Chapter 20 Chapter 19 Bloody Battle in the Hexi Corridor

On October 28, 1936, after Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao led the 9th and 30th armies of the Fourth Red Army across the Yellow River from Jingyuan, the 5th army left behind guarded the ferry and ships, and then headed towards a mountain.Standing in the front was the troops of Ma Buqing, the leader of the Qinghai Navy. Inspired by the slogan of "opening up the international route" and "cooperating with the first army to seize Ningxia", the Red Army fought bravely and tenaciously.The Ma family army guarding a mountain village was annihilated by the vanguard of the 30th Red Army led by Li Xiannian and Cheng Shicai.Cheng Shicai led two regiments to control the ferry of Wufo Temple and seized the ships there. Under the command of Army Commander Sun Yuqing and Political Commissar Chen Haisong, the 9th Army wiped out the defending enemies in Dalapai, and surrounded more than 600 people from the Malu Brigade in the soil enclosure of Suohanbao.By November 3, the Red Army had consolidated its outposts on the west bank of the Yellow River.

However, the Red Army on the east side of the river did not come over for a long time, and the Kuomintang army took control of the ferry on the east bank of the Yellow River.Xu Xiangqian was very anxious.When the troops crossed the river, they only brought food for three or four days. The food here was short of water and salty, so they could not stay for long.Ma's army is cavalry, and the terrain on the west bank of the Yellow River is open, which is beneficial to the enemy and not conducive to us.With the Red Army backed by the Yellow River, staying here must be in a passive position.If you go to fight Ningxia alone, you have to go through the great desert, and the Soviet aid supplies are still unknown, so it is very dangerous to go deep alone.Xu Xiangqian discussed with Chen Changhao, and on November 2, he called Zhu, Zhang, Mao, and Zhou to ask for instructions on the course of action.Explain that "this side is sparsely populated, food is scarce, and water is bitter, so it is difficult for large troops to fight for a long time."It is suggested that "if the main force can cross the river quickly, when it is necessary to wait for this side, it will immediately enter Zhongwei and Ningxia." "If the main force cannot cross the river quickly, and it is inconvenient to suspend various relations on this side for a long time, that is, our side will go to Dajing, Gulang, Pingfan, and Liangzhou, and then transfer to pick up the main force to cross the river when necessary. At present, Dajing , Tumen, Gulang, and Liangzhou are very empty and easy to attack, there is no shortage of food, and the population is as large as Han Chinese. If you don't move out and wait for the enemy to approach or make arrangements, this side will be in a very difficult situation."

Mao and Zhou replied to Xu and Chen on the same day: "You lead the main forces of the four fronts to temporarily focus on the current area as the center, and expand the occupied areas to three sides. One will occupy Yongdeng, one will go out of Tong (Wei) and Lan (zhou), and the larger one will The direction remains unchanged." On the 3rd, Xu and Chen were again telegraphed: "The troops will move westward to occupy the lines of Yongdeng and Gulang, but one mountain and the Wufo Temple should be guarded by one part, and a radio station should be attached to facilitate the traffic in the rear. action."

Xu and Chen found it difficult to implement the instructions of the central government.Facing the pressure from the two horses in Qinghai, the concentration of troops is not enough, and the division of troops can only be eliminated individually. What is the expansion of the occupied area?Chen Changhao believed that the delay in crossing the river by the 4th Army and the 31st Army was due to the central government's intention to disperse the Fourth Front Army. On the morning of the 4th, he sent a telegram to Zhu and Zhang saying: "The command of the army should be unified and centralized, or the Military Commission, the headquarters, or the front enemy agencies should act in a unified manner; The armies on all fronts must strictly obey the command and break the egotism." It is suggested that "the 4th and 31st armies should be integrated and commanded by Xiao (Ke) Zhou (Chunquan) to take the lead. If there is no decisive battle, they can be ordered to cross the river to reinforce our side. If only The war of attrition, which was used as a cover, was scattered and restrained during the decisive battle, and it seemed that it could not arouse the ambition of the commanders and fighters to destroy the enemy." Said that "the current area is short of food and materials, and the enemy occupies the fortress. It is also impossible to divide the troops into action. If the situation is unfavorable, we can only abandon the current area and gather troops out of Dajing and Liangzhou."

Zhang Guotao is very concerned about the situation of the Hexi troops. The 9th Army and the 30th Army are the strongest troops in the Fourth Front Army. Of course, there must be no mistakes.At present, the 4th Army and the 31st Army have retreated northward under the attack of the Kuomintang army, and they cannot join Xu Chen.Zhang Guotao agreed with Xu and Chen's opinions and asked them to fight independently. On the 5th, Zhang Guotao replied to Xu and Chen in the name of Zhu Zhang, notifying them of the combat situation of the Red Army in Hedong, and instructed Xu Chen: "The main task of your Hebei column is to eliminate Ma Bufang's troops and start a new situation independently. Take advantage of the enemy When you have not paid enough attention to you, stand firm and first occupy the Dajing, Gulang, and Yongdeng areas, and if necessary, quickly occupy the Liangzhou area. Actions must be swift, secret, resolute, and decisive." "The Ningxia campaign can Whether it is realized or not will be decided in the decisive battle tomorrow. You should complete your tasks independently without any restraint. What are your opinions on your side and the main operation on the right bank of the river? Please feel free to call."

