Chapter 2 02. Overture to the Long March: Going North and Marching West

In July 1934, after the Central Soviet Area's fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression" failed miserably, the Red Army was forced to a narrow area on the border between Fujian and Jiangxi, and the Central Soviet Area was in danger.Facing the grim situation, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to form an anti-Japanese advance team from the Seventh Corps of the Red Army of Workers and Peasants to go deep into the border areas of Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi to carry out guerrilla warfare and open up a new revolutionary Soviet area.The central government's idea at the time was that using this team to insert behind the enemy would not only contain part of the enemy, but also ease the pressure of the enemy's attack on the Soviet area.On the other hand, the central government also hopes that this force can do more in the enemy's rear, establish a new Soviet area, and lay the foundation for the future development of the revolution.

In the past few months since the fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression", Li De's situation has become more and more embarrassing. He is mainly responsible for the failure of the Red Army in the fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression".In the highest "three-person group", Bogu was always humble and cautious in front of him, and he always respected his tactical thinking without raising any objections.Although Zhou Enlai had different opinions on his tactical play, Zhou Enlai had to faithfully implement what the "three-person group" decided.What is there to be dissatisfied with Li De, a collaborator like China?Are you going to blame those Red Army soldiers?He has traveled through many countries and participated in countless battles, but he has never seen such a brave warrior.At this time, Li De knew that it was necessary to take on the burden of saving the revolutionary crisis. However, could this foreign consultant who was only good at "talking about wars on paper" afford it?

Prior to this, the central government had received news of peasant riots in several counties in southern Anhui.In the end, the top "three-person group" unanimously agreed that a force should be dispatched to Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui and other provinces immediately. On the one hand, they would publicize the anti-Japanese proposition, and on the other hand, they should go to southern Anhui to establish a larger base.This is also the consistent caliber of the highest "three-person group" to the outside world.For this team, they know in their hearts that this is a asking stone thrown out, and it is a team that can kill three birds with one stone.Li De and Zhou Enlai did not object to Bogu's suggestion that the Red Seventh Army should undertake this mission.

As a result, the Red Seventh Army was ordered to rush back to Ruijin from Liancheng, Fujian in early July 1934. At that time, there were only 4,000 troops left.Some soldiers didn't even have guns and ammunition, and carried spears on their shoulders.They were very exhausted, and rushed to Ruijin. From the regiment commander to the soldiers, they only knew that they had to accept a new mission, but they didn't know what the specific mission was. As soon as the Seventh Red Army arrived in Ruijin, Li De and Zhou Enlai, the top "three-member regiment", met with the main leaders of the army.At that time, the head of the army was Xun Huaizhou, Le Shaohua, the political commissar of the army, and Su Yu, the chief of staff of the army.Li De quickly issued combat missions to the Red Seventh Army.They had to go through Changting, Liancheng, and Yong'an all the way, then cross the Minjiang River eastward, and finally reach southern Anhui.Judging from the purpose and direction of sending out this force, it is all the way to the east.However, the direction of the transfer of the large troops was westward. From this, we can see the good intentions of the highest "three-person regiment" to attack the west and disrupt the enemy's sight.The northward march of the Red Seventh Army can be said to have kicked off the strategic shift of the Central Red Army.

The day the Red Seventh Army set off was July 7, 1934, the sun was shining brightly and the weather was fine.After a short rest, the Red Seventh Army added more than 2,000 recruits.Most of the more than 2,000 recruits did not have weapons, they just carried broadswords and spears.A lot of other military supplies were also brought in. The propaganda materials handed over to the Red Seventh Army by the central government alone amounted to more than 300 dan, and some cooking utensils were added, which amounted to more than 500 dan.These shoulder-to-shoulder teams formed a mighty moving army.The Red Seventh Army's northward move became a preview of the strategic shift of the Red Army's large forces a few months later.

Li De had high expectations for this army. He hoped that this surprise army could attract a large number of enemy troops besieging the Central Soviet Area and establish a new base soon.However, the telegrams and news about the failure of the Seventh Red Army on the way were put on Li De's desk one by one: On August 9, the Seventh Red Army failed to attack Fuzhou, lost hundreds of soldiers, and was forced to withdraw from Taoyuan in Fuzhou to Transfer to eastern Fujian... News from the Southern Anhui Soviet Area: The riots organized in several counties have failed.Enemy news: After Chiang Kai-shek learned of the strength and intentions of the Red Seventh Army, he called back a large number of pursuing troops and "encircled and suppressed" the Soviet area again... Li De looked at the news on his desk and felt that his hope was getting stronger. However, he was unwilling to fail so soon.He habitually stood in front of the military map, and once again issued unrealistic orders to the Red Seventh Army. He fantasized that the arrow released could sound.

