Chapter 42 Forcibly crossing the Jialing River

The Battle of Southern Shaanxi was a feint, which mobilized and disrupted the enemy's strategic deployment, and created conditions for the Jialing River Campaign. When the Red Fourth Front Army launched the Battle of Southern Shaanxi, due to the eastward transfer of troops, the base area was empty of troops. According to the deployment of the "Sichuan-Shanxi Conference and Suppression", the various units of the Sichuan Army in Sichuan and Shaanxi took the opportunity to launch a large-scale attack on the base area and occupied Wanyuan one after another in a short period of time. , Langzhong, Yilong, Cangxi, Bazhong, Tongjiang and other places.The sneaky "rat strategy" of the Sichuan army caused some troubles for our army to launch the Jialing River campaign. In order to clear the obstacles in the battle across the river and ensure the control of the base for crossing the river, Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao decided to eliminate Yilong and Cangxi first. The enemy controlled the Jialing River ferry on the east bank.

On March 2, 1935, the Red Thirty Army, the Red Ninth Army, and the Red Thirty-first Army each launched an attack on the enemy in front of them.The Sichuan army is already defeated by the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, like a tortoise, it shrinks as soon as it is hit. On March 4th, the 265th, 266th, 267th, and 268th regiments of the 30th Red Army first attacked Laoguanchang and Hongshan 45 kilometers east of Langzhong City by means of a night attack. The enemy on the front line of the temple launched a fierce attack. After two days of fierce fighting, they wiped out the two regiments of Tian Songyao's He Deyu Third Road. On March 5th, with the cooperation of the first part of the Red Ninth Army, they wiped out the entire ninth regiment and most of the eighth regiment of the Luo Zezhou Division in Jishanliang and Dakuishan areas west of Langzhong Laoguanchang. The enemy brigade commander was killed. Liang Kuanpei, commander of the enemy regiment, and Qiu Zewei, commander of the second battalion, committed suicide. Lei Shaoqing, deputy of the enemy regiment, Yang Fuyu, commander of the first battalion, and Luo Zhoulun, commander of the third battalion, were captured.During the pursuit, they wiped out one part of each of the four enemy regiments.At the same time, the first part of the Thirty Red Army and the first part of the Ninth Red Army launched an attack on the enemy forces in Yilong's Xinglong Field, Rixing Field, Dafeng Field and other places, annihilating more than a thousand people from the Li Jiayu Department of the Sichuan Frontier Defense Army. The battle in the Qing Dynasty was like a storm, capturing Yutai, Shuiguan, Hongshan, and Hexi in Langzhong, and reaching Lannigou near Langzhong City.A part of the Red Thirty-one Army attacked Cangxi, and a brigade defending He Deyu's third road heard that the Red Army was approaching, so they abandoned the city and fled without resisting. On March 11, the Red Army conquered Cangxi City.

By the first ten days of March, the Red Army fought continuously for nine days in Langzhong, Cangxi, Yilong and other places, wiped out all or most of the six regiments of Tian Songyao, Li Jiayu, and Luo Zezhou, captured nearly 4,000 enemy officers and soldiers, and captured 3,000 long and short guns. remaining branch.In particular, the Luo Zezhou Division had more than 5,000 casualties and fleeing officers and soldiers, basically losing its combat capability.So far, from Guangyuan in the north to the east bank of the Jialing River in the south (except Langzhong City) in the south, all are under the control of the Red Army, and the obstacles to crossing the river have been removed.

When the Fourth Red Army launched the Battle of Southern Shaanxi, Chiang Kai-shek estimated that the Red Army was aiming at Shaanxi and Gansu. On March 2, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Chongqing, just as the Fourth Red Army launched a campaign to recover Cangxi and Yilong.Within a few days, the Red Army conquered Cangxi and Yilong.Seeing that the Sichuan warlords were so bean curd, Chiang Kai-shek was so angry that he would not fight anywhere. "It is extremely hateful." On March 12, a special telegram was sent to Liu Xiang and the inspector commissioner sent to the Sichuan army, demanding strict rewards and punishments:

