Chapter 23 Chapter 1 Bloody Battle Along the Xiangjiang River——The First Battle of the Long March

In late October 1934, the air was very tense in the Nanchang camp of the Chairman of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government.In a luxurious large conference room, Chiang Kai-shek, the real master of the camp, is holding an emergency military meeting.This thin and capable "commissioner" took off his black cloak, although his face was full of dust, but his expression was quite smug.He had just returned from inspections in Beiping, Chahar, Guisui, Taiyuan, Xi'an and other places, and the front-line battle report was also good: Jiang Dingwen's Eastern Route Army's vanguard troops had crossed Changting and approached Ruijin, the "red capital" of the Communist Party. His own "fortress tactics" have paid off, and the time to wash away the shame of the failure of the previous four "encirclement and suppression" campaigns seems to be just around the corner.However, a new emergency suddenly emerged.

He Guoguang, Chief of Staff of the Nanchang Camp, is reporting the situation: "According to reconnaissance, the main force of the Red Army has shown signs of advancing westward to break through, and its forward has passed through the Taojiang River. According to intelligence analysis, this westward advance is not a tactical maneuver, but a strategic one. It is said that The Communist Party took away the prisoners in their prisons and the machines in the factories..." Xiong Shihui, director of the Nanchang Camp Office, Yang Yongtai, secretary general of the camp and director of the second department, and deputy director of the first department, also in charge of combat Yan Daogang, director of Chiang Kai-shek's waiting room, and Lin Wei and others discussed it a lot, and they were at a loss for what to do.Finally, everyone unanimously turned their attention to Chiang Kai-shek.

"The Communist Party was unable to stand under my siege and fled westward as a last resort. It was the harbinger of the collapse of the Communist Army. Kong Hechong's surrender is the best proof!" Chiang Kai-shek said with a strong eastern Zhejiang accent: "The problem is , when the communist army arrives in southern Hunan, will it go south, north or west? Going south is unlikely. If it really goes south, it will force Chen Jitang’s Cantonese army to resist desperately. We will attack the latter and the result will be better, so we will go south Not to worry about. If you go north, you will reach He Jian's territory, threatening Changsha and Wuhan. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom took this line back then, and the political threat is greater. But with the exhausted soldiers of the communist army who have fought hard for a year, the north march cannot be ignored. , but the possibility is not great. The biggest possibility is to go westward, cross the Xiangjiang River and join the Second and Sixth Army Corps, and find a place to gain a foothold, which must be firmly blocked. The road to the west is exactly the dead end that Shi Da drove. The communist army took this road, which happened to be convenient for our army to use the natural barrier of the Xiangjiang River to annihilate the communist army in the area east of the Xiangjiang River in one fell swoop. My decision is: appoint He Jian as the commander-in-chief of the pursuit and suppression army, and Xue Yue as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy. 2 armies of the Hunan Army, 3 armies of the Hunan Army, 2 armies of the Guangxi Army, and 3 armies of the Central Army, a total of 10 armies with 400,000 troops, cast a large net on the side of the Xiangjiang River to wipe out the bandit in the area east of the Xiangjiang River. This battle It is related to the six-year shame of Xue Xue, you must unite with sincerity, gather together and wipe them out, so as not to let them slip through the net."

In this way, a large net of 400,000 people has been opened in front of the Red Army. On November 12, Ketangwei in southern Hunan.Geng Biao, head of the Vanguard Regiment of the Left Route Army (the Fourth Regiment of the Second Red Division), and Yang Chengwu, the political commissar, suddenly received an order jointly signed by Chen Guang, the commander of the Second Red Division, and Liu Yalou, the political commissar, requiring the Fourth Regiment to attack the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River at a rapid marching speed. ——Daozhou on the west bank of the Xiaoshui River occupied and controlled the ferry first, opening the first channel for the large troops to cross the Xiangjiang River westward.And blocked the Hunan enemy advancing from Lingling to Daozhou.

