Founder of the Chinese Red Army and the PLA, first among the Ten Marshals
Cornered by assassins, he told them "Don't shoot me — I'm only the cook," and survived; his men called him "Chief of the Cooks" ever after.
Commander-in-chief whose military leadership secured the Chinese Communist revolution. He joined Mao Zedong at Jinggangshan in 1928 to form the legendary Zhu-Mao Army, then elevated guerrilla warfare to a strategic art across the Long March, the war against Japan, and the Civil War. After the founding of the PRC he served as vice-chairman and chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, and was named first among the Ten Marshals in 1955. His journey from warlord general to communist, breaking an opium addiction and starting again, traces the arc of the Chinese Revolution more completely than almost any other life.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1911Yunnan Military Academy; joined the 1911 Revolution
- 1922Joined the CCP in Berlin under Zhou Enlai's sponsorship
- 1927Co-led the Nanchang Uprising, origin of the PLA
- 1928Joined Mao at Jinggangshan; the Zhu-Mao Fourth Red Army
- 1930Red Army commander-in-chief; defeated four encirclement campaigns
- 1934–1935Red Army commander-in-chief through the Long March
- 1937–1945Eighth Route Army commander; led Hundred Regiments Offensive
- 1955Marshal of the PRC, first among the Ten Marshals
Related historical events
- 1911–1916The 1911 Revolution and the birth of the RepublicParticipant in the 1911 RevolutionHe joined the 1911 Revolution.
- 1924–1927The first united front, the Northern Expedition and the catastrophe of 1927Led the survivors of NanchangLed the remnants to join Mao at Jinggangshan in 1928.
- 1927–1936From Jinggangshan to Yan’an: the soviet bases and the Long MarchCommander-in-chief of the Red ArmyJoined Mao at Jinggangshan in 1928, led the “Zhu–Mao” Red Army and commanded on the Long March.
- 1937–1945The war with Japan and the second united frontCommander-in-chief of the Eighth Route ArmyCommanded the Eighth Route Army after the Red Army’s reorganisation.
- 1945–1949The Chinese Civil WarCommander-in-chief of the PLAOrdered the takeover of Japanese-held areas in August 1945.
- 1950–1953The Korean WarPLA Commander-in-ChiefAs PLA Commander-in-Chief, he participated in the 1950 decision-making conferences on intervention and oversaw the military's support for the Korean War effort.
The Long March: Zunyi Conference and the Zhang Guotao Split
In January 1935, at the city of Zunyi in Guizhou, an enlarged Politburo meeting became the turning point that altered the Chinese Communist Party's destiny. As a Politburo member, Zhu De backed Mao Zedong in condemning the catastrophic military line of Bo Gu and Otto Braun. The guerrilla-warfare strategy Zhu De and Mao had jointly developed, flexible, mobile, and rooted in peasant support, had been displaced by a doctrine of positional defense, 'defending every inch of Soviet territory,' with the result that the Red Army lost its base in the Fifth Encirclement Campaign. At Zunyi, Bo Gu and Braun were demoted; Zhu De shared military command with Zhou Enlai; and Mao returned to the Politburo Standing Committee. Unknown to the outside world for decades, the Zunyi Conference was the moment the Chinese Revolution broke free of Moscow's dogmatic direction and found its own path.
A still greater ordeal lay ahead. In June 1935, the First Front Army under Zhu De joined forces at Maogong in Sichuan with Zhang Guotao's Fourth Front Army. Zhang, a founding member of the Party commanding 80,000 troops, rejected the Central Committee's decision to march north to resist the Japanese, insisting instead on a southern retreat into the Sichuan-Tibetan borderlands. In August, Zhu De was assigned to lead the Left Route Army alongside Zhang Guotao, in effect as a hostage. At a Party meeting in Aba in September, Zhang openly attacked the Central Committee and demanded that Zhu De declare his opposition to the northward march. When Zhang's confidant Huang Chao screamed at Zhu De, calling him an 'old stubborn fool,' Zhu De slammed his hand on the table, shattering a teacup, and rose. 'The Central Committee's policy of going north is correct. I raised my hand for it at the Politburo meeting. I am not against going north. I am for it. I am a Communist Party member, and my duty is to carry out the Party's decisions.' Privately, he urged discontented cadres to endure rather than risk splitting the Red Army through unauthorized action, and he became a crucial brake on Zhang Guotao. Zhu De finally reached Yan'an in the autumn of 1936, having marched farther than anyone on the Long March, over 10,000 kilometers.