Southern Guerrilla War

The Southern Guerrilla War, or Three-Year Guerrilla War in Southern China, denotes the interval from autumn 1934 to winter 1937, during which remnants of the Chinese Red Army and guerrilla factions, following the main forces' initiation of the Long March, sustained armed resistance in 15 regions across eight southern provinces: Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, and Guangdong. Under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party, they conducted a prolonged guerrilla campaign against the Nationalist government.

Process

The conflict can be categorized into three distinct phases:

During the initial phase, former Soviet strongholds were converted into guerrilla territories after the withdrawal of the principal Red Army units. Despite encountering formidable Nationalist offensives, the residual units adeptly shifted from conventional warfare to guerrilla tactics.
The second phase proved to be the most arduous. The insurgents, confronted with severe military, political, and economic isolation, depended on challenging terrain, local party leadership, and popular backing for their survival. By employing adaptive techniques and exhibiting resolute defiance, they succeeded in maintaining and even augmenting their forces.
During the third phase, the guerrilla forces executed the CCP's revised strategy of the Second United Front. While persisting in their struggle against Nationalist offensives, they concurrently commenced peace negotiations to terminate domestic strife in favor of a unified national opposition to Japanese aggression.

In October 1937, according to the CCP–KMT accord for unified resistance, guerrilla forces from 14 regions were consolidated into the New Fourth Army under the National Revolutionary Army, signifying the official conclusion of the three-year guerrilla conflict. In December 1938, the forces joined the wider anti-Japanese combat campaign.