86,000 men and woman began the trip that would last over a year until October 19, 1935 in Yan'an in Sha'anxi Province. Some of the prominent Chinese leaders that began the Long March were Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, leading the Third Army Group, Lin Biao, leading the First Army Group, Nie Rongzhen, political commissar of the First Front Army, Liu Bocheng, Ye Jianying, (the preceding from Zhu to Ye would later be declared Marshals in 1955), and Li Xiannian, who would become the President of the People's Republic of China. He Long, (also to be named a Marshal) had been sent ahead leading the Second Army Group and to-be-Marshal Chen Yi was left behind with the wounded and sick.

By its standards, the Red Army started the Long March quite well armed. It had 33,243 rifles, carbines, pistols, submachine guns, light machine guns, and heavy machine guns. It processed 38 mortars. They brought along a store of 1,801,640 cartridges, 3,523 mortar shells, and 76,526 hand grenades. A KMT force of 300,000 to 400,000 men opposed them. Numerous deals were made with local KMT warlords about passing through their territory unmolested. The Red Army agreed to just pass through and leave and the warlord promised to look the other way for a short period while they passed through.