The leader of the Red Fourth Regiment urgently analyzed the situation.It is believed that Daozhou is an important throat for the Red Army to march westward, and it is also a major ferry for crossing the Xiangjiang River westward.Not to mention far away, when the peasant army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom crossed the Xiangjiang River in the east, they were frustrated at Fengmenao.At present, Daozhou is defended by the Guangxi Army, and the Red Army is pursued by the Kuomintang Central Army and the Hunan Army. If the Red Army does not occupy Daozhou first, or if it cannot hold after the occupation, the westward advance of the Central Column will be cut off, and the whole country will be destroyed. The army may be trapped on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, flanked by the enemy on both sides, and trapped in a desperate situation.But the ancestral fair is still more than 200 miles away from Daozhou, and the time is less than one day.what to do?

Only by relying on the masses and mobilizing the masses. The Fourth Red Regiment gathered quickly, carried out a brief mobilization, and shouted the slogan "take Daozhou before the enemy". Has been serving as an avant-garde mission for more than half a month.After hearing the mobilization, the exhausted soldiers were refreshed.They were gearing up: "Three blockade lines have been broken through, what is a small Daozhou!" Run away. Relying on the masses is a glorious tradition of our army in combat.When the troops approached Daozhou City and took a break, they got two important facts from the crowds: First, there was indeed only one company of the Guangxi Army and dozens of militias in Daozhou City. The second is that there is a pontoon bridge between the west bank and the east bank. Only by grabbing the pontoon bridge first can we capture Daozhou.

Based on this situation, Geng Biao and Yang Chengwu made emergency arrangements.When the troops rushed to the east bank of Daozhou, the enemy had gathered all the boats on the pontoon bridge to the west bank. The waves were rolling, the eddies were flying, and the river was indeed wide and deep.I learned from the captured messenger prisoners that the defense of Daozhou did not expect the Red Army to come so fast, so the guards were not strict. Soldiers are expensive and fast.At 12 o'clock that night, the Red Army formed a swimming team led by the engineer platoon leader.A group of four jumped into the icy November water and swam to the opposite bank.The enemy was kept in the dark at first, and when they found someone swimming, they hurriedly shot, but they were quickly suppressed by my powerful firepower.At dawn, with the help of the local people, the Red Army sailed smoothly, occupied Shuinan Street in the south of the city, and built a large pontoon bridge with a width of three to four meters by ferry. The whole regiment crossed Xiaoshui River, one of the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River, and attacked from the south Daozhou.At this time, the Red Fifth Regiment also crossed the river from the stagnant water, and the two regiments formed a pincer-shaped offensive. The remnant enemy in Daozhou couldn't hold on.

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was still in the dark about the change of hands in Daozhou.He kept sending planes to reconnaissance, dropped leaflets to persuade him to surrender, and bombed and strafed.The soldiers were furious, and shot down one of the No. 709 fighter jets with one burst. Two enemy pilots in hunter suits also became prisoners of the Red Army.The success of the Daozhou raid cleared away a major obstacle for the Red Army to cross the Xiangjiang River westward, and the troops erected several pontoon bridges to cover the central column crossing the river.If the central column was light and simple and transitioned quickly, then the losses in the Xiangjiang bloody battle would be much smaller.It's a pity that this team is a bulky and huge team. At this moment, they are staggering towards the Xiangjiang River step by step. When they reach the riverside, they will not be able to cross the Xiangjiang River in a day or two. When this team arrives at the Xiangjiang River Ferry, The Xiangjiang River has been difficult to cross.

The Red Fourth Regiment, which had just occupied Daozhou, suddenly received an order: the central government is going to forcibly cross the Xiangjiang River between Jieshou and Fenghuangzui. In order to cover the central column crossing the river, your regiment must occupy Jieshou, break through the Xianggui Road day and night, and stop the Guangxi army. Xia Wei 1 army.The task of defending Zhou Hunyuan in Daozhou was entrusted to the Red First Division.In accordance with this order, the Red Fourth Regiment flew to Jieshou without clearing away the dust, occupied this strategic location an hour beforehand, and set up a concealed ambush. An hour later, the Xia Wei army swaggered into the Red Army's ambush circle.

