Chapter 7 07. The heaviest knot on the red ribbon

The Red Army broke through three blockade lines one after another, which made Chiang Kai-shek very annoyed at the ineffective encirclement of the Cantonese and Hunan armies, and also strengthened his attempt to gather and annihilate the Red Army in the northeast of Guangxi, east of the Xiangjiang River and west of the Hunan-Guangxi border. Before the Red Army broke through the third blockade line, Chiang Kai-shek had already identified the strategic intention of the Red Army to advance southward to break through, so he appointed anti-communist general He Jian as the "commander-in-chief of the pursuit and suppression army", and Xue Yue, a direct descendant of the "Central Army", as the "commander-in-chief of the former enemy" , commanded the Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi armies and the "Central Army", a total of 26 divisions and more than 300,000 troops, and made every effort to "encircle and wipe out" the Red Army.Chiang Kai-shek's "encirclement and annihilation" plan is divided into two steps: the first step is to intercept the Red Army in the area east of Xiaoshui, and conduct a joint attack between Tiantangwei and Dao County in Ningyuan.If this first step cannot be achieved, the second step is to gather troops from all walks of life to block the Red Army from northeastern Guangxi to the east of the Xiangjiang River, and gather and annihilate them on the banks of the Xiangjiang River.

As early as when the Red Sixth Army marched westward, the Kuomintang made preparations to guard the Xiangjiang River, and built more than 550 large and small blockhouses along the banks of the river in northeastern Guangxi and southwestern Hunan.This time, relying on its superior force and sophisticated equipment, coupled with the "natural moat" of the Xiangjiang River (the Kuomintang army boasted that this area is an "iron triangle"), the task of "pursuing and suppressing" from all walks of life is to "encircle with an iron wall." In order to "encircle and wipe out" the Red Army on the fourth blockade line he set up, Chiang Kai-shek personally supervised the battle in Nanchang camp.He wrote a letter to He Jian, pointing out that "the fate of the party and the country is in this battle, and I hope to pursue it with all my strength"; he also presented a Tang poem: last night, the autumn wind entered Hanguan, and the moon was full of the western mountains beside the clouds; The horses returned on the battlefield, fully revealing his heart of "suppressing the Communist Party and the Red Army".

However, Bogu, the leader of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Li De, the military adviser, underestimated the enemy's situation.As early as November 17, 1934, they had learned of He Jian's plan to annihilate the Red Army in the area east of the Xiangjiang River and Xiaoshui River, but until the 24th, they believed that "the current follow-up with the enemy is still very cautious, showing no The heart of the chase, but the nature of the camera's progress."Therefore, they have not made up their minds to cross the river quickly. On November 25, most of the Red Army crossed the Xiaoshui River between Dao County in southern Hunan and Shuikou (now Jianghua).After Chiang Kai-shek's first plan failed, he strictly ordered the Hunan and Guangxi armies to follow the original plan to attack the vanguard of the Red Army that had crossed the Xiaoshui River and intercept the rest of the Red Army that had not crossed the Xiaoshui River. East.On that day, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Political Department of the Red Army issued the "Political Order Regarding Our Field Army's Breakthrough of the Enemy's Fourth Blockade and Crossing the Xiangjiang River", requiring the Red Army to rush across the Xiangjiang River and quickly break through the enemy's fourth blockade.

At this time, the two divisions of He Jian's "pursuing and suppressing" army were rushing from Dong'an to Quanzhou and Xianshui; part of the second route was advancing to Lingling and Huangsha River; the third route was advancing from Ningyuan to the east of Xiaoshui In the Zhidao County area; the four divisions withdrawn from Quanzhou and Xing'an to the south also marched towards Guanyang and its northwest in an attempt to cooperate with the "pursuing and suppressing" army to encircle and wipe out the Red Army in the area east of the Xiangjiang River. The situation faced by the Red Army was very severe.

According to the orders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the General Political Department of the Red Army, and the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the Central Red Army rushed to the Xiangjiang River day and night. On November 27, the Second Division of the vanguard of the First Red Army successfully crossed the Xiangjiang River, controlled the crossing point between Jieshou and Jueshanpu, and erected a pontoon bridge nearby. On the 28th, the main force of the First Red Army arrived at Shitangwei via Anshan Dam.On the same day, the 10th Regiment of the 4th Division of the Red Army Corps crossed the Xiangjiang River and entered the Guanghuapu and Fengshanpu areas south of Jieshou.The Fifth Red Army Corps guarded the Jiangjialing, Yong'an Pass, and Leikou Pass areas, delayed the pursuit of the enemy, and covered the passage of follow-up troops.The column of the Military Commission has entered the Wenshi and Guiyan areas to the north of Guanyang, only 80 kilometers away from the crossing point of the Xiangjiang River.However, Bogu, Li De and others still refused to abandon those "altars and cans", so that the mobility of the main force of the Red Army was severely limited, and their movements were very slow. They could only walk more than 20 kilometers a day, and it took four days to reach the Xiangjiang River , As a result, the troops on both sides of the Xiangjiang River fought extremely fiercely with the superior enemy in order to cover the entire army crossing the river, and paid a very heavy price.

