Chapter 25 (6) Under the artillery fire of Jiang Jun

As expected by Zhou Enlai, when the Red Army passed through the third blockade line of Jiang's army and entered the Rucheng area, the gateway to southern Hunan, Chiang Kai-shek immediately judged that the Red Army would march westward along the route of the Red Sixth Army through Xing'an and Quanzhou.On November 12, he appointed He Jian as the commander-in-chief of the "Pursuing and Suppressing" Army, commanding Jiang's lineage troops Xue Yue, Zhou Hunyuan and other ministries in Hunan. Four blockades were attempted to annihilate the Red Army east of the Xiangjiang and Lijiang Rivers.

According to Chiang Kai-shek's plan, He Jian mobilized 300,000 troops, took shortcuts to concentrate the main force in the Huangsha River, Lingling, and Dong'an areas, and arranged them on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, forming a pincer attack on the Red Army with the Guangdong and Guangxi armies. The areas east of the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River were gathered and wiped out. As soon as the Red Army entered the border of Hunan and Guangxi, before crossing the Xiaoshui River, the divisions of Xue Yue and Zhou Hunyuan caught up. He Jian, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi's troops from Guangxi also seized the opportunity to attack from both sides.He Jian's 15 divisions pursued and intercepted the Red Army in five ways.The 4 divisions of Liu Jianxu in the first route went directly to Sushahe and Quanzhou from Chenxian County; Division, two divisions of Li Yunjie in the fourth route pursued the Red Army; Li Yunheng and one division of the fifth route followed up with the Red Army in the south, and cooperated with the Guangdong and Guangxi Army to encircle the Red Army.The five divisions of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi have occupied Quanzhou, Guanyang, Xing'an and other places in advance.

The strength of Jiang's army is four times that of the Red Army's. Not only does it have an absolute advantage in numbers, but it is also well prepared. But Jiang Jun also has a fatal weakness, that is, Chiang Kai-shek's direct line troops, He Jian's Hunan Army, and Guangxi Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi are suspicious of each other. Chiang Kai-shek had deep conflicts with the warlords in Hunan, Guangxi and the southwestern provinces. In addition to deploying the Xiangjiang Campaign, he planned to kill the Red Army and kill two birds with one stone.Because he never forgot to eliminate dissidents, and tried to drive the troops of Guangxi and Hunan provinces to fight the Red Army decisively. If the troops of the two provinces could wipe out the Red Army, he would certainly wish for it.However, he has been dealing with the Red Army for many years, and it can be said that he has rich experience. He has long seen that the Guangxi and Hunan armies are not opponents of the Red Army.If there is a situation where both sides suffer, it is also what he wishes for.In this way, he can take advantage of the gap and reap the benefits of the fisherman.

At this time, there were two big rivers running across the road of the Red Army, one was the Xiaoshui River and the other was the Xiangjiang River, both of which flowed into Dongting Lake from south to north. On November 17, an ordinary day since leaving the Central Soviet Area for the Western Expedition, Zhou Enlai was commanding the troops to march. Qian Zhuangfei from the Third Bureau of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission rushed over on horseback and handed Zhou Enlai a draft telegram.He was worrying about how to lead his troops to break through Jiang Jun's fourth blockade line. When Qian Zhuangfei handed over the telegram, Zhou Enlai opened his eyes and hurriedly opened the telegram to read.It was the order issued by He Jian on the 13th!Qian Zhuangfei and the others just deciphered it.

The telegram notified its ministries of the Red Army's actions since November 9, and made deployments for the next step of chasing and intercepting the Red Army. The situation of the various corps is as follows: the 5 divisions under Xueyue's department arrived at Anfu County in Jiangxi as the backbone on the 12th, and continued to advance westward on the 13th; Arriving at Zixing in Japan; the 16th Division and the Supplementary Corps (most of which have arrived at Dajiangkou) and the 3rd Hunan Security Regiment (with 12 companies of machine guns) guard the area along the left bank of the Xiangshui River from the east to Hengzhou, and their main forces are deployed from Dong'an to Between Lingling; the 15th Division was in a fierce battle with the Red Army near Wanhui Bridge in the south of Chen County; the 62nd Division defeated the 21st and 22nd Divisions of the 11th Army Corps of the Red Army near the Goudaotu in the north of the Civilization Department on the 12th, and followed Pursue to the Department of Civilization, and spend the night near the place on the evening of the 12th; the remaining 23 divisions of the various corps advancing westward from Ganxi can reach Gaosi in the north of Chenxian County on the 13th; the 5th Division can reach Zixing on the 13th; the 63rd Division today It can reach Leiyang; except for the Yueyue Division and the troops guarding the Xiangshui River, the rest of the corps are expected to arrive between Guiyang and Chenxian on the 14th and 15th.