Xu and Chen were encouraged by Zhang Guotao's telegram, and Zhang Guotao granted them full power to decide their own action plan.However, Zhang Guotao also had a clear tendency in his telegram: if the central government's instructions are unrealistic, there is no need to follow them blindly.This is obviously an antithesis to Mao Zedong.After receiving the telegram, Xu and Chen convened the commanders of the various armies to discuss the matter, and formulated the "Pingfan Dajing) Gulang Liangzhou Battle Plan overnight, and reported it to the Military Commission on the 6th.In this detailed combat plan, the proposed plan is: "The main force of our four fronts crossing the north, follow the order of the Military Commission, and first eliminate Ma Bufang's field troops in Pingfan and Dajingjian, and attack Dajing, Pingfan, Gulang, In the area around Liangzhou, develop and create the North Gansu Anti-Japanese Rear Area, and cooperate with the main action." The slogan proposed is: "Occupy the vast area of ​​​​North Gansu, create a solid new situation in the Anti-Japanese War!" "Close to the Soviet Union, Outer Mongolia, and Xinjiang, and strive for the Northwest Realization of the National Defense Government!"

Zhang Guotao was very happy after seeing Xu and Chen's plan.On the same day, Xu Chen was called back in the name of Zhu and Zhang, and further instructions were given.The telegram said: Zhang Guotao's instructions clearly reflected his guiding ideology of "opening up distant places" and "building another base area".This plan was also approved by the Central Military Commission. On the 8th, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai telegraphed: "Xu and Chen will march to Liangzhou, and concentrate their forces to attack the enemy's brigade during the battle, and defeat them one by one."

In just these ten days, the situation in Hedong has changed a lot.The southern part of the Kuomintang Hu Zong occupied the east bank of the Yellow River and cut off the connection between the first and fourth front armies, and the Ningxia plan could not be realized.Facing the severe situation, on November 8, the central government secretly formulated the "New Combat Plan", preparing to develop in southern Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hubei, Henan and Anhui.The action plan of each army and the central government is: use part of the troops to pretend that the Red Army wants to cross the Yellow River north, and attract Hu Zongnan and others to enter Ningxia north.Then the main force of the Red Army went south, the first step was to occupy Zhenyuan, Heshui, and Ningxian areas; and supply issues.When the time is right, build ships in Qingjian, Fugu, Shenmu and other places, and then enter Shanxi.The first step is to occupy the Tongpu Railway area and expand the Red Army; if a compromise with Yan Xishan cannot be reached and a firm foothold in Shanxi, then the second step will be to go out to the intersection of Hebei, Shandong and Henan; and then cross the Yellow River to the south.The fourth step is to Anhui and Shandong; the fifth step is to Hubei, Henan and Anhui; the sixth step is to Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi, and finally to the northwest.The last item of this plan is "Xu and Chen's troops form the West Route Army, with the task of establishing a base in Hexi and directly opening up distant places, and it is planned to complete it in one to two years."Only Zhu De, Zhang Guotao, Peng Dehuai, He Long, and Ren Bishi were notified of this plan formulated by Zhang Wentian, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Bo Gu, and Lin Yuying. The "Plan" finally stated: "The above-mentioned new plan is not yet the final decision, and the five brothers are consulted. Opinion, we plan to make a decision within two weeks. This plan cannot be implemented prematurely, so within November, the whole army must aim at seeking war and leading the enemy into Ningxia. Please hold a secret meeting with the fifth brother and carefully consider it.”

Except for ten people, no commanders at all levels of the Red Army knew about this secret plan.Zhang Guotao did not notify Xu Chen.During the West Route Army's expedition to the Hexi Corridor, the central government acted according to this plan.It was not until the "Xi'an Incident" and the turning point in the situation that this strategic transfer plan was suspended.Many years later, Xu Xiangqian wrote in his memoirs: "Obviously, this is a fundamental strategic change. Not only did he abandon the Ningxia campaign plan, but he also changed the entire policy and deployment that first caused the anti-Japanese situation in the Northwest. According to this, Hedong The main Red Army began preparations to break away from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area. For such a major change, we knew nothing about it before and after, and it was not until recent years that we figured it out.”

