, was the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party from 1928 to 1937. It was formed when Communist elements of the National Revolutionary Army splintered and mutinied in the Nanchang Uprising. The Red Army was reincorporated into the National Revolutionary Army as part of the Second United Front with the Kuomintang to fight against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937–1945. In the later stages of the Chinese Civil War they splintered off once again and renamed the People's Liberation Army.

History

See also: Warlord Era and National Revolutionary Army

Formation (late 1920s)

Flag of Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army before January 1934.

In the summer of 1926, the CCP took over the two divisions of the Chinese Nationalist Party forces and led a military mutiny. Nationalist forces General He Long commanded the 20th Corps to join them. They had a total of 20,000 soldiers and planned to occupy Guangzhou. However, they were defeated before they reached Guangzhou with only a few thousand men surviving the battle. Zhu De led a column of survivors to Hunan to fight in the Autumn Harvest Uprising where they were defeated again. ^[1] After the revolt, Mao Zedong organized the rebels into a guerilla army, establishing a revolutionary base area in the Jinggang Mountains. ^{[2] : 40} The two armies joined forces in the following year. In the winter of 1927, the CCP planned to conquer Guangzhou; however, the uprising failed and thousands of insurgents were killed by the Nationalist forces of General Li Jishen. ^[3]

Between 1928 and 1929, the CCP launched multiple uprisings. Mao Zedong and Zhu De led the organization and training of the Communist military, ^{[4] : 283} including the Fourth Army, which totaled about 6,000 men in the summer of 1928 and fought in Jiangxi. Also in the summer of 1928, Peng Dehuai, the Nationalist forces Regimental Commander, led a military mutiny. A Nanchang uprising survivor, He Long, also created an army in his hometown, with former government soldiers as the main fighting force.

In the late 1920s, the Communist forces lacked resources and relied on guerilla tactics such as hit-and-run operations to compensate for their material limitations. ^{[4] : 283}

Early success (early 1930s)

In early 1930, more red armies were created and the number of red soldiers grew rapidly. By the summer of 1930, the Chinese Red Army had grown to more than 100,000 soldiers and had several base areas, such as in southern and northern Jiangxi, western Hubei, and eastern Hunan, among others. Peng Dehuai's Fifth Army attacked and occupied Changsha, the capital of Hunan. After the attack, Jiangxi became the largest base area of the Chinese Red Army. In the autumn of 1930, Deng Xiaoping's Seventh Army left its base area in Guangxi.

In 1931, the Chinese Red Army defeated the Nationalist forces three times with a large-scale attack, causing the Nationalist forces to lose nearly 100,000 soldiers. Several smaller red armies came together and formed a group army. In the summer of 1931, General Zhang Guotao arrived at the Fourth Red Army's base area and took over the army. Most of the Fourth Red Army's senior officers were killed by him, including Xu Jishen, Zhou Weijiong, and Xiaofang. Similar movements also occurred in western Hubei; in the spring of 1931, Xia Xi took over He Long's army and killed most of his senior officers including Duan Dechang.

In the fall of 1932, the Nationalist forces gathered 300,000 soldiers to attack the Fourth Red Army. Most of the Nationalist forces' future generals participated in this battle such as Huang Wei, Du Yuming, Sun Li-jen, and others. Having lost more than half of its soldiers, the Fourth Red Army was defeated and had to retreat from its base area. He Long's Third Army also sustained significant loses, with more than 10,000 soldiers losing their lives after leaving western Hubei. During this time, there were also several battles between the Nationalist forces and Jiangxi's First Red Army.

In the spring of 1933, the First Red Army defeated the Nationalist forces' fourth large-scale attack and eliminated two and a half of its elite divisions. Several of the Nationalist forces' generals were also captured. In 1933, the Fourth Red Army arrived at Sichuan and recruited more than 80,000 soldiers. This caused Sichuan's warlord Liu Xiang to gather 200,000 troops to attack the Fourth Red Army in autumn.

Defeats (mid 1930s)

In 1934, the Nationalist forces purchased new German weapons and launched a fifth large-scale attack on the Red Army's base area in Jiangxi. The First Red Army lost more than 50,000 soldiers in this battle and had to leave Jiangxi to establish a new base. This was the beginning of the Long March. About 30,000 soldiers were left to defend the base areas in southern China. During the same time, the Fourth Red Army defeated Liu Xiang's attacks, who lost more than 80,000 soldiers in battle. Before the First Red Army began the Long March, Xiao Ke's Sixth Legion arrived at eastern Guizhou and joined forces with He Long's Third Army. After this, the Third Army changed its designation to Second Legion.