When the forwards on the two wings of the Red Army had seized the ferry and combat positions and were waiting for the column of the Military Commission, the Kuomintang Central Army had withdrawn to Dao County to pursue it; Guan Yang blocked it.In this way, the enemy army has generally formed a pattern in which the north and the south are trying to encircle and wipe out the Red Army.At that time, there was a saying about the individual characteristics of the enemy's various units: the Yunnan army had two sheep, and the Hunan army was a wolf; the Guangxi monkey was the Guangxi army, as fierce as a tiger and as vicious as a wolf.If the Red Army wants to break through the Kuomintang's Xiangjiang defense line, it is bound to fight a fierce battle with the Xianggui Tiger, Wolf and Monkey Army.The tragic Xiangjiang bloody battle inevitably took place.

In the early morning of November 28, the battle for the Red Army to break through the enemy's Xiangjiang defense line began. The first thing that started was the blocking battle by the Red Fifth Division of the Third Red Army Corps against the Gui Army in Xinxu.The Central Revolutionary Military Commission ordered the Fifth Red Division to "do whatever it takes to persist for three to four days" to cover the two central columns crossing the river.Li Tianyou, the commander of the Fifth Red Division, was from Lingui County, Guangxi, from a poor peasant family. After the Long March began, he and political commissar Zhong Chibing led the Fifth Red Division to serve as the vanguard of the Third Red Army, covering the main force of the army to break through the three blockades of the Kuomintang army.After the Central Revolutionary Military Commission issued the combat order to rush across the Xiangjiang River, he led two regiments to Guanyang and Xinxu immediately to block the Guangxi army and ensure the safety of the left wing of the entire army.

Xinxu is located in the northwest of Guanyang County, seventy or eighty miles away from the Xiangjiang Ferry, and it is the only place for the Gui army to go to the Xiangjiang River. On the morning of November 28, just after the deployment of the Fifth Red Division position was completed, seven regiments of the Guangxi Army rushed towards the Fifth Division position along the riverside road.Relying on the absolute superiority of the number of troops and weapons and equipment, the enemy launched a fierce attack.The enemy planes in the sky strafed at low altitude, the enemy artillery on the ground bombarded continuously, and the enemy infantry charged in groups in turn, but the Fifth Red Division was fearless and tenaciously blocked.On this day, the Gui army only occupied a few small hills.Bai Chongxi, known as "Little Zhuge", scolded his subordinates for their incompetence in command.Subordinates tell the truth: The Red Army is the Fifth Division of Peng Dehuai's Third Army Regiment. From the division commander Li Tianyou to the regiment and battalion company commander, many officers and soldiers are from Guangxi. They are very familiar with this area, and some of them are our subordinates; Difficult to overcome.As a result, the Gui army invested new troops and sent additional aircraft to participate in the battle. On the 29th and 30th, the fighting became more intense.The commanders and fighters of the Fifth Red Division desperately held their positions, repeatedly competed with the enemy for the top of the mountain, fought hand-to-hand, and repelled dozens of enemy attacks.The battle lasted until the afternoon of the 30th, and they were ordered to evacuate after completing the blocking mission.The Fifth Red Division fought bloody battles for three days and nights. Hu Zhen, the chief of staff of the division, died, and most of the regiment, battalion and company cadres of the two regiments also died heroically.There are more than 3,000 people in the division, and more than 2,000 people have been lost.

On November 29, part of the enemy's first "pursuing and suppressing" army launched an attack from Quanzhou to the Second Red Division in Jueshanpu, and the other marched towards the Huangsha River; Red Army guards in counties, Wenshi and other places attacked.Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of the Guangxi Army divided their main force into two groups, one route went north from Guanyang area to attack the Red Army on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River;Therefore, on both sides of the Xiangjiang River, the Red Army fought a life-and-death battle of blood and fire with various enemy forces.The most intense battle on this day was the blockade at Guanghuapu, the head of Xing'an Jieshou.