Chen Changhao was elated when he saw that the central government and headquarters had approved their battle plan. On the 7th, the leaders of the Hexi Army jointly called the Central Committee, requesting the organization of the Northwest Front Committee of the Party and the Northwest Branch of the Military Commission, and proposed a list of candidates for the organization. On the 8th, Zhang Wentian and Mao Zedong replied and agreed. Zhu Zhang received a report from Zhang Wentian and Mao Zedong and agreed to establish a leading organization for the West Route Army. On November 10, the Central Committee and the Military Commission issued an order to Xu Chen to organize the West Route Army:

In this way, the leading organization of the West Route Army was formally established.The organization and establishment are as follows: Military and Political Committee of the West Route Army: Chairman: Chen Changhao Vice Chairman: Xu Xiangqian Members: Chen Changhao, Xu Xiangqian, Zeng Chuanliu, Li Te, Li Zhuoran (the above five members are members of the Standing Committee), Xiong Guobing, Yang Keming, Wang Shusheng, Li Xiannian, Zheng Yizhai, Chen Haisong Commander-in-Chief of the West Route Army: Xu Xiangqian Political Commissar: Chen Changhao Deputy Chief Conductor: Wang Shusheng Chief of Staff: Lite Director of Political Department: Li Zhuoran Director of the Political Security Bureau: Zeng Chuanliu 5th Army: Army Commander Dong Zhentang, Political Commissar Huang Chao.Jurisdiction over the 13th and 14th divisions, a total of 4 regiments, more than 3,000 people.There are more than 1,000 guns, with an average of 5 bullets per gun. 9th Army: Army Commander Sun Yuqing, Political Commissar Chen Haisong.Jurisdiction over the 25th and 27th divisions, a total of 6 regiments, 6,500 people.There are 2,500 guns, with an average of 15 bullets per gun. 30th Army: Army Commander Cheng Shicai, Political Commissar Li Xiannian.Jurisdiction over the 88th and 89th divisions, a total of 6 regiments with 7,000 people.There are 3,200 guns, with an average of 25 bullets per gun. There are also cavalry divisions, women's independent regiments, Muslim detachments and government personnel, with a total of 21,800 people in the army.Among them, non-combatants (organs, logistics, wounded and sick, children) accounted for about 40%. After the establishment of the leading organization of the West Route Army, cadres and soldiers at all levels held meetings and mobilized at various levels.Inspired by the slogans of "opening up the international route" and "establishing the Northwest Anti-Japanese Base Area", the soldiers' emotions were very high.But in the senior leadership, there is no idea where this force is going and whether it can achieve the expected goals.Li Jukui recalled: "After crossing the river, there is no determination to fight, and the purpose of crossing the river is also undecided. It is not certain where to establish a base area. In Tumenzi, the leader of the West Route Army said this:' For crossing the river this time, the Military Commission did not have a certain determination, and the general headquarters did not make a decision. How many troops to cross, even the Fourth Front Army Command itself has not determined. To make matters worse, some comrades said that one army has one army's style of play. From this, it can be seen that there is no determination to fight, and they only retreat westward with infinity (the so-called westward advance). " Li Jukui's report was the liquidation of Zhang Guotao's line in 1937 Written at the time, it will inevitably bear the imprint of the times.But what he reflected at the time was true. Not only did Chen Changhao have no idea, but the Central Committee also didn't know what to do at the time.At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee on November 13, Mao Zedong made a report saying: "The direction of the Red Army's action was originally towards Ningxia, which was destroyed by Chiang Kai-shek. Cross the Yellow River. Part of the Fourth Front Army has already moved westward, so it is a question of whether it can be transferred back. Now our actions are all based on two boats. It is best to go west or west, and east or east. If the west cannot achieve the goal, of course it can turn to the east.” At this time, the Mao Bingwen Department of the Kuomintang Army had already begun to cross the Yellow River westward towards Lanzhou, and the rear route of the West Route Army had been cut off. On November 11, Zhang Guotao called the central government to express his concerns. Mao and Zhou also felt uneasy, and called Xu and Chen at 20 o'clock on the 11th: At this time, the West Route Army was progressing smoothly in a mountainous area, defeating Ma Buqing's army.Chen Changhao was very satisfied with the progress of the battle. He called Zhu, Zhang and Maozhou at 10 o'clock on the 11th to report the victory.The difficulties were also reported truthfully.He said: "People, houses, firewood, and water are extremely scarce in the areas we pass. The flat land is open and there is no concealment, which is the most convenient for aircraft and cavalry activities. The mountains are snow-covered, and red winds often blow up. It is the coldest every night and the second half of the night. Breathe Frost, especially compared to Moscow. There is no room to camp, and heavy skins are still not warm. However, the clothes of each unit are thin, and the enemy planes are active at night, and the enemy's situation is not clear. They had to march through the night for several days, which caused many troops to fall behind and increase their fatigue, but their morale was extremely high. Now all departments are ordered to try their best to rest and regroup." Chen Changhao pinned his hopes on arriving in