Who did Mao Zedong lead in the "Long March" in 1934-35?

Mao Zedong led the Chinese Red Army during the Long March of 1934–35.

The Long March was a military retreat by the Chinese Communist forces from advancing Kuomintang armies during the Chinese Civil War. Beginning in October 1934, Communist troops left their base in Jiangxi in southeastern China and traveled thousands of miles through difficult terrain toward safer bases in Shaanxi. Fighting, hunger, exhaustion, disease, and harsh weather caused enormous losses along the route.

Mao was not the sole commander of every stage of the march, but the retreat helped establish him as the Chinese Communist movement’s central leader. His influence grew after the 1935 Zunyi Conference, where Communist leaders reassessed military strategy and criticized earlier command decisions. The march concluded for the main First Red Army in 1935, while other Communist forces completed related movements later. The Long March became a foundational episode in Communist Party mythology and helped shape Mao’s eventual leadership of China.