From 15 to 17 January 1935, an enlarged Political Bureau meeting convened in the second-floor reception room of a residence belonging to Guizhou commander Bai Huizhang on Ziyin Road in old Zunyi. The Red Army had suffered severe losses during the Long March, especially in the retreat after crossing the Xiang River. Delegates faced how to assess the failed Fifth Encirclement Campaign and what military course and leadership should follow.
From the journal
The Zunyi Conference: Three Days of Debate in January 1935
In an old-city residence, party leaders debated responsibility for military defeats and changed command arrangements during the Long March.
In the same city · Zunyi ↗
A meeting in a residence
Three reports, different assessments
Bo Gu presented the main report, explaining defeat through external forces and difficulties among revolutionary bases. Zhou Enlai’s military report acknowledged strategic and tactical errors and accepted responsibility for his part in command. Zhang Wentian then presented a critical report prepared after discussion with Mao Zedong and Wang Jiaxiang. It argued that military errors by Bo Gu and Comintern adviser Otto Braun, known as Li De, had caused serious setbacks. The reports turned crisis into debate about decisions, command and retreat.
What the meeting changed
The conference added Mao to the Politburo Standing Committee and assigned Zhang to draft a resolution for later discussion. It ended the pre-Long March Three-Person Group’s role in supreme military command. The record specified that Zhu De and Zhou Enlai would continue to direct military affairs, with Zhou responsible for final command decisions. The meeting changed the structure but did not settle every assignment at once. On 5 February, at Jimingsansheng, Zhang took over overall responsibility from Bo Gu, and Mao became an assistant to Zhou in military command.
A turning point with a longer aftermath
On 12 March, at Goubang, the Political Bureau formed a new military group of Mao, Zhou and Wang Jiaxiang, with Zhou as its head. The sequence matters: the January meeting debated and changed leadership structures; later decisions organized command as the march continued. The memorial complex now also includes the Red Army General Political Department site and residences associated with Mao, Zhang and Wang during the meeting period. The rooms locate a political debate in the city through which the army was passing.