In the autumn of 1935, the First Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi with only 6,000 soldiers after losing more than 80,000 along the way. During this same time, the Fourth Red Army moved to northern Sichuan and planned to attack Chengdu. By the end of 1935, they had lost more than 40,000 soldiers and were defeated. Therefore, they were forced to move to southern Gansu and wait for He Long's Second Legion and Sixth Legion to arrive.

Formation of a new Army (late 1930s)

In the summer of 1936, the Second Legion, the Sixth Legion and the Thirty-Second Army formed a new group army. It was named the Second Red Army and He Long was tasked with being its commander. The Second Red Army and Fourth Red Army arrived in north Shaanxi in the autumn of 1936. Around the same time, roughly 21,000 soldiers from the Fourth Red Army attacked Gansu, wanting to find a way to the Soviet Union. By the end of 1936, they were defeated by the Nationalist forces' General Ma Bufang, with more than 6,000 soldiers being captured. Only Xu Xiangqian and other senior officers survived. Because of this great failure, the Fourth Red Army's Commander in Chief Zhang Guotao was stripped of his military power.

When the anti-Japanese war broke out on 7 July 1937, the communist military forces were nominally integrated into the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, forming the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army units. The First Red Army was integrated into the 115th Division of the Nationalist forces. The Second Red Army was integrated into the 120th Division of the Nationalist forces. The Fourth Red Army was integrated into the 129th Division of the Nationalist forces. These three divisions had 45,000 soldiers in all. 10,000 soldiers were left to defend the base areas in northern Shaanxi. In southern China, the New Fourth Army's 10,000 soldiers acted as a guerrilla force. At the time of the Second Sino-Japanese War, these two armies contained one million armed men. The Red Army grew rapidly during the war, including through mass mobilization campaigns operating behind enemy lines. ^{[4] : 283} At the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Red Army had 2 million militia members and 900,000 regular troops. ^{[4] : 283}

Re-organization into People's Liberation Army

In 1947, the Red Army was reorganized into the People's Liberation Army. ^{[4] : 283} It continued to operate as a guerilla army reliant on the support of the peasantry. ^{[4] : 283} By the time the People's Republic of China was established on 1 October 1949, the PLA had 5.5 million personnel, primarily light infantry. ^{[4] : 283}

After the Communist Party assumed power in 1949, veterans of the Red Army were venerated in mainland Chinese culture and are distinguished from those who joined to fight with the Communist Party after the integration with the Nationalists, or during the second civil war.

In 1954, the relationship between the Party and the military was further institutionalized by the establishment of the Central Military Commission. ^{[4] : 283}

Major events

• 1 August 1927: Nanchang Uprising
• 1927: Autumn Harvest Uprising
• 1927: Guangzhou Uprising
• 1930 to 1931: First Encirclement Campaign ^[5]
• 1931: Second Encirclement Campaign ^[5]
• July 1931: Third Encirclement Campaign ^[5]
• 1932 to 1933: Fourth Encirclement Campaign ^[5]
• 1933 to 1934: Fifth Encirclement Campaign ^[5]
• 1934 to 1936: Long March ^{[5] [6]}

Political and ideological roles

In the view of the Communist Party, participation of the masses in the Red Army was significant beyond the direct concerns of manpower and material support. ^{[7] : 88} It was also viewed as a political process through which the masses would evolve into "masters of the state." ^{[7] : 88} According to Mao, "[T]he Red Army is not an entity for fighting only. Its major task (or function) is to mobilize the masses. Fighting is only a means." ^{[7] : 88} This process involved the Red Army's significant responsibility for educating, organizing, and mobilizing the masses, functioning like the mobile embodiment of the Communist Party in addition to its military roles. ^{[7] : 365} Academic Cai Xiang writes that the Red Army's ability to function in this way helps explain why despite the weak industrial base in revolutionary China, a proletarian party nonetheless successfully developed. ^{[7] : 355}

These ideas developed at the 1929 Gutian Congress ^{[4] : 280} The June 1930 Program for the Red Fourth Army at All Levels and the winter 1930 Provisional Regulations on the Political Work of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Army (Draft), which formally established Party leadership of the military. ^{[8] : 307}

In the article The Democratic Movement within the Army, written during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao Zedong discussed the Red Army's political work and stated, "Through the democratic movement under centralized leadership, we were able to achieve a high degree of political unity, improve lives, and improve military technology and tactics, which are our three main purposes." ^{[8] : 322} This view of democracy in the military emphasized democratic centralism and avoiding what the Party deemed "extreme democracy[,] or anarchism." ^{[8] : 322}

Main leadership

Main leadership of the Red Army headquarters

In May 1933, the Chinese Red Army began to build a military regularization system. They established the Red Army headquarters on the front line to command operations.

