Chapter 24 The first battle at Yangliuguan

Since mid-October, Liu Xiang's six-way army has been assembled one after another. Hundreds of thousands of people are carrying guns and cannons, and there are more than a dozen planes overhead, pressing on the base area from all directions.On one fifty-thousandth of the military map, there are more than a dozen blue arrows representing the Sichuan Army. These arrows are like poisonous snakes spitting out letters, squirming on the map, crawling towards the base in the encirclement. The army of hundreds of thousands looks magnificent, but it is composed of six armies that do not belong to each other. Although Liu Xiang can command for a while, he also understands in his heart that the only ones who really listen to him are his own. 21st Army.Therefore, the fifth road in the six-way army is the key point.

Soldiers came to block them, and water came to cover them. Facing the pressure of 200,000 troops, the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army stretched out their hands to accept the move. At this time, the Red Fourth Front Army has grown to five armies of 80,000 people. Although the number is obviously at a disadvantage, the Red Fourth Front Army at this time is no longer the exhausted army when it first entered Sichuan, but already has its own unique advantages. .After the "three-way siege" against Tian Songyao and the "three major battles" against warlords such as Yang Sen and Liu Cunhou, the Red Fourth Front Army gained experience in fighting the Sichuan Army; captured a large amount of supplies; the troops took a three-month rest and military and political training, the military and political quality of the soldiers has been greatly improved; the construction of the base area is also rough, with an area of ​​42,000 square kilometers and a population of about 6 million. The liberated peasant brothers are full of hatred for the Sichuan warlords and the Red Army. Love, being able to be proactive in manning and transporting supplies to troops when war comes.The Red Army is no longer fighting without grounds, but relying on the base areas and the people in the base areas to fight against the Sichuan warlords. This is an advantage unique to the Red Fourth Front Army that the enemy does not have.

However, our army is also facing serious difficulties: the construction time of the base area is short, and various regime construction work such as mobilizing the masses, expanding the Red Army, and developing the economy have just begun, and the logistics supply is extremely difficult.The enemy is numerous and we are few, the enemy is strong and we are weak, the Red Army has only 80,000 people, and the enemy is three times as large as ours.The front line is too long and the defense is difficult.With 80,000 people to resist the attack of Liu Xiang's Sixth Route Army and defend the front line of more than a thousand miles, the strength of the troops is obviously insufficient.If you divide your troops everywhere, it will inevitably cause the troops to disperse and deal with them passively.The only way is to tighten the position, clench your fists, and concentrate on dealing with the main force of the enemy's attack.

Facing the situation where the enemy is numerous and we are few, the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the enemy is attacking and we are defending, the headquarters of the Fourth Red Front Army has formulated an active defensive operational policy of "tighten the position and lure the enemy to go deep". Xu Xiangqian, commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army, gave a precise explanation of the tactics of "tightening the position": Gradually tighten the position and fight against the enemy step by step, requiring our army to pay attention to the art of formation, corresponding to the primary and secondary, and combining the virtual with the real.For each line of defense, a number of main positions are set up by taking advantage of the favorable terrain, and the main forces are arranged in depth and echelons. Relying on the dangerous mountain passes, they form group fortifications and multiple trenches, and accumulate a large number of deer villages, rolling logs and stones, etc., repeatedly resisting and killing the enemy.Secondary positions should not be ignored either, and should be defended with a small number of troops combined with local armed forces and Red Guards.Use dense forests and dangerous cliffs, plant red flags everywhere, spread suspicious soldiers widely, false and true, confuse the enemy, and conduct mobile operations at the right time to support the defense of the main position.The mountains in northern Sichuan are very interesting. From north to south, they are mostly slopes; from south to north, they are mostly cliffs.The enemy attacked me from south to north, and encountered obstacles from deep ravines and steep cliffs everywhere, and encountered resistance from our army's positions. As a result, the price paid was heavy, but the progress was very slow.