Liangzhou and getting supplements in wealthy areas. Zhang Guotao was very happy to receive the telegram.Although the Hedong troops did not play well, the Hexi troops still put glory on his face. After all, the 9th Army and the 30th Army are the most capable troops in the Fourth Front Army.He called back to instruct Xu and Chen: "I am very pleased that both telegrams have been read today. You should use the current opportunity to form a solid new situation in Liangzhou, Minqin, Yongchang, Gulang, and Dajing." The smooth battle of a mountain made everyone optimistic.At the meeting of the Military and Political Committee, Xu Xiangqian strongly advocated the westward march to Xinjiang.He recalled: "In my speech, I listed the benefits of going west to Xinjiang: first, it solved the strategic backing problem of the West Route Army; second, it was able to obtain the weapons aided by the Soviet Union; , It can play a powerful role in encouraging and supporting the Red Army and friendly forces in the east of the river. Everyone agrees with me and agrees that the east bank of the Yellow River has been blocked by the enemy. , expressed his position to the central government.” After the meeting, Xu and Chen called the Military Commission and the Red Army headquarters, proposing to occupy Liangzhou with the main force, and then occupy Ganzhou in the second step, connecting Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia and the distant place (the Soviet Union).He also proposed: "For external and distant parties, please ask the central government to make specific arrangements quickly, so as not to (lose) the opportunity. It is best to have direct relations with us internationally and establish a contact station in an appropriate place in Xinmeng." Seeing that the West Route Army had made up its mind, the Central Committee stopped insisting. On November 13, the Secretariat of the Central Committee called the CCP delegation of the Comintern: Zhang Guotao was particularly concerned about the West Route Army's opening up to distant places. On the 14th, he called Xu Chen in the name of Zhu Zhang, asking them to establish a foothold in the Hexi Corridor while actively contacting distant places.The telegram said: "Yuanfang is trying to help you. Quickly investigate how many roads are available in the north of Ganliangsu, and report as quickly as possible." The force will last forever....You must independently complete the task of opening up distant places." Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai also telegraphed Xu and Chen on the 15th, "I agree with you to enter Liangzhou" and "Xinjiang is preparing for relief." The goal has been clarified, the course of action has been approved, and the morale of the West Route Army is marching towards Dajing and Gulang with high morale.In order to reduce the burden of the troops in combat, a group of wounded and sick were entrusted to the homes of local people. The 30th Army took a detour to advance to Liangzhou as the vanguard, and the 9th Army advanced to Gulang. The Red Army's victory in the battle in a mountain area and its large-scale westward advance greatly shocked the Hui warlords Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang who were entrenched in Qinghai.Because of the ethnic conflicts and ethnic vendettas between Hui and Han in history, class conflicts and ethnic conflicts are intertwined.The Fourth Red Army occupied Aba during the Long March and sent people to scout the road to Qinghai.After walking out of the grassland, I passed by Gannan Ma's territory.Qinghai and the Hexi Corridor were areas that the Ma family had painstakingly managed for many years. Ma Bufang was afraid that the Red Army would occupy Qinghai, and that Chiang Kai-shek would take the opportunity to send the Central Army to take over.Therefore, under Chiang Kai-shek's order, he carried out general mobilization within his sphere of influence, vigorously engaged in "militarization of the people, militarization of the people", and organized militias.In Qinghai Province alone, Ma Bufang formed 105 security regiments and trained 150,000 strong men, headed by local gentry and Hui patriarchs.Ma Bufang declared: "We organized the militia group under the orders of the central government. Therefore, the reason and purpose of organizing the militia group is to defend against the Communist bandits and protect the homeland under the principle of not dispatching troops." When Ma Buqing was defeated in a mountain, the Red Army marched west When the news of the advance came, Ma Bufang ordered his main force, the New 2nd Army, to dispatch with the cooperation of the militia. A total of nearly 70,000 cavalry and infantry marched towards the Hexi Corridor, preparing for a decisive battle with the Red Army. Faced with such a serious situation, Chen Changhao obviously underestimated.The victory in the Battle of Yitiaoshan also made the commanders and fighters of the Red Army increase their thinking of underestimating the enemy, thinking that the Majia cavalry was nothing more than that.Chen Changhao even set up a "united front" on the cruel battlefield between the enemy and ourselves.Cheng Shicai said: "The 30th Army fought against the Mabu Qing Division in Dajing and eliminated all four companies of the Mabu Qing Engineer Battalion. In order to speak for a united front, I was ordered by the superior to keep the bullets and those who wished to be the Red Army, and the rest of the guns were released. Sixty or seventy enemies were released back. When we first arrived in Liangzhou City, our army was going to attack Liangzhou City. These people who were sent back returned to the army to fight with us. Not only did they have no sense of friendship, but on the contrary Increase the strength of the enemy, I