Podcasts about red academy

Last time we spoke about the fourth encirclement campaign against the CCP. In 1931, the CCP survived brutal encirclement campaigns while the threat of Japanese invasion in Manchuria shifted focus in China. The new leadership, known as the 28 Bolsheviks, seized control after the downfall of Li Lisan, leading to infighting within the CCP. Despite initial successes, Mao Zedong opposed the aggressive military strategies favored by the Bolsheviks. As the Red Army expanded, Mao's calls for caution clashed with the Central Committee's ambitions, highlighting the struggle for power and differing strategies within the party during a time of upheaval. As the 28th Bolsheviks gained power, they stripped Mao Zedong of key positions, deeming his strategies outdated. The Red Army, while suffering losses, adapted tactics and launched further offensives. Political tensions rose, leading to purges and reorganization under more orthodox leadership. Ultimately, despite setbacks, the CCP's resilience and guerrilla tactics allowed them to persist against KMT forces.   #128 the fifth encirclement campaign Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. So the CCP had just survived 4 encirclement campaigns. Now each time an encirclement campaign was unleashed, it was done so during a very tumultuous time to say the least. The first three were done between 1930-1931 where the Central Plains War and multiple large scale rebellions were kicking off. It was also on the cusp of the re-unification of China, thus Chiang Kai-Shek arguably had bigger fish to fry. During the fourth encirclement campaign Chiang Kai-Shek was very much taking notice of the red menace in his interior, however a rather earth shattering moment occurred, the Japanese had invaded Manchuria. And yes, we will get to the 15 year war in good time no worries folks your boy has a lot of goodies coming. So one can understand Chiang Kai-Shek could not very well fully go after the Reds when the Japanese had invaded northeast China and there was absolutely no telling where or when they would stop. Well the fourth encirclement campaign did not provide the results the KMT needed, so obviously there was to be a fifth…and guess what, the Japanese began an invasion of North China that same year of 1933. Now if you really are itching to hear more about these events we will tackle in a few episodes, over at the Pacific War Channel on Youtube or on all major podcast platforms might I suggest the following: my Kanji Ishiwara series covering his entire involvement in these events and during WW2, my full documentary/podcast on the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and lastly my full podcast on the Japanese invasion of North China. I am a very busy boy over there as you can see.  In the late winter and early spring of 1933, the Kwantung Army had begun an invasion of North China. They specifically began by invading the province of Rehe, modern day Jehol. After this they attacked the Great Wall of China, a pretty insane story to be honest, and descended further into north china. Understandably Chiang Kai-Shek shifted his focus from the Red menace to the Japanese at his front door. Beginning in July, the KMT established a review team to examine why the encirclement campaigns were failing to provide real results and what improvements could be made. They also established division level training units to retrain the forces with the lessons learned against the Reds. There was also a lot of integration of foreign military advisers, particularly Germans who helped develop better tactics and strategies. The Germans immediately proposed a more deliberate strategy against the Soviets. The first step they argued was to establish an economic blockade. Raw materials and durable goods could not be allowed to enter or leave the Soviet areas. Foods like rice and salt were especially targeted, there was to be an absolute ban on them going in or out. The second step was to establish a series of fortifications, basically blockhouses made out of concrete to provide fire support to offensive operations in nearby cities. As NRA forces advanced into areas to clear them, the previous blockhouses would be abandoned as new ones were built. There also needed to be lines of operation, requiring road development in rear areas to expedite logistical needs to the front. Now none of this sounds new compared to what we spoke about in the previous campaigns, but what was the issue was that it was not being done by all units prior. The KMT was also going to introduce political reforms that complemented the new standardized military strategies. New slogans arose such as “Thirty Percent Military, Seventy Percent Political,”. They were going to revive the baojia system.  The Baojia system was an administrative structure that emerged during the Song Dynasty 960–1279 AD and was prevalent in various forms throughout subsequent dynasties. Its primary purpose was to enhance local governance, community responsibility, and social stability. The system was based on the grouping of households into units known as "bao" and "jia". Each bao typically consisted of ten households, while a jia consisted of ten baos, totaling about one hundred households. This hierarchical structure allowed for more manageable governance and oversight, facilitating communication and administration at the local level. Under the Baojia system, each household was assigned to a bao, and the head of the bao was responsible for maintaining order, collecting taxes, and ensuring the compliance of families with local laws and regulations. The heads of the baojia units worked in conjunction with local officials to enforce state policies and maintain social harmony. This system not only provided a means for effective local governance but also fostered a sense of community among families. Neighbors were encouraged to cooperate and support one another, creating a network of mutual responsibility. In addition to its administrative functions, the Baojia system played a significant role in maintaining social order. By organizing families into these small units, it facilitated surveillance and mutual accountability among community members. Residents were motivated to monitor each other's behavior, discouraging misconduct and promoting adherence to social norms. As a result, the system contributed to the overall stability and cohesion of society, particularly in rural areas where government presence was often limited. Now to get all of this done, the KMT increased the NRA forces deployed to Jiangxi to nearly 700,000 who were broken down into 4 area armies and 5 air corps. They deployed the Northern Route NRA Army consisting of 33 divisions in Jinzhi, Jishui, Nangeng and the Le'an front; and the Southern Route NRA Army, consisting of eleven Guangdong divisions and one independent regiment, established a blocking position along a line connecting the cities of Wuping, Anyuan, Shangyou and Ganxian. The Southern Route NRA army would move to the blocking positions north in coordination with the other NRA forces to try and squeeze the Reds. The Western Route NRA army consisting of 9 Hunanese divisions and 3 independent regiments were responsible for blocking the Reds from advancing west of the Gan River. The Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangxi area army HQ was assigned 11 divisions and 4 security regiments to block any Reds from escaping through northeast Jiangxi. All of this encompassed the fifth encirclement campaign.  When the NRA was ready to commence the campaign, it was too late for the Reds to properly mount a counter encirclement campaign. The only thing the Reds had going for them was their recruitment efforts that saw them grow perhaps 100,000 strong. The Red Army even began touting a slogan “Million Man Army” to further recruit. By late October 1933, the Reds were certainly numerous, but this also meant they needed more supplies and equipment. With their Eastern Front Army now in Fujian, the Central Front Army and local populace should have been raising revenues and stockpiling supplies, especially rice and salt, but that is of course if they knew a fifth encirclement campaign was coming.  On September 25th, the NRA deployed 3 divisions south from Nanchang to attack Lichuan. Within 3 days of battle, the city fell, which greatly shocked the CCP. The Central Front Red Army fell back, waiting for the Eastern Front Red Army to rush back over from Fujian to meet the threat. By October 6th both front Red armies consolidated to perform a counterattack. They first attacked Xunkou, where they annihilated 3 NRA brigades. However the success was to be short lived. For the proceeding two months, the Red Army attacked multiple NRA blockhouses in Zixi, Huwan Bajiaoting, Xiaoshi, Daxiongguan and Yuangai Mountain. Yet they were unsuccessful at breaching the defensive line. The concrete block houses were acting as pillboxes allowing the NRA to concentrate fire using brand new German made machine guns. They also were utilizing new Krupp artillery pieces and German made aerial bombs against the Red army formations whenever they assaulted the blockhouse line. By November the KMT's attention was slightly diverted as Fujian had just seen a full blown rebellion, more about that in the next episode, but to summarize a bit. On November 30th, the KMT 19th route army in conjunction with the Fujian provincial government rebelled against the KMT and set up an independent government. As you might be guessing, they were also working with the CCP. Back in October they had formed a military alliance, better said cease fire. This little arrangement did not last long and there even emerged hostilities. During this chaos the revolutionary military council held an emergency meeting to figure out a course of action. Otto Braun advocated for a strong offensive to decisively defeat the KMT. He argued the golden age of guerrilla warfare in China was over and now the Red Army must conduct convention warfare against NRA positions. Thus Mao Zedong's “lure the enemy in deep” strategy was replaced by “defending against the enemy outside the Soviet”. In January of 1934 the second soviet congress was held where a series of resolutions were passed to focus the Red Army against the fifth encirclement campaign. The resolutions reiterated Otto Braun's offensive strategy and repeatedly attacked Mao Zedong's strategies. Building upon the strategy of defending against the enemy outside the Soviets, Otto Braun also proposed using “short, swift thrusts”. This would see the employment of repeated infantry assaults to overwhelm the NRA blockhouse lines. Otto Braun also advocated for continuing the mass recruitment efforts and brought up perhaps beginning a system of conscription to fill the ranks. After the Fujian rebellion situation simmered down, the NRA refocused their attention against the Reds. The NRA established a line of blockhouses going from Lichuan to Le'an and began clearing out the area south of Ruijin using 35 divisions. The NRA forces first targeted Guangchang, lying about halfway between Nanchang and Ruijin. The NRA's Eastern Front also began advancing west, totaling some 14 divisions. By March of 1934 the NRA Northern and Eastern Fronts linked up at Deshengguan where they began coordinated efforts towards Guangchang. In response to the NRA advances towards Guangchang, the Red Army built a series of fortifications and trenchworks to defend the area. On April 9th, the NRA began its attack on Guangchang, deploying the 3rd Route army's 10 divisions from Nanfeng with heavy artillery and aircraft support. The NRA forces advanced south along both sides of the Xu River leading towards Guangchang. The Northern Route NRA Army established new blockhouses on one side of the river before clearing the other side. It took the NRA forces roughly 2 weeks to advance down the riverway to Guangchang. By April 23rd, they breached the Red Army's defensive lines and seized control over some high ground surrounding the area. The Reds were forced to pull back into the city where they continued to build fortifications and trench lines. On the 27th the NRA began to artillery and aerially bomb the city, easily destroying the wooden fortifications and trench lines constructed by the Reds. On the 28th, the NRA stormed the city forcing the Reds to retreat south. The Reds had suffered 5093 casualties, roughly 20% of their defending force at Guangcheng whereas the NRA suffered 2000 casualties. It was very evident, the NRA were wielding superior equipment, notably the heavy artillery and aircrafts that the Red's had no real answer for.  After Guangchang the NRA advanced in all four directions. By May 1, NRA forces from the Western Front had taken control of both Shaxi and Longgang. Meanwhile, the Eastern Route NRA forces advanced and captured Jianning by May 16. By June, the CCP began feeling the strain from these assaults. A combination of the blockade and the baojia system was gradually eroded local support for the CCP. The attrition warfare strategy also took a toll on the quality of leadership and experience in the Red Army, as more inexperienced soldiers filled the ranks. Under pressure, many of these recruits deserted, further weakening the Red Army's effectiveness. Additionally, the shortage of supplies and food lowered morale and diminished public support for the Red Army's offensive. Even military and party publications gradually withdrew their support for the offensive, shifting focus to the promotion of guerrilla warfare to conserve resources. Recruitment efforts to replenish losses had little impact as the NRA's superior strategy continued to stifle the Soviet, reducing its control from seventeen counties to ten. In the summer of 1934, the Red Army began exploring new strategies, establishing a defensive perimeter stretching from Ninghua to Ningdu and Xingguo. By May, the Central Committee convened and concluded that the current offensive strategy was ineffective, likely necessitating the Red Army's evacuation from the Soviet area. They sought approval from the COMINTERN to change their approach, which was granted a few days later, stressing that the CCP's priority should be preserving the Red Army's combat strength. However, Braun and Bo Gu proposed a different method. Instead of immediately preparing to withdraw from the Soviet, they advocated for a final stand, urging everyone to give their all to defend the territory and secure victory. Alongside this shift in rhetoric, the Red Army maintained its defensive posture, constructing wooden blockhouses and trenches. Additionally, the CCP approved an expansion of guerrilla warfare across multiple fronts to defeat the NRA. In July, the NRA launched another offensive, focusing this time on the city of Shicheng, positioned between Ninghua and Ningdu as their entry point. The two forces clashed fiercely along this final line of defense for nearly a month. In early August, the Red Army mounted a strong counteroffensive during the battle of Gaohunao, inflicting over 4,000 casualties on the NRA. However, the Red Army also suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat to the last defensive line just north of Shicheng. At Shicheng, the Red Army managed to hold the NRA in a stalemate. Ultimately, the NRA deployed twelve large howitzers, breaking through the defensive line in August. Shicheng eventually fell in October. The defense cost the Red Army 5,000 casualties, leaving it severely weakened and forcing its leaders to consider drastic actions. By this point, the Jiangxi Soviet had been reduced to a small area around Ruijin and Xingguo. With mounting casualties and the imminent threat of an NRA assault on Ruijin, the Red Army made a bold decision to retreat from Jiangxi on October 10, 1934, ending the Fifth Extermination Campaign. There has been a lot of thorough investigative work into why the CCP failed during the fifth encirclement campaign. This episode will be a bit different then previous ones as I thought it might be interesting to tell the overall story and then explain the finer details as to why it went down this way. Going back to when I discussed the NRA analyzing why their fourth encirclement campaign had failed. The analytics from that were incorporated into plans formed by the German advisers such as Hans von Seeckt and Alexander von Faulkenhausen. The Germans dramatically improved the NRA's performance across the board. This was seen in terms of training, the employment of more modern military tactics and of course the Germans sold the NRA some really good toys. Now again this was done in the vacuum of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and Northern China. The real aim of the Germans' assistance was directed against the Japanese, but the advisers acknowledged how China must combat the external aggressor while not succumbing to internal threats. Ironically it was that exact situation that had toppled multiple Chinese dynasties in the past, take the Ming for example.  