(1) The bandits who invaded the 2nd and 3rd lines this time were not the main force of the bandits, but the Luo Zezhou Department did not follow orders to build bunkers and strengthen fortifications.The officials are not strict in supervision, their spirits are weak, and they retreat repeatedly before the battle, which affects the battle situation on the whole front, which is extremely detestable.That is to say, senior officials were sent to wait for the investigation. On the one hand, they were ordered to be responsible for taking the crime and seeking meritorious service. They quickly contained and arranged them on the spot, restored them immediately, and firmly guarded the lines of Dongguanchang, Saijinba and Xinzhengba. (2) When Cangxi fell, Tian Songyao, the commander-in-chief, was lax in supervising and ordering. He made a serious mistake, and found out the chief guard in charge of the city and punished him severely. (3) The left wing of Li's troops defended the Yilong troops, not affected by the retreat of Luo's troops, and still defended them in strict formation. Li Jiayu, the commander-in-chief, supervised and ordered the army for several days. Award, and award five thousand yuan to encourage hard work. (4) The report of Yang Sen's Ministry is too inaccurate. Except for the command and regulations, the Superintendent's Ministry will quickly occupy the front from Enyang River to Xinglongchang. (5) For the above items, it is hoped that the compliance situation will be reported.

Later, Chiang Kai-shek dismissed Luo Zezhou for investigation on the charge of "lax supervision, lax spirit, and repeated retreats before the battle, affecting the entire battle situation". Jialing River is one of the four famous rivers in Sichuan. It was called Langshui and Yushui in ancient times. It is a tributary of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the largest tributary in the Yangtze River system, with a drainage area of ​​160,000 square kilometers.The Jialing River originates from Liangshuiquangou in the northwest of Feng County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, and is named after it flows through the Jialing Valley in the northeast of Feng County.The source of the Jialing River is the Bailong River and the West Han River, and it is called the Jialing River until the mouth of the two rivers in Ooyang County, Shaanxi Province.The Jialing River goes south from Baishui Town in Lueyang, enters Guangyuan in Sichuan through Yangping Pass, flows through Yuanba, Zhaohua, Cangxi, Langzhong, Nanbu, Peng'an, Nanchong, Wusheng and reaches Hechuan in Chongqing, Zuonaqu River, After the two major tributaries of the Fujiang River, it joins the Yangtze River at Chaotianmen, Chongqing, with a total length of 1,119 kilometers.

Above Guangyuan is the upper reaches of Jialing River, from Guangyuan to Hechuan is the middle reaches of Jialing River, and below Hechuan is the lower reaches of Jialing River. The upper reaches of the Jialing River meander through the Qinling Mountains, Motianling Mountains, and Micang Mountains. From the source to the upper and middle reaches, the water level drops as high as 400 to 500 meters.After passing through Zhaohua, the mountains gradually flattened, the rivers gradually widened, and the water flow slowed down. Due to the twists and turns of the terrain, the Jialing River bends here and there, which is said to be "nine curves".

Before the start of the Jialing River Campaign, the Red Army and the Sichuan Army faced each other on the east and west banks of the Jialing River.The Sichuan army deployed a total of 53 regiments in the area west of the Jialing River, about 600 miles from Chaotianyi in Guangyuan in the north to Xinzhengba in the south.Among them, 21 regiments of Deng Xihou's department defended the section along the river from Guangyuan Chaotianyi to the north of the Shejian River, and 32 regiments of Tian Songyao's department defended the section from the south of the Shejian River to the south of Xinzhengba.

According to the experience of He Guoguang’s battalion staff group in popularizing the “suppression of communism” in the Central Soviet Area, the Sichuan army built a large number of blockhouses on the west bank of the Jialing River. There were only 200 blockhouses in the defense line of more than 100 kilometers from Zhaohua to Ningqiang. One hundred and forty-seven blockhouses were newly built, with an average of one blockhouse every three to five hundred meters.The staff group has strict requirements on the construction of the bunkers: all the bunkers must be connected to each other.Its density is such that the eyesight and firepower of the two blockhouses can cross and match.At least one or two squads can be stationed in each bunker, and even a platoon can be stationed in a large bunker.The tens of thousands of enemy troops of the fifty-three regiments were distributed into several clusters, and they were responsible for the division of labor in the defensive area. As soon as there was movement in any bunker or gunshots, the surrounding garrisons could be quickly dispatched to support each other.