... Cooperating with the tactics of tightening the position, the units of the Red Fourth Front Army at all levels also explored various tactical methods such as close combat and night combat in actual combat. Xu Xiangqian made a high-level summary of this: Giving full play to the advantages of close combat is an important part of annihilating the enemy to win and defeating the enemy's spirit.Whenever the enemy's whole regiment and brigade attack, I first use a small number of troops to block tenaciously in the forward position, try to kill and delay the enemy as much as possible, and wait for the enemy group to attack tens of meters from our main position. Falling down with stones, fatally killing the enemy; taking advantage of the panic of the enemy, counterattacking before the formation, rushing into the enemy group, fighting hand-to-hand, and destroying the enemy.Repeated so many times, using ten against a hundred, outnumbering the many, constantly destroying the enemy's prestige, and gradually weakening the enemy's offensive.Troops build defensive positions and create new ones.Take local materials, cut down the pine trees with the thickness of the mouth of the bowl, line them up in several rows, and bury them in front of the formation.It is very difficult for the enemy to overcome such obstacles when attacking, and the casualties are heavy.

Night battles are our army's forte and are the easiest to work.Many Sichuan troops fought against the Red Army for the first time, and they didn't know the power of night-to-night attack tactics.Whenever the sun goes down and the offensive stops, they pick up their bongs, lie down on their sides, and enjoy their addiction together.At this time, our army sent a small number of troops to covertly approach the enemy, and launched an attack suddenly, often annihilating the enemy at a very small cost.As night fell, various troops and local armed forces organized small teams to cross the enemy's defense line, touch the enemy's sentry post, attack the enemy's garrison, and attack and disturb the enemy everywhere.This made the enemy army jittery, frightened, and exhausted.

When our army shifts its position, killing "returning carbine guns" and moving to wipe out the enemy are also important combat methods.Because at this time, the enemy often thinks that the Red Army is defeated, and they are arrogant and arrogant, and they will advance ahead.We seize the opportunity and use tactics such as night attack, ambush, flank attack, etc. to suddenly turn around and kill a guy.Some successful counterattacks on the east and west fronts are all proof. Although the enemies of the Six Routes looked aggressive, Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao could tell at a glance that in the Six Routes, only Liu Xiang's own Fifth Route was really willing to work hard, and the others were just spectators.When Liu Xiang beat him, they would watch from the sidelines, at most they would reach out to help but they would not risk their lives.If Liu Xiang wins, they will swarm up and fight in groups. If Liu Xiang is defeated, they will run away like a jerk.In this way, as long as Liu Xiang's fifth road is defeated, the enemy's siege plan may be crushed.

The headquarters of the Red Fourth Front Army decided to concentrate its efforts on dealing with the Fifth Route.The specific deployment is: Taking the eastern front as the main direction, concentrate the entire Fourth Red Army, two divisions each of the Ninth Red Army and the Thirty Red Army, and the newly reorganized Thirty-three Red Army, a total of more than 20 regiments. In the Han and Da counties, fight against the fifth and sixth routes. On the western front, the main force of the 31st Red Army and one division each of the Ninth Red Army and the 30th Red Army, totaling more than ten regiments, were deployed from Guangyuan along the east bank of the Jialing River to Yingshan and north of Quxian County to contain and fight against the first and second troops. Second, third, fourth.In addition, the two regiments of the Red Thirty-one Army were scattered and deployed on the northern border of the Soviet area to guard and monitor the direction of southern Shaanxi to ensure the safety of the Soviet area.

