KMT attacks force the CCP to leave its base in Jiangxi Province. 86,000 troops and supporters leave Jiangxi and stop midway in Zunyi, Guangxi province, having lost nearly half their troops to KMT forces. During the Communist meetings held in Zunyi, Mao Zedong emerges to take command of the Red Army. He decides to take the troops north to Yan'An, Shanxi province, where they finally arrive a year after they first set off.