Chapter 25 3. Play the time of birth

After the Central Red Army broke through the Xiangjiang River, it entered the Xiyan Mountains in northern Guangxi.The enemy also judged our army's strategic intention to go from the Xiyan Mountains to Xiangxi and join the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps, and immediately adjusted its subordinates. On December 2, He Jian reorganized the Fifth Route Pursuing and Suppressing Army into two corps. Liu Jianxu, commander of the First Corps, was in charge of the original First, Fourth, Fifth and Li Jue's 19th Division; Xue Yue, commander of the Second Corps, Jurisdiction over the original second and third troops. On December 5, the Central Red Army rushed along the rugged Xiyan and Longsheng Mountains, and occupied Tongdao County on the 11th.At this time, the enemy of Guangxi came up from the side of our army, and the two regiments reorganized by He Jian had also entered Chengbu, Suining, Jingxian, Hongjiang and other places to rush to build fortifications and set up their nets. .After two months of continuous marching and fighting, our army was extremely fatigued and its combat effectiveness was greatly weakened.Under such circumstances, if our army still goes north to western Hunan, it will inevitably collide with the enemy who is waiting in full formation, and there will be the danger of annihilation of the entire army.However, Bo Gu, Li De and others ignored the serious situation at the time and blindly insisted on the original plan of rendezvous with the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army.

On December 14, the First Red Army captured Liping County.During this period, in order to enrich the combat troops, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission abolished the establishment of the Red Eighth Army, and all its troops were incorporated into the Fifth Red Army. , Zeng Risan served as the director of the Political Department of the Legion. On December 18, the first Politburo meeting of the CPC Central Committee since the Long March of the Central Red Army was held in Liping.Those who participated in the meeting were: Bo Gu, Li De, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Wentian, Zhu De, Mao Zedong, Wang Jiaxiang, etc.After a heated debate, the meeting affirmed Mao Zedong's correct proposition of "going westward to Guizhou".He also criticized and persuaded Bogu, Li De and others on the action policy of "entering eastern Guizhou and rendezvous with the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps".

On January 3, 1935, the Red Army successfully broke through the natural barrier of the Wujiang River. On the 7th, Zunyi City was captured. From January 15th to 17th, the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in the mansion of Bai Huizhang, the commander of the 2nd Division of the Qianjun Army in Zunyi. This is the famous Zunyi meeting.The convening of this meeting has gone through a long and intense process of brewing.In this process, Mao Zedong has always played a leading and decisive role.This meeting ended the rule of Wang Ming's "Left" adventurism in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, established Comrade Mao Zedong's leading position in the entire party and army, and began to form a leadership group with Mao Zedong as the core. It saved the party, saved the Red Army, saved the Chinese revolution, and put the ship of the Chinese revolution on the right track again. The Zunyi Conference is a great historical turning point in the Chinese revolution.

Not long after the meeting ended, Comrade Chen Yun was entrusted by the Party Central Committee to come to the Fifth Red Army Corps to convey the spirit of the Zunyi Conference. The cadres and soldiers of the Fifth Army Corps listened quietly in the drizzle.Dong Zhentang did not attend the meeting because he did not have a leadership position in the party. After listening to Chen Yun's delivery report, he said happily: "Okay! This is all right, our Red Army is saved!" On the same day, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission promulgated The reorganization order was issued, and the entire army was drawn down.The First Red Army was downsized into two divisions and six regiments, the Third Red Army was downsized into four regiments, and the Ninth Red Army was downsized into three regiments.The Fifth Red Army Corps abolished the division-level organization, and the whole army was reduced to three regiments (ie, the 37th, 38th, and 39th regiments), with less than 6,000 people in the whole army.After the reorganization of the troops, the combat companies have been enriched, and their mobility and combat effectiveness have been greatly enhanced.

After the Central Red Army returned to northern Guizhou, in order to get rid of the passive situation, Mao Zedong decided to fight a big battle here. According to the enemy's situation, he decisively decided: use the Fifth Red Army to stop Sichuan from chasing the enemy in Liangcun and Shuanglongchang in the north; , the Three Army Corps and the Cadre Corps captured Tongzi and Loushan Pass, and reoccupied Zunyi City. The key to the implementation of this battle is-whether the Red Fifth Army as the rear guard can withstand the strong enemy in the north.After receiving the order, Dong Zhentang discussed carefully with Political Commissar Li Zhuoran and Chief of Staff Chen Bojun, and decided that the 37th Regiment would complete this arduous task. At the same time, he also decided that Zhang Jichun, the Propaganda Director of the Legion, would bring a radio station to the regiment.Due to time constraints, Zhang Jichun set off immediately, and finally caught up with the thirty-seventh regiment that was marching rapidly in Liangcun area.During the march, Zhang Jichun conveyed the instructions of the Military Commission to Li Pingren, the regimental commander, and Xie Liang, the political commissar.