The NRA also employed effective counterinsurgent strategies that complimented their conventional warfare strategies. Beginning back in 1928 the KMT gradually re-instituted the baojia system. The NRA first cleared out Red areas and then established local administrators who were loyal to the KMT, protected by local militias. Through this the NRA was able to hold cleared areas and block any Red infiltration. Many residents in these areas actively began providing intel to the NRA. The Baojia system also supported the economic blockade, providing a system of sentries at the entrance of villages placing a lot of pressure on the Red Army and local populations. Chiang Kai-Shek's political reform “70% political, 30% military” also helped incorporate many disenfranchised Chinese, taking their support away from the Reds. The NRA also adopted a methodical, patient approach to tackle the Reds. The NRA quickly found out the Reds did not have the necessary weaponry to take out their concrete blockhouses, thus a war of attrition was on the table. Electing for a long campaign rather than a short one severely hurt the Reds who were incapable of conducting prolonged operations. The NRA also had learnt from the Red's usage of diversionary and feint attacks, not falling for them this time around. There was also obviously their NRA enormous advantage in numbers, they did toss nearly a million men at the Soviets. On the other side the Red Army suffered from numerous internal problems. The Red Army had undergone numerous measures to reform and professionalize the army, under the leadership of the 28 bolsheviks whom dominated the Central Committee. The mass recruitment efforts were directly primarily on uneducated peasants who required intensive training. Meanwhile the offensive strategy was decimating Red Army forces, many new recruits were tossed straight into the front lines without any training. The lack of training and political guidance, accompanied with low morale led to mass desertions. By the end of the fifth encirclement campaign the Red Army could not generate the proper forces to fill its demand and simply kept tossing more and more untrained peasants into the lines, degrading the combat effectiveness. The arrival of the Twenty-eight Bolsheviks in the CCP led to significant changes in the overall military strategy of the Red Army. Much of the new leadership's perspectives were shaped by Stalinist Soviet ideology, which markedly contrasted with the views of both Li Lisan and Mao Zedong, particularly in relation to Mao Zedong's approach, which was influenced by political considerations. These ideological differences also resulted in a substantial gap in military tactics. Nevertheless, both the Bolsheviks and Mao shared a similar stance on the expansion and training of the Red Army, emphasizing the vital importance of political training in building a robust party army. Ultimately, the CCP believed that the success of the Red Army hinged on the professionalization of the force, ensuring unity of command, a shared understanding of the mission, and an enhanced capacity to execute that mission. The primary advocate for the professionalization strategy of the Red Army was the Soviet Union. Stalin's interest in the Red Army was driven by both external and internal factors. The Soviet Union viewed an imminent threat from both Japan and Germany. Japan, a longstanding adversary of Russia, had expanded its presence in China, particularly following the 1932 occupation of Manchuria, which posed a direct risk to Russia's southern flank and national security. The Soviets believed that a large, professional Red Army, loyal to the Soviet Union, would serve as a formidable defense against Japanese aggression, and later, German threats. Additionally, the Soviets resumed discussions with the Nationalist government after years of silence to help ensure the security of their Chinese flank. For Stalin, the struggle for control over the CCP was intertwined with a broader power struggle within the Soviet Union against Trotsky. His internal conflicts with Trotsky solidified his communist ideology, resulting in a stringent approach within the COMINTERN and the new CCP. Through the COMINTERN and Bolsheviks, Stalin aimed to consolidate his power by eliminating Trotskyists in China. These internal Soviet political dynamics ultimately influenced the choice of Chinese political and military strategies, which had detrimental effects on the Red Army. At first glance, the policies of the Twenty-eight Bolsheviks closely resembled those of Li Lisan. Both groups viewed the urban proletariat as the central force in the communist revolution. They shared the conviction that merging the revolutionary spirit of the proletariat with modern strategies would empower the Red Army to achieve victory. Additionally, they felt that the conditions were ripe for revolution to spread into urban areas, emphasizing the necessity for the Red Army to engage in the cities to support students and workers involved in the movement. Wang Ming even remarked that although the 1930 assault on Changsha was a mistake, he did not see this failure as evidence against the soundness of the strategy of targeting urban centers. Upon closer inspection, the distinctions between the two factions were quite pronounced. Disputes between them arose early on; in June 1930, Li Lisan criticized Wang Ming, Bo Gu, and two other group members for opposing his plans. However, their differences ran deeper than mere political conflict. Ideologically, the Bolsheviks challenged Li Lisan's characterization of the bourgeoisie. In Wang Ming's The Two Lines, he asserted that all "capitalist bourgeois reformers were counterrevolutionary." This broadened the definition to encompass wealthy and middle-class peasants, who became targets during land reform efforts. Additionally, their strategies for confronting urban centers differed significantly. The factions also had contrasting views on the role of the Red Army: Li Lisan believed it should support urban proletariat uprisings to capture the cities, while the Bolsheviks regarded it as the primary force for seizing the metropolis. The distinctions between Mao Zedong and the 28 Bolsheviks were significant. Unlike Mao Zedong, the Bolshevik-led CCP rejected any form of alliance, insisting on the defeat of both the Nationalists and the Japanese. In their view, both groups were imperialists and posed equal threats to the Soviet Union and the communist movement. During the Mukden Incident, many nationalists and communists sought to forge a united front against Japanese aggression. However, the CCP opposed this, advocating for the overthrow of what they considered the agent of imperialism—the KMT.  The Bolsheviks also held a strong opposition to Maoist military strategies. They believed that an incorrect guerrilla warfare approach had infiltrated the Red Army, epitomized by the "lure the enemy in deep" tactic. Wang Ming likened this strategy to a form of "retreat" or "escape." The Bolsheviks advocated for the significant expansion and professionalization of the Red Army, aiming to move away from a peasant mentality. With a larger force, the Red Army could adopt an offensive stance, employing Soviet tactics to capture urban centers and extend Soviet influence. While guerrilla warfare was not entirely dismissed, it was relegated to local militias in rear and flank areas. In contrast, Mao had a more practical perspective on the capabilities of Red Army soldiers. He recognized that the Red Army lacked the technology necessary for conventional warfare. Moreover, Mao believed that achieving victory was not the sole priority; sustainability after victory and ensuring that the gains outweighed the losses were also crucial considerations. In hindsight, the positional warfare and offensive tactics advocated by Otto Braun and the students proved to be ineffective against the NRA. However, at the time, it is understandable why this approach was favored over Mao Zedongs strategy of "luring the enemy deep." This new offensive military strategy was predicated on the belief that the Red Army was strong and capable of launching attacks against the NRA. Although this assessment may have been overstated, the victories achieved during the Extermination Campaigns did boost the morale of the Red Army. Furthermore, their later success in resisting the Fourth Extermination Campaign reinforced the capabilities of the Communist military forces. This offensive strategy also marked a departure from the tactic of conceding territory, which had always posed challenges for the local population. The CCP garnered more support for its strategy by asserting that the Red Army was now strong enough to defend their territory and confront the enemy directly, allowing locals to remain in their homes. This simple shift fostered greater support for their cause. Conversely, Mao Zedong had a keen understanding of local conditions and recognized the detrimental effects of Bolshevik policies on land redistribution. The Bolshevik approach increased the burden on a larger portion of the local populace and threatened the fragile support necessary for waging a "people's war." Mao Zedong and his followers also aimed to delay and hinder large recruitment efforts, arguing that expansion would be an unnecessary distraction for locals who were already busy with agricultural work. Moreover, the Bolshevik offensive strategy was more conventional compared to Mao Zedongs concept of mobile warfare. At that time, Mao Zedongs approach of "luring the enemy deep" and other mobile warfare tactics were revolutionary in China and faced considerable criticism and skepticism. Even after the significant defeat of the Li Lisan line, the ability of the Bolsheviks and Otto Braun to revive a similar strategy two years later demonstrated the ongoing support for a more conventional military approach. In its new strategy, the Red Army blended traditional and modern tactics to engage the enemy. On the one hand, it maintained its reliance on established strengths in intelligence gathering and deception to outmaneuver the NRA. However, with the introduction of the Twenty-eight Bolsheviks and Otto Braun, the Red Army transitioned from a mobile defense approach to employing “short, swift thrusts” as offensive tactics against the NRA blockhouses during the Fifth Extermination Campaign. The Red Army also capitalized on advantages gained from previous campaigns. Improvements in signal intelligence, particularly through increased collection of wireless communications and the creation of training schools, enabled the Red Army to closely monitor NRA movements during the Fourth Extermination Campaign. Additionally, the Red Army integrated tactical intelligence into its operations, using plain-clothed soldiers and deploying double agents within KMT units to gather intelligence and disrupt them. The thoroughness of the Red Army's intelligence collection was a notable strength. For instance, an intelligence report on the KMT's Seventy-ninth NRA Division analyzed the background and motivations of its soldiers, revealing that many hailed from the same area as their commander, which fostered strong loyalties. This insight made the unit a less appealing target for subversion, given the traditional Confucian emphasis on hierarchical loyalty. The Red Army continued to execute feints and deceptive operations throughout its campaigns. The Eleventh Red Army effectively served as the main effort on two occasions. Moreover, the Red Army sent misleading communications to confuse NRA forces. For instance, while near Huangpi, NRA scouts “intercepted” a message claiming that the Red Army's main forces were positioned in Nanchang, prompting the division units to lower their guard in the city, only to be ambushed. The biggest change to Red Army tactics was the introduction of what Otto Braun described as “short, swift thrusts,” while Lin Biao defined this tactic as “sudden, rapid raids launched against the enemy who emerges from their blockhouses to advance the fortification line by a short distance, specifically between 2½ to 5 kilometers or even less. These thrusts aim to eliminate the main enemy forces before they can solidify their position. Although the tactics appeared straightforward, significant differences emerged in their application, particularly between Braun's theoretical approach and Lin Biao's practical execution. Firstly, the ultimate objectives of the tactics differed greatly. Braun's approach was part of a broader strategy aimed at safeguarding Soviet territory. Rather than seeking a decisive victory over the numerically superior NRA forces, the Red Army focused on defending territory and achieving small tactical victories that could translate into operational and strategic advantages. In contrast, Lin Biao viewed this tactic as a means to “annihilate the enemy or secure victory in the entire battle.”His emphasis was on defeating the enemy and achieving a decisive victory. Secondly, Braun promoted a more methodical strategy, where the Red Army would establish strong points with small clusters of fortifications. These areas provided defensive protection against artillery and air assaults, creating conditions conducive for the Red Army to launch rapid attacks on the NRA when they were away from their blockhouses. During an attack, Braun suggested that the Red Army should first fix the NRA in its rear, flank, or even front, followed by a strike aimed at weakening the enemy to disrupt its forces. Conversely, Lin Biao had a different perspective on the assault, prioritizing mobility and movement for the Red Army during these thrusts. The Red Army's primary defense relied on secrecy, moving quietly to occupy high ground while only establishing makeshift defensive structures for air and artillery protection. When the enemy entered their territory, the Red Army would encircle their forces, cutting off their retreat and swiftly attacking their flanks before they could construct fortifications. He advocated for the pursuit, believing it was the most effective way to convert a tactical victory into operational or strategic success. In contrast, Lin Biao rejected the idea of pursuit, reasoning that if his tactics were executed effectively, the enemy would have no escape route, making a pursuit unnecessary. These differing views on tactics underscored the challenges of translating theoretical military concepts into practical application. Otto Braun's offensive strategy stemmed from his experiences and understanding of Western military traditions. When applied to the Chinese battlefield, Lin Biao adapted his own experiences to formulate his interpretation of “short, swift thrusts,” which incorporated several of Mao's tactical principles. Given the circumstances of the Red Army, Lin Biao aimed for a quick, decisive victory, steering clear of prolonged battles with the NRA. He utilized intelligence and terrain—particularly through reconnaissance—to gain an advantage over the enemy. His strategy prioritized focusing on the enemy rather than merely securing territory, enabling his unit to engage in battle on favorable ground. While the localization of “short, swift thrusts” did not provide the Red Army with the decisive edge needed to overcome the NRA, it illustrated how the Red Army continued to adapt concepts to local conditions to achieve success in combat. Between 1932 and 1934, the Red Army reached its maximum size and level of professionalism, only to be outmatched by a stronger NRA force. With the rise of the Twenty-eight Bolsheviks, the Red Army adopted a more aggressive, offensive strategy. Although this approach would later be deemed a mistake, it initiated a series of reforms that enhanced the Red Army's professionalism. During this period, the Red Army nearly doubled its strength to six army corps. To promote uniformity and centralize command, all Red Army units, including local militia groups, were standardized. Additionally, the Red Army founded the Red Academy and the Red Army War College, alongside specialized schools to train and develop its officers. These reforms contributed to the Red Army's success in the Fourth Extermination Campaign against the NRA and facilitated the expansion of Soviet influence into four provinces. However, following their defeat, the NRA adapted and developed a more effective strategy against the Red Army. Lacking the necessary heavy weapons and supplies, the Red Army could not prevent the systematic encirclement of the Jiangxi Soviet during the Fifth Extermination Campaign. In order to survive the Red Army would have to embark on arguably one of the most important historic moments of the CCP's history, it was a notably very long march. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The 28 Bolsheviks wrestled control over the CCP and this had rather dramatic consequences. For one, Mao Zedong's strategies were thrown to the wind as full on offensive strategies took the center stage. In the face of the most intense NRA encirclement campaign as of yet, the CCP crumbled and would now have to march to away trying to survive.

