History of the People's Liberation Army

The military was strong enough to overcome domestic rebellions and foreign invasion, yet it did not threaten civilian control of the political system.

In times of disorder, however, new military leaders and organizations arose to challenge the old system, resulting in the militarization of political life.

[2] The divisions of the "Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (中國工農紅軍) were named according to historical circumstances, sometimes in a nonconsecutive way.

Early Communist units often formed by defection from existing Kuomintang forces, keeping their original designations.

Synthesizing these influences with lessons learned from the Red Army's successes and failures, Mao created a comprehensive politico-military doctrine for waging revolutionary warfare.

People's war incorporated political, economic, and psychological measures with protracted military struggle against a superior foe.

As a military doctrine, people's war emphasized the mobilization of the populace to support regular and guerrilla forces; the primacy of men over weapons, with superior motivation compensating for inferior technology; and the three progressive phases of protracted warfare—strategic defensive, strategic stalemate, and strategic offensive (see Mobile Warfare).

In addition, policies ordered by Mao for all soldiers to follow, the Eight Points of Attention, instructed the army to avoid harm to or disrespect for the peasants, regardless of the need for food and supplies.

The PLA successfully seized control of three disputed islands in a naval battle and a subsequent amphibious assault.

Although the numerically superior Chinese forces penetrated about fifty kilometers into Vietnam, the PLA was not on good terms with its supply lines and was unable to achieve a decisive victory in the war.

[3]: 288 On 1 February 2016, China replaced its system of seven military regions with newly established Theater Commands: Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, and Central.