The British Army’s miraculous escape from Nazi Germany’s encirclement at Dunkirk is considered by some to be the greatest military retreat in modern history and a prime example of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Yet years before Dunkirk, the military retreat by the Chinese Red Army, known as the Long March, was more impressive and consequential.
While the Dunkirk evacuation remains in Hollywood fare and a staple of World War II folklore, the Long March is taught at military academies worldwide as a foundational case study in asymmetrical warfare, insurgency and strategic political-military integration.
It was a baptism of fire that did more than resurrect Mao Zedong’s political career and mark his ascent to primacy. It also firmly established “active defence” as the Chinese Communist military’s core doctrine, which continues to guide the nation’s strategic planning to this day.