When the Red Seventh Army arrived in the Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangsu Soviet Area, they joined forces led by Fang Zhimin at Chongxi, north of Geyuan, and formed the Red Tenth Army.The enemy mobilized more troops to encircle and suppress the newly formed Red Cross Army. In October 1934, the Red Tenth Army was besieged in the Huaiyu Mountain area, 15 kilometers in the northeast of Jiangxi. The main force of the Red Cross was divided into several sections.It was the middle of winter, and the wind and snow were blowing. The Red Army soldiers who were besieged in the barren mountains, dressed in single clothes, ate grass like snow and grass. Fight hard and inflict great damage on the enemy.But in the end, due to the disparity in numbers, ammunition and food were exhausted, and most of the commanders and fighters died heroically.Liu Chouxi was arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and sacrificed half a year later.Central representative Zeng Hongyi surrendered after being arrested.Fang Zhimin was arrested and imprisoned for betrayal by a traitor after a few months in the mountains.Fang Zhimin was an important figure who was offered a huge reward by Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang. After being captured, the enemy tried their best to intimidate and lure him, but Fang Zhimin remained unmoved.On the night of his arrest, he wrote his own statement: "I have determined that the Soviet can save China, and the revolution will win the final victory. I am willing to sacrifice everything and contribute to the Soviet." During the hard years of struggle in prison, he wrote with strong perseverance. Immortal texts such as Xia Li, "Poverty", "Records in Prison" left precious spiritual wealth to future generations, reflecting the lofty qualities and heroic revolutionary struggle spirit of a great communist fighter.Seeing that persuading surrender failed, Chiang Kai-shek secretly ordered the "Appeasement Office" stationed in Jiangxi to secretly execute Fang Zhimin. In the early morning of August 6, 1935, Fang Zhimin died heroically in Nanchang.

After the anti-Japanese advance team was surrounded and dispersed by the enemy, a part led by Su Yu formed an advancing division, moved to the Fujian-Zhejiang border area, and bravely and tenaciously persisted in the guerrilla war for three years.After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the Red Army guerrillas in the southern provinces were unified and reorganized into the New Fourth Army, and the assembled Red Seventh Army was organized into the second detachment of the New Fourth Army. While the Seventh Red Army moved eastward to adjust the enemy, the Central Committee ordered the Sixth Red Army in the Hunan-Jiangxi base to withdraw from the base, advance to central Hunan, and try to join the Third Red Army of He Long and Guan Xiangying. , To explore the route of strategic shift for the Party Central Committee and the main force of the Central Red Army.The Red Army's northward march and westward march, as Zhou Enlai said: "The whole way is to explore the way, and the whole way is to mobilize troops."

In late July, in accordance with the order of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission to break through the encirclement and move westward, the Red Sixth Army established a military and political committee with Ren Bishi as the chairman and Xiao Ke and Wang Zhen as members. On August 7, more than 9,700 members of the Sixth Red Army, with the cooperation of local troops, broke through the first blockade line of the Kuomintang army between Yaqian and Wudoujiang, and began their westward expedition.The troops were well trained, but woefully short of weapons and ammunition, and carried a heavy printing press to print notices for propaganda purposes, which greatly dragged down the troops.Legion Commander Xiao Ke is a man who is good at thinking and has a scholarly demeanor. From the beginning of the breakout, he was very worried about this march.The Red Sixth Army had no maps, just an ordinary map of China torn from a school geography book.The map is only 10 inches by 12 inches (1 inch equals 0.0254 meters), and only provincial capitals, very important county towns, and large mountains and rivers are marked on it.Such maps are not of much use in fighting in remote areas.The Red Sixth Army marched in the maze-like mountains, and most of the local farmers were illiterate. Most of the places outside the mountains couldn't tell, let alone tell them how to go to the next town.Although there were some victories along the way, more than half of them were lost.At this time, He Long and Guan Xiangying led the main force of the Third Red Army (later the Second Red Army) to go south along the western foot of Fanjing Mountain to meet them.After 78 days of arduous battles, the Red Sixth Army traveled more than 2,500 kilometers and broke through the siege and interception of more than 80,000 people from 64 regiments of the Kuomintang Army in the four provinces of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou. On October 24, it arrived at Muhuang and Yinjiang County, Guizhou Province. The Red Army joined forces and completed the transfer task.In order to cooperate with the Long March of the Central Red Army, the Third and Sixth Red Army moved to western Hunan and Hubei, and launched an offensive in western Hunan.So far, the Red Sixth Army has successfully completed the task of diverting and containing the enemy, and played a pioneering role in the strategic transfer of the Central Red Army.

Following the Red Sixth Army's western expedition, in September 1934, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission ordered the Red Twenty-fifth Army, which persisted in the revolutionary struggle in the Hubei, Henan and Anhui base areas, to march to the northwest and implement a strategic shift.Under the leadership of army commander Xu Haidong and political commissar Wu Huanxian, the Red Twenty-Five Army set out from the base area in western Anhui, broke through the four blockades set up by the enemy along the way, and arrived in the southern Shaanxi area at the end of November 1934, establishing the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi base area. And smashed the enemy's two "encirclement and suppression".After learning the news of the strategic transfer of the Central Red Army, the Red 25th Army immediately set off from the base area, marched westward and northward, and started the Long March of the Red 25th Army.