Xu Xiangqian and Wang Shusheng commanded the east and west routes respectively, Chen Changhao was in the middle and Zhang Guotao was in the rear. According to Liu Xiang's deployment, from mid-October, various troops of the Sichuan Army began to gather at the starting point. The actions of hundreds of thousands of troops cannot be resolved with a single order.The six armies are controlled by different warlords, and the troops are stationed scattered. It will take time to concentrate all the troops first. After the concentration, the troops will move to the starting point.The road traffic in the mountainous area of ​​northern Sichuan is extremely poor. There are no roads in most places, let alone car and train transportation. More than 200,000 people rely on two legs.The soldiers and horses have not moved, the food and grass go first, and the large forces move, and the logistics materials need to be prepared in advance.The daily food consumption of 200,000 people requires 30,000 to 40,000 catties, and there is also a large amount of ammunition to be transported. This requires a transport team that is almost no less than a combat force. These transport teams also need food, so tens of millions It also takes time to raise logistical materials such as catties of grain.Tens of thousands of people from the transportation team have to be recruited immediately, and if the recruitment is not enough, they must be arrested. All of these will take time.With so many reasons, plus the fact that all the warlords have their own minds, they are unwilling to fight head-on with the Red Army and consume their own strength, so the troops from all walks of life are out of step, their actions are uneven, and their assembly actions are extremely slow.

The commander of the Fifth Route was Wang Lingji.Wang Lingji was a veteran warlord in Sichuan, his qualifications were higher than Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui's, but his luck was not good, so he joined Liu Xiang and served as the commander of the 3rd Division of the 21st Army. On the afternoon of October 26th, the sun was hanging slantingly in the mountains. Wang Lingji commanded the Fifth Route Army Unit and was on the way to Kaixian County. Suddenly, there was loud gunfire in front of him. He quickly got the news that it was Liao Yuchen, who was stationed in Xuanhan, Liu Cunhou's troops. The brigade was attacked by the Red Army and was retreating to Kaixian and Yangliuguan on the border of Kaijiang. On the way, it was suddenly attacked by the guerrilla army in eastern Sichuan led by Wang Weizhou.Now, Liao Yuchen's department is building fortifications on the slopes of Tangjiawan and Shaguochang under Yangliu Pass in Daliang Mountain, condescending to block the Red Army.