When they heard that the main force of the Red Army was preparing to fight a major battle at Loushanguan and Zunyi, and that it was under the command of Chairman Mao himself, Li Pingren and Xie Liang said happily, "Okay! We can win the battle this time." During the march, the soldiers were in high spirits and full of confidence in completing this arduous task. Soon after the troops entered the designated position, the well-equipped instructors of the Sichuan warlord Liu Xiang drove over.As soon as the battle started, the enemy launched a fierce attack on the Red Army in four or five ways.The Red Thirty-seventh Regiment took up the battle calmly, using the means of movement and defense, very steadily leading the enemy by the nose, fighting while retreating.Early in the morning of the third day, the enemy began to attack again from several routes. The 37th Regiment relied on the favorable terrain to repel the enemy, and captured several prisoners during the counter-charge.After being sent to the regiment headquarters for interrogation, I learned that the enemy's strength was actually three brigades and nine regiments.In the subsequent battles, the 37th Regiment adopted the tactics of attacking the east and attacking the west, gradually leading the enemy to the direction of Wenshui.It was already the seventh day when the enemy learned that the Red Army ahead had only one regiment.During these seven days, the Red Thirty-seventh Regiment firmly contained the powerful enemy on the northern front and successfully completed the task. Then they cleverly got rid of the enemy and returned to the establishment three days later.The main Red Army also used this period of time to successfully implement the Zunyi Campaign.

On the second day after the thirty-seventh regiment mobilized the enemy, the main force of the Fifth Red Army, led by Dong Zhentang, fought side by side with the Ninth Red Army. The Sichuan Army, which was delayed in the northwest of Tongzi, and the main force of the First Red Army concentrated in the south to take Loushan close. At dawn on the 25th, the 13th Regiment of the Red Army launched a fierce attack on the Guizhou Army at Loushanguan from north to south.After a fierce battle, Loushan Pass was captured on the evening of the same day, and the commanding height - Dianjin Mountain was controlled.In order to regain the lost position, the enemy mobilized about 6 regiments and organized several counterattacks, all of which were repelled by the Red Army.Then, under the unified command of Peng Dehuai and Yang Shangkun, the First Red Army and the Third Red Army used a force to contain the enemy from the front, concentrated their forces to detour from the two wings to the Black Temple and Banqiao behind the enemy, wiped out one part of the enemy, and the rest of the enemy were as follows: The frightened bird fled south in haste.After the battle at Loushanguan, the First Red Army and the Third Red Army took advantage of the victory to pursue Zunyi. On the 26th, the Red Army defeated the sixth, fifteenth, and ninth regiments of the Guizhou Army in Donggongsi, Gaoping, Daqiao and other places.Then, on the 26th, at Shizipu and other places in the northwest of Zunyi City, they defeated the enemy's first, fifth, and eighth regiments and entered Zunyi City.The remnants of the Qian army retreated into Zunyi City and stood by for help.In the evening of that day, regardless of fatigue, the Red Army and the Red Army launched a siege battle. After more than an hour of fierce fighting, they occupied the new city of Zunyi. Wang Jialie hurriedly led the Guizhou Army's first and sixth regiments to abandon the city and flee south. In the early morning of the 29th, after four hours of fierce fighting, the Third Red Army recaptured Zunyi City and controlled the highlands of Honghuagang and Laoyashan in the south of the city.In order to recapture Zunyi, the enemy counterattacked frantically and ordered all the pursuers to rush to Zunyi for reinforcements.The 93rd Division of the enemy Wu Qiwei's column has entered Zhongzhuangpu, and part of it has advanced to Luojiang Bridge, 2.5 kilometers south of Zunyi City; To counterattack.Its deployment is: the 553rd, 558th, and 93rd divisions of the 59th Division will be the main attack, and they will attack Honghuagang and Laoyashan in the south of Zunyi City via Taoxi Temple; The regiment attacked north from Zhongzhuangpu and cooperated with the 59th Division; the main force of the 93rd Division and the 555th Regiment of the 59th Division were the reserve team in the Zhongzaipu area. At about 14:00 on the 28th, after Wu Qiwei was frustrated in capturing the Red Army's Honghuagang position with a regiment, he turned his main force to Laoya Mountain. After fierce fighting, he captured the commanding height of the mountain.However, the Qian army flinched because of repeated attacks by the Red Army.The Central Red Army took advantage of Wu Qiwei's troops to advance alone, and the Guizhou Army flinched, chasing the Sichuan Army and was blocked in the area north of Tongzi. At the favorable opportunity, that is, in accordance with the order of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the main force of the Red First Army broke through the Guizhou Army's position from Shuishiba. Go straight to Wu Qiwei's headquarters at Zhongzhuangpu, seeking to annihilate the enemy.This unexpected hostile blow caused Wang Jialie to flee to Dagu Xinchang in a panic; Wu Qiwei hurriedly led about one regiment of the remnants and fled towards Lazy Bench like a fish slipping through the net.The Red First Army immediately sent the second division to pursue it fiercely, and took a shortcut to occupy the lazy bench first, and the main force inserted to the bank of the Wujiang River to cut off the enemy's retreat.Fearing that he would be captured alive, Wu Qiwei led his remnants to escape across the Wujiang River first.In order to protect his own life, he immediately cut off the pontoon bridge regardless of the life and death of the three armies. As a result, more than 1,000 people and a large number of supplies who had not yet crossed the river were captured by the Red Army.The 59th Division, which was stranded in the Laoyashan area, became frightened and turned to defense.At dusk, the cadre regiment of the Red Army went into battle, cooperated with the Third Red Army to regain the commanding height of Laoyashan, wiped out most of the enemies, and the remnants fled in the direction of Balishui and Yaxi in a hurry.So far, the battle of Zunyi has ended victoriously.

