Page:On Guerrilla Warfare (United States Marine Corps translation).djvu/23

Mao Tse-tung on Guerrilla Warfare nally, in 1933, the Generalissimo reluctantly decided to adopt the plans of his German advisers and to commit well-equipped, well-trained, and loyal "Central" divisions to a coordinated and methodical compression of the Communist-controlled area. As the Nationalists inched southward, supported by artillery and aviation, they evacuated peasants from every village and town and constructed hundreds of mutually supporting wired-in blockhouses. The Communists, isolated from the support of the peasants they had laboriously converted, found themselves for the first time almost completely deprived of food and information. Chiang’s troops were slowly strangling the Communists. For the first time, Communist morale sagged. It was in this context that the bold decision to shift the base to Shensi Province was taken, and the now celebrated march of almost 6,000 miles was begun.

This was indeed one of the fateful migrations of history: its purpose, to preserve the military power of the Communist Party. How many pitched battles and skirmishes the Reds fought during this epic trek cannot now be established. It is known, however, that for days on end their columns were under air attack. They crossed innumerable mountains and rivers and endured both tropical and subarctic climates. As they marched toward the borders of Tibet and swung north, they sprinkled the route with cadres and caches of arms and ammunition.

The Reds faced many critical situations, but they were tough and determined. Every natural obstacle, and there were many, was overcome. Chiang’s provincial troops, ineffective as usual, were unable to bar the way, and the