I'm reading a biography on Mao Tse-Tung, and currently going through the period just prior to the Long March (early fall 1934). In one passage, it's described how Mao contracted a severe case of malaria that only passed after a long stretch and enough skilled treatment by the CCP's best doctor, Nelson Fu, to make him healthy enough to take part in the March (Fu later became Mao's and the CCP elite's chief health specialist, yet was imprisoned and died during the Cultural Revolution).
Reading this, I'm curious how (or even whether) the Communist revolution in China might have happened if Mao had died from the malaria bout, either from Fu being delayed or otherwise unable to reach him, or the disease progressing faster. The Long March would likely still have happened, but how would it have progressed without Mao essentially forcing his way to the top of its leadership? Even more important, who would've stepped up to lead the CCP and the Chinese Red Army after his death? Would they have still led the Communists to victory in 1949, or would the Revolution have failed, merely been delayed, or isolated to a certain region or regions?
Reading this, I'm curious how (or even whether) the Communist revolution in China might have happened if Mao had died from the malaria bout, either from Fu being delayed or otherwise unable to reach him, or the disease progressing faster. The Long March would likely still have happened, but how would it have progressed without Mao essentially forcing his way to the top of its leadership? Even more important, who would've stepped up to lead the CCP and the Chinese Red Army after his death? Would they have still led the Communists to victory in 1949, or would the Revolution have failed, merely been delayed, or isolated to a certain region or regions?