In this campaign, the Central Red Army crossed Chishui twice within 5 days, captured Tongzi, captured Loushan Pass, and recaptured Zunyi City. They wiped out and defeated 2 divisions and 8 regiments of the enemy, killed and wounded more than 2,400 enemies, and captured the enemy. More than 3,000 people captured a large number of military supplies, which enabled the Red Army to be replenished in time and had the opportunity to take a short-term rest. The Fifth Red Army Corps contributed a lot to this campaign. Crossing Chishui twice and returning to northern Guizhou, under the command of Mao Zedong and others, they took advantage of the Red Army's mobile warfare and won the biggest victory since the Long March.This victory greatly encouraged the rustic spirit of the whole army, dealt a severe blow to the arrogance of the Kuomintang army, especially Chiang Kai-shek's direct troops, and laid the foundation for the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to take the initiative and get rid of the passive situation strategically.

Under the correct leadership of Mao Zedong, the Central Red Army successfully left hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang pursuers behind.During this period, when the troops were advancing rapidly in the mountains of northern Guizhou, a true and touching story happened.Chen Huiqing, the wife of Comrade Deng Fa, director of the Political Security Bureau, was eight months pregnant. When she passed a mountain pass, she suffered severe stomach pains and was about to give birth.The troops had to stop and carried her to a straw hut, ready to deliver the baby.Just at this time, there was a fierce gunshot from behind. Comrade Dong Biwu was anxiously guarding outside the thatched shed. The recuperating company commander Hou hurried over and reported: "The enemy is chasing troops from behind, and the comrades of the Fifth Army have already launched an attack. Also, there is ..." Company Commander Hou looked anxiously at the hut, and said to Mr. Dong: "Comrade Chen Huiqing has a difficult labor. I'm afraid he won't be able to give birth for a while. What should I do?" , ask him to stand up to the enemy no matter what.”

After receiving the notice, Dong Zhentang called Wu Kehua, the head of the 39th Regiment, and ordered him: "I am giving birth later, and you will give me as long as it takes to give birth!" The officers and soldiers of the Ninth Regiment fought desperately with the enemy. During the fierce battle, officers and soldiers kept asking Commander Wu: "Did you give birth? Did you give birth?" Wu Kehua didn't receive the order to retreat, so he yelled on the battlefield shouting: "No life!" A short sentence, that is, to order the soldiers to go on. After two full hours, the child finally came to this world.For this reason, many brave Red Army soldiers died in the blocking position.Dong Biwu ordered Chen Huiqing, who was almost unconscious, to be carried away on a stretcher. Then he hugged the lovely child and wrote a note with tears in his eyes:

