The Long March Documentary Episode One: Heroic Spirit

The Long March was a series of epic journeys undertaken by various units of the Red Army between October 1934 and October 1936. Threatened with annihilation by Kuomintang forces, they were determined to preserve their strength and head north to confront the Japanese invasion. And so, the Central Red Army, the 25th Army Group and the 4th Front Red Army, along with the main units of the 2nd and 6th Army Groups, left their bases. Led by the Communist Party of China, they embarked on one of the greatest military exploits in human history.
Subscribe to us on KZbin:
goo.gl/lP12gA
Download for IOS: itunes.apple.com/us/app/cctvn...
Download for Android: play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Follow us on:
Facebook: / cctvnewschina
Twitter: / cctvnews
Google+: plus.google.com/+CCTVNEWSbeijing
Tumblr: / cctvnews
Weibo: weibo.com/cctvnewsbeijing

[@yeozero1101]

Cannot imagine having the courage for this kind of march. Whatever their personal reasons it was a extreme representation of human persistence.

[@goldeq8521]

For a Canadian-Chinese born in 1949 in Hong Kong adopted by a Chinese soldier because my father have mental illness after capture by Japanese. Every time I watch history like this I cried with tears of gratitude.

[@lonewolfwolf251]

Dont forget ... damn little japan

[@goosegooser7631]

Give thanks to the Americans that died fighting Japan.

[@euphoriia2090]

@@goosegooser7631 and thanks to the Chinese citizens that fought them out of their homeland

[@mjc11a]

Ordinary men who made extraordinary accomplishments! And all are military heroes. An excellent presentation. Thanks for posting.

[@solaraspect5255]

A timeless heroic achievement that inspires all that learn of it!

[@justinmoore8581]

I really appreciated being able to get the Chinese story of this historic event in such comprehensive overview and focus. I wish China would do history documentaries to cover the war with Japan, WW2 like this. In the Anglophone world we barely know the names of the major battles in China; yet it was a theatre that took around half the casuelties of the war so it should be much better known; but no-one else but the Chinese are well positioned to do it. So please do some WW2 documentaries CGTN or other Chinese agencies! The short little sound-bite programs are good as far as they go, but that isn't very far.

[@shanetonkin2850]

Unfortunately they wouldn’t be even remotely reliable. Local censorship authorities would never allow anything that presents China in a negative light so you would get an extremely inaccurate portrayal of events. This series is a perfect example, it repeatedly claims the main motivation for the red Army beginning the Long March was to defend against the Japanese invasion in the north, which is completely false. When the long march began in 1934 China was not currently at war with Japan, the second Sino-Japanese war only began with the Marco Polo Bridge incident in 1937, long after the long March had concluded. In reality the purpose of the long march was simply to escape their own annihilation.

[@antenna6472]

@@shanetonkin2850 Contrary to your claim, the Japanese started its invasion of China (in Manchuria) in 1931, and the Marco Polo Bridge Incident is commonly taken as the starting point of its full-scale invasion. So the anti-Japanese war was already ongoing in various forms when the Long March began. Although the immediate cause of the Long March was the threat of the KMT extermination campaign, this did not prevent the CCP from turning it into a strategic move (at least since the Zunyi Conference in January 1935) to better position themselves for the fight against Japan. When the Red Army arrived in northwest China, they persuaded the KMT troops that were sent to exterminate them to join this fight. This would soon lead to the famous Xi'an Incident (December 1936) which would basically force the head of KMT to finally wage the "official" war against Japan. No history is told in a completely unbiased manner (and all powers like to embellish their own history). But to deny certain version of history under some vague assumption of censorship (as if Western powers do not have their own kinds of censorship), while at the same time lacking even preliminary grasp of basic historical facts, does not seem to be a very productive approach.

[@wanglei91]

@@antenna6472 well said!

[@courageunitycompassi]

That’s because this is Chinese’s propaganda. The Chinese government don’t allow critical historical programs

[@noellejiang7413]

@@courageunitycompassi Nonsense! In the synopsis, CGTN clearly said this is to avoid total annihilation under the KMT!

[@s1050]

The original communists were true heroes. This is one of the greatest feats in military history. Mao Zedong was a genius. Respect to these old veterans the Chinese people should never forget their sacrifice.