Military Posts	First Term	Second Term	Third Term
Chairman of the Military Commission	Zhu De (May 1933 to December 1936)	Mao Zedong (December 1936 to July 1937)
Commander in Chief	Zhu De (May 1933 to July 1937)
Chief Political Commissar	Zhou Enlai (1933.5 - 1935.6)	Zhang Guotao (1935.6 to July 1937)
Chief of the General Staff	Liu Bocheng (1933.5 to July 1937)
Deputy Chief of the General Staff	Zhang Yunyi (1933.5 - 1934.10)	Ye Jianying (1934.10 to July 1937)
Director of the General Political Department	Wang Jiaxiang (1933.5 - 1935.6)	Cheng Changhao (1935.6 - 1936.12)	Wang Jiaxiang (1936.12 to July 1937)
Deputy Director of the General Political Department	He Chang  [ zh ] (1933.5 - 1934.10)	Yuan Guoping (1934.10 - 1936.12)	Yang Shangkun (1936.12 to July 1937)
Director of Security	Li Kenong (1933.5 - 1935.12)	Luo Ruiqing (1935.12 to July 1937)
Minister of Supply	Ye Jizhuang (1933.5 to July 1937)
Minister of Public Health	Peng Longbo (彭龙伯, 1933.5 - 1933.12)	He Cheng (1933.12 to July 1937)
Minister of Military Station	Yang Lisan  [ zh ] (1933.5 to July 1937)

Commanders of group armies

The Chinese Red Army often claimed they had three group armies, although, by 1931, the Second Red Army was much smaller than the other two.

Army	Military Posts	First Term	Second Term	Third Term
First Red Army	Commander	Zhu De (1930.8 - 1935.10)	Peng Dehuai (1935.10 - 1937.8)
	Political Commissar	Mao Zedong (1930.8 - 1933.5)	Zhou Enlai (1933.5 - 1935.10)	Mao Zedong (1935.10 - 1937.8)
	Chief of Staff	Zhu Yunqing  [ zh ] (1930.8 - 1931.6)	Ye Jianying (1931.6 - 1937.8)
	Director of Political Department	Yang Yuebin  [ zh ] (1930.8 - 1932.6)	Yang Shangkun (1932.6- 1935.10)	Wang Jiaxiang (1935.10 - 1937.8)
Second Red Army	Commander	He Long (1936.7 - 1937.8)
	Political Commissar	Ren Bishi (1936.7 - 1936.10)	Guan Xiangying (1936.10 - 1937.8)
	Chief of Staff	Li Da (1936.7 - 1936.10)	Zhou Shidi (1936.10 - 1937.8)
	Director of Political Department	Gan Siqi (1936.7 - 1936.10)	Zhu Rui (1936.10 - 1937.8)
Fourth Red Army	Commander	Xu Xiangqian (1931.11 - 1937.8)
	Political Commissar	Cheng Changhao (1931.11 - 1937.8)
	Chief of Staff	Zeng Zhongsheng  [ zh ] (1931.11 - 1933.10)	Ni Zhiliang (1933.10 - 1936.4)	Li Te (李特, 1936.4 - 1937.8)
	Director of Political Department	Liu Shiqi (刘士奇, 1931.11 - 1932.11)	Cheng Changhao (1932.11 - 1936.4)	Li Zhuoran (1936.4 - 1937.8)

Main leadership of base areas

In 1930, the Chinese Red Army had established several base areas. Though the designations of the Red Army changed frequently, the main leadership of base areas did not change significantly.