Last time we spoke about the first encirclement campaign against the CCP. The Jiangxi Soviet expanded despite opposition, but urban uprisings struggled, with labor union support declining. Li Lisan pushed for urban revolts, while Mao Zedong favored rural expansion. In 1930, failed attacks on Nanchang and Changsha deepened the divide between their strategies. Mao's forces later captured Ji'an, but tensions led to purges, including the Futian Incident. Meanwhile, the Nationalist Army launched an encirclement campaign. Mao's strategy of “luring the enemy in deep” ultimately positioned the CCP for survival and future success. The NRA exploited internal conflict among the Reds, launching attacks on Donggu. Miscommunication led to friendly fire between NRA divisions. Despite capturing towns, overextension weakened the NRA, allowing the Red Army to counterattack. Through guerrilla tactics and local support, the Reds encircled and decimated multiple NRA divisions, capturing thousands of prisoners and weapons. Mao Zedong's strategies proved effective, bolstering Red Army morale and influence. By the end of the third campaign, the Jiangxi Soviet had expanded significantly.   #127 The fourth encirclement campaign  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The CCP had just survived 3 brutal encirclement campaigns in 1931, collectively known as the First Encirclement Campaign. The Reds were quite lucky in 1931, for China had major problems requiring Chiang Kai-Sheks attention. Understandably one of those major problems was a full blown Japanese invasion of Manchuria, that rest assured we will tackle in depth in future episodes, but for coherency sake I thought it best to try and get through all the other events before we start talking about the beginning of the 15 year war. The Japanese invasion immediately began influencing the KMT-CCP conflict. The Japanese invasion directly threatened Soviet interests and Moscow looked at the CCP as a potential bulwark against the Japanese. From 1930-1931, the CCP's Red Army was successful in defending their territory against the NRA extermination campaigns, however they still suffered from a lack of discipline, supplies and professionalism. New leadership came from the new Central Committee, now led by the 28 Bolsheviks and a new comintern representative, Otto Braun. The Red Army began adopting a series of initiatives in 1932 to improve. All Red Army units were standardized to establish better command and control. Political indoctrination and military training also became standardized with waves upon waves of manuals distributed to the forces. The Red Army expanded the Red Academy by establishing the Red Army War College for mid-grade and senior officers. Branch schools and speciality schools to increase competency and training. Political mobilization remained cornerstone to the Red Army. Recruitment of new troops also began to see a renewed emphasis on urban proletariats. A large change to the operations for the Red Army was the adoption of Soviet offensive tactics to seek out decisive battles. CCP leaders were under the misbelief that revolutionary fervor would simply have the Red Army victory. What they lacked initially was professionalism, alongside good weaponry and equipment. Couple this with the NRA's adoption of more and more effective counterinsurgency tactics, the Red Army really began to suffer terrible casualties. Now as the Red Army defeated the NRA in the third extermination campaign of 1931 not to be mistaken for the large third extermination campaign later, another intraparty power struggle was brewing in the CCP. After the fall of Li Lisan, a group of students returning from studies in the USSR began a systematic operation to gain control over the CCP. This group became known as the 28 Bolsheviks. 20 or some of them returned to China with the new Comintern adviser, Pavel Mif in 1931. Two key members of the group, Qin Bangxian known colloquially as Bo Gu, and Chen Shaoyu as Wang Ming would seize key positions at the top brass of the CCP. Many of these students attended Moscow's Sun Yat-Sen University, where they became acquainted with Mif, the head rector of said university. This university was a breeding ground for ultra-orthodox Stalinist communist doctrine. It goes without saying the students were indoctrinated with a very Moscow perspective. Mif regarded them as a very well disciplined force and used them to purge out divergent groups within the university. During the third Plenum in September of 1930, Mif attempted to use the forum to denounce Li Lisans plan, but had failed to convince the majority of the Central Committee. After Li Lisan was condemned and recalled to Moscow, Mif saw a major opportunity. At the fourth Plenum in January of 1931, Li Lisan and 11 of his supported were ousted from the Central Committee, with their best positions seized by Moscow aligned CCP members. The next year, the 28 Bolsheviks unleashed a brutal intraparty war with other factions. By late September the Bolsheviks effectively destroyed most of the opposition and incorporated the surviving members into a the Central Committee loyal to Moscow. Bo Gu was appointed head of the Central Committee from Wang Ming who returned to Moscow. Once the 28 Bolsheviks were in control of the CCP at Shanghai, they then set their eyes upon Mao Zedong and the Red Army Soviet areas. During the first All-China Soviet Congress of November 1931, they launched their first attack. Mao Zedong received prior word of their intentions from loyal followers in Shanghai and prepared to face them. Before the Central Committee arrived at Ruijin, Mao had just emerged victorious from the encirclement campaigns, had suppressed dissension amongst his ranks and established a delegation of loyalists within the Soviet Congress. The Bolsheviks failed to gain a majority within the Congress, taking only 2 seats in the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet. Meanwhile Zhu De was appointed Commissar of War and other Mao loyalists took high ranking positions. To try to break Mao Zedongs monopolistic control over the Red Army, the Bolsehviks employed Zhou Enlai.  In early 1932, the CCP urged the Red Army to expand Soviet territory as its forces grew. Successful defenses against encirclement Campaigns brought many NRA soldiers into the Red Army, some willingly, others by force. A key boost came on December 14, 1931, when the NRA's Twenty-sixth Route Army rebelled and joined, forming the Fifth Red Army Corps. With this and other recruits, the First Front Red Army grew to about 70,000, requiring more territory to sustain itself and the revolution. On January 9th of 1932, the CCP Central Committee issued a resolution outlining a new strategy for the party and the Red Army. The resolution assessed the current situation in China, that of a major depression, the effects of the Mukden Incident and the string of CCP successes against the encirclement campaigns. The resolution reasserted the renewed commitment to recruit urban proletariats for the revolution and “expand the territory, link up the separated Soviet areas to form an integrated Soviet area, and take advantage of the present favorable political and military conditions to seize one or two important central cities so as to win an initial victory of the revolution in one or more provinces.” The Red Army would conduct a series of offensive to expand their Soviets and connect them starting in early 1932. They would target southern Jiangxi, such places as Ganzhou, Jiujiang, Nanchang and also Fujian's Fuzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou. The resolution also pushed for a “positive and offensive line, rather than the luring of the enemy into the deep strategy, as it was no longer viable”. Furthermore the resolution directly attacked Mao Zedong's strategy as “being right opportunism that underestimated the situation and maintained a pessimistic attitude, and all party and army members should actively guard against its incorrect mindset”. This cemented the divide between the Bolshevik groups adoption of offensive strategy vs Mao Zedong's defensive lure the enemy in deep strategy. The next operation would be against Ganzhou in Jiangxi. The city linked the Hunan-Jiangxi border areas with the Fujian-Jiangxi border areas and provided a nice launching point against Ji'an in the north. During another meeting in 1932 at Ruijin, Mao Zedong expressed his reservations about the operation, stating the Red Army did not have the necessary weapons or supplies to seize a major city. Zhu De backed him up, but the Central Military Committee vetoed them and continued planning the Ganzhou operation. On January 10th orders were handed out for the 1st, 3rd and 5th Red Army corps, along with the Jiangxi Soviet military regional forces to conduct the operation by February. On the other side, the KMT were well prepared to meet an attack against Ganzhou, they were also most likely tipped off.  On February 3rd of 1932 the Red Army arrived at Ganzhou quickly encircling the city. The next day the 5th Red Army Corps, roughly 20,000 men were the first to attack the city. They struck the East Gate, breaching the defenses slightly before being repelled. On the 17th and 23rd the Red Army forces conducted two major assaults, expanding the attacks to the West and South gates, but failed to gain a foothold. During the siege, two NRA brigades reinforced the Ganzhou garrison. Then on March 4th, the Red Army conducted a fourth major attack and was likewise repelled. Three days later the Red army retired to Jiangkou to reorganize after they had suffered 3000 casualties. Despite this the CCP leadership remained undeterred, believing the offensive strategy was still optimal. When Japan began rooting itself permanently in Manchuria, the CCP saw this as the perfect condition for a real revolution to take place. At a meeting on March 18th, Mao Zedong again argued his strategy fit the current conditions much more and that the offensive strategy was too ambiguous. Yet his arguments fell on deaf ears and the CCP leadership had the Red Army reorganized into two route armies. The west route army consisted of the 3rd army corps and was made responsible for expanding the Soviet areas west of the Gan River in Hunan-Jiangxi with a focus built around Zhuchuan, Taihe and Wan'an. The Central Route army consisted of the 1st and 5th Red army corps and would take Mao Zedong's recommendations to perform expansion operations in south Fujian with Xiamen being the final target. On March 26th, the Central route red army occupied Changtin under Mao Zedongs guidance. There they conducted political mobilization of the local populace. Yet seeing little military action taking place, Zhou Enlai pushed Mao Zedong to stop the political mobilization and instead engage the enemy in the direction of Zhangzhou. Thus the Reds headed south and attacked the 49th NRA division. On April 10th the Reds managed to seize Longyan where they annihilated a single brigade of the 49th NRA division. The 5th NRA corps attempted to reinforce the 49th NRA division, but lost two brigades in the process. The Reds then continued marching south and on April 20th seized Zhangzhou where they defeated the 49th NRA division. At Zhangzhou they seized 1675 prisoners, 2000 rifles, some artillery pieces, 13,00 rounds of ammunition, two aircraft and over a million yuan. Alongside that came a lot of provisions, salt, oil and other goods needed to keep their men moving. After the success Mao Zedong telegrammed Zhou Enlai, requesting the Red army move back to Jiangxi with their booty to improve operations in the soviet area. It was Mao Zedong's belief the Reds had made great gains at Zhangzhou but could not hold onto the area. Instead he wanted to expand operations in Fujian using smaller local militia and guerilla groups. The CCP yet again overruled Mao Zedong and on June 5th ordered him to keep up the offensive, now turning towards Guangdong military forces currently occupying southern Jiangxi.  Once that was completed they were to advance north up the Gan River Valley and attack Ganzhou, Zhangshu, Ji'an and Nanchang so as to foster a revolution in Jiangxi. The Red army then reorganized its forces placing the 1st, 3rd and 5th red army corps under the First Front Red Army who advanced into Guangdong. From late june into early July the Reds seized Shuikou, Nanxiong and defeated 15 Guangdong based NRA brigades and expanded the Soviet into the province. Yet even with the string of offensive victories, Mao Zedong still remained vocally in opposition towards the strategy, constantly submitting his recommendation to adjust their footing. On July 25th, Mao Zedong and Zhu De sent a joint communique to the CCP leadership requesting a change of strategy. They argued instead of immediately attacking Ji'an and Zhangshu they could perform clearing operation on the eastern part of the valley, focusing on Yihaung and Le'an. The CCP central committee was initially against the proposals, however Zhou Enlai intervened and gave his support to them. In August the 1st front red army held a conference and confirmed they would attack Yihaung and Le'an. They took Le'an shortly after, defeating the 27th NRA division. With that victory they gained 5000 prisoners, 4000 rifles, 20 machine guns, 20 artillery pieces and 3 wireless communication sets. Afterwards the Reds contemplated attacking Ji'an, however after consideration Mao Zedong argued on September 25th, the NRA presence at Ji'an was too strong. He instead recommended they conduct political mobilization operations around the Le'an Yihuang area. By this point the CCP Central Committee was really pissed off with what they considered insubordination from Mao Zedong. By this time the 28th Bolsheviks had gained enough power and began striping Mao Zedong of key positions with the Red Army. First he was removed from the Military Committee of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Areas. Have I mentioned how much communists love making endless committees? Later in October of 1933 an emergency conference was held at Ningdu to plan future operations on the eve of an impending KMT campaign. Participants included Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen yi, Liu Bocheng and Peng Dehuai who all agreed they should take up offensive actions outside the Soviet. Alongside this the party condemned Mao Zedongs strategy called it inadequate and outdated. Zhou Enlai then argued for “expanding Soviet territory swiftly, engaging the enemy on KMT territory, bringing Jiangxi and its neighboring Soviet areas together by force, taking key cities in the Gan valley, including Nanchang, Ji'an, Ganzhou, and Pingxiang, so as to achieve preliminary successes in one or more provinces.” After the Ningdu conference, the Red Army continued with the offensive operation, now attacking Jianning, Lichuan and Taining in October. By November the 1st front army took the Jiangxi county seats of Zixi and Jinxi. This helped the CCP expand the Soviet in the eastern Gan valley, but it also placed them on a vulnerable footing, just in time for the KMT's 4th major encirclement campaign. During the CCP's expansion activities, the KMT had been performing a communist suppression campaign in Shanghai, driving out the Bolsheviks and other CCP members towards the Jiangxi Soviet by late 1932. Their arrival to the Jiangxi Soviet added further tension to the Red Army who were facing a new encirclement campaign. The presence of high ranking Central Committee members also changed their politics. The Mao Zedong adapted Marxist-Leninist theory was replaced by more orthodox and Moscow leaning theory. Many of 28 Bolsheviks moved to many Soviets sparking a new phase.  Before the start of the 4th major encirclement campaign, the Red Army from the Jiangxi Soviet conducted expansion operations into Fujian and Guangdong. Other Red army units performed similar operations in Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan. All of this red activity was enough to push Chiang Kai-Shek to refocus his military operations against them. On April 9th, 1932, Chiang Kai-Shek created the Bandit Suppression Headquarters in Wuhan with He Yingqin as its commander. Beginning in June 1932 He Yingqin had a force of 500,000 soldiers who unleashed a brutal encirclement and suppression campaign against the Hubei-Henan-Anhui and western Hubei-Hunan Soviet areas. By November of 1932, both soviets collapsed. After this Chiang Kai-Shek ordered He Yingqin to direct his efforts against the Jiangxi Soviet. In December Chiang Kai-Shek shifted over 400,000 troops and 30 divisions to the Central Soviet Operation. He even personally moved down to Nanchang to supervise the operation. The main forces consisted of 3 columns, roughly 150,000 troops in 12 divisions led by Chen Cheng. The KMT plan was to build a series of blockhouses as a means of economically blockading the Soviet. Around 240,000 troops were allocated for the blockade, in addition to the main force which brought the entire figure to 400,000 men. Each flank of the blockade had 70,000 troops, roughly 6 divisions who would conduct blocking operations in the Jiangxi-Guangdong border area and the Fujian-Jiangxi border area. Around 100,000 would be used to conduct anti-guerilla operations in the northwest and northeast of Jiangxi as well as in southeast Hunan and southwest Jiangxi. Was the blockade was set, the NRA would deploy 3 columns along separate routes converging upon the Red Army's rear for a concentrated attack. Over on the other side, the Red Army based near Lichuan had roughly 70,000 men from the 1st, 3rd and 5th Red army corps and the 11th,12th, 21st and 22nd Red Armies. The 4th encirclement campaign coincided with the Red Army's urban offensives. By December of 1932 the Reds had targeted Nancheng. The Central Committee issued the attack orders but due to the large NRA reinforcement efforts had to order the Red Army to withdraw from the outskirts of Nancheng. The next potential target was Nanfeng. The Central Committee again pushed for urban offensive as Nanfeng was attacked beginning in February of 1933. On February 7th the Red Army besieged the city. The NRA quickly dispatched the Central Route Army to reinforce the city and conduct a counterattack. Seeing the large concentration of NRA in the area, on February 13th Zhou Enlai ordered the forces to pull out and head over to Luokou.  The Red Army set up a diversion to cover their withdrawal. Using similar tactics employed during the third encirclement campaign, the 11th Red Army pretended to be the main force and suddenly attacked Lichuan. The NRA took the bait immediately sending 3 columns to Lichuan. While marching the 1st NRA column's 52nd and 59th NRA division became separated. On February 25th the two divisions moved west towards Huangpi along two routes separated by a mountain ridge. As they did so, their distance from the NRA 2nd and 3rd columns increased making mutual support efforts impossible. On the 27th the 1st and 3rd Red Army corps and 21st Red army unleashed a surprise attack against the 52nd NRA division. The next day the 5th Red army corps and 22nd red army attack the 59th NRA division around Huangpi. The division was annihilated with its commander captured. After the victory the Red Army pulled back to Luokou.  After the loss the NRA reorganized its force into 2 columns and changed strategy. Now instead of heading in 3 wide columns they would concentrate as 2 down the center of the Soviet. On March 16th, the two NRA columns began their advance as the Reds deployed their 11th army to perform more deception operations. The 11th Red army made a feint towards Guangchang, attracting the NRA front column. This action separated the two columns by 50 kms and isolated the 11th NRA division near Caotaigang. On March the 20th the 1st front red army attacked the 11th NRA division near Xuzhuang decimating them and severely defeating the 9th NRA division. For the remainder of the 4th encirclement campaign there were no other major battles. During March of 1933 the Reds conducted political operations near Le'an until NRA forces moved there to secure the city.  In April the NRA began to withdraw from the Jiangxi Soviet area, effectively ending their encirclement campaign. The NRA had suffered considerable losses for their efforts. They had lost the equivalent of 3 divisions; over 10,000 prisoners were taken. The Reds and seized 10,000 rifles, 300 German made machine guns and 40 artillery pieces. Another consequence of the failed encirclement campaign was the validation of the Bolshevik led offensive strategy. The CCP then adopted a series of reform measures hoping the Red Army could seize large cities. First the CCP attempted to expand the Red Army's overall strength by launching a large recruitment drive. In addition they incorporated all the local militias in the main Red Army. To fund the expansion the CCP adopted a large land distribution policy to generate revenue. Under the guise of performing a land investigation the CCP distributed 80% of the land within the soviet area. During the distribution the CCP attempted to raise nearly one million yuan. During the summer of 1933 the CCP also focused on suppressing counterrevolutionaries. One of the 28 Bolsheviks greatest critics was Luo Ming, the secretary of the Fujian-Guangdong-Jiangxi soviet committee. A large amount of recruitment and taxation had hurt the morale of the local people in the Soviet. When the Central Committee wanted troops there to deploy for action Luo Ming argued they needed to stay for local defense and that they should scale back offensive operations. However from the perspective of the 28 Bolsheviks it looked very similar to Mao Zedongs lure the enemy in deep strategy. At this point there were still many loyal to Mao Zedong and his strategy, so the Bolsheviks saw an opportunity to hurt him through punishing Luo Ming. They created a new pejorative term “Luo Min Line” to describe any non-offensive strategy and began a purge of the Fujian-Guangdong-Jiangxi Soviets leadership. The “Luo Ming line” became a new slogan to describe any in the CCP opposing the offensive strategy. During the summer of 1933, the Central Committee, emboldened by surviving the fourth encirclement campaign, continued to press on with their offensive strategy. With the Bolshviks and Otto Braun, the Jiangxi Soviet increased the central oversight over the Red Army and gradually seized direct control over military matters. On May 8th, the CCP passed a resolution separating the Central Military council and the Red Army leadership. Zhu De and Zhou Enlai remained in charge of the Red Army, but Bo Gu gained greater control over the military council and now controlled the Red Army's strategy and the employment of its military. Also Otto Braun would play a much larger role in military strategy, leveraging his experience at the Frunze Academy to push for offensive action.  The Red Army also reorganized its units to facilitate the execution of the new offensive strategies. In June the CCP divided the 1st front red army into the eastern front red army and central red army. Bo Gu and Braun believed that the Red Army had grown strong enough, both in firepower and manpower, to no longer require coordinated, mutually supportive operations. Instead, they felt the Red Army units could carry out independent operations in different regions. The Eastern Front Red Army, composed of the Third Red Army Corps, was stationed in western Fujian, while the Central Red Army, formed from the First Red Army Corps, remained in the Central Soviet area. Under the guidance of the new Central Military Committee, the Eastern Front Red Army launched expansion efforts into Fujian after the NRA vacated the region. Peng Dehuai's forces embarked on a three-month campaign in Fujian, expanding Soviet-controlled territory, securing supplies—especially salt—and raising funds, addressing key shortages for both the Red Army and the CCP. Before the Fifth Extermination Campaign, the Central Soviet controlled an impressive 60,000 square kilometers, spanning parts of three provinces. However, as they focused on territorial expansion, the Red Army neglected to monitor the KMT, which was preparing for another encirclement campaign. Now we have primarily focused on one of the major Soviets implicated in the fourth encirclement campaign. In reality the fourth encirclement campaign had been a large scale operation against three major soviets: the Hunan-Western Hubei Soviet also referred to as the Honghu Soviet; the Hubei-Henan-Anhui or Eyuwan Soviet and the Jiangxi Soviet. You would be led to believe and rightfully so because many lets just say, CCP aligned sources like to highlight the Jiangxi Soviet story, that the communists had kind of duped the NRA and stolen their victory from them. It was much more of a mixed bag overall. The campaign against the Hunan–Western Hubei Soviet saw the NRA successfully defeat the local Red Army forces, overrunning their main base in southern Hubei and Hunan. The majority of the fighting occurred around Jingzhou and overall was seen as a loss for the CCP. For the campaign against the Eyuwan Soviet, drought, famine and epidemics severely hurt the CCP forces in 1932. Between July and September, Chiang Kai-Shek had allocated more than 300,000 troops for the operation. The CCP suffered tremendously because of the numerical superiority of the NRA. The NRA General Xia Douyin unleashed a scorched earth campaign, killing countless, burning many villages and destroying to seizing crops. Historians like Chen Yaohuang argue the fourth Red Army who participated in this area were defeated largely because they had adopted conventional warfare tactics. The peasantry were very hostile to the NRA, forcing their forces to depend on unreliable local elites for provisions, creating a very vulnerable supply line. However the CCP failed to exploit this weakness by not committing guerilla warfare. Despite the NRA victory, it was a rather incomplete one and they ended their campaign prematurely celebrating. The fourth red army had successfully retreated into the border region between Shaanxi and Sichuan leaving behind a small force to conduct guerilla warfare. The remaining Communist forces in the Eyuwan Soviet, led by Gao Jingting and Xu Haidong, capitalized on the early Nationalist withdrawal to rebuild a guerrilla movement. They hid in the mountains, survived by foraging, and organized poor peasants to seize grain from landlords and public granaries. The 25th Red Army, under their leadership, managed to maintain a Communist presence in the region for several more years. After all was said and done, as was the case with the previous encirclement campaigns, reports from field commanders were far too optimistic. Many reported to Chiang Kai-Shek exaggerated numbers of casualties inflicted, prisoners taken and areas secured. In reality what the communists were doing was simply moving around to give off the impression of major defeats. Sure the Reds were taken enormous losses, but they were constantly recruiting and spreading. They could probably sustain these yearly encirclement campaigns if the NRA did not do something much more bold…like actually encircle the Reds. As great as the Reds were becoming at outwitting their opponent, their luck would eventually run out. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Reds had survived 4 large encirclement campaigns. The 28 Bolsheviks and their moscow allies were greatly emboldened thinking it was their time to go on the offensive and usher in a true revolution. However those like Mao Zedong knew the dire reality of the situation and were bracing themselves for the coming storm.

