Marching into history

Three other famous marches from around the world and what they accomplished…

The Long March in China

Technically a retreat by the Red Army from the Nationalist Kuomintang in 1934, this was actually a series of marches. But Mao Zedong’s skilled leadership cemented his position as the dominant figure in the Communist Party.

The Falklands Big Yomp

This 56-mile march was undertaken over three gruelling days by Royal Marines and members of the Parachute Regiment across the islands, through bog, moor and minefields, from San Carlos to Port Stanley in May 1982. The march was crucial in retaking the Falkland Islands from the occupying Argentine forces. (They were supposed to be transported by helicopters, but the vessel carrying the choppers had been sunk by an Argentine missile attack.)

Hannibal crossing the Alps

The most famous, if mysterious, event of the Punic Wars, the Carthaginian general is thought to have taken 40,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry and 40 elephants across mountain passes into Italy to attack the Roman Empire in 218 BC.