Base Area	Duration	Main Leadership	Remarks
Jiangxi	1929 - 1934	Mao Zedong
		Zhu De
		Bo Gu
		Zhou Enlai
Northern Jiangxi	1929 - 1934	Kong Hechong  [ zh ]	Betrayed in 1934
		Fu Qiutao
		Fang Buzhou (方步舟)	Betrayed in 1937
Eastern Jiangxi	1929 - 1935	Fang Zhimin	Died in 1935
		Zhou Jianping  [ zh ]
		Shao Shiping
Northern Fujian	1929 - 1934	Huang Dao
		Huang Ligui (黄立贵)	Died in 1937
		Wu Xianxi (吴先喜)	Died in 1937
Western Jiangxi and Eastern Hunan	1930 - 1934	Ren Bishi
		Wang Zhen
		Xiao Ke
		Cai Huiwen  [ zh ]	Died in 1936
Western Anhui, Eastern Hubei, and Southern Henan	1930 - 1932	Zhang Guotao
		Xu Jishen	Died in 1931
		Xu Xiangqian
		Chen Changhao
		Shen Zemin	Died in 1933
Western Hubei	1930 - 1932	He Long
		Zhou Yiqun	Died in 1931
		Guan Xiangying  [ zh ]
		Xia Xi	Died in 1936
Northern Sichuan	1933 - 1935	Zhang Guotao
		Xu Xiangqian
		Chen Changhao
		Wang Weizhou  [ zh ]
Northern Shaanxi	1932 - 1937	Liu Zhidan	Died in 1936
		Xie Zichang	Died in 1935
		Xi Zhongxun
Eastern Guangdong	1930 - 1931	Gu Dacun  [ zh ]
Guangxi [9]	1930 - 1932	Deng Xiaoping
		Zhang Yunyi
		Li Mingrui  [ zh ]	Died in 1931
		Yu Zuoyu  [ zh ]	Died in 1930
		Wei Baqun  [ zh ]	Died in 1932
Hainan	1930 - 1932	Wang Wenming (王文明)	Died in 1930
		Feng Baiju

Personnel

Military rebellion

In the early phases of its establishment, most of the Chinese Red Army's military officers were made up of former officers of the Nationalist forces, with most of them joining the Red Army secretly between 1925 and 1928. Many of these officers were killed in the first years of the war. The largest rebellion was the Ningdu Uprising which occurred in the winter of 1931. General Dong Zhentang  [ zh ], head of the 26th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army and his 17,000 soldiers were the first to join the First Red Army. After the uprising, the Nationalist Party strengthened its control over the army, making launching a military rebellion more difficult. Despite this, General Zhang Guotao, who regarded the former officers of the Nationalist forces with disdain, lead an attack in the summer of 1931 which killed more than 2,500 of the Fourth Red Army's middle and senior officers who originated from the Nationalist forces.

Ranks and titles

The Chinese Red Army had no ranks. Officers and soldiers were considered equal. Early on, the officers were elected by the soldiers; however, during the later parts of the war this system was eliminated. From regiment to army, the command system at each level had four commanders: commander, political commissar, chief of staff, and director of political department, with the political commissar holding the most power.

Recruitment

Red Army recruitment efforts often involved mass meetings and competitions between different villages, counties, or mass organizations on the basis of which could supply the most recruits. ^{[10] : 158} Women's Organizations were mobilized to provided support to the dependents of Red Army soldiers and to prevent women from "pulling on [their menfolk's] tails" to forestall their enlistment. ^{[10] : 157–158}

Coerced recruiting was explicitly forbidden. ^{[10] : 158}

Military education

As the number of former officers of the Nationalist forces that made up the Red Army decreased throughout the war, the Red Army began to develop military education for the new officers who were formerly farmers. Each base area established its own military academies, usually using captured enemy officers as teachers. The enterprise was very successful, and by 1936 most of the Red Army's military officers were former farmers.

Purges

In 1931, commanders determined that there were a number of spies in the Red Army. This issue became particularly prevalent when the First Red Army's Chief of Staff Zhu Yunqing was assassinated by a spy in a hospital. After this, each Red Army began to judge and execute the officers and soldiers who were suspected. In 1931, the First Red Army executed about 4,000 men. The Fourth Red Army and Third Red Army also executed thousands of officers, especially senior officers.

Militia

Typically a Red Army's base area was surrounded by enemy forces. To protect the base area from enemy attack, the Red Army recruited red guards. The red guards were commanded by officers of the local soviet. When large-scale war broke out, the red guards were responsible for the logistical support of the Red Army and supplied new soldiers for the Red Army. For example, in the winter of 1932, Xiao Ke's Eighth Army had 2,200 red soldiers and 10,000 red guards. The red guards' officers were not always loyal. In the spring of 1933, one of the red guards' officers killed 29th Army's commander Chen Qianlun and surrendered to the Nationalist forces.