[@rswow]

Mao...famine that killed tens of millions...genius?

[@glizygxbler3131]

@@rswow look at where China is now

[@rswow]

@@glizygxbler3131 I have. Extensively. It's remarkable. But my comment was about the tyrant Mao.

[@gn.punpun]

@@glizygxbler3131 oh you mean trying to screw everyone over will not allowing their people to have any freedom? Not to mention allowing a pandemic to rip through the world

[@glizygxbler3131]

@@gn.punpunlook at America it has not let millions of people have freedom America has put in many fascist dictators that have killed millions

[@rosyyumnam5458]

The veterans are still fiercely proud and passionate...imagine their will, strength and determination then! Simply incredible

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

Well, 97% died during the Long March. The rest were Mao's bootlickers.

[@rosyyumnam5458]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 well, that's why it's a historic tale of sacrifice. Had it not been for the revolution the modern China that we now know would have been very different and as for the position of Mao, China is one of the few countries in the world to have publicly revised the ideas of its founding fathers without dishonouring them. Mao was not perfect but he was a man with a vision and a unshakable commitment to see it through. His own son died in the Korean War and you see none of his descendents in any position of power

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

@@rosyyumnam5458 It is not about his ideas. Mao was never inspirational or had any useful ideas apart from his intrigues against his communist comrades. Those who had ideas were killed. it is about the human rights atrocities and at least 40 million people that died because of his will to power. Mao was the biggest mass murder of human history. He did not "sacrifice" his children or wifes. Hie simply did not care at all about them. His second and third wifes had terrible lifes, his kids as well. Most anyways died as babies.

[@rosyyumnam5458]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 well, I agree that it was not just about Mao's ideas to begin with. I was responding to your "Mao's bootlickers"... and no, I also didn't mean he "sacrificed" his son, in the same way it should not mean he "sacrificed" millions at the expense of maintaining his coterie. It's grossly misplaced and disrespectful to assume that people are an unthinking mass of automatons who could be easily manipulated. If anything the Long March has showed us that it gave people a "choice" and a hope that they never imagined before and they "took" it, knowing full well the perils that it involved. For this people those perilous paths offered a future that the feudal system could not

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

History showed many times that millions of people could easiliy be manipulated as a matter of fact in the 20th century. Especially by Communists. People that partricipated in the Long March had a choice? Those that not deserted feared they would be killed by Mao's bloodthirst. Think about the 80 000 troops of Chang Guo-tao that were literally killed by Mao's orders, the last remaining hundreds had to dig their own graves. There was no choice. Most farmers that were forced to join Mao had a better life as farmers. Especially in those relatively rich provinces Mao exploited (Jiangxi, Sichuan). But, for women in Chinese society of today, probably, the No.1 mass murder of 20th century achieved a change.

[@wulung5943]

A true historical account of this epic march and the PLA fight for China's freedom

[@vict9451]

during that time, the army still called the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (1928-1937). After the Xi'an incident in 1937.12.12, CPC united the KMT and other local warlords to against Japan. By that time, all forces joined KMT's ORBAT. the red army received a name from KMT government called Eighth Route Army(1937-1945). After the WW2, KMT started the attack to CPC's base, which means the Chinese Civil War started. For the liberation of the country, chairman Mao gave the new name for the army called" Chinese People's Liberation Army", and this is the final name for the Army.

[@lonewolfwolf251]

Thank you grandpa .. you are very brave..

[@kerwinlim5340]

Yes it is ! one of the most heroic episode in the history of warfare. The Long March showing the greatest determination by The Red Army to achieve their ultimate strategic aim , attempt to stop the invasion , and yes they did eventually .

[@asadhusaini8600]

After watching this documentary now I have better understanding of China.

[@davisoneill]

A fitting tribute to these magnificent and inspiring heroes.

[@shyjames83]

At first I thought, well this is nicely put together, but not much of a detailed documentary...then I realised it was only the first episode of eight.

[@user-ip1lb6im8x]

Thanks.

[@gabrielklaus4334]

I'm not Chinese but I'm now completely in love with the new super power

[@rexbentley8332]

You picked a loser.

[@jowelmarquez2107]

Nation of great leaders, brilliant Marxists. Long live China! Respect to all martyrs and heroes of China.