Xia Wei's army is the main force of the Guangxi warlord army. It is fully equipped with excellent weapons and has the advantage of being familiar with the geography and people's conditions.But they never dreamed that they would be ambushed by the Red Army at their doorstep.A row of guns went down, and the enemy immediately blew up the battalion, ran away with their heads in their arms, and fled in a hurry.The first battle in Jieshou became a small prelude to the bloody battle in Xiangjiang. Sure enough, before the victory in the first battle had time to celebrate, the superior ordered the Red Fourth Regiment to seize Jueshan in the south of Quanzhou, and together with the Red Fifth Regiment to block the southward enemy, cover the Military Commission column to cross the Xiangjiang River and Xianggui Road.The Red Fourth Regiment hastily handed over the Jieshou position to the Sixth Division of the Red Third Army Regiment for defense, and immediately rushed to the Jueshan position starry night.

Jueshan is 15 kilometers away from Quanzhou in the north and more than 20 kilometers away from the Xiangjiang Ferry controlled by the Red Army in the south.The rolling hills are covered with pine trees of uneven density, and several isolated hills are relatively difficult to defend. It was the enemy Liu Jianxu's three divisions that attacked Jueshan, but we only had the first, fourth, and fifth regiments. Not only were our weapons and equipment poor, but we also lacked ammunition.Soldiers fought for a long time, were extremely tired, had no food and clothing, and there were many wounded and sick.At this time, Geng Biao, the head of the Fourth Red Regiment, was tormented by the malaria so much that he walked staggeringly, his face was emaciated, and he was extremely weak. Yang Chengwu persuaded him to take a break, but he refused to say anything. He checked the digging of various ministries while sick, and explained the tactics of blocking the enemy. Suddenly, there was the roar of enemy planes diving and bombing in the air, and then the artillery of the enemy's attacking troops also rang.Immediately, the flames shot into the sky, smoke and dust rose everywhere, branches flew around, and the grass caught fire. The Red Army's position was engulfed in a sea of ​​flames.Immediately afterwards, the enemy army rushed towards the Wojueshan position with howls.In order to save bullets, the Red Army opened fire suddenly after the enemy completely entered the shooting range.Rifles and machine guns roared together, like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, and the enemy troops fell to the ground in rows.However, the enemy fell in a batch and came up again, retreated and came up again. When the bullets ran out, the Red Army soldiers fought with bayonets.The fierce battle lasted for a whole day, and the enemy suffered heavy casualties, as did the Red Army. The next day, the enemy launched several strong attacks, but was still repelled by the Red Army. On the third day, the enemy changed their tactics, stepped up their attack with superior forces and weapons from the front, and transferred a large force to encircle Jueshan's flanks and back.Because the Red Army soldiers did not sleep for three or four days, did not eat for more than a day, and were extremely sleepy. In addition, the enemy took advantage of the night to cover up and attack with superior troops and firepower. Zhongbaoziling also fell one after another.The Red First Division suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw to the southwest line of Shuitou and Xiabitian to continue to block the enemy. Liu Jianxu's army, who had occupied Mihua Mountain and Shutou Ridge, rushed from three sides to the Jiafengling position defended by the Second Red Division.Faced with the situation of fighting alone and being surrounded by the enemy, the troops of the Second Red Division were forced to withdraw to Zhulanpu and Baishapu to build a new blocking line in order to avoid being surrounded by the enemy. On December 1, the fighting was unprecedentedly tragic.There are enemy planes bombing and strafing, and on the ground there are overwhelmingly superior enemies charging in turn.The position of the Red Third Regiment was breached, the junction of the Red First and Second Divisions was wedged in, two battalions of the Red Third Regiment were surrounded, and one battalion was broken up during the breakout, and could only be divided into small groups to break through in multiple ways. The battle continued, on the battlefield, corpses were strewn all over the field, and blood flowed like a river... Under the leadership of division commander Li Tianyou and political commissar Zhong Chibing, the 14th and 15th regiments of the Red Fifth Division of the Third Red Army Corps, which served as the left-wing cover task, followed the Military Commission's instructions to block the Guangxi Army in Xinxu, "at all costs, persist for 3 days until the 4 days" order, rushed to Xinxu in Guanyang at a rapid marching speed, and the enemy arrived