Organization

Usually each Chinese Red Army's army or legion had three or two infantry divisions. Each division has three infantry regiments and one mortar company. In different time the number of one division's soldiers is different. In the beginning every division had about 1000 or 2000 men. From 1933 to 1936, one division usually had about 5000 or 6000 men.

1928

After several uprisings, the Chinese Red Army had several armies in the summer of 1928.

Province	Order of battle	Commander	Troop strength
Jiangxi	4th Army	Zhu De	6000
Hunan	5th Army	Peng Dehuai	2000
Hubei	2nd Army	He Long	1500
Anhui	11th Army	Wu Guanghao  [ zh ]	300

1930

The Chinese Red Army became stronger than before and during the summer of 1930.

Province	Order of battle	Commander	Troop strength
Jiangxi	4th Army	Lin Biao	5000
	6th Army	Huang Gonglue  [ zh ]	5000
	10th Army	Fang Zhimin	2000
	12th Army	Deng Yigang (邓毅刚)	3000
	20th Army	Hu Shaohai (胡少海)	1500
Hunan	5th Army	Peng Dehuai	4000
	8th Army	He Changgong	5000
	16th Army	Hu Yiming (胡一鸣)	2000
Hubei	4th Army	He Long	2000
	6th Army	Duan Dechang	8000
Anhui	1st Army	Xu Jishen	2100
Zhejiang	13th Army	Hu Gongmian  [ zh ]	3000
Jiangsu	14th Army	He Kun  [ zh ]	700
Guangxi [9]	7th Army	Zhang Yunyi	6000
	8th Army	Yu Zuoyu  [ zh ]	1000

1932

In the summer of 1932, the Chinese Red Army had formed three main forces before the Fourth Encirclement Campaign.

Province	Order of battle	Commander	Troop strength
Jiangxi	1st Legion	Lin Biao	20000
	3rd Legion	Peng Dehuai	18000
	5th Legion	Dong Zhentang  [ zh ]	17000
	12th Army	Luo Binghui  [ zh ]	7400
	22nd Army	Xiao Ke	2000
Northern Jiangxi	16th Army	Kong Hechong	17000
Eastern Hunan	8th Army	Wang Zhen	2200
	12th Division	Ye Changgeng  [ zh ]	1200
Eastern Jiangxi	10th Army	Zhou Jianping	4000
Western Hubei	3rd Army	He Long	14000
Western Anhui and Eastern Hubei	4th Army	Xu Xiangqian	30000
	25th Army	Kuang Jixun  [ zh ]	12000
	1st Division	Zeng Zhongsheng  [ zh ]	3000
Northern Shaanxi	42nd Division	Liu Zhidan	200
Guangxi	21st Division	Wei Baqun  [ zh ]	1000

1934

The Chinese Red Army had nearly 200,000 men in the winter of 1934.

Province	Army	Order of battle	Commander	Troop strength
Jiangxi	First Red Army	1st Legion	Lin Biao	22400
		3rd Legion	Peng Dehuai	19800
		5th Legion	Dong Zhentang  [ zh ]	12000
		8th Legion	Zhou Kun  [ zh ]	10900
		9th Legion	Luo Binghui  [ zh ]	11500
Eastern Guizhou	Second Red Army	2nd Legion	He Long	4400
		6th Legion	Xiao Ke	3300
Sichuan	Fourth Red Army	4th Army	Wang Hongkun	20000
		9th Army	He Wei	18000
		30th Army	Yu Tianyun  [ zh ]	16000
		31st Army	Sun Yuqing  [ zh ]	16000
		33rd Army	Luo Nanhui  [ zh ]	10000
Fujian	7nd Army	7th Legion	Xun Huaizhou  [ zh ]	6000
Eastern Jiangxi	New 10th Army	New 10th Army	Liu Chouxi  [ zh ]	4000
Northern Jiangxi	16th Division	47th regiment	Xu Yangang  [ zh ]	1500
Eastern Hubei	25th Army	25th Army	Xu Haidong	3100
Northern Shaanxi	26th Army	78th Division	Liu Zhidan	2000
Western Anhui	28th Army	82nd Division	Gao Jingting  [ zh ]	1000

1936

Most of Chinese Red Army had arrived in northern Shaanxi by autumn 1936. Only a minority of them stayed in southern China.