[@danielalvarez-galan3702]

@@jasonmuniz-contreras6630 Marxists are nationalist, If you knew a bit about history you'd know this. You could always read something by James Connolly or Vladimir Lenin to get a better idea. Thanks and god bless

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

what an absolute idiot you are

[@vicolew]

Thank you for these series that give us a insight and a immesurable idea of whats in the Long March as history books outside China did only painted one perspective and now we have another view . Thank you again

[@RoseUnseen]

Only 10% made it to the final destination , and 50% lost in the river crossing but the revolution still happened wild .

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

That was by the way the one and only time the Kuomintang attacked the Communists on the Long March. The KMT was never a threat for the Communists on the Long March. The only threat was Mao, who was carried on a Sedan the whole time, thinking how to get rid of Zhang Kuo-tao and other Communist leaders.

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

River crossing is a bitch for military forces. Rivers simply existing influenced so many battles in history.

[@zayedbiniqbal2797]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 Stupid.

[@DaMetalBeast]

GLORIOUS

[@raman31656]

In long march how much could be the level of of dissertation. Any info on it

[@Shenzhou.]

China has no shortage of great visionary leaders. Whether it was Dr. Sun Yatsen, who first overthrew the Qing dynasty and founded modern China, or Chairman Mao Zedong who lead communist peasants to fight overwhelming odds against Japanese and KMT forces, or Deng Xiaopeng who introduce market reforms that spurred China's economic development. Even Jiang Jieshi has been recognized for his contributions to China's war efforts against Japanese forces. All those Chinese leaders above each have their own good and bad points, since no one is perfect. All of them were fiercely patriotic to China, and they had some vision of China that they hoped to achieve. Each of their actions has left an impact on China's post imperial history, and modern China has been shaped by all their efforts. Today, President Xi Jinping leads China and hopefully his policies can bring about even greater development for China.

[@jowelmarquez2107]

Salute to Mao, Zhou En Lai, Deng Xiaoping, Xi Jinping and even Dr. Sun Yat Sen and all the martyrs/heroes of China.

[@rswow]

@@jowelmarquez2107 Salute to Mao...when his policies led to tens of millions starved to death? Are you sure you want to salute him?

[@gn.punpun]

@@rswow these people are deluded wumao

[@Shenzhou.]

@@rswow Chairman Mao did not murder those people, they starved to death because of Great Chinese Famine which was caused by bad weather conditions like flood and drought, causing destruction of crops and resulted in poor harvest and mass starvation. Even Mao Zedong couldn't possibly control the weather isn't it? And even if he could, he would have wished for fair weather and bountiful harvests, because he wants to make China strong enough to resist foreign imperialism.

[@Shenzhou.]

@@gn.punpun Chairman Mao Zedong is the founding father of the _People's Republic of China_ 🇨🇳 why can't Chinese respect our founding father? It was Mao and the communists that succeeded in the herculean task of *reunifying our divided country* where the previous Nationalist Kuomintang failed under the _Republic of China_ 🇹🇼 (1912-1949) for 37 years. If not for Mao and the communists, China today would still be a weak and divided country, fighting among ourselves instead of the strong unified country we are today under the communist party.

[@ryanbeev]

If not for the chinese we would all be speaking japanese right now, be grateful for these heroes!

[@TheSuperGarvey]

Barbeque Sauced more like if not for the Americans not China

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

The Japanese attecked Shanghai because of Moscows Intrigue. Japan was not interested in China except of Manchuria and territory close to USSR. The only actors who benefitted from a Japanese attack on Shanghai were the Soviets and the CCP.

[@ryanbeev]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 the chinese didn't attack tokyo - checkmate

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

@@ryanbeev Right, they also did not attack New York. What is the point?

[@ivanildo328]

Three principles of the people

[@danhusterd6376]

I love this, please remake or reupload this series for pro Taiwan separatist to see their past and the atrocities committed by the nationalists and reflect

[@rodrigofonseca6241]

So different from western documentaries with their simplifications, corny background music, distortions of truth and all-out lies. I'm gonna watch all this series and hopefully gain a better insight of China's rising from their century of humiliation to biggest world economy. It was a road with lots of bumps but the resilience of communists is amazing and in the end they prevailed. Long live Socialism as a way to achieve Communism and true freedom for all.