think this is called an unprincipled united front." On November 15, the 9th Red Army occupied Gulang City.Gulang is the hub of the Hexi Corridor, the terrain is dangerous, and it was called Hulangguan in ancient times.Facing the mountains from the north to the south, there is only one narrow road where "horses do not ride side by side, and cars do not ride on different tracks".To the west of the city is Yimapingchuan, which leads directly to Liangzhou.Due to the terrain and sparse population, the West Route Army opened up a long snake formation, and there was a day's journey between one regiment and another.The West Route Army won the battle, and it seemed that they didn't take Ma's army seriously.Wang Shusheng, the deputy commander-in-chief, and Sun Yuqing, the army commander, led the military organization and a regiment to live in Gulang City, and ordered the 25th Division and the 27th Division to station troops on the commanding heights and avenues on both sides of Gulang City.Just after one night, and the fortifications had not yet been repaired, the three cavalry brigades, two infantry brigades, and four militia regiments of the Ma's Army rushed over with overwhelming strength.First bombarded with mountain artillery, and then used cavalry to intersect the middle area to isolate the Red Army positions. Although the soldiers of the 9th Army fought bravely and repelled the enemy's attacks several times, due to the large gap in firepower, Nanshan fell, and the troops outside the city were compressed into Gulang City.The backup troops could not go up, and a regiment on the top of Nanshan was almost wiped out. The terrain of Gulang City is low-lying, the city wall was damaged by the earthquake, dilapidated, and there are gaps everywhere, which is not conducive to defense.Ma's army's cavalry and militia were ferocious and fierce, shouting and rushing towards the city. There was confusion in the command of the 9th Army for a while, causing the enemy to rush into the city. Most of the logistics personnel of the Ninth Army did not have guns, and many were killed by Ma Jiajun.The Red Army started street fighting with the enemy and drove the enemy out of the city only after paying a high price. In order to expand the results of the battle, the 9th Army followed the enemy and chased out of the city.Unexpectedly, the enemy cavalry suddenly copied to the rear, cutting off the Red Army's retreat.As a result, the Red Army that rushed out of the city was surrounded by Ma's army and almost all died in battle. The Ninth Army's assault troops failed, and the enemy counterattacked back.The Red Army commanders and fighters in the city were determined to fight the enemy to the end, and used all favorable terrains such as city walls, houses, and bunkers to fight bloody battles with the enemy.At a critical juncture, the reinforcements of the 27th Division broke through the enemy's blockade and came over from the northeast.Ma's army lost ground and withdrew from the city.At this time, it was dusk, and the Ma's army was not used to fighting at night.Gulang City, which had been fighting for a whole day, fell silent.The Battle of Gulang caused serious losses to the Ninth Army, with more than 2,000 casualties, accounting for one-third of the entire army.Many cadres were injured, the army commander Sun Yuqing was injured, the chief of staff of the army, the commander of the 25th division, and the political commissar of the 27th division all died in battle. After this battle, the 9th Army was severely injured.The subsequent battles of the West Route Army mainly relied on the 30th Army. At night, after discussions with the heads of the 9th Army, they decided to withdraw from the battle.Reorganize the troops, bury the sacrificed comrades, take all the wounded who can go with them, and gather the seriously wounded who are really unable to move in a few houses, and each person will be paid 3 oceans.Zeng Risan, Director of the Political Department, left a letter to the commanders of Ma's army, hoping that they would proceed from humanitarianism and not kill our wounded. The 9th Army broke through overnight, marched west to Yongchang, and approached the 30th Army and the headquarters of the West Route Army.After Ma Jiajun entered the empty Gulang City, the first thing he did was to kill all the Red Army wounded left behind, and no one survived the knife. Xu and Chen were shocked when they heard the news of the defeat of the Ninth Army.After listening to the report from the person in charge of the 9th Army, they believed that the main reason for the failure of the 9th Army was that they were paralyzed and underestimated the enemy, fought hard, had improper command, and failed to organize a breakout early.For this reason, Chen Changhao dismissed Army Commander Sun Yuqing and sent Li Jukui, the former chief of staff of the 31st Army, from the Red Front Army to take over the work of the 9th Army. After Li Jukui came to the Ninth Army, he conducted serious investigation and research and summed up the lessons of the Battle of Gulang.He believes that the commander of the 9th Army does have tactical problems.It is mainly "stiff frontal battles, seldom adopting roundabout and encircling actions, and the enemy always surrounds itself. Every battle is limited to frontal firepower and desperate battles. Although the enemy is defeated in the end, they cannot be captured, and even they themselves are attacked by the enemy." The encirclement is in a dangerous state, and in the end, desperate battles are used to save the situation." The lessons of failure are often more sober than the experience of victory.The defeat in the first battle of Gulang has exposed the weakness of the West Route Army and various unfavorable factors in the Hexi Corridor area.In