Zhou En had read the telegram draft and asked the guards to spread out the map. While reading the telegram draft word by word, he also picked up a pencil to draw on the map meticulously.Of course, he would not have the slightest doubt about Qian Zhuangfei's ability to decipher the enemy's telegrams. Gu Shunzhang's rebellion was the information he got from the heart of Chiang Kai-shek's military spy organization, which saved the Party Central Committee from a catastrophe.But at this moment, he is commanding thousands of troops to rush through the enemy's blockade. This is an action that is related to the life and death of the Central Red Army, and there is no room for carelessness.

Zhou Enlai and Zhu De decided to adjust the deployment in response to He Jian's command of Liu Jianxu's Column of the West Route Army and the North Route Army's Xueyue and Zhou Hunyuan's divisions to "pursue and suppress" the Red Army from the east and north in five routes. Notify the troops of the enemy's situation, and on the one hand, order the Red Army to divide into three columns and march westward.After passing the third blockade line, the Red 3rd and 8th Corps were the right column, under the unified command of Peng Dehuai and Yang Shangkun; the 1st and 2nd Columns of the Military Commission were the central column; the Red 1st and 9th Corps were the left column, under the unified command of Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen.The left column marched in the direction of Linwu and Lanshan as the left wing, and later turned into the right wing, advancing in the direction of Tiantangwei and Daoxian.

Jiang Jun is planning to attack the Red Army on the shore of Xiaoshui between Tiantangwei and Dao County.If the right-wing troops want to expose and protect the central column across Xiaoshui, they must first occupy Dao County before Jiang's army arrives. At dawn on November 22, the 2nd Division of the 1st Army Corps ran a long-distance attack at a speed of more than 100 miles a day. One part invaded Dao County to destroy the defending enemy and guarded towards Lingling; Pontoons and Jiujingdu erected pontoon bridges to cover the central column across Xiaoshui.In this way, Jiang Jun's plan to destroy the Red Army on the shore of Xiaoshui failed.Then, their second plan was to destroy the Red Army on the banks of the Xiangjiang River.

On November 25, in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Political Department of the Red Army, the three-member regiment issued a mobilization order "Our field army will carry out a new campaign to break through the enemy's four blockade lines and cross the Xiangjiang River".This mobilization order pointed out that "Our field army is about to launch a new and most complicated battle. We must break through the enemy's fourth blockade and cross the Xiangjiang River under the condition that the enemy's superior forces and some of them complete their deployment to prevent us from crossing to the west. ", "Due to the disparity in quality between the enemy and our troops, our Red Army of Workers and Peasants is tenacious, resolute, hard-working, and we can affirm that victory belongs to us." ".

The mobilization order requires each commander to "clearly execute the combat missions in front of him, coordinate actions with friendly forces, conduct uninterrupted reconnaissance and vigilance, and abide by all tactical regulations to avoid unnecessary losses. Commander It should be kept in mind that victory in battle does not depend only on individual bravery, but on the correct command of the troops first and foremost.” The mobilization order pointed out that "the victory of the current campaign will determine that we will break through the enemy's last blockade, create a new large Soviet area, and cooperate with other Red Army units (Second and Sixth Army Corps, Fourth Front Army) to unanimously carry out counter-offensive and thorough attack across the board. Crush the enemy five 'encirclement and suppression'".

