The Bandit Suppression Campaigns 1930-1934
Abstract
The Bandit Suppression Campaigns were a series of military
offensives, five in all, which Chiang K'ai-shek launched
against various Communist enclaves scattered through central
China, as he attempted to consolidate his newly-won power.
There were three such campaigns during 1931, one in late 1932,
and one in late 1933. At the end of this last campaign, in
October, 1934, the Communists admitted their defeat, and fled
central China. By the end of 1935, Chiang had finished with
other rivals for his position, and reigned supreme in China
proper. Unfortunately, as events thus pass into
the realm of epic, certain facts tend to become obscured, particularly
those which interrupt its smooth flow. In the case
of the bandit suppression campaigns, this problem is compounded
by the fact that the survivors of the campaigns, now
the rulers of two nations at war, are also the sole chroniclers
of the events. If you are not a current K College student, faculty, or staff member, email dspace@kzoo.edu to request access to this SIP.