After the Red Fourth Army occupied Xuanhan, Xu Xiangqian moved the headquarters to Xuanhan County.Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao met Wang Bo, the representative sent by Wang Weizhou, in the headquarters, and listened to Wang Bo's introduction to the situation of the eastern Sichuan guerrilla army's active raids and obstruction of the enemy.Both Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao were very excited. At this time, the Battle of Xuanda was coming to an end, and the troops were cleaning the battlefield. The Ninth Red Army and the Thirty Red Army on the Eastern Front were chasing the enemy Liao Yuchen's troops who had escaped from Xuanhan.Just now the headquarters radio station sent information that the fifth Wangling base of the Sichuan Army's "six-way siege" troops was heading towards Kaijiang. Combined with the situation reported by the eastern Sichuan guerrilla army, Xu Xiangqian decided that Xu Shiyou and Wang Hongkun would lead the 73rd regiment respectively. Together with the 28th Regiment, with the cooperation of the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army, they quickly attacked, outflanked Liao Yuchen's department from south to north, cut off their way back to Kaixian County, and ate Liao Yuchen's department.If the goal is achieved, it will be tantamount to defeating Liu Cunhou's Sixth Route before the enemy's "Six Route Siege" has begun. Wang Lingji is not an ordinary figure, he is also a mighty general in the Sichuan army, he was nicknamed "Wang Lingguan".Wang Lingji's Third Division of the Sichuan Army once fought against the Red Army and took advantage of it.He thought he had defeated the Red Army, and he would be invincible ever since.At this moment, Wang Lingji was wearing black and shiny riding boots, wearing a grass-green woolen overcoat, riding on a tall horse, wearing white gloves, and a black leather whip hanging from his wrist. The rank of lieutenant general on his collar badge was particularly eye-catching.Hearing that Liu Cunhou's Liao Yuchen troops fought against the Red Army, a contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.Wang Lingji looked down on Liu Cunhou. Both he and Liu Cunhou were veterans of the Sichuan Army, but he believed that Liu Cunhou had old-fashioned ideas, old-fashioned methods, and poorer combat effectiveness and equipment. Now that he encountered the Red Army, he should be made to suffer. Daliang Mountain is a large mountain between Kaijiang and Da County, with a radius of hundreds of miles, the mountain is steep, and there is only one road to go. Now Liao Yuchen is fighting with the Red Army, let them fight first.Wang Lingji gave an order to send the leading troops to search and advance, and the large troops waited for the follow-up troops to arrive and prepare to support Liao Yuchen's troops. Yangliuguan is located in Sanhuikou Township, Kaixian County, Sichuan Province. It is the main traffic route of Kaixian, Kaijiang, and Xuanhan counties. It is also the only way for southern Shaanxi to enter Sichuan and Wanxian. The terrain is extremely dangerous.Liao Yuchen, who had fled here, was constantly intercepted by guerrillas in eastern Sichuan and had become frightened. However, after all, there were eight regiments in the Liao tribe, and part of them ran away along the way, but there were still nearly six regiments who fled to Daliang Mountain. They successively controlled important passes such as Shiduguan, Jiepai, Hetianchi, Tangjiawan, Shaguochang, Shanmujian, Liangfengya, etc. The main throat behind these passes, Yangliuguan, was also controlled by the Liao Ministry.The enemy has taken advantage of the location.It is also extremely difficult for the two regiments of Xu Shiyou and Wang Hongkun, plus the eastern Sichuan guerrilla army, to outflank and eliminate the Liao tribe here. On the evening of the 27th, the 73rd and 28th regiments rushed to Xiabamiao Town near Nanbachang at the foot of Daliang Mountain, where Wang Weizhou and the guerrilla army in eastern Sichuan had already been waiting there.After listening to the introduction of the terrain by the guerrilla army in eastern Sichuan, Xu Shiyou and Wang Hongkun believed that Daliang Mountain stretched for hundreds of miles, with steep mountains and difficult roads.The enemy is condescending and has already occupied favorable terrain. If they attack from above, the troops will suffer heavy casualties.The eastern Sichuan guerrilla army has been fighting guerrillas here all year round, and the terrain is familiar. It is better to let them lead the way. The troops climbed the mountain at night and approached the enemy.That night, regardless of fatigue, the troops, under the leadership of the eastern Sichuan guerrilla army, crossed mountains and ridges and passed through the untouched virgin forest. , Shanmujian, Liangfengya and other places. At dawn on the 28th, the Red Army, which had approached the enemy's nose, suddenly launched an attack. The enemy army was tired all day, and they were sleeping soundly. They never dreamed that a large force of the Red Army would suddenly appear in front of them. The enemy had no fighting spirit and made a little resistance. , After firing a gun indiscriminately, he ran all over the mountains and plains.On the same