Province	Army	Order of battle	Commander	Troop strength
Northern Shaanxi	First Red Army	1st Legion	Zuo Quan	10000
		15th Legion	Xu Haidong	7000
		28th Army	Song Shilun	1500
	Second Red Army	2nd Legion	He Long	6000
		6th Legion	Xiao Ke	5000
		32nd Army	Luo Binghui  [ zh ]	2000
	Fourth Red Army	4th Army	Chen Zaidao	9000
		31st Army	Wang Shusheng	7000
Gansu	Western Route Army	5th Army	Dong Zhentang  [ zh ]	3000
		9th Army	Sun Yuqing  [ zh ]	6500
		30th Army	Cheng Shicai	7000
Southern Shaanxi	25th Army	74th Division	Chen Xianrui	1400
Western Anhui and Eastern Hubei	28th Army	82nd Division	Gao Jingting  [ zh ]	2500
Northern Jiangxi	16th Division	47th regiment	Fang Buzhou (方步舟)	1200
Eastern Fujian	Eastern Fujian Military Command	Independent Division	Ye Fei	1000
Northern Fujian	Northern Fujian Military Command	Independent Division	Huang Ligui (黄立贵)	3000
Southern Zhejiang	Southern Zhejiang Military Command	Independent Division	Su Yu	1600

Equipment

Rifles

The Chinese Red Army's weapons were all captured from the enemy army, with the most important and useful weapon being the rifle. ^[11] In the winter of 1934, the First Red Army's twelve divisions had 72,300 soldiers and 25,300 rifles. Compared to the First Red Army, the Fourth Red Army had more rifles which allowed it to recruit many new soldiers in Sichuan. However, the local forces lacked rifles. ^[12] In the summer of 1934, Xun Huaizhou  [ zh ]'s Seventh Legion had 6,000 soldiers but only 1,200 rifles, which lead to the Seventh Legion's quick defeat when they attempted to attack Fuzhou. ^[13]

Machine guns

Every Red Army regiment typically had one machine gun company, with every company having six or more machine guns. The machine gun equipment rate of the Red Army was no less than that of the Nationalist forces' elite troops. This was one of the important reasons why the Red Army was able to defeat the Nationalist forces on many occasions. The most common machine guns were the MG08, ^[14] ZB vz. 26, M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun.

Chinese Red Army's machine guns in 1936.

Cold weapons

Due to the lack of rifles, the Chinese Red Army was forced to use cold weapons such as broadswords, spears, sabres, and other melee implements. ^[15] In particular, most of the soldiers from the Red Army's militia troops were armed with cold weapons at all times. In the autumn of 1930, Zeng Zhongsheng commanded 30,000 red guards who were armed with cold weapons. Despite the overwhelming numbers of red soldiers, 1,000 opposing troops armed with rifles were able to defeat Zeng Zhongsheng's forces.^{[ citation needed ]}

Submachine guns

The Chinese Red Army used various types of submachine guns from Thompsons to MP 18s. ^{[16] [17]} They were captured from the Nationalist forces.^{[ citation needed ]}

Artillery

The Chinese Red Army made use of artillery seized from the enemy forces. ^[18] Most of the time the Red Armies only had mortars, with typically every army having three to five mortars. During the summer of 1930, Peng Dehuai's Fifth Army captured four 75mm mountain guns in Yuezhou, but they lacked the required ammunition. ^[19]

Aircraft

In the spring of 1931, the Fourth Red Army captured a Nationalist forces' reconnaissance aircraft in eastern Hubei. The pilot, Long Wenguang, joined the Red Army and assisted them in attacking the enemy army. Before the Fourth Red Army retreated from its base area, the aircraft was concealed by local farmers and was found again in 1951. The First Red Army also captured two reconnaissance aircraft in 1932.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Outline of the Chinese Civil War
• Outline of the military history of the People's Republic of China