Xu Xiangqian's and Chen Changhao's many years of combat experience, they have never encountered such a fierce and tenacious enemy as Qinghai Ma's army.When Chen Changhao later summed up the lessons learned from the failure of the West Route Army, he admitted: Ma Bufang and Ma Buqing once won the Hui army of the ethnic minorities, and then separated Qing Province and Ganbei for many years. Taking advantage of the superior terrain, the miracle of exploitation and the unity of the stubborn and barbaric Hui people, they cherished the pain of the Han rulers killing in history... It has a great impact on us. The Communist Party and the Red Army regard it as a deep enemy, especially if our invasion of its territory is tantamount to overthrowing its rule, it will inevitably unite all kinds of anti-communist forces from all nationalities, regimes, military and society to deal with me. thing. For the Hui minority, Ganbei is its source of life.The enemy is in a favorable location and social conditions are not in our favor.At that time, we were vigorously advocating "peaceful reunification" and "resisting the nation against Japan", and we had declared a war of self-defense as a last resort.For the Hui people, they strongly stated that they would not infringe on their interests, and united with Hui to resist Japan.However, our trip to Ganbei made the Hui army feel that we were invading him, and that we wanted to take Ganbei and wipe out the Hui army.Erma's narrow political viewpoint ignored our explanations to him, the unity and united front, that is, the determination to fight fiercely with us with the main force. (Northern Gansu) The special conditions of terrain, weather, economy, and housing have just facilitated the actions of the horse army.Because of the rapid movement of the cavalry and the coordinated attack and defense of the cavalry, infantry, and artillery, if you win, you will fight fiercely, and if you lose, you will flee in one fell swoop.Its light armor, its combat power, its speed of movement, its familiar location, its personnel and resources are inexhaustible, its ammunition and food are well prepared, and its tactics are superior to mobile warfare, superior to surprise attack, superior to blockade, superior to attacking fortresses, and also conducive to defense. . When Chen Changhao realized all this, it was too late, and the West Route Army had already failed.After Xu Xiangqian's defeat in Gulang, he noticed the signs of the Red Army's disadvantage.They asked the central government for instructions on the course of action. On November 18, the central government sent a telegram saying: "We have informed the distant place, but I am afraid that we will not be able to prepare in time, and the transportation will also be too late. If the eastern area is occupied by Mao Bingwen prematurely, the Red Army's maneuvering area will be narrow and unfavorable. Our opinion : Stay in the current area for a period of time, step up military training, restore physical strength, and check political work. . . . so that when you meet with comrades from far away, you will have a new look." On the 19th, the Central Committee instructed Xu and Chen: "Your tasks should be in Yongchang, Ganzhou, Establish and consolidate base areas in Suzhou, Liangzhou, and Minqin... At the same time, use one to seize the area from Ganzhou, Suzhou to Anxi." On the same day, Lin Yuying, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu Zhang jointly sent a telegram to Xu Chen, asking them to establish bases in Liangzhou and Minqin.And told them: "The distant party has agreed in principle to your assistance in Hami, and the material and economic assistance can be provided. We are trying to solve the transportation and technical means. After the spring of next year, it is expected that a large number of them will be resolved. Now we are urgently looking for small assistance. The big one can be realized after I occupy Anxi." But he also emphasized: "You must establish a base area east of Ganzhou, and you must not place the main force in the west of Ganzhou, let alone go to Xinjiang. The route also needs to be investigated clearly.” Following the instructions of the Central Committee, Xu Chen sent people to scout the westward route, and sent a long telegram to the Central Committee on the 21st, reporting several routes to Xinjiang and Anxi, and planned to send a cadre named Yuan Lifu to Xinjiang to contact.However, the central government disagreed with the West Route Army's direct contact with the Soviet consulate in Xinjiang, saying that although Sheng Shicai had a very good relationship with distant places, we didn't know the truth.Sheng Shicai is not allowed to enter the country without a passport.A few days ago, Deng Fa was sent to Xinjiang, but he waited several months before he was released.The central government said: If the West Route Army sends people to Xinjiang, they can only enter secretly as businessmen, and then go to the Soviet consulate. It is not difficult to see from the above-mentioned telegram that the so-called "relief from afar" is just wishful thinking on our side.At that time, the Soviet Union really assisted Sheng Shicai, a warlord in Xinjiang, and sent him weapons and military advisers.Sheng Shicai was a member of the Soviet Communist Party rather than the Communist Party of China, and even held a hostile attitude towards the Red Army.His relationship with the Soviet Union is a relationship of mutual use.The Soviet Union attached great importance to Xinjiang, the hinterland of Asia, which has its origins in the position of Tsarist Russia.Relying on Soviet weapons, Sheng Shicai could stand against Chiang Kai-shek and be his emperor.If the West Route Army entered Xinjiang, Sheng Shicai would never welcome it.Considering