Hey folks, today we're joined by Ramli John, one of my favorite marketers and someone I've admired and followed on Twitter for many years.Ramli got his start in marketing at PepsiCo as a Marketing Systems Analyst where he stayed for 4 years. After a co-founding stint Ramli moved to Toronto where started his freelancing career as a SaaS growth consultant. Along the way he also worked at a few different companies including SkyVerge which exited to GoDaddy.He also spent a few years teaching as a Marketing Instructor at big name spots like RED Academy, Centennial College and CXL Institute.He started what's widely known as one of the top marketing podcasts on the planet, Growth Marketing Today and he's one of the inspirations of our podcast here.He went on to join Product-Led - The leading community for PLG Pros founded by Wes Bush the famous author of Product-Led Growth. During his time there Ramli wrote his own book with Wes. It hit shelves last year: Product-Led Onboarding. I've read it twice and it's been a huge career growth lever for me.Now he's landed in what seems to be the perfect role, Director of Content at one of the top no-code onboarding tools in Appcues.Damn what a resume, what a journey, Ramli it's an honor to have you.Questions and topicsRamli there's a bunch of jumping off points here, I want to get into the podcast, the book and also the new gig but I'd love to start with an early career question.Early career at Pepsi and startupYou did a 180 when you went from a massive 100k + enterprise at Pepsi to then co-founding a startup. How wild was the transition and what advice would you have for listeners in big companies thinking of starting something one day?Podcast growthYou did Growth Marketing today for 4 years, I remember you posting once about how long it took you before you finally started to gain big traction. What advice do you have for people creating content with a small audience, sometimes feeling like they are speaking into the void.Teacher questionRamli, you spent a few years teaching, first at RED academy, a tech and design school, then at CXL Institute in their Demand Gen mini degree and also at Centennial College teaching a 14-week course on web analytics. What gave you the itch to spend 3 years teaching and maybe talk about the process of designing a course from scratch and all the work involved there.On writing your first bookTalk to us about writing your first book and the difference between the process of writing a course vs a book. Obviously Wes was probably a big inspiration but was this something you've always wanted to do and will there be more books in the future?PQL vs. PAIListeners have probably heard of PQLs by now, Product Qualified Leads or criterias that tell you someone has experienced your product or gotten some mileage in it. In your book, Product-Led Onboarding, you talk a lot about PAI, Product Adoption Indicators. Can you unpack the difference between both of those for listeners? Key onboarding milestonesMany people will dumb down onboarding to just getting users to the ‘aha moment' like it's something that magically unlocks onboarding challenges. You actually break down the nuance here and coin 3 different moments of value: Perception, Experience and Adoption. Can you walk us through a practical example of this?Conversational bumpersIn your book, one of my favorite analogies is your bowling analogy and how you compare onboarding emails and SMS messages as conversational bumpers to help users get their first strike. Unpack this for our listeners.Appcues, 6 months inYou're about half a year into Appcues leading the content team, teaching SaaS teams about onboarding and product adoption. When I saw you announce that I was like damn, that's the ultimate fit, Ramli gets to go back to SaaS and he gets to keep pumping out content about onboarding. I'd love to hear how the journey has been so far but maybe start by telling us how this opportunity came about.Happiness questionRamli, you've got a ton of stuff going on, you're a podcaster, an author, a frequent speaker, a soon to be dad and you're leading a content team at one of the coolest SaaS in the world. One question we ask all our guests is how do you remain happy and successful in your career? How do you find balance between all the things you're working on while staying happy? ---Ramli's linksTwitter: https://twitter.com/ramlijohn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramlijohn/LinkedIn posts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramlijohn/recent-activity/shares/ Product-Led Onboarding book: https://productled.com/book/onboarding/ Appcues: https://www.appcues.com/ Growth Marketing Today: https://growthtoday.fm/ ✌️--Intro music by Wowa via UnminusCover art created by SLB