Notes

1. Alternatively, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army

References

1. "PLA History". Archived from the original on 7 April 2023.
2. Li, David Daokui (2024). China's World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN   978-0393292398.
3. Rhoads, Edward J. M.; Friedman, Edward; Joffe, Ellis; Powell, Ralph L. (1964). The Chinese Red Army, 1927–1963: An Annotated Bibliography. Vol. 16 (1 ed.). Harvard University Asia Center. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1tg5nnd. ISBN   978-0-674-12500-1. JSTOR   j.ctt1tg5nnd.
4. Duan, Lei (2024). "Towards a More Joint Strategy: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms and Militia Reconstruction". In Fang, Qiang; Li, Xiaobing (eds.). China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment. Leiden University Press. ISBN   9789087284411.
5. 李涛 (1 November 2012). 《湘江血泪:中央红军长征突破四道封锁线纪实》 (in Chinese). 长征出版社. ISBN   9787802047488.
6. 《中國國民黨史》：“赤匪自稱這次流竄為長征。這次長征開始於民國二十三年十月，到二十四年一月，紅軍主力已到達貴州的遵義。”
7. Cai, Xiang; 蔡翔 (2016). Revolution and its narratives : China's socialist literary and cultural imaginaries (1949-1966). Rebecca E. Karl, Xueping Zhong, 钟雪萍. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN   978-0-8223-7461-9. OCLC   932368688.
8. Huang, Yibing (2020). An Ideological History of the Communist Party of China. Vol. 1. Qian Zheng, Guoyou Wu, Xuemei Ding, Li Sun, Shelly Bryant. Montreal, Quebec: Royal Collins. ISBN   978-1-4878-0425-1. OCLC   1165409653.
9. Han, Xiaorong (2014). Red God: Wei Baqun and His Peasant Revolution in Southern China. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 147–149. ISBN   978-1-4384-5385-9.
10. Opper, Marc (2020). People's Wars in China, Malaya, and Vietnam. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. doi:10.3998/mpub.11413902. ISBN   978-0-472-90125-8. JSTOR   10.3998/mpub.11413902.
11. Peng, Dehuai (1984). "Finding the Communist Party of China (1926-April 1928)". In Grimes, Sarah (ed.). Memoirs of a Chinese Marshal: The Autobiographical Notes of Peng Dehuai (1898-1974). Translated by Zheng, Longpu. Foreign Languages Press Beijing. p. 136. ISBN   0-8351-1052-4. I suggested that the [rifles] be taken out in so many batches as might be decided in a discussion with the County Party Committee, adding that they must be handed over to very reliable persons. Weapons had no class nature in themselves, I said, and they could be used by anybody who possessed them. I stressed the need to ensure secrecy.
12. Jowett, Philip S. (2013). China's Wars. Rousing the Dragon 1894–1949. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer. p. 167. ISBN   978-1-782-00407-3.
13. 寻淮洲将军传 (Biography of General Huaizhou) 解放军出版社 (People's Liberation Army Publishing House), 1991
14. Shaanxi, Chinese Red Army soldiers with machine guns. Harrison Forman. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
15. From peasant guerrillas to high-tech troops: 80 years of the PLA Chang Ai'ling. China Features. Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Hellenic Republic.Archived July 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
16. Shaanxi, Chinese Red Army soldiers holding submachine guns. Harrison Forman. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Libraries
17. Print 1723 c1: 1935/1937. The Long March. Chinese Red Army troopers with German Bergmann sub-machine guns. Print 1723 c2: Chinese Reds (note sickle-and-hammer and red star in flag) with German-made Bergmann submachine guns. Yun Yang, Shensi (Shaanxi). Harrison Forman. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Libraries
18. Shaanxi, Chinese Red Army soldiers in the field with cannon. Harrison Forman. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Libraries
19. Peng, Dehuai (1984). "Storming Changsha City (June–September 1930)". In Grimes, Sarah (ed.). Memoirs of a Chinese Marshal: The Autobiographical Notes of Peng Dehuai (1898-1974). Translated by Zheng, Longpu. Foreign Languages Press Beijing. p. 291. ISBN   0-8351-1052-4. There were four 75 mm. field artillery pieces and several howitzers, and the Red Army began to have an artillery unit. After we had taken Yuezhou, British, U.S. and Japanese warships carried out reckless provocations against us as they did at Huangshigang port. They wantonly bombarded the city walls. We mounted our artillery pieces under cover. (Only Wu Ting, a Korean comrade, and I knew how to fire artillery shells then.) When the warships sailed close, we hurled dozens of shells at them. A dozen shells hit home, and they dared not come near the banks. At Huangshigang port we had not been able to shell them because we had no artillery pieces.

Preceded by Communist elements of the National Revolutionary Army

Armed Wing of the Chinese Communist Party 25 May 1928 – 25 August 1937

Succeeded by Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army