The person who took in this child was the kindest person in the world. After finishing writing, Elder Dong stuffed a few silver dollars and the note into the clothes that wrapped the child, and gently placed the child in the center of the hut.This was indeed a last resort at the time.The thirty-ninth regiment, which was responsible for the cover task, immediately withdrew from the battle, and the troops quickly marched out of contact with the enemy.Along the way, some officers and soldiers complained that it was not worthwhile for a regiment to fight like this for a child.As soon as Dong Zhentang heard the fire, the bloody man immediately said: "What is worthwhile and not worth it? Isn't it for their tomorrow that we are fighting in the revolution today?" The comrade who said that suddenly felt that he was wrong, and then There was no words, and the troops hurriedly marched in the rainy mountains again. Immediately afterwards, the Red Army crossed Chishui three times, and entered southern Sichuan from Zunyi.When Chiang Kai-shek heard the news, he flew from Hankou to Chongqing to take command in person, and changed to a combination of fortressism and focused offensive tactics in an attempt to attack from north to south and encircle and annihilate the Central Red Army in the Zunyi and Yaxi areas.Its deployment is: The three brigades of the Sichuan Army attacked Zunyi from Tongzi; the two divisions of the Ninth Army advanced from Chongqing to Songkan and Xinzhan to support the Sichuan Army's attack on Zunyi; the main three divisions of the second column advanced to Renhuai and Lubanchang to attack Zunyi The four brigades of the third column went to Dading (now Dafang) and Qianxi area to prevent blockage; a part of the fourth column gathered in Jinsha, Tucheng and other places to prevent the Red Army from developing westward; the first column The four divisions are located on the south bank of the Wujiang River, supporting other columns in operations.In addition, the 53rd Division of the First Route Army advanced from Zhenyuan to Shiqian, and the three divisions of the Hunan Army built forts along the east bank of the Wujiang River to prevent the Red Army from advancing eastward. After March 5, the Central Red Army used the Ninth Red Army Corps to lure the Sichuan Army eastward in the Tongzi and Zunyi areas. On the 15th, the main force of the Red Army attacked the second column of Luban Field, but the attack failed because the three divisions were densely packed together, and the first column of reinforcements had already entered the Fengxiangba area.The Red Army turned its troops to the north and crossed the Chishui River in Maotai and its vicinity on the 16th, heading towards Gulin and Xuyong in southern Sichuan. On the 19th, the Red Army captured Zhenlongshan, and then entered the Dacun, Tiechang, and Lianghekou areas.The Red Army entered southern Sichuan again. Chiang Kai-shek judged that the Central Red Army was about to cross the Yangtze River again, and urgently ordered all troops to attack southern Sichuan in an attempt to encircle and annihilate the Red Army in the Gulin area. Then, the Red Army crossed Chishui four times and left the Kuomintang army to the north of Wujiang River.When the Kuomintang army concentrated heavily on southern Sichuan again, Mao Zedong and others decided to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and fold their troops to the east, looking for opportunities to wipe out the enemy on the east bank of the Chishui River. On March 20, in order to confuse the Kuomintang army, one regiment of the Red First Army marched towards Gulin with great fanfare, luring the enemy to the west.The main force suddenly turned to the northeast from the area east of Zhenlong Mountain. From the evening of the 21st to the 22nd, they crossed the Chishui River via Erlangtan, Jiuxikou, and Taipingdu respectively, and rushed southward from the right wing of the enemy's heavy army group. On the 26th, it entered the Ganxi and Mazongling areas on the north side of Zunyi and Renhuai Avenue. On the 27th, the Ninth Red Army Corps feigned an attack from the Mazongling area to Changgan Mountain, leading the Kuomintang army to the north; Andy and other places. On the 31st, cross the Wujiang River to the south via Jiangkou, Datang, Tiziyan and other places. On April 2, the Central Red Army feinted to attack Xifeng with a force, the main force entered the dog field and Zazuo area, and the forward approached Guiyang.At this time, the Kuomintang army had only 4 regiments of the 99th Division in Guiyang and its surrounding areas.Chiang Kai-shek, who was supervising the battle in Guiyang, was terrified. On the one hand, he ordered all the columns to quickly reinforce Guiyang, and on the other hand, he ordered the defenders to guard the airport, and prepared sedan chairs, horses, and guides, ready to escape at any time. On April 4, the Red Ninth Army defeated 5 regiments of the Guizhou Army in the Laomukong area east of Daguxinchang and wiped out more than 2,000 of them.At this point, the Central Red Army cleverly jumped out of the encirclement circle of the Kuomintang army and left Chiang Kai-shek's hundreds of thousands of troops north of Wujiang River.