[@monkeyking-self-proclaimed7050]

Many of them are survivors. Not only did they survive the war, they also survive pass 100.

[@jameshue55]

I salute to the long march comrades. I might be tempted to do it if it is a march to the nearby brothel.

[@Voiceofarts]

Fabolous Struggle

[@takingoutthetrash1512]

damn they old asf lol, in all respect, dang, they must have eat really good and really natural when they were young

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

Id be impressed if i made it to 104 years of uptime. But who knows. Its very likely medical technology will advance in the next 40 years where 100 is common

[@DutchVanDerLenin7609]

This is a part of history my school teachers neglected to share with me. Thank you for this, may the red star of China continue to shine in perpetuity.

[@sebastiangorka200]

tbh i really hope its gonna be one world communism not long after one belt one road is done pls china dont have another bruh moment and deliver the world is waiting!

[@sebastiangorka200]

like im not even being spoiled here my home the ussr DIED to defend the world from fascism we sacrificed so you can have an opening to make one world communism happen, dont blow it please do it for your former big brother who literally died

[@sebastiangorka200]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 no u

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

@@sebastiangorka200 Sorry my language. I did niot realize that was a joke.

[@sebastiangorka200]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 it wasnt a joke

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

@@sebastiangorka200 I do not mean it personal. But politically, you are an idiot indeed. Wish you more political education.

[@styrofoamandgasoline]

Incredibly inspirational... this is the special nature of our march towards socialism. We know we are correct and how correct we are and no forces except death or disease can stop us.

[@frankng4574]

Mao announced the government is established. It's the right message since China has had many governments and dynasties.

[@TTTTTTTTT853]

Testosterone: Max Kills: 100 Assists: 80 million

[@xz1891]

片头是毛七律诗，长征

[@knicks01]

It's ironic that the great feat of the long March instilled Mao as the red army's undisputed leader. Mao polices years later would lead to mass starvation and untold suffering of millions of Chinese

[@ayohilary7744]

Humanity owes gratitude to these brave people who gave everything so that China could have a socialist society and be a bright, shining beacon of hope.

[@paolohou]

为有牺牲多壮志，敢叫日月换新天！只要共产党能够在正确的道路上代表绝大部分中国人的利益，我们就要支持他！

[@paolohou]

Cross Chishui river 4 times......reverse the dangerous situation for red army.

[@gabrielescolan5701]

VAV-BET-CHET

[@lilydev2808]

May the souls of hundreds of thousands fallen soldiers come back to haunt those who wish to destroy the name of their Party for which they died.

[@GodeCynningaz5386]

❤️ 🇨🇳

[@Klonen75]

Unfortunately too much propaganda and too little information.

[@jamesmay918]

Just here to simp for Chairman Mao and communism 🫡

[@wilsongarcia4986]

Long live moa

[@ivanildo328]

The comunist propagand like of exalted the maoist sistem. Live the nationalist chinese. Chiang kai check

[@0bleach0]

Celebrating a country's successful atomic bomb's detonation is odd. Or rather, it would be had it not been used TWICE on a neighbouring nation.

[@marshalswalwell17]

The comments here are sickening.

[@magloc]

I was born in 1955. The following story was told to me by three Kuomintang senior officers in different occasions who were involved in the war. This was why more fresh troops joining Mao’s army while Mao was on the run chasing by Kuomintang army whenever there were more than a few days’ gap. Mao’s will send in soldiers dressing as Kuomintang soldiers into the village. They will rape, kill, steal doing all horrible things to the villagers. After awhile, Mao’s army will arrive. They will fight off the so call Kuomintang soldiers and restore peace to the villages and live happily ever after. When Mao got wind that Kuomintang army is arriving, Mao will tell the villagers that they have to run and cannot protect them from the evil Kuomintang army. The strong one have to either join them or face what they experienced before again. When the Kuomintang army entered the villages, most young men joined the communist and left. When the villages realized they were cheated, it was too late. Mao had succeed in have the villages feed them willingly and provided him new soldiers. Now in 2022, Is Communist China is still using similar tactic to survive in the world stage?

[@rosalynnchow5057]

KMT are traitors to China. If any of them are still on the mainland today, they should be put on trial and executed incl. the descendants of cks.

[@lengthao8424]

You are one of the losers sad.!!!!!!!

