The Nanchang Uprising

In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei struck counter-revolutionary blows against the Communist membership of the KMT, and the KMT-CPC cooperation came to a premature end. The revolution nationwide took a sharp turn in a new direction, and the CPC embarked on an arduous journey of exploring a new path through independent leadership of the agrarian revolution. 

At this critical moment, in mid-July 1927, the Standing Committee of the Provisional Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided to move the forces that the CPC could control or influence to Nanchang in preparation for an armed uprising, and to launch autumn harvest uprisings in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces, where workers and peasants movements were built on solid foundations.

On July 27, Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) arrived with a group in Nanchang, capital city of Jiangxi Province. Immediately on arrival they set up a Front Committee to take charge of preparations with Zhou as secretary. Together with He Long (1896-1969), Ye Ting, Zhu De (1886-1976) and Liu Bocheng (1892-1986), the Front Committee, on August 1, started an armed uprising in Nanchang with a 20,000-strong Northern Expedition army under the CPC's control or influence. After four hours of fierce fighting, the insurgent army overcame the defending force of 3,000 and took control of the whole city.

On learning of the uprising, Wang Jingwei of the KMT immediately ordered Zhang Fakui (1896-1980) and Zhu Peide (1889-1937) to attack Nanchang with their troops. In line with the CPC Central Committee's plan, the Front Committee decided to lead the uprising army to withdraw from Nanchang and head southward for Guangdong, with the intention of using the province as the base to continue the Northern Expedition. From August 3 to 6, the uprising troops pulled out of Nanchang.

In early October, they lost a number of engagements on the way southward. Some of the remaining forces made their way to the Haifeng-Lufeng region in Guangdong to continue their struggles. The other forces, led by Zhu De and Chen Yi (1901-1972), arrived at the revolutionary base in the Jinggang Mountains in April 1928, where they rendezvoused with the Autumn Harvest Uprising troops led by Mao Zedong.

The Nanchang Uprising fired the first shots of armed Communist resistance against Chiang's Kuomintang, and demonstrated the CPC's firm resolve to continue the revolution. From this point the CPC established independent leadership of the revolutionary war, and began to strive to seize state power through military action. It marked the birth of a new army of the people. 

南昌起義

1927年，蔣介石、汪精衛相繼發動反革命政變，國共合作領導革命的模式因此而夭折。全國革命形勢陡轉，中國共產黨面對血腥鎮壓被迫走上獨立領導土地革命、探索新的革命道路的艱難征程。在面臨被趕盡殺絕的危急時刻，1927年7月中旬，中共中央臨時政治局常委會決定：將黨所掌握和影響的部隊向南昌集中，準備發動武裝起義；在湖南、湖北、江西和廣東四省工農運動基礎較好的地方發動秋收起義。

1927年7月27日，周恩來等到達南昌，當天就組成前敵委員會，加緊進行起義的各項準備工作。8月1日，以周恩來為書記的前敵委員會及賀龍、葉挺、朱德、劉伯承等人，率領中國共產黨所掌握或影響下的北伐軍隊2萬多人在南昌舉行起義。經過4個多小時的激烈戰斗，起義軍全殲守敵3000余人，占領了南昌城。南昌起義后，汪精衛急令張發奎、朱培德等部向南昌進攻。前委按照中共中央原定計劃決定率起義軍向廣東進軍，計劃以廣東為基地再次組織北伐。8月3日至6日，起義軍分批撤出南昌。10月初，起義軍南下途中遭到失敗。保存下來的武裝，一部分進入廣東海陸豐地區堅持斗爭；另一部分在朱德、陳毅率領下，經過艱苦轉戰于1928年4月到達井岡山革命根據地，同毛澤東領導的湘贛邊界秋收起義部隊會師。

南昌起義打響了武裝反抗國民黨反動派的第一槍，宣告了中國共產黨把革命進行到底的堅定立場和堅強決心，標志著中國共產黨獨立領導革命戰爭、創建人民軍隊和武裝奪取政權的開始。從此，一支真正屬于人民的新型軍隊誕生了，這是在中國共產黨絕對領導之下、忠實執行革命政治任務的武裝力量，是全心全意為人民服務的子弟兵。