Un mondo quello delle costruzioni che sta vivendo un momento di grande vivacità e che è alla disperata ricerca di figure tecniche. Siamo a Padova e lo scopo dell'Its Red Academy è proprio quello di colmare questo mismatch.390 ragazzi in formazione, con un buon venti per cento di ragazze, un numero alto se confrontato con altri Its. Arrivano soprattutto da istituti tecnici e professionali, ma aumenta il numero dei liceali. Un venti per cento degli iscritti è composto da imprenditori, architetti e ingegneri (non più giovanissimi), che decidono di rientrare in un percorso formativo che non li metta al passo con l'Industria 4.0. Sette i corsi in nelle sedi venete di Vicenza, Verona, Padova e Treviso, a settembre si aggiungerà anche quella di Venezia: building manager, energy manager 4.0, construction manager, marketing manager, design manager, materials manager, infrastructure manager. Due corsi nella sede lombarda di Varese: energy manager 4.0, construction manager. Its Red Academy è una delle poche Fondazioni che insiste su due regioni.."Nove ragazzi su dieci alla fine dei due anni hanno un contratto a tempo indeterminato. Ragazzi di 20 anni che vengono assunti subito", racconta il presidente Cristiano Perale. Per accedere si deve sostenere un test di ingresso con una prova scritta e un colloquio motivazionale. Per chi volesse, esiste la possibilità di aggiungere al biennio un terzo anno per conseguire una laurea triennale in ingegneria civile e ambientale, grazie ad un accordo con Uninettuno.