The Xiangjiang River has a wide surface and fast-flowing water.Jiang Jun deployed heavy troops here, waiting for a decisive battle with the Red Army. In order to tighten the encirclement of the Red Army, He Jian moved the headquarters to Hengyang, and ordered Liu Jianxu's four divisions to be transferred to Quanzhou in northern Guangxi.Four divisions of the Second Route Army Xueyue have entered Huangshahe.Bai Chongxi of Guangxi also moved his headquarters to Guilin, and his five divisions and security regiments deployed defenses on the front lines of Quanzhou, Jieshou, and Guanyang.Four divisions of Zhou Hunyuan's division and two divisions of Li Yunjie's division, which belonged to Chiang Kai-shek's direct line, approached from behind the Red Army.On the other side of the Xiangjiang River and the Guihuang Highway parallel to the river, the Jiang army built more than 140 strong bunkers, controlling the area between the Xiangjiang River and the highway within their range of firepower. Although Jiang Jun deployed heavy troops on the front line of the Xiangjiang River, both He Jian and Bai Chongxi were suspicious of Chiang Kai-shek, fearing that Chiang's direct troops would take advantage of the opportunity to "suppress the Communists" and rob their own territory.On November 16, the 5th Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Red 1st Army captured Linwu, and the Guangxi Army abandoned Lanshan.The Red Army immediately took advantage of the momentum to attack in the direction of Jianghua and Yongming, while the Gui army retreated to Longhuguan and Gongcheng.The Guangxi army withdrew, and the four divisions of the Liu Department of the Hunan Army failed to reach Quanzhou and Guanyang, resulting in a gap in the defense of this section of the Xiangjiang River. If the central column of the Red Army did not have too many altars and cans at that time, but marched lightly, Jiang Jun could have rushed to the Xiangjiang River first and crossed the river safely.However, the heavy supplies, machinery and equipment tied the hands and feet of the central column like ropes, and the troops could only move forward slowly, thus losing the ability to take advantage of the gap left by the Gui army's retreat to cross the Jiang army's fourth blockade line. Godsend. Under Chiang Kai-shek's repeated urging, on the 27th, Bai Chongxi moved the five retreated divisions back to the two strategic locations of Guanyang and Xing'an, and started a fierce battle with the Red 3rd Army who had just arrived in Guanyang and Xinxu.On this day, Liu Jianxu called Chiang Kai-shek: "1. According to reports, more than 20,000 bandits arrived in Wenshi today. The first group of plainclothes bandits, about 2,000 to 3,000 bandits, are currently passing through the Maobu, Pingshandu, and Fenghuangzui lines for reconnaissance. There is no banditry yet. The first part of our Guangxi Army is fighting fiercely with the bandits in the area of ​​Sanfeng Mountain and Biudao Mountain in the west of Guanyang. The 11th regiment of the Gui Army has assembled on the line of Xinxu and Tangjiayuan, and together with our army, they will attack the enemy. "2. With the aim of cooperating with the Gui army to pinch and wipe out the bandit, our army decided to rely on the whole county to occupy the position along the third line from Feiwan Bridge to the bridge head, and use the main force to gather Dashitang, Shijiao Village, the whole county, and Wuxingpai to attack. "3. The Zhuzhang (Zhang Liangji) division immediately occupied the Feiwan Bridge and the line positions at the bridgehead. The main force controlled the rear of the bridgehead, and another elite 1st Battalion was sent to occupy Zhaiwei while pretending to be starry night. "4. The Ministry of Peace immediately set up strict security on the lines along the Xiuyidu, Wangjia, and Maobu rivers, and mainly controlled the northern end of the county. "5. Teacher Tao Guang assembled near the five-star card and waited for orders. "6. Chen Guangzhong's division will use a part to strictly guard the line from Huangsha River to Xiuyidu along the river; the main force will gather at Taipingpu to stand by. But Shazi Street must still be guarded by soldiers. "7. As soon as Commander Li became aware of it, he led the Iron Man Department, and immediately assembled the northwest end of the city to stand by. "8. The Zhuoyu Artillery Battalion immediately selected a position near Dashitang, and measured the shooting distance of all parties. After that, it will be temporarily under the command of Division Commander Zhang." The next day, Chiang Kai-shek called He Jian and Bai Chongxi, furious at the vanguard of the Red Army crossing the Xiangjiang River calmly. The telegram said: "According to Huixian (Liu Jianxu) who felt that Xu Shen participated in electromechanical, the bandit leader had already crossed the river in Goupai Mountain, the top of the mountain and the area of ​​Shangmitou in Yuyou and Gangan for two days. Diedian firmly defended the river and prevented the bandits from crossing. There were no guards on the line from Zhouyan to Xianshui, so it was a mistake to allow the bandits to cross the river calmly. After the crossing, I didn't hear what to do with the various teams that were chasing me. They still said to gather troops and wait to intercept them. Haven't taken the opportunity to make a decisive attack, not knowing what to wait for? It's a great sigh. For the current plan, only one person can face the bandits crossing the river, and quickly follow the method of flanking attack discussed by Huixian and Jiansheng (Bai Chongxi), and annihilate them painfully; Attack the bandits at halfway to prevent the follow-up bandits from crossing the river, and according to the plan planned by Zhiqiao (He Jian), quickly suppress them with a large army. The bandits are unpredictable, and the actions of the bandits are delayed so that our chasing army can pursue and suppress them. In short, some of the bandits slipped through the net, which is a mistake, and we are still looking forward to the efforts of all armies. The main force to wipe out the bandits is in the area east of the Lishui River and west of Siguan. The previous plan for suppressing bandits in the area west of the Xiangshui River has already been completed. The bandits