Zhu De

Chinese communist military leader, ‘father’ and commander of the Chinese Red Army 1931–54. He devised the tactic of mobile guerrilla warfare and organized the Long March to Shaanxi 1934–36. He was made a marshal in 1955.

The son of a wealthy Sichuan landlord, Zhu served in the Chinese Imperial Army before supporting Sun Zhong Shan (Sun Yat-sen) in the 1911 revolution. He studied communism in Germany and Paris 1922–25 and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on his return, becoming commander-in-chief of the Red Army. Working closely with Mao Zedong, Zhu organized the Red Army's Jiangxi break-out in 1931 and led the 18th Route Army during the liberation war 1937–49. He served as head of state (chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) 1975–76.