Matt Parson spends a lot of time thinking about how you learn best. As the Founder of Toronto-based Benji, he’s creating a new category of learning; one that is collaborative, immersive & scalable. He was the COO & Partner of RED Academy, Canada's fastest growing Design & Technology school, and helped launch their Toronto campus. And suddenly, against the backdrop of the largest economic event the world has ever known, he & his organization are in very high demand.Their technology helps people learn with and from each other. Their guided learning experiences are easy to create & replicate collaborative learning environments usually only found in face-to-face workshops. Though all your participants will need is a smartphone. The sad fact is that prior to the global pandemic, 2 of 3 learning professionals wouldn’t endorse their own training programs. It’s solutions like Benji that move the needle; delivering meaningful face-to-face learning at scale. Matt ParsonAs the Founder of Benji, Matt Parson is helping trainers navigate the new normal. As learning goes virtual, many are realising the tools available for remote training are abysmal, resulting in one boring webinar after another. Pairing Benji's suite of collaboration tools with your favourite video conferencing app, you can run your remote workshops just like your in-person ones. In his prior role, Matt was the COO and Partner of RED Academy, an international design & technology school.LinkedInWebsiteThinking Inside the BoxConstraints drive innovation. Each week we’ll tackle the most complex issues related to work & culture.LinkedInInstagramTwitterWebsiteApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify StitcherPocket CastMatt BurnsMatt Burns is an award-winning executive, social entrepreneur and speaker. He believes in the power of community, simplicity & technology.LinkedInTwitterSpecial OfferThe future of work is today. And the team at Benji have the hands-on solution that you need to transition your organization’s legacy team-building, learning & engagement processes online. If you’re like me & have a short attention span on webinars or conference calls, this is the solution. Benji has a catalogue of interactive, engaging workshops for groups of any size. We’re using it to power BentoHR team socials, workshops and brainstorming sessions. All you need is a smartphone. And Benji.It’s a great tool. And it gets better. By using the discount code Bento20, Thinking Inside the Box podcast listeners are entitled to 20% off the price. It’s an incredible value. Check it out: mybenji.com