day, the Red Army and eastern Sichuan guerrillas captured Shiduguan and Jiepai successively on the east front, and Hetianchi, Tangjiawan, Shaguochang, Shanmujian, Liangfengya and other enemy positions on the west front.Liao Yuchen's troops retreated to Gaoqiaoguan, the main peak of Yangliuguan, and Yongxingchang in Kaijiang to continue to resist.Xu Shiyou and Wang Hongkun chased after them. The whole day on the 29th, the enemy and us fought fiercely on the rolling hills.Positions, machine guns, and cannons have lost their meaning here. The enemy and us are entangled to fight each other. In the lush forest of Daliang Mountain, there are flashing figures and swords and guns everywhere. Knocked down or stabbed to death with a bayonet, there are corpses or wounded everywhere in the mountains and plains, and the blood stained Daliang Mountain.By the morning of the 30th, the enemy could no longer hold on, and all the remnants retreated to Yangliuguan.Xu Shiyou, who was red-eyed, carried a big knife that had already been rolled, and together with Wang Hongkun led the Red Army to launch a fierce attack on Yangliu Pass. The enemy and us fought again on the hillside near the pass. The small hillside was full of blood and blood. Flying, both the enemy and the Red Army suffered heavy casualties. This battle was very thrilling. The biography of General Wang Jinshan, a veteran of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, recorded this battle: At the beginning of the battle, Xu Shiyou, the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, sent Xu Shiyou and Wang Hongkun each to lead a regiment to detour from the west to attack the flank of the Sichuan Army from south to north, cutting off their way back to Kaixian.He estimated that after the retreat route was cut off, the Sichuan army would inevitably retreat to the mountains to the north, and concentrate its forces to detour to the west and attack the Red Army's rear route in turn.Therefore, he specially sent Zhou Chunquan, political commissar of the Fourth Red Army, to lead the main regiment, the 28th Regiment of the 10th Division, to defend Ximian Mountain.Before the battle, he personally told Zhou Chunquan: "You must stick to your position and never attack! If the enemy counterattacks and seizes the position, the whole army will be in danger. Remember it!" After the battle began, Xu Shiyou and Wang Hongkun led the attacking troops to quickly break through the Sichuan Army's defense line, captured Sanhechang in one fell swoop, and then penetrated into the enemy's depth for more than 20 miles, and violently expanded the results of the battle.Unable to withstand it, the Sichuan army suddenly retreated northward, and waited for an opportunity to detour westward.At this time, Zhou Chunquan, who commanded the position on the hilltop to the west, saw that the enemy soldiers had been routed and retreated to the north. He forgot the fundamental task of holding the position and protecting the rear, and immediately ordered: "Attack to the north!" The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 28th Regiment immediately rushed out from the crucial position.As a result, Xu Xiangqian's worries became reality. The Sichuan army was making a detour from north to west. Seeing the Red Army attacking, they took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. The attacking troops of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Red 28th Regiment lost the support of the hilltop position and were outnumbered.As a result, several hill positions were lost.Fortunately, Wang Jinshan, the deputy head of the regiment, led the third battalion to control another mountain and temporarily blocked the Sichuan army.When Zhou Chunquan ordered the attack, Wang Jinshan was very calm. Not only did he not take the third battalion to attack with the main force of the regiment, on the contrary, he strictly ordered the third battalion to tightly control the hill and strengthen the fortifications.At this moment, he was ready to fight, and finally played a role at the critical moment.However, after the Sichuan soldiers seized the main positions of the first and second battalions of the 28th regiment, the third battalion lost its support and fought fiercely with heavy troops coming from all over the place. The situation suddenly became severe.However, the main force of the Red Army was forced to retreat because the rear was threatened, and the battlefield situation changed drastically from active to passive.Xu Xiangqian was so angry that he asked the flag soldiers to raise the red flag and prepare to charge towards the west mountain. Wang Hongkun hurriedly stopped him and said, "Commander, we can't go. Once the enemy comes in from there, we have no way out!" Before Wang Hongkun finished speaking, Xu Xiangqian led the pistol team and was rushed away by the enemy... At this time, in order to cut off the retreat of the Red Army, the Sichuan Army concentrated three or four regiments to surround the hills controlled by the Third Battalion and launched fierce attacks.However, under the command of Wang Jinshan, the third battalion fought alone, resolutely blocked, fought with the enemy repeatedly, and repelled the enemy's onslaught again and again, so that Xu Xiangqian and other main forces gradually