Guanghuapu is only 6 miles away from Jieshou, one of the main crossings of the Xiangjiang River.Here is a wide hilly land with a small slope and a wide field of vision. It is not suitable for a defensive position in a war.However, the Red Fourth Division of the Red Third Army, which served as the avant-garde, could not make other choices.In order to stop the Hunan army attacking from Quanzhou and the Guangxi army chasing from Guanyang, and ensure that the central column crossed the river smoothly, there was only a last stand here.Only the Red Tenth Regiment of the Fourth Red Division is responsible for the blocking task here, to meet the fierce attack of the four regiments of the Guangxi Army.For this reason, General Peng Dehuai's headquarters was located in an ancestral hall called Sanguantang, which is only more than 200 meters away from Jieshou Ferry on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River and close to the river.Although there is no hidden object here, the terrain is slightly higher, and the situation of the ferry can be observed.He personally directed this critical and extremely harsh blocking battle, and did not sleep a wink for three days and three nights.

On the evening of the 29th, all four regiments of the Guangxi Army were dispatched, relying on the favorable conditions of familiarity with the terrain, in an attempt to carry out a night attack on the Red Army.The Guangxi army, which is good at night battles, broke through the Red Army's position in Guanghuapu and went straight to Jieshou Ferry.After the Red Tenth Regiment discovered the enemy, it ordered Zhang Zhen, who was the commander of the third battalion at the time, to lead his troops to block the enemy and resolutely intercept it. The Red Third Battalion was ordered to block the attack and fight hand-to-hand with the enemy.In the dark night, a scuffle broke out. At dawn on the 30th, although the Red Army had wiped out most of the enemies, the west bank of Jieshou Ferry was lost.At this time, the first column of the Central Committee was about to arrive at the east bank to prepare to cross the river, and the situation was extremely critical.The head of the regiment, Shen Shuqing, led the first and second battalions straight to the ferry. After many times of fighting and fighting, they finally wiped out the enemy, regained the ferry, strengthened the defense force, and consolidated the surrounding positions.However, in the continuing battle, Commander Shen and Du Zongmei, chief of staff of the Fourth Red Division who acted for him, were shot and died.At noon, two enemy regiments occupied Guanghuapu after being beaten to death by the Red Army; another enemy regiment advanced along the east bank of the Xiangjiang River to Jieshou Ferry.At this time, Peng Dehuai, the head of the Third Red Army, urgently dispatched two regiments from the Fourth Division to support the Red Tenth Army, and on the other hand, ordered a regiment from the Fifth Division to quickly attack the unstable enemies on the east bank.After dusk, the second central column began to cross the river, and the entire division of the Red Army launched a counterattack against the enemy at Guanghuapu. After another night of hard fighting, they finally held the second blocking line of the Red Army's position.At dawn, it was December 1st.The main force of the Fifth Red Division, which had completed the task of blocking the Xinxu battle, came and together with the Fourth Red Division blocked dozens of consecutive attacks by the enemy.It was not until noon that the central column safely crossed the river and crossed the Guihuang Highway before this part of the Red Army was ordered to evacuate. The blockade at Jueshanpu, Quanzhou, which began on November 29, was the battle in which both the enemy and the enemy invested the most troops in the Xiangjiang bloody battle.Jueshanpu is 20 miles away from Quanzhou in the north and more than 50 miles away from Jieshou in the south. It is the throat for the enemy to seize the main crossing of the Xiangjiang River.After the Red First Army Corps, which protected the right-wing forward of the central column, crossed the river on the 27th, its Red Second Division blocked the three divisions of the Hunan Army coming from the county town of Quanzhou in the north at Jueshanpu.The Hunan Army, eager to go south to block the Xiangjiang River, launched a fierce attack on the Red Army's position in the early morning of the 29th.Dozens of cannons and several planes bombed indiscriminately, blowing up the pine forest in front of the Red Army's position, leaving only tree stumps. In the early morning of November 30, the two regiments of the Red First Division rushed to fight after completing the task of blocking the enemy in Xiaoshui, Hunan.The Red First Division had just arrived, and the troops were very tired, but they entered the position immediately.The blocking battle of this day reached its climax.The enemy's first charge was quickly defeated, leaving behind dozens of corpses, and a second charge was organized.With the increase in the number of enemy charges and the increasing number of troops invested, gunpowder smoke filled the position.The Red Army took advantage of the favorable terrain to fight tenaciously, and the enemy's corpses became more and more numerous.In the afternoon of the battle, the enemy besieged the Red Army positions from three sides, many Red Army positions were lost, and Yi Dangping, political commissar of the Fifth Red Regiment, was seriously injured.At this time, the enemy army came up with bayonets, and political commissar Yi Dangping asked his guards to shoot him.The guard burst into tears and his hands were shaking.Yi Dangping grabbed the guard's gun and fulfilled his vow never to be a prisoner.Comrade Yang Chengwu, political commissar of the Fourth Regiment, was also seriously injured.After a day of fighting, the Red Army still held the main position. December 1st is a matter of life and death for the Central Red Army.Because two-thirds of the troops have not yet crossed the river, and the enemy is approaching