Is it a good idea to leave an established career and try to break into the world of digital marketing? Two of our recent alumni seem to think so. This episode features an interview with Philip Thomas and Swati Pradhan, both of whom had established careers in different industries before making the move into digital marketing. Having graduated together from RED, they now work together at Thrive Digital, one of Canada's best digital agencies. Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @REDAcademyand @RED.Academy - feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast Our host Chris Kowalewski is a digital marketing instructor at RED Academy based out of Toronto, Ontario. REDio: Like radio, only more RED. Thanks for listening!

The ability to record your own voice is something that makes many of us cringe but for others living where access to the tech we take for granted is limited, it can be life changing. This episode features an interview with Patricia and Andre Moura, whose professional careers landed them in remote regions of Africa where they empowered locals through education about audio engineering that has helped record languages which were at risk of vanishing forever. Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @REDAcademyand @RED.Academy - feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast Our host Chris Kowalewski is a digital marketing instructor at RED Academy based out of Toronto, Ontario. REDio: Like radio, only more RED. Thanks for listening!

Thank you to everyone who's stopped by to listen! This is the second episode of #TheFutureOf podcast and the conversation explores the theme question "Is Your Education Future Proof?" In a time of exponential technological change, the host (Prieeyya) leads the conversation with two leaders in the future of work space, Andrew Wadsworth of RED Academy and Daniela Pico of Riipen about the gaps & challenges within education today, innovative learning design that break silos between industry and academia and the immediate actions that students, educators, parents and industry can take to stay ahead of the curve. If you enjoyed listening, please spread the word!!! Connect with us! Prieeyya: instagram.com/prieeyya | https://www.linkedin.com/in/prieeyya/ | email: prieeyya@ourwavehub.com Our Wave Hub: instagram.com/ourwavehub | ourwavehub.com Andrew Wadsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwadsworth1/ Daniela Pico: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielapico/

Feeling down about your job hunt? You might be focusing your energy on the wrong things! This episode features an interview with Sarah Feldberg, a career coach who helps her clients find jobs they love and lock them down. She sheds some light on organizational psychology and how it can radically shift the way you approach your job hunt. For more from Coach Feldberg you can follow her on Instagram @CoachFeldberg or visit coachfeldberg.com Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @REDAcademy and @RED.Academy - feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. Thanks for listening!

Thinking about pursuing a career in web or app development? This episode features an interview with two alumni from dev programs at RED Academy who did just that. They'll discuss their own misconceptions about the dev world before they entered it and shed some light on what it means to be a developer. Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @REDAcademy and @RED.Academy - feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features dev alumni Cody Rathor and Stuart Johnston, with your host, who is a Digital Marketing Instructor at RED, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

Thinking about pursuing a career in UX or UI? This episode features an interview with two alumni from design programs at RED Academy who did just that. They'll discuss their own misconceptions about the design world before they entered it and shed some light on what it means to be a designer. Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @REDAcademy and @RED.Academy - feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features design alumni Hardip Kaur and Devon Seidel with your host, who is also a Digital Marketing Instructor at RED, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

Thinking about pursuing a career in digital marketing? This episode features an interview with two alumni from the digital marketing program at RED Academy who did just that. They'll discuss their own misconceptions about the marketing world before they entered it and shed some light on what it means to be a digital marketer. Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @REDAcademy and @RED.Academy - feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features digital marketing alumni Tessa Ross and Alexandra Sherwood with your host, who is a Digital Marketing Instructor at RED, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