escaped from danger. This rash attack is indeed very dangerous. If the hills controlled by the third battalion are also occupied by the enemy, the Red Fourth Army's rear will be completely cut off, and it will be under the powerful attack of the Sichuan Army which is several times its own. The consequences are hard to imagine.However, because Wang Jinshan led the third battalion to hold the position, no catastrophe was caused in the end. Fighting to the afternoon of the 30th, Liao Yuchen's troops finally broke down, retreated from Yangliu Pass, and fled to Yongxing Field along Tanjiashan via Sanhuikou, where they were picked up by Wang Lingji's Fifth Route Army. This battle failed to achieve the goal of completely annihilating Liao Yuchen's troops, but it kicked off the prelude to countering the "six-way siege" in advance. The eastern Sichuan guerrilla army played an important role in countering the "six-way siege". The Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army is a revolutionary armed force led by the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. The leader Wang Weizhou was a member of the Tongmenghui and participated in the Sichuan Road Protection Movement.During the Revolution of 1911, Wang Weizhou personally formed and led the troops to restore Xuanhan and Daxian, and was later promoted to the commander of the Yasukuni Army. In 1920, Wang Weizhou gave up his post as head of the regiment in Wanyuan, Sichuan, and went to Shanghai to participate in revolutionary activities. In 1923, Wang Weizhou returned to his hometown Qingxichang to establish a communist group and began to train revolutionary talents.During the most rampant days of white terror, Wang Weizhou never wavered in his belief in revolution. During this period, he failed three times and rose again four times. He narrowly escaped death, which is a miracle.Wu Yuzhang said in "Celebrating the Fifty-sixth Birthday of Comrade Wang Weizhou": Comrade Wang Weizhou was in a dangerous environment of high white terror, and the strength of the enemy and us was very different. As mentioned above, pawns can make the revolutionary forces develop and grow, and make the counter-revolutionary warlords, landlords, and noble gentry in more than ten counties in eastern Sichuan terrified, making it difficult to sleep peacefully. In May 1931, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to centralize and reorganize the guerrillas scattered in Daxian, Kaijiang, and Xuanhan mountainous areas into the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army, which had three detachments with a total of more than 10,000 people. Secretary and Commander-in-Chief.Before the Red Fourth Front Army entered Sichuan, the eastern Sichuan guerrilla army had been fighting against the enemy in Da County, Xuanhan, Kaijiang's Liangshan, and Nanyue in eastern Sichuan.After the Red Fourth Front Army entered Sichuan, the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army immediately attacked the enemy on the borders of Xuanhan, Daxian, and Wanyuan, restraining Liu Cunhou's troops and reducing the threat of the Red Fourth Front Army's eastern part.In the Battle of Xuanda, the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army actively cooperated with the Red Fourth Front Army to contain, assist, and cooperate with the Red Fourth Front Army to pinch Liu Cunhou's troops back and forth, which played an extremely important role.At the same time, the masses were widely mobilized to welcome the Red Fourth Front Army, to join the army and war, and to donate guns, ammunition and other weapons. In view of the fighting spirit and important role played by the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army, the Northwest Military Commission decided to reorganize the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army into the 33rd Army of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army, which belongs to the sequence of the Red Fourth Front Army.Army commander Wang Weizhou, political commissar Yang Keming, and deputy army commander Luo Nanhui.It has three divisions under its jurisdiction: Wang Bo, commander of the 97th Division, Ran Nanxuan, commander of the 98th Division, and Jiang Qunlin, commander of the 99th Division, with a total of more than 10,000 troops. On November 2, the reorganization ceremony of the Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Army was officially held in the square of Xuanhan County. Chen Changhao, Fu Zhong and other headquarters leaders attended the ceremony. Fu Zhong read out the order on behalf of the headquarters, and Chen Changhao personally presented the flag to Wang Weizhou.Xu Xiangqian said in "Recalling the Creation of the Sichuan-Shanxi Revolutionary Base Area": During the Xuanda Campaign, we joined the guerrilla army in eastern Sichuan led by Comrade Wang Weizhou. The masses were enthusiastic about revolution and came to join the Red Army one after another.Once the troops are expanded, it will be one or two thousand, two or three thousand... The eastern Sichuan guerrilla army is organized into the Red Thirty-three Army... The Red Thirty-three Army is a very good army with rich experience in guerrilla warfare. The masses have a flesh-and-blood relationship, which has a great influence in eastern Sichuan.