Fifth encirclement campaign against the Hubei–Henan–Anhui Soviet

The fifth encirclement campaign against the Hubei–Henan–Anhui Soviet was an encirclement campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government that was intended to destroy the communist Hubei–Henan–Anhui Soviet and its Chinese Red Army in the local region. It was responded by the Communists' fifth counter-encirclement campaign at Hubei–Henan–Anhui Soviet (Chinese: 鄂豫皖苏区第五次苏区反围剿), also called by the communists as the fifth counter-encirclement campaign at Hubei–Henan–Anhui Revolutionary Base (Chinese: 鄂豫皖革命根据地第五次反围剿), in which the local Nationalist force defeated the local Chinese Red Army and overran their Soviet republic in the border region of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui provinces from 17 July 1933 to 26 November 1934. In mid-November 1934, the local Communists were forced to abandon their base and began their Long March, and hence the Communists usually choose their beginning of the Long March as the end of the campaign, but in reality, the campaign was longer, lasting for another half a month until the end of November 1934 when the local Chinese Red Army fought its way to escape.

Fifth encirclement campaign against the Hubei–Henan–Anhui Soviet
Part of the Chinese Civil War
Date July 17, 1933 – November 26, 1934 Location Border region of Hubei, Henan, Anhui provinces, China Result Nationalist victory; Red Army forced into retreat
Belligerents
Nationalist China	Chinese Red Army
Commanders and leaders
Chiang Kai-shek Li Jishen	Xu Xiangqian Zhang Guotao
Strength
50,000	7,000
Casualties and losses
10,000	4,000+