The section of the river controlled by the Red Army is mainly from the Cangxi River in the eastern part of the Jialing River through Langzhong to the southern section. The water in this area is deep and fast, and the river is about 180 to 280 meters wide.For the Red Army, which has no boats and boats, it is extremely difficult to organize 80,000 troops to fight across the river in a short period of time. In mid-March, the 2nd Battalion and 4th Company of the 274th Regiment of the 93rd Division of the 31st Red Army tried smuggling in the Tongzhu River upstream of the Cangxi Yuanxi mouth.Forty commandos stowed away in nine wooden boats, and the troops arrived at the shore smoothly. When the wooden boats returned to meet the second batch of troops, the wooden boats in the river were discovered by the enemies in the bunker.The enemy's light and heavy machine guns opened fire immediately, and the boatman on the ship was shot and sacrificed.The troops ashore had no cover at the river beach, and were all exposed to enemy firepower. The enemy's firepower in the bunker was intensive, and the large enemy troops not far behind the bunker heard the gunshots and rushed to the river bank immediately.As a result, they were outnumbered. Except for two soldiers who swam back to the east bank, the other thirty-eight cadres and soldiers all died.This attempt failed.

The failure of crossing the river at Tongzhu River made the enemy aware of the Red Army's strategic intention to cross the river from the south of Jianmen Pass to the north. Liu Xiang immediately increased the deployment of Liu Hanxiong's troops to strengthen the defense of the river, making it more difficult for the Red Army to cross the river. This defeat also shocked the leadership of the Red Fourth Front Army. Everyone realized that the choice of ferry was related to the success or failure of crossing the river.The preparations before the forced crossing are extremely important. Xu Xiangqian repeatedly emphasized that "everything is foregone, and nothing is foregone." Commanders at all levels must do careful work, and think more about difficulties before taking action.The victory or defeat of a war depends not only on the strength of the two sides, their firepower, the quality of their soldiers, and their will, but also a very important factor, which is to conduct a lot of careful investigation in advance, and to analyze the terrain of the battlefield, the configuration of the enemy's troops, and the quality of every plant and plant. Trees, ditches and ridges must be clear in the chest, knowing oneself and the enemy. In order to choose a suitable ferry and ensure the concealment and surprise of crossing the river, the Red Fourth Front Army and the underground party organization dispatched multiple scouts. These scouts used various occupations as a cover to go deep into the east and west banks of the Jialing River to collect enemy information. Jiangfang intelligence.Wang Yi, a scout, disguised himself as a refugee, crossed the river, "ordained" in the temple at Masangya, Cangxi, and collected information under the cover of a monk.Through intelligence from various channels, the Red Army headquarters has mastered important information such as the terrain along the river, roads, ferries, and enemy river fortifications, in-depth troop deployment, firepower configuration, and enemy activity patterns.In order to grasp the first-hand situation, Xu Xiangqian and Wang Shusheng, the deputy commander-in-chief, took Wang Weizhou, the commander of the 33rd Red Army who was familiar with the terrain, and staff officers to travel three to four hundred miles along the east bank of the Jialing River to learn about the enemy's situation and check the terrain. Choose a suitable location for crossing the river. After detailed investigation and repeated comparisons, Xu Xiangqian finally chose Tashanwan Ferry under Tazi Mountain four kilometers south of Cangxi City, Yuanxikou 25 kilometers north of Cangxi City, and Jianxikou eight kilometers north of Langzhong City as the forcible crossing of the Jialing River. main ferry.At the same time, Shaxichang, Nanjinguan, Hexiguan, Jizidu in Langzhong and Hongyanzi in the south were also selected as auxiliary ferries for crossing the Jialing River.The width of the river at the three main ferry crossings is about 150 to 400 meters.Although the river is wide, it is the weak link of the enemy's entire river defense.Tian Songyao deployed only three regiments in the area from Jianxikou to Yuanxikou, and only four battalions in the first-line area.These troops were poorly equipped and repeatedly attacked by the Red Army, with incomplete organizational systems and low morale.From the perspective of topographical conditions, the east bank is generally higher than the west bank, which is convenient for the Red Army to hide and stand by and organize troops to cover; from the perspective of hydrological conditions, the flow of the river in this section is slow, the water depth is only three to five meters, and the beach is relatively flat, which is favorable for crossing the river.According to factors such as the terrain, the distribution of troops between the enemy