國共分裂後，中共開始創建軍隊，但在這一過程中，中共中央既沒有提供金錢支援，也缺乏人員支援，紅軍幾乎是獨自崛起。等到1930年前後，紅軍坐大，中共中央才把重心轉向根據地，重新審視軍隊的力量，並試圖加強控制。中共中央控制紅軍的過程，既有權力之爭，也涉及到組織制度、意識形態等因素。相較於北洋以來，武人難以管束的窘境，中共對軍事武裝的控制可謂相當得力。

After the split with the Kuomintang, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to build its own army. However in this process, the Central Committee of CCP provided neither financial support nor human resources; it would be fair to argue that the Red Army established its power almost entirely by itself. The Central Committee of CCP did not shift their focus onto the base areas, re-examine the power of its military forces, or try to strengthen their control of the Red Army until the latter had grown into a formidable force around 1930. In the ensuing process of gaining control of the Red Army, the Central Committee of the CCP had to deal with power struggle and issues such as organizational system, ideology and etc. However, in comparison to the difficulty in controlling the military force since the Beiyang period, the Chinese Communist Party's control of the military forces was quite effective.