at the predetermined position to cover the central column to cross the river. Xinxu is the only place where the Guangxi Gui army must pass through to press the river bank ferry.The hills here are undulating, and there are dangers to guard.If you let the enemy pass Xinxu, there will be no danger to rely on.Pointing to this terrain, the two leaders of the Fifth Red Division mobilized their subordinates and said: "Whether we can hold Xinxu is related to whether the central column can cross the river. As long as we have one person, we cannot let the enemy cross Xinxu!" The position has not yet been established. , The fierce battle started.The enemy first bombarded with platoons of artillery, and then the two divisions of Xia Wei's army took turns to attack, and the small troops attacked in a roundabout way. It seems that Xia Wei is determined to avenge the world's leaders. The battle lasted for 3 days and 3 nights, and the battle situation became more and more severe day by day, and the situation worsened day by day. The Fifth Red Division fought bloody battles with enemy troops several times their size, and suffered heavy casualties. Hu Zhen, chief of staff of the division, died heroically!Most of the regiment, battalion and company commanders were killed! After the Red Eighth Army crossed the Xiangjiang River, there were only more than 1,000 people left! In order to keep the position on the west bank of Xiaoshui River, the Red First Division who stayed in Daozhou to resist the enemy Zhou Hunyuan's troops, under the leadership of division commander Li Jukui and acting political commissar Lai Chuanzhu, fought bloody battles with the elite troops of the Kuomintang Central Army for 3 days and nights, and then rushed to Jueshan On the front line, deal with the attack of Xue Yue's 5 divisions.Most of the teachers were killed or injured. Every minute at this time was bought by Red Army soldiers with their blood and lives.At that time, how much every commander and fighter of the Red Army hoped that the central column would cross the river earlier and faster! During the 4-day bloody battle, the front line also continued to deliver news from the Military Commission column: The column of the Military Commission arrived in Wen City! The Military Commission column arrived at Guiyan! The column of the Military Commission is approaching the crossing point of the Xiangjiang River! The Military Commission column is crossing the river! Part of the Military Commission column crossed the river! The Military Commission column has crossed the river! Most of the Military Commission column crossed Xianggui Road! ... At this moment, a stone in the hearts of all commanders and fighters finally fell to the ground. Not all troops crossed the Xiangjiang River.One division was indeed wiped out by the Kuomintang in the east of the Xiangjiang River. They were not as beautiful as the avant-garde divisions. Their leaders were buried on the bank of this river forever. Many people didn't even know the existence of this division, let alone set up a monument for them. up. This is the 34th Division of the Fifth Red Army! The Fifth Red Army has served as the rear for a long time, and it is they who suffer the most. When the tens of thousands of horses in front pass by, there is not enough food, and when they come, they have nothing.They are also the worst, resisting the enemy's bombing during the day, marching in the mountains at night, taking in the stragglers, intercepting the pursuit, taking care of the old, weak, sick and disabled, and covering the huge moving team...the miserable situation is beyond words. The Red Thirty-Fourth Division is the defender of the defenders.They are at the end of the huge team, and their situation can be imagined.When the central column crossed the Xiangjiang River, the Red Thirty-Fourth Division was still 75 kilometers east of the river to stop the pursuers.When they were ordered to retreat and prepared to cross the river, they were surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy troops. The whole division ran out of ammunition and food, and most of them died.The remaining more than 300 people, led by division commander Chen Shuxiang and chief of staff Wang Guangdao, saw that the army was heading west, and it was impossible to cross the Xiangjiang River, so they prepared to break through in the opposite direction and return to Jinggangshan! At this time, there are enemies everywhere, breaking out is easier said than done!In the first battle of Guzijiang, Master Chen was seriously injured, and unfortunately was captured on the way to Laizi Mountain.During the escort, Mr. Chen held on to the firm determination to "dedicate everything for the revolution", twisted his intestines from the abdominal wound with his hands, and sacrificed heroically.Chief of Staff Wang Guangdao led the remaining troops to continue the struggle.They fought between Ningyuan, Lanshan, Jianghua, and Daoxian, mobilized the masses, and persisted in fighting against the enemy until the winter of 1935.