NEWS//A Long March soldier has died

A portrait of Wang Dingguo. (Photo/CNR)

Wang Dingguo died on June 16, 2020, at the age of 107.

A Long March survivor

Wang was one of less than 100 living survivors of the Red Army 's Long March (October 1934-October 1935).

In 1934, the Red Army was engaged in a civil war with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) army.  It found shelter in the mountains in Jiangxi province. Its commanders were inexperienced, its soldiers were poorly trained, its arsenal included bamboo spears.

A retreat of 370 days

In October of 1934, the KMT prepared to overrun the Red Army's base.  Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other leaders decided the best defense was a strategic retreat. Thus began a meandering journey of 5600 miles through some of China's most roughed terrain. Three hundred and seventy days later, the journey ended at Huining in Gansu province.  The army had engaged its enemy in more than 380 battles over those 370 days. Of the  130,000 troops who began the march, only 30,000 finished.

Wang’s military service

Wang Dingguo joined the Red Army and the Communist Party when she was 20, five years after she was sold to a local man to be his wife.  At 21, she started the Long March with the Fourth Red Army Front. One of Wang's toes fell off due to frostbite when climbing a snow-covered mountain. Wang was also shot twice in her right leg during battles.

In an interview in 2016, Wang described marching with the army at night. "The line of torches looked like a long dragon with flames. They lit up the winding roads in darkness. For me, I saw hope," she said.

Xue Gang, a history consultant of the Chinese Martyrs Glorification Promotion Association,  said of Wang and others who joined the Long March, "People joined the Red Army for different reasons. Many of them were very young and just wanted to make a living. Through the hardship of the Long March, they gradually found their purpose in life and grew to be real heroes."

Sources: ECNS.com, Britanica.com, History.com, Wikipedia

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