its relationship with Sheng and its own interests, the Soviet Union would not provide support to the Red Army.Therefore, the road of "opening up the international market" was doomed to fail from the very beginning. Chen Changhao looked optimistic when he saw the central government's instructions to stop the West Route Army from advancing westward and establish a base on the spot.Xu Xiangqian's view is just the opposite of Chen's.He said to Chen Changhao: "Now we have to estimate the situation carefully! The 9th Army has been screwed with this guy, the Ma's Army has been attacking us all day long, and the Mao Bingwen Department is going west again. The situation is very different from the past, and it is not good. We still have to suffer." Chen Changhao said, "The situation is good now, and the Ma family army has been basically defeated by us. What is there to worry about?" Xu Xiangqian heard this, and said angrily: "What is a basic defeat? Basically defeating the enemy has This is a sign that we are on the offensive and the enemy is on the defensive. Now it is the opposite, the enemy is on the offensive and we are on the defensive; the enemy is superior and we are inferior; the enemy has a rear and supplies, but we do not. Your conclusion does not stand at all. Can't stand." In the process of studying how to implement the instructions of the Central Committee and the next move of the West Route Army, Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao had a fierce quarrel.Chen Changhao emphasized that the situation is excellent and a base can be established here.Xu Xiangqian emphasized that the situation is difficult, and if he is passively beaten here, he will suffer a big loss sooner or later.The irony is that the two top commanders of the West Route Army held a meeting in a dilapidated civilian house, with biting cold wind leaking from the doors and windows, and the front of the fire was warm while the back was cool. shadow?In the end, Chen Changhao took out his "trump card". He was a political commissar, the chairman of the Military and Political Committee of the West Route Army, and had the right to make the final decision.In this way, Chen Changhao convinced Xu Xiangqian, and the crisis that could have been saved deepened. As a military commander, Xu Xiangqian did not understand the central government's intentions.The actual situation is obvious: "The line of Shandan, Yongchang, and Liangzhou is located in the waist of the Hexi Corridor. It is bordered by the desert in the north and the Qilian Mountains in the south. There is a long and narrow 'alley' in the middle. There are few people and scattered villages; It is a desolate Gobi Desert, which is very conducive to the enemy's cavalry movement. There is no basis for the party's work in the local area, and the residents return to the Han Dynasty, and they don't understand the views of the party and the Red Army. In addition, the Majia army and the militia are mostly composed of local personnel, and the Red Army is a foreigner. In a short period of time, it is difficult to break the ethnic barriers and religious concepts, and integrate with the local people. This area is also the center of Ma Buqing, close to Xining, and it is a strategic place that the two horses will fight with me desperately. No matter in terms of terrain, supplies In terms of conditions, people's situation, and enemy's situation, it is not allowed for us to gain a foothold for a long time and deal with the enemy." On November 23, Zhang Wentian and Mao Zedong called Xu and Chen again: Many commanders of the West Route Army are also aware of the unfavorable situation, and are very dissatisfied with not leaving here.One day, Li Xiannian, the political commissar of the 30th Army, came to the general headquarters and said to Chen Changhao: "There is no east or west here. How can we wait to be beaten? If you want to go east, I will be the vanguard; if you want to go west, I will also be the vanguard!" "Chen Changhao reprimanded him and said: "What do you know? Talk too much!" Li Xiannian walked away holding his breath.Xu Xiangqian thought it over and over again, and drafted a telegram on November 24 to report the actual situation to the central government: This telegram from Xu Xiangqian is completely about the actual situation, without any concealment.After reading this telegram, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion: when the weather, location, people and conditions are not conducive to the West Route Army, there is almost no hope of victory.However, Mao Zedong's reply on the 25th said: "Mao Bingwen's withdrawal from the east will benefit your development, and the main force should prepare to go further east and support the east. ... For help from afar, don't rely on it within three months. At present, it is all up to yourself to unite and struggle to open up the situation." Mao Zedong also described in detail the essentials and methods of concentrating troops to fight the war of annihilation in the telegram. Everyone understands the principle of concentrating troops to fight a war of annihilation, but the Ma family army is cavalry, and the Red Army is two-legged. Before you can open your pockets, they have already moved.Besides, the West Route Army lacked ammunition, was hungry and cold, and was really unable to eat the enemy.How to concentrate troops in this narrow strip with few villages?Not even a house is enough.In his later years, Xu Xiangqian understood the central government’s “New Combat Plan” on November 8, 1936. He wrote in his memoirs: “It is not difficult to understand the central government’s new plan on November 8. The main purpose of the West Route Army to establish a base area in the Yong and Liang areas was to create the illusion that the Red