frantically, they will fight for the ferry with the Red Army's forward troops at all costs.At 1:30 in the morning, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission issued an emergency combat order to the entire army. "One day's battle is related to the entire field army. Victory in the west can open up future development prospects. If we retreat, our field army will be cut off layer by layer. The heads of our first and third armies and the political department should send political workers overnight. All companies should go to fight and agitate. All commanders and fighters must be mobilized to understand the meaning of today's battle. We are not victors, we are losers. Winning or losing is related to the overall situation. Everyone must have the courage to fight, regardless of all sacrifices, and overcome fatigue. Resolute assault, carry out the task of attacking and destroying the enemy, and ensure the full realization of the 1:30 combat mission of the Military Commission No. 1. Repel the enemy-occupied places, destroy the enemy's attacking troops, open up the road to the west, and ensure the safety of all our field troops. Crossing the blockade line should be the basic slogan of today's battle. Hope to hold high the banner of victory and rush to the line of fire!" In military history, in order to fight a war, it is too rare to issue both military and political orders like this.In political directives, it is rare to mention the seriousness of the battle to such an extent.This alone shows the criticality of the war situation at that time.That was the feeling of the central government in charge of the overall situation at that time, and history has proved it to be true: the sacrifice has reached the last moment, and life and death are at stake! On December 1st, the fighting was fiercer than ever.The various armies of the Kuomintang launched a full-line attack on the various ministries of the Red Army in an attempt to realize the goal of "seeking to wipe out everything and not allowing the bandits to take root again" issued by Chiang Kai-shek.The battle in Jueshanpu has intensified.The soldiers of the Red Army faced the wolves and tigers with indomitable heroism, and when they ran out of ammunition, they fought hand-to-hand with the enemy.The soldiers in the front fell, and the commanders in the back went up to the top, building a barrier with flesh and blood to buy more time for the central column and follow-up troops to cross the river.Regardless of day or night, the troops behind, regardless of hunger and fatigue, raced against time and rushed to the Xiangjiang River ferry.The pontoon bridge was blown up, the warriors who could swim swam across the river, and the warriors who couldn't swim crossed the river by pulling the connected backpack ropes.The enemy planes crazily fired at the crowd in the river, and the enemy bombs exploded among the troops rushing to cross.The fallen Red Army was countless, and the deep red blood dyed the green Xiangjiang River into the "Chishui River". The corpses and relics of the martyrs floated on the river and flowed downstream.The cruelty of this battle was so terrible that the local people later said that they would "not eat fish from the Xiangjiang River for three years". By noon on December 1, the central column and follow-up troops of the Red Army had crossed the Xiangjiang River, and 6 divisions of the 8 Red Army divisions on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River had also crossed the river after making huge sacrifices.At 17:00, the enemy occupied all the crossings and sealed off both sides of the Xiangjiang River.The Red Army defenders, including the 3 legions, were unable to cross the river as cover, or were scattered, or surrounded and wiped out.Among them, the 18th Regiment of the Sixth Division of the Third Red Army fought fiercely with the three divisions of the Gui Army for two days and nights. After crossing the river, they were divided and surrounded by the Gui Army. The enemy fought, and most of them died heroically.The other two regiments of the Sixth Division also suffered heavy casualties, and the entire division was basically unorganized.The 34th Division of the Fifth Red Army, the last general guard transferred to the west by the Red Army, broke through the siege of the Guangxi Army and marched to the Xiangjiang River but could not cross the river. , Daoxian County, because they ran out of ammunition and food, they were outnumbered, intercepted and surrounded by the enemy, and finally there were not many troops left.Master Chen Shuxiang was seriously injured and arrested in Dao County. The enemy carried him on a stretcher to claim credit.Taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, he pulled out his intestines from the abdominal wound with his hands, strangled them with force, and sacrificed heroically at the age of 29.The frenzied enemy failed to get him alive, so he cut off his head and hung it on the city wall of Dao County and his hometown Changsha for public display.There were more than 100 members of the division fighting guerrillas in southern Hunan, but they did not escape bad luck in the end.The entire Red Thirty-Fourth Division was wiped out, which is probably the first time in the history of the Red Army. The Battle of Xiangjiang, from November 25 when the Central Revolutionary Military Commission issued a combat order, to December 1 when the central column and the Red Army rear guard crossed the Xiangjiang River, experienced a total of 7 days of bloody battles.The vast number of commanders and fighters of the Red Army fought bravely, fought desperately, showed great dedication, and wrote an extremely glorious and tragic page in party history, military history, and war history.The Central Red Army dropped sharply from more than 80,000 people at the beginning of the Long March to more than 30,000 people.The main force of the Central Red Army paid a huge price to smash Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement and annihilation plan and broke through the Xiangjiang River defense line surrounded by heavy troops.