After the last of the Chinese dynasties, the new ruling political parties became increasingly influenced by their communist neighbor to the north. At first there was a willingness, however tentative, between the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) and the Chinese Communist Party to work together, but Chiang Kai-shek, along with the conservative factions in the government decided to solve the disputes militarily. In the ensuing civil war the army of the Communist Party was forced into a military feat almost unequaled in the history of warfare.

On this day, October 16, in 1934, nearly surrounded by the forces of Chiang Kai-Shek, the Chinese Red Army decided to abandon their stronghold of Jiangxi and begin marching towards their base in Hunan — 5,600 miles away.

The Red Army numbered 87,000 men when starting the march, and the number was reduced by Kuomintang constant attacks along the way. By the time they reached the city of Xiang, half the fighting force was gone. At that point Mao Zedung took over command and ordered a less predictably patterned march and the splitting of the forces into smaller groups. While this in theory made them more vulnerable to attack, in practice it made them harder to find, and the Red Army with Zedung in charge reached their destination.