and us, and the equipment for crossing the river, the headquarters decided to divide the large forces into three points to cross the river at the same time: The Red Thirty Army is in the middle and is the main force for crossing the river.Carry out a key breakthrough near Tazi Mountain in the south of Cangxi, attack the Jiange after annihilating the defending enemy, and cooperate with the 31st Army to capture the Jiange. The Red Thirty-one Army was on the right, crossed the river from the mouth of Yuanxi in the north of Cangxi, and then attacked and advanced to Jiange. After capturing Jiange, it developed to Zhaohua and Guangyuan, attacked Deng Xihou's tribe and blocked Hu Zong's south from Gannan. The right wing of the Red Army was safe. The Ninth Red Army was on the left, crossing the river from Jianxikou, and then one part assisted the Thirty Red Army to attack north, and the other part wiped out Langzhong and defended the enemy in the south to ensure the safety of the Red Army's left wing. The Fourth Red Army, as the second echelon, crossed the river from Cangxi after the first echelon successfully crossed the river, detoured south with one part, cooperated with the Ninth Red Army to eliminate the southern defenders, and the main force attacked in the direction of Zitong. The artillery battalion of the headquarters was deployed on Tazi Mountain to cover the Red Thirty Army crossing the river.Xu Xiangqian commanded the crossing operation on the west front, and Chen Changhao commanded the 33rd Red Army and the local armed forces to stop and contain the enemy's reinforcements on the east front. After receiving the deployment of crossing the river from the headquarters, Cheng Shicai, the deputy commander of the 30th Red Army, rushed to the 88th Division immediately to study the plan of crossing the river with the division commander Xiong Houfa.In the two or three years after the Red Fourth Front Army entered Sichuan, Cheng Shicai was quickly promoted from regiment commander to deputy commander in the brutal struggle of blood and fire, but whenever there was a major battle, he would jump into the grassroots company and fight with the soldiers , which has been a habit for many years.Cheng Shicai and Xiong Houfa also often did amazing things. In order to obtain first-hand information, a deputy army commander and a division commander even disguised themselves as ordinary people and went directly to the Jialing River to inspect the terrain and scout the enemy's situation.Cheng Shicai and Xiong Houfa were both farmers before joining the army. The simple and honest images of farmers do not need makeup at all. One of them is dressed in blue homespun trousers and the other is in black homespun trousers. There is also a dry pipe pot in the waist.Several guards were also dressed as farmers, chopping firewood and mowing grass not far from them.Xiong Houfa, who is usually as fierce as Zhang Fei, carefully outlines the troops' hiding places, attack routes, and forced breakthroughs in his notebook. Cheng Shicai recalled: ... After repeated reconnaissance and approval, we have found out the terrain of the enemy and us, the change of the river's flow rate, the enemy's fortifications, troop deployment, firepower equipment, and the location of the reserve team. People, which fortifications to enter and exit, and the rules are all clearly grasped. At that time, there were no bridges on the Jialing River, and the only way to cross the river was by boats and temporary pontoon bridges. In order to prevent the Red Army from crossing the river, the enemy had dragged all the ships on the east bank of the Jialing River to the west bank, or sunk and burned them.The Red Army is in urgent need of tools for crossing the river.The headquarters of the Front Army decided that the 31st Army and the Engineering Battalion of the headquarters would be responsible for shipbuilding, with the full assistance of the local Soviet government.The shipbuilding sites were chosen to be Cangxi Wangdu, Langzhong Qingquan, Jingxi, Tuya Yuanjiaya along the Donghe River, a tributary of the Jialing River, and the jungle near Maoertiao and Yongningpu in the upper reaches of the Jialing River.The mass base here is good, the terrain is wide, the trees are dense, it is easy to hide, and the Red Army troops are closely guarded to block news. In order to build ships for the Red Army, the local Soviet government invited more than 500 old shipbuilders, carpenters, and blacksmiths in a few days. And mobilized the logistics departments at all levels to purchase and transport a large amount of wood, scrap copper and rotten iron and tung oil for making ship nails.Yu Tianyun, commander of the 30th Army, and Li Xiannian, political commissar, went to the shipbuilding site to mobilize the workers.Yu Hongyuan, vice chairman of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, and Xie Fanshou of the Provincial Security Bureau supervised the shipyard.After more than a month of intense work day and night, a total of seventy-five wooden boats were built. Except for a few larger boats, most of them were "horn shells" (that is, boats nailed by five boards, each It can accommodate a class), and