Army in Hedong would join the West Route Army in Hexi, mobilize Chiang Kai-shek's troops to control the Yellow River, and allow the main force of the Red Army in Hedong to go east or south for a large-scale campaign. The scale of the strategic shift. We don’t know the content of the new plan, so we don’t understand that the central government wants the West Route Army to stay in the Yong and Liang areas without advancing or retreating.” However, Chen Changhao went from one extreme to the other. He firmly supported Zhang Guotao on the grassland. Since the Minzhou meeting and Zhang Guotao fell out, he was determined to draw a clear line from the wrong line.No dissent was raised against the central directive.Thus, from late November to early December, the West Route Army carried out a series of wars of attrition in the Hexi Corridor area.Cheng Shicai recalled: The superiors were determined not to go any further, and established bases centered on Yongchang and Shandan.All kinds of work arrangements have not been completed, and the main force of the enemy's two horses has concentrated in this area to fight our army. At the same time, Hu Zongnan's supplementary brigade has gone to Liangzhou to serve as the reserve team for the two horses.Our army stayed in Yongchang and Shandan for more than a month, and fought every day to consume our strength.In summary, the significant battles fought over the past month are as follows: One is the Battle of Sishilipu in the west of Liangzhou City. All of the 88th Division and one regiment of the 89th Division fought fiercely with more than two brigades of Ma Bufang all day and night.At the beginning, the enemy used several cannons to cover the onslaught, and we defended; at the end of the fight, our army attacked, repelled all the invading enemies, and dealt a severe blow to the enemy, with more than 2,400 enemy casualties.When I attacked, I fought the enemy with a bayonet, which was completely hand-to-hand combat.Our army hacked to death more than 700 enemies with knives, and one company of our 265 regiment was completely wiped out by the enemy.Originally, the enemy was trying to wipe out part of us, but because our army was more powerful than the enemy, we shattered the enemy's attempt and finally repelled the enemy. The second is the battle of the eight dams in the southeast of Yongchang.The enemy had two brigades, and I was still the main force of the 88th Division and fought fiercely with the enemy for two days and one night.The battle was very fierce. First, the enemy used several cannons to knock down the perimeter of the house I was defending, and then rushed towards me with densely formed infantry until I was finally defending the ground.I counterattacked with a large number of infantry, beat the enemy to pieces, and finally drove the enemy back.The enemy's casualties were extremely high, and the number of enemy corpses I hacked to death near the enclosure of my house reached more than 800, and I also suffered many casualties. The third was the battle of Shuimo Pass in the west of Yongchang City. Because we were holding on to this area, the enemy wanted to attack us and turned around to our west to attack our army.In this battle, the two regiments of the 88th Division fought fiercely with more than one brigade of the enemy for a day and a night. Afterwards, our reinforcements arrived, and at the same time the garrison attacked, and dealt a major blow to the enemy.The enemy's casualties were more than 600, and they temporarily retreated westward.Our side also suffered two or three hundred casualties.Originally, the enemy should not have attacked us in this battle, because the 9th Army did not fight the attack in Shuiquanzi, allowing the enemy to safely pass through our ambush zone and insert into the area behind us, but the enemy also attacked our army.Therefore, the battle of the two regiments of the 88th Division at Shuimoguan was a hasty challenge. The fourth is the battle where the enemy attacked our Yongchang City.Our troops are placed in the Yongchang and Shandan areas, and are deployed in a line-like manner.The enemy found our weakness and concentrated their forces to storm Yongchang City in an attempt to force me to withdraw from Yongchang City.The main force of the 88th Division of our city defense force, the enemy stormed with more than two brigades for two or three days failed, and I repelled the attacking enemy every time.In terms of tactics, the enemy first bombarded with several cannons and used fierce firepower to cover the advance of the infantry.After failing once, he attacked again, pounced on me one after another.We first use a part of our troops to resist the invading enemy, use a large amount of firepower, first inflict heavy damage on the enemy, and when the enemy approaches a certain distance, we launch a counterattack to drive the enemy back.In this fierce battle, the enemy suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and our side injured hundreds.When the battle of Yongchang was in full swing, the enemy attacked Shandan several times with a force of troops.When our 5th Army attacked the enemy, it caused heavy damage to the enemy every time.Then he consolidated Shandan and cooperated with Yongchang to fight. The West Route Army fought so valiantly under extremely difficult conditions, but what was the result?Cheng Shicai wrote sadly: "We have fought countless more intense battles, but we have not been able to repel the enemy's attack. The result is neither counted nor achieved, and the hope of establishing a base area has not been achieved. Fighting and fighting are still There is no way out." 经过这段时间的消耗，西路军由过河时的21000余人减至15000余人，战斗力大不如前。马家军伤亡也在6000人以上，双方损失基本相等。但是马家军的优势条件远胜过西路军。西路军这样苦苦支撑，吸引了黄河两岸十万敌军，减轻了陕北红军的压力，为河东红军的战略行动，起到了一定的策应和配合作用。