On December 7, 1936, after?the three main Red Army troops (the first, second and fourth front armies of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army) successfully joined forces, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was established with 23 members. Mao Zedong assumed the position of chairman, while Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao took the positions of vice-chairmen.