[@zayedbiniqbal2797]

Stupid. Nice conspiracy theory.

[@portland9880]

Lol you and your kmt pig friend are full shit

[@guillermotellez8257]

I wanted watch this but... it's made by CCTV

[@anastasia-fr1gn]

It’s propaganda lol

[@xPostpunk]

@@anastasia-fr1gn basic history is propaganda?

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

Its made by... closed circuit television? edit: Im a dumbass. Ignore me please.

[@jameshue55]

Convicted corrupt CPC officials should be ordered to complete the long march before sentencing.

[@upkarkumar6692]

Wow, what a propoganda movie?

[@danielangelcervantes1559]

noting brave when the sale soldiers cowardly attack us soldiers in korea without declaring war and invade tibet.

[@panzhou2803]

strategically，you mean

[@jeambeam3173]

Someone is mad from loosing

[@rakeshmukhiya8325]

China warned America in UN assembly on Korean matters but they did not listen....

[@portland9880]

*freed Tibet from yoke of brutal feudal system

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

To give truth to history: The Red Army on its Long March was never threathened with annihilation by the Kuomintang forces. They were rather threatened by Mao Zedongs infight with other party leaders. Do Chinese people know that Mao was carried in a Sedan almost the whole 10 000km? Kuomintang did not attack the Red Army except for at the Xiang River.

[@junyili6542]

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the information that the Red Army was not threatened by the Kuomintang forces? I do agree with you on the following two points, but casting doubt on the very foundation of the Long March requires more factual support and reasoning.

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

@@junyili6542 Jiang Kai shek was in a big dilemma. His only son was in Moscow, and Stalin did not let him go for more than a decade to blackmail Jiang not to attack (the later President of ROC, Jiang Jing-guo).. Jiang, different to Mao, was deep in Chinese tradition. He feared he would lose his only son when he attacks Mao and may end up as a ghost....So he did not dare to attack the Communists. He could easily destroy Mao´s Long March troop several times- Moreover, the Communists did not fight the Jaoanese, with only one exemption. The job was all done by Jiang and the KMT. Later, after 1945, it was the USA that did not want Jiang to defeat Mao. George Marshall thought, the Communists would be more like Social Democrats.

[@s1050]

That’s bullshit taken from the ‘book’ (anti-Mao propaganda) ‘Mao the unknown story’ Complete lies

[@hungabastahdeluxe3751]

@@s1050 anti-Mao propaganda :) Prejudices guide your comment. There are more books for you to read.

[@zayedbiniqbal2797]

@@hungabastahdeluxe3751 Mao was carried in a sedan?

[@TheRealFeechLaManna]

I don't know what is most hilarious, this 'documentary' or the shills in the comment section. Now I am no China basher, but this is just pure propaganda, not actual History. A few nice photos and illustrations, though..

[@courageunitycompassi]

This is well made propaganda but not history. The long March was a defeat.

[@Kyup2002]

bruh what... the long march and the subsequent fighitng with japan made the red army gain huge support which led to them winning the civil war how is that a defeat

[@mungus9427]

@@Kyup2002 it's a defeat in his eyes because the PRC won and the KMT and Japanese lost

[@davisoneill]

The Long March certainly was a defeat for Anglo-Saxon imperialism.

[@lengthao8424]

A white want write Asian History sad you just a losers.!!!!!!!! How many times you got defeat by Asian even though we were poor we still win.!!!!!!!!

[@Infamous41]

That's why it's called the long marx

[@rithvikpbalaji1002]

Mao travelled in a car for most of the journey stopping for photos along the way But he did purge important captains and generals to assume power once it was over

[@oddity1769]

Source

[@rithvikpbalaji1002]

@@oddity1769 the pravda sent a photography team to document the event but they were banned from talking about any of the purges that took place or about mao's personnel car but they had pictures of both taken -the pravda archives

[@oddity1769]

@@rithvikpbalaji1002 Interesting. Link?

[@rithvikpbalaji1002]

@@oddity1769 read it in their “through the archives section’ last year I think it got digitised and is probably on their website

[@nevermore4280]

Traveled in a car to draw attention from bombers right? You must be a true genius, Mao is no match for you.🤣

[@jeek78]

"The Longest Manipulation on Mankind"