Yang Dezhi was a native of Nanyangqiao in Liling County, Hunan Province, the son of a blacksmith. He worked as a miner at Anyuan Coal Mine near Pingxiang at the age of 16 (1926) and may have heard Mao Zedong speak during the 1927 strike organization efforts. He later joined a force that followed Mao to Changsha in the summer of 1927, and was defeated in that aborted uprising. Joining the CCP in 1928, Yang fought in the early battles around the Jinggang Mountains and was assigned to Lin Biao's 28th Regiment where he participated in battles in Jiangxi and Fujian in 1929. After 1932, Yang commanded the 1st Regiment, 1st Division under Lin and Nie Rongzhen during the Long March.