three pontoon bridges and dozens of bamboo rafts were tied with moso bamboo.According to the requirements of the Crossing River Command, all seventy-five boats had been built before March 26. At 6:00 pm on March 27, the sun gradually disappeared into the mountains, and the sky darkened.The soldiers of the army and the migrant workers in front of the support secretly transported the boats one by one to the starting point of crossing the river. Yunfeng Mountain is steep and dangerous, and the only path has long been covered by withered grass.Those who carry the boat must step out with their own feet.At the steepest point, the heels of the person in front almost touch the nose of the person behind.It is really difficult to lift such a big boat on such a steep slope, so everyone had to tie a wooden skid to the bottom of the boat, put the boat on the ground, pull it back and forth, and slide it up.Clothes were torn, flesh was worn out, how much blood and sweat was spilled on the steep barren mountain in the middle of the night! ...An old man said: "I have lived to be sixty years old and traveled all over Sichuan. I have only seen boats sailing in water, but I have never mentioned boats sailing on land. But such a strange thing. Now I am doing it myself." While building the ship, the troops crossing the river also carried out intense water training.On the East River on the left side of the Jialing River, the officers and soldiers responsible for crossing the river stepped up to learn the skills of sailing and swimming, and repeatedly practiced tactical actions such as landing, breaking through, consolidating positions, expanding the results of battles, and interspersing in depth. In order to ensure the suddenness of the launch of the battle, the Red Fourth Front Army took various concealment measures, such as strictly sealing off news, concealing ships, not blowing horns when the troops moved, and not smoking when cooking.In order to confuse the enemy, the Cangxi County Party Committee organized a large number of propaganda teams to shout and sing to the enemy in the Tazi Mountain, Wudang Mountain, and Taojiaya area where the main ferry is located. They staged a feint attack, falsely crossed the river, signaled and fired, and shouted "The Red Army has crossed the river."These ecstasy formations made the enemy panic and uneasy, unable to sleep all night, restless.But every time, "I only heard the sound of the stairs, but no one came down." Over time, the enemy became accustomed to these confusing actions of the Red Army, and their attention gradually relaxed.Due to the various tasks in place, the enemy has never been able to figure out the military intentions of the Red Army during the preparation time of more than ten days. On March 28, 1935, spring scenes could be seen everywhere in Cangxi and Langzhong. The trees all over the mountains were covered with green clothes. In the spring sunshine, the golden rapeseed flowers in the fields dazzled the eyes, and a faint fragrance of flowers floated in the air. .It was getting dark, and the east bank of the Jialing River was peaceful.At the foot of Tazi Mountain in Cangxi, the Jialing River is rolling, and one wave after another beats the steep mountain walls on both sides, causing waves of spray.If it weren't for the war, this would have been an extremely ordinary night on the Jialing River. Tazi Mountain stands on the east bank of the Jialing River. More than a dozen "82" caliber mortars from the Artillery Battalion of the Front Army on the top of Tazi Mountain stare at them, their dark muzzles pointing at the enemy positions on the opposite bank.On the slope behind Tazi Mountain, the landing troops lined up in formation, stretching all the way to the distant woods.Thousands of people gathered together, and there was no sound at all.The engineering troops have quietly moved dozens of wooden boats crossing the river to the riverside. Dozens of wooden boats are lined up in a row, and there are two sailors squatting beside each boat.At the foot of the mountain, rows of mortars from the artillery of the 30th Red Army and the artillery of the 88th Division were squatting in the firing position, ready to fire at any time. The position on the opposite bank was submerged in the night, and nothing could be seen. Amid the sound of rushing water, occasional bluffs of enemy sentries could be heard from the opposite bank of the river, and from time to time, a few flashlights swayed in the night sky and on the river. At 9:30, Xu Xiangqian ordered in the front-line headquarters: "All units rush to cross the river." But the actual time for the troops to cross the river was in the middle of the night.Cheng Shicai recalled: That night, Comrade Xiong Houfa and I led the troops to the pre-selected place to cross the river, quickly carried dozens of small boats that had been transported and hidden in the nearby ravines to the riverside and launched them into the water, arranged them in sequence, and were ready to set off...Mr. Xiong Houfa I looked at my watch, it was half past midnight.He looked at me inquiringly: "Deputy Commander, it's time." "Okay, act according to plan" I nodded and said. "Start crossing