Aftermath of the March
The Long March devastated the CPC. Many skilled personel were lost, as well as resources and the party lost much access to the general masses. The previous de-facto leader, Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀), would loose influence and be succeeded by Mao Zedong, who would remain in power for the rest of the civil war. From this point on, the Communist strategy would focus on creating decentralised bases all around China, and recruiting new members and acquiring materials like guns, uniforms, ammunition, and etc. The KMT would launch counter operations, but these areas of influence were too widespread and CPC Guerillas too mobile to be sufficiently counter-acted. During this period, the Nationalists would focus mostly on dissolving the political cliques that existed within themselves, consolidating their power. The CPC would gradually gain strength and influence, especially among the broad masses of peasants and workers. The state of China Just before the war is on the right. This excludes the numerous areas of influence each party likely had in foreign territory. As one can see, most of the political cliques (with the exception of Sinkiang) are aligned with the Nationalists. The ROC/KMT was considered the "legitimate" government of China, and so this period of disunity was closer to widespread political violence rather than a state of disunified civil war.