The Nanchang Uprising
In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei struck counter-revolutionary blows against the Communist membership of the KMT, and the KMT-CPC cooperation came to a premature end. The revolution nationwide took a sharp turn in a new direction, and the CPC embarked on an arduous journey of exploring a new path through independent leadership of the agrarian revolution.
At this critical moment, in mid-July 1927, the Standing Committee of the Provisional Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided to move the forces that the CPC could control or influence to Nanchang in preparation for an armed uprising, and to launch autumn harvest uprisings in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces, where workers and peasants movements were built on solid foundations.
On July 27, Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) arrived with a group in Nanchang, capital city of Jiangxi Province. Immediately on arrival they set up a Front Committee to take charge of preparations with Zhou as secretary. Together with He Long (1896-1969), Ye Ting, Zhu De (1886-1976) and Liu Bocheng (1892-1986), the Front Committee, on August 1, started an armed uprising in Nanchang with a 20,000-strong Northern Expedition army under the CPC's control or influence. After four hours of fierce fighting, the insurgent army overcame the defending force of 3,000 and took control of the whole city.
On learning of the uprising, Wang Jingwei of the KMT immediately ordered Zhang Fakui (1896-1980) and Zhu Peide (1889-1937) to attack Nanchang with their troops. In line with the CPC Central Committee's plan, the Front Committee decided to lead the uprising army to withdraw from Nanchang and head southward for Guangdong, with the intention of using the province as the base to continue the Northern Expedition. From August 3 to 6, the uprising troops pulled out of Nanchang.
In early October, they lost a number of engagements on the way southward. Some of the remaining forces made their way to the Haifeng-Lufeng region in Guangdong to continue their struggles. The other forces, led by Zhu De and Chen Yi (1901-1972), arrived at the revolutionary base in the Jinggang Mountains in April 1928, where they rendezvoused with the Autumn Harvest Uprising troops led by Mao Zedong.
The Nanchang Uprising fired the first shots of armed Communist resistance against Chiang's Kuomintang, and demonstrated the CPC's firm resolve to continue the revolution. From this point the CPC established independent leadership of the revolutionary war, and began to strive to seize state power through military action. It marked the birth of a new army of the people.
南昌起义
1927年，蒋介石、汪精卫相继发动反革命政变，国共合作领导革命的模式因此而夭折。全国革命形势陡转，中国共产党面对血腥镇压被迫走上独立领导土地革命、探索新的革命道路的艰难征程。在面临被赶尽杀绝的危急时刻，1927年7月中旬，中共中央临时政治局常委会决定：将党所掌握和影响的部队向南昌集中，准备发动武装起义；在湖南、湖北、江西和广东四省工农运动基础较好的地方发动秋收起义。
1927年7月27日，周恩来等到达南昌，当天就组成前敌委员会，加紧进行起义的各项准备工作。8月1日，以周恩来为书记的前敌委员会及贺龙、叶挺、朱德、刘伯承等人，率领中国共产党所掌握或影响下的北伐军队2万多人在南昌举行起义。经过4个多小时的激烈战斗，起义军全歼守敌3000余人，占领了南昌城。南昌起义后，汪精卫急令张发奎、朱培德等部向南昌进攻。前委按照中共中央原定计划决定率起义军向广东进军，计划以广东为基地再次组织北伐。8月3日至6日，起义军分批撤出南昌。10月初，起义军南下途中遭到失败。保存下来的武装，一部分进入广东海陆丰地区坚持斗争；另一部分在朱德、陈毅率领下，经过艰苦转战于1928年4月到达井冈山革命根据地，同毛泽东领导的湘赣边界秋收起义部队会师。
南昌起义打响了武装反抗国民党反动派的第一枪，宣告了中国共产党把革命进行到底的坚定立场和坚强决心，标志着中国共产党独立领导革命战争、创建人民军队和武装夺取政权的开始。从此，一支真正属于人民的新型军队诞生了，这是在中国共产党绝对领导之下、忠实执行革命政治任务的武装力量，是全心全意为人民服务的子弟兵。