39Æ
As Chinese communist troops
trekked for survival, rightwing
nationalist leaders met in Italy.
Richard Overy reviews a year in
which artists, film-makers, female
athletes, scientists and fraudulent
financiers also hit the headlines
1934
Animation and
agitation, radiation
and locomotion
Escape to victory
A band of Chinese communist soldiers
tramps through snow-clad peaks during
the so-called ‘Long March’ that began in
1934 – the circuitous retreat from their
base in Jiangxi province to Shaanxi in
China’s north-west. The communists,
fleeing Chiang Kai-shek’s Guomindang
forces, trekked first west then north,
covering a reputed 8,000 miles in
just a year – but only one-tenth of the
original 80,000 or so troops completed
the arduous journey; most were killed
by fighting, disease or starvation. The
march was in its latter stages led by Mao
Zedong and Zhou Enlai, who became key
figures in the civil war that ended with
communist victory in 1949.AKG IMAGES
A YEARIN PICTURES
ИЗП
ОДГОТОВИЛАГРУППА"What'sNews"VK.COM/WSNWS