James Potten is the Managing Director of Red Academy. He was previously a professional windsurfer and set up the student windsurfing association as well as being the first person to cross the channel windsurfing. He ran Ecosurety for 12 years which he grew to multimillion revenue. James has real insight into how teams work and how to really accelerate learning and get the best out of people. we discuss his current project with Red Academy as well as life lessons along the way. From scaling businesses to Kitesurfing on Necker Island, James has learnt a lot. James Connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamespotten/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/jamespotten) Website (https://jamespotten.com/home) ABOUT THE HOST My name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spirit of curiosity and Growth. My background is in Biology and Psychology with a passion for improving the world and human behaviour. I have built and sold companies from an early age and love coming up with unique ways to make life more enjoyable and meaningful. Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samjamsnaps/) Quora (https://www.quora.com/profile/Sam-Harris-58) Twitter (https://twitter.com/samharristweets) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharris48/) Sam's blog - SamWebsterHarris.com (https://samwebsterharris.com/) Support the Show - Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/growthmindset) TOP TIPS GET ADVICE FROM OTHERS Use Mentors and coaches for what you trying to achieve. In your business get a non-exec no board and don’t think you're so smart to do it all yourself. There are always things that you can’t think of yourself and you just open yourself up to mistakes by thinking too highly of yourself. FOCUS ON SOFT SKILLS Whether hiring others or improving yourself its the soft skills that are crucially important. I heard a good point saying the future of work is about the 3 C’s - Communication, collaboration and Creativity. These are the skills you need to have in yourself and in others to be able to work with them. As James says, “you get hired for hard skills —> fired for soft skills” so you must learn to take feedback and value it. “LIFE BEGINS AT THE EDGE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE” If you want to live an interesting life where you take on challenges and have big successes you need to step out of your comfort zone. Embrace the bigger risks and you will be more likely to succeed in it than if you don’t commit and don’t have the fire under your arse to make it happen. BOOKS Get any of the books free on audible (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Free-Trial-Digital-Membership/dp/B00OPA2XFG?tag=samharris48%E2%80%9321) YUVAL NOAH HARARI - 21 LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lessons-21st-Century-Yuval-Harari/dp/1784708283/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Z1H6Q5JYDQZG&keywords=21+lessons+for+the+21st+century&qid=1580825663&sprefix=21+lessons%2Caps%2C401&sr=8-1) Amazing book about what we should really be focusing on and it just opens your eyes into new ways of thinking about things. Highly recommend OUTLIERS - MALCOLM GLADWELL (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0141036257/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QGHOTDQU5NHP&keywords=outliers&qid=1580825696&sprefix=outli%2Caps%2C406&sr=8-1) We also mention the 10,000-hour rule which comes from Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Outliers’ which is definitely worth a read. He’s a great author and does an amazing job of explaining concepts in a nice way that really gets you interested in it. The book explains the coincidences in scenarios that lead to incredible performance. Subscribe! If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Special Guest: James Potten.

There's a game show segment in this episode. That should be all you need to know to get excited. Let us know what you think... feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features Lead Digital Marketing Instructor, Rowan Springfield and your host, who is also a Digital Marketing Instructor, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

It's "jif", right? However you say it, they've been wildly popular for a little while now and they're great at helping us express emotions in this digital communication age we've found ourselves in. We talked about all of our favourites, whether or not it's professional to use them, and when it might be inappropriate entirely. Let us know what you think... feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features UI Designer, Fiona Samson and Developer, Sid Parmar and Digital Marketing Instructor, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

Is being green still trendy thing that tech startups do? Are they actually helping, or are we all just getting punked? We brought the heat this episode in a chat about social responsibility and the future of education - deep stuff, right? We also tried to gamify the podcast with some challenges. Jury's out on how that translated to an audio medium. Let us know what you think... feedback is a gift. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features Lead Dev Instuctor, Mackenzie Kieran , RED Academy Marketing Manager, Jess Furmanski and Digital Marketing Instructor, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

Did we have to do a 90's-kids-pandering-nostalgia episode? We sure did! Tech wasn't nearly as big of a part of growing up in the 90's as it is today. Things were different - not medieval times different, but different. Our resident digital pros at RED Academy got together this episode to reflect on their experiences growing up and how much has changed in tech and privacy since then. We also tried to gamify the podcast with some challenges. Jury's out on how that translated to an audio medium. Please share with that one friend who's always going on and on about how the 90's were the best and tags you in all the 90's kids memes. Redio is a tech talk show podcast for anyone in the tech industry with an interest in UX/UI, Dev or Digital Marketing. Episodes cover anything and everything you can throw at us! Feel free to submit discussion topics by tagging RED Academy on Instagram, or Facebook and using #REDioPodcast REDio: Like radio, only more RED. This episode features UX Designer, Jenny Lam and Developer, Sid Parmar and Digital Marketer, Chris Kowalewski. Thanks for listening!

Ever thought about running an influencer marketing campaign? In this episode of Growth Marketing Today, I have the Richard Wong, VP Marketing of #Paid, one of the biggest influencer marketing platforms in the industry. They've recently raised $9M in Series A funding to fuel their platform's expansion with AI. Learn why you should consider running an influencer marketing campaign, how to run a successful campaign and how to measure the success of that campaign. For quotes and episode outline of this episode, go to https://growthmarketing.today/025 What You'll Learn in This Episode How has marketing in tech changed in the last 5-10 years The history and impact of influencer marketing One winning influencer campaign they ran in an unsexy industry (hint: it's the financial/bank field) What #Paid's marketing team looks like How to run a successful influencer marketing campaign How to measure the success of influencer marketing campaigns Tips for recent marketing grads on how to get their first job About Richard Wong Richard Wong is a Toronto-based marketing leader who is currently the head of marketing at #paid having previously worked at Google, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble. His work has been featured in AdWeek, DigiDay, Media in Canada, Strategy Magazine, the American Marketing Association (AMA) blog, DX3, and other publications. He also teaches the digital marketing classes at tech schools—Brainstation, RED Academy, and Camp Tech.  

COLIN MANSELL visits the Creative Niche offices in downtown Toronto, ON. There, he speaks with Kristian Gilbert about the lessons he learned sailing from Vancouver to Alaska, the importance of sunsets, his origins as a classically trained musician and sound engineer, his approach to education and the value of a new idea. COLIN is the CEO and Founder of Red Academy, a design and tech school with locations in Vancouver, Toronto and London, UK and was inspired by a trip COLIN took to South Africa. Look for COLIN on twitter @colinatred and find out more about Red Academy at http://redacademy.com Subscribe to Talent & Titan at http://talentandtitan.simplecast.fm and follow us on all social medias @talentandtitan. Talent & Titan is produced by Creative Niche and recorded at their offices in downtown Toronto, ON.

This episode is a little different. A joint experiment. A nebulous mission. In this inspiring international discussion, I was honored to be joined by two co-hosts: Dawna Jones of Vancouver and Gert Penne of Belgium. And three guests: Willow Bumby and Lindsey Henwood of Vancouver, and Josh Shaffer of Tampa. With 6+ participants, spanning 3+ countries, 3 continents, and 3 generations we explored not only the future of work, but also the future of education. Dawna Jones is the AUTHOR of DECISION-MAKING for DUMMIES. Her book appears on Steve Denning's (Forbes) list of 8 Noteworthy Books for 2014. Dawna is also the host of the “Evolutionary Provocateur” podcast. Gert Penne, an account executive in the tech industry, is a an Empathic Problem Solver, who takes a principle-centered approach to teaming across cultures, disciplines, and generations. At the end of a 2-continent, 3-country Skype call, Dawna, Gert, and I found ourselves talking about generational differences globally. With the goal to learn how the next generation sees the Future of Work, we decided to invite 3 Millennials to a follow-up call. This show is that call. Millennials fall just after the Gen-Xers. They were born between 1982 and 2004. We were fortunate to have 3 Millennials join us. Josh Shaffer is an early Millennial, and works for Accenture in Talent Acquisition in Tampa. Willow Bumby is an iOS Engineer, designer, and writer, as well as a teacher at Lighthouse Labs in Vancouver. Lindsay Henwood is a User Experience Design Instructor at Red Academy, a rapidly growing Tech School startup in Vancouver. Two other Millennials joined us virtually. Lauren Kirmil is a Marketing and Media Specialist and a former technical recruiter in the San Francisco Bay Area. During her extensive travels throughout Southeast Asia she worked as a freelance travel writer. Grace Liu is a former Outreach Support Officer at the British Consulate in Guangzhou, China. She recently received funding to start a venture in Shenzhen. With the assistance of her NYU professor she also plans to start an NGO incorporating ancient contemplative practices, including meditation. In this discussion we covered a wide range of topics. Distributed workforces and workplace flexibility and the big American offensive to change the workplace. Self-responsibility, self-awareness, self-perception. Cultural fit: the “techie” mold and the pressure to fit in. The dying days of the industrial model, the irrelevant university degree and the rise of bootcamp style education. The need to understand the next generation, and the companies which will die. The rise of the robots and the growing fear of job loss. Capitalism and its schizophrenic booms and busts: do we want an economy based on self-interest or creativity and collaboration? Tribalism and the need to belong: do we become global citizens or nationalists? Surviving the industrial model and designing the new workplace. The need to shift easily into different industries and the costly risk in over-specialization. The silliness of our current system and people's inability to work with power. And the power coming from the “Millennial values”.

Drew is away this week, so we have a guest co-host, Selina Davis! This week's special guest is Matt Parson from Red Academy and to start with we review and outlook tech events around town.