are fleeing westward, and it is hoped that they will be implemented in accordance with the planned order, and it is important not to let the long drive westward or northward." After the vanguard troops of the Red 1st and 3rd Corps crossed the Xiangjiang River on November 27, the Red 1st Corps successively occupied Jieshou, Shaoshui, and Zhutangpu, and one part approached Quanzhou. On the 30th, the Red 1st Army fought fiercely with the Hunan Army attacking from Quanzhou on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River.The Red 3rd Army occupied Guanghuapu, and the 4th Division fought against the Xiawei Department of the Gui Army dispatched from Xing'an, and the main force advanced towards Jieshou.In this way, the Red 3rd Corps occupied the key point of crossing the river on the left wing, and the Red 1st Corps deployed strict defenses on the right wing to block the attack. There are 4 places where the Red Army can cross the river safely.But at this time, the central column had just arrived at Wenshi and Guiyan, north of Guanyang, 80 kilometers away from the point of crossing the river, and it could arrive there in one day with light clothing, but the central column walked for 4 days! In the temporary headquarters on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, the three telephones in front of Zhou Enlai never stopped. Either the troops called in to ask for instructions and reports, or he called out to inquire about the situation and give orders.The radio station was beeping non-stop, and the translator quickly translated the telegram and handed it to the staff officer waiting by the side.According to the location of each department reported in the telegram, the staff marked it on the large map on the wall.The Central Revolutionary Military Commission selected the crossing point between Jieshou and Fenghuangzui. The 1st Army Corps crossed the Xiangjiang River from the right wing, and the 3rd, 8th, and 9th Corps from the left wing. The two wings covered the central column to cross the Xiangjiang River. In the sky, Jiang Jun's plane flew by and dropped bombs on the pontoon bridge on the river.With the sound of rumbling explosions, the water column on the river pierced into the sky, and gunpowder smoke billowed on both sides of the river.Chiang Kai-shek bombed in turn, people on the bank of the river and on the pontoon bridge panicked and screamed, people on the bank were blown to pieces from time to time, and people on the pontoon bridge were blown up by blast waves from time to time.The bombed books, newspapers and periodicals flew into the air, and fell on the river like fallen leaves. Occasionally, the bomb fell only a dozen meters away from the headquarters, and the temporary bunker shook, and the guard Xiao Wei at the side rushed over to protect Zhou Enlai.A piece of wood rolled down and landed right in front of Zhou Enlai.Dust fell like flour and dusted everyone in the bunker.Zhou Enlai pushed Xiao Wei away as if nothing had happened, and continued to make calls without patting the dust off his body. Judging from the positions of the units marked on the map, the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division of the 1st Red Army seized the head of the left wing of the army, handed over to the 6th Division of the 3rd Army, and moved closer to the right wing; the other two regiments of the 2nd Division arrived in Daping from Shitang on the 27th , waded across the Xiangjiang River, and sent 5 regiments to capture the whole state before the enemy.But that day, Quanzhou had already been occupied by Liu Jian's counterpart.Failed to capture Quanzhou, the 1st Corps chose to block the enemy on both sides of the Xiangjiang River in the southwest of Quanzhou, on the small ridge on the line of Lubanqiao and Jiaoshanpu, 16 kilometers away from Quanzhou. When Bai Chongxi saw that the Red Army was going straight to the Xiangjiang River, he sent his five divisions back to Guanyang and Xing'an.The Red 3rd Army fought fiercely with the Guangxi Army on the left wing Guanyang, Xinxu. The 1st and 3rd Army Corps occupied key points on the two wings at the same time, controlling both sides of the 60-mile Changxiang River between Jieshou and Pingshandu.The main force of the 5th Red Army arrived at Wangjiawan in Hexi, Wenshi.The 8th and 9th Red Legion crossed the river from the vicinity of the waterwheel to the Qinglong Mountain and Shitangwei area.After crossing the river, the 2nd Column of the Military Commission entered the Wang family near Jieshou.The 1st Column of the Military Commission is crossing the river.The two central columns were dragged down by pots and pans, and their marching speed was slow. They arrived at the ferry 4 days late, which caused the covering troops to pay a heavy price. Zhou En looked at the map and walked out of the bunker again. Seeing the dim light, he thought that the whole sky was covered by gunpowder smoke. He rubbed his eyes to see clearly that it was dark.Looking at the team slowly crossing the river dragging heavy equipment from the pontoon bridge, he frowned tightly and began to feel uneasy.He turned back to the bunker, thought for a few minutes on the map, called Bogu, and said that the troops were under attack from the Hunan Army and the Guangxi Army, and that Zhou Hunyuan, a descendant of the Jiang Army, was chasing him. The situation was critical.The two main armies of Red 1 and 3 are fighting fiercely with the enemy in order to cover the central column crossing the river. If the central column still crosses the river at this speed, it will be very passive.Because most of the enemy's reinforcements will arrive soon. He suggested throwing away all heavy equipment and crossing the river lightly.After discussing with Li De, Bo Gu replied to Zhou Enlai: "Unless it is absolutely necessary, such an order cannot be issued casually." Zhou Enlai became anxious and said loudly: "In order to cover the central column crossing the river, the main force is bleeding and sacrificing every minute and every second! Isn't this the time of last resort?" Bo Gu hesitated for a while, and said: "It's a very important matter, you come over here immediately, and our three-person team will have a meeting to study it." "At this time, I can't leave here!" Zhou Enlai hung up the phone angrily.