the river!" Following Mr. Xiong's short and forceful order, more than 50 small boats carrying warriors crossing the river shot straight at the opposite bank like sharp arrows off the string. Under the leadership of division commander Xiong Houfa, the Central Assault Force, composed of two battalions of the 263rd Regiment of the 88th Division of the Red Thirty Army and the teaching battalion of the headquarters, boarded more than 50 ferries.Each ship has a class, with light and heavy machine guns on the bow, and the soldiers hold rifles in their hands and big knives in their backs.The boatmen rowed hard, and dozens of boats quickly disappeared into the vast night, and the sound of the oars hitting the water was drowned out by the rolling river waves. Zhang Desheng's family is in the rural area of ​​Jiangyou, Sichuan. Two years ago, Deng Xihou's troops arrested people everywhere. He didn't escape, and was bound to the barracks by a few "big boys" yelling at him. Together, the same farmers became the Sichuan army who "served as soldiers and ate food".A few days ago, the company commander called them together for a lecture, and told them to "keep their eyes bright, ask first when they find the situation, and shoot when the situation is wrong."It was Zhang Desheng's post tonight. He was wandering by the river, just like before, except for the rushing river, nothing happened.Zhang Desheng muttered: "Fuck me, I want my eyes to brighten. My eyes are not kerosene lamps. How about a way to brighten them?" What he drank tonight was porridge, and Zhang Desheng drank three bowls in one go. He felt a little panicked at the moment, and ran to the river to urinate into the water.Suddenly, he vaguely heard some other sounds in the rushing water of the river, but when he listened carefully, there was no sound at all.After a while, I heard what seemed to be the sound of oars.He hurriedly stared at the river with wide eyes. He couldn't see anything clearly on the dark river. He stared hard, but he still couldn't see anything. Zhang Desheng became alert.After a while, the sound of paddling was clearly discernible, and he vaguely saw something moving on the river.Zhang Desheng yelled loudly: "Who? What are you doing?" There was no response from the dark river.Slowly, the sound of paddling and moving shadows became clearer, and rows of boats were rowing towards him.Zhang Desheng's scalp was numb all the time. He picked up his gun and yelled again: "Who? Stop! If you don't stop, I'll shoot!" The row of boats rushed towards the river bank without answering or slowing down. .Zhang Desheng pulled the trigger, "crack", the sound of gunfire resounded in the quiet night sky of Jialing River, and it was already two o'clock in the morning. Hearing the gunshots, groups of enemies rushed out of the bunker like a swarm of bees, and all kinds of guns fired at the fleet.At this time, the boat of the commando of the 263rd Regiment was less than 50 meters away from the shore. "Da da da da", the machine guns of the fleet spit out flames, and the smuggling turned into forced immigration.The Red Army artillery deployed on Tazi Mountain also fired at the enemy's firepower points. More than 20 mortars and dozens of heavy machine guns from the Artillery Battalion of the Red Army Headquarters fired together, rumbling like thunder.Immediately thick smoke billowed from the river bank, shrapnel flew across the river, and the flames from the shell explosion lit up the night sky over the Jialing River.The enemy was pinned down in the fortifications.Before the enemy launched, the Red Army commando had already landed on the beach.There were more than 50 boats carrying 600 commandos, and as soon as they landed, more than 600 people rushed towards the enemy like tigers.There were three enemy companies in the bunker group, and they were all wiped out in less than ten minutes.Zhang Desheng injured his arm, fell to the ground and pretended to be dead, and finally saved his life. After landing, the commando quickly took control of the landing sites around Duliba, Laojuntang and Hujiaba.More than 50 ships nervously shuttled back and forth in the rolling river to cross the troops. By dawn on the 29th, the two regiments of the 88th Division had all successfully crossed the river. Yue Miao and Zhao Jiashan attacked.Defeated by the enemy, he fled to Siyichang in embarrassment.The commandos of the 88th Division occupied the commanding heights of Feihu Mountain, Gaocheng Mountain and Wannian Mountain.After dawn, the enemy poured out from various strongholds to launch a counterattack.The Eighty-eighth Division is a famous "fist" unit. This iron fist waved left and right, and the enemy was covered in cuts and bruises instantly. A brigade under Liu Hanxiong was wiped out, and the enemy regiment leader Chen Chongpu was killed on the spot. He was also wounded, and defeated the Wang Zhiyuan Brigade of the enemy's Jiangfang reserve team who came to support at Jingui Mountain behind Bamiaochang, and the Red 88th Division advanced more than 70 miles in depth in one day. In addition to the successful landing of the 88th Division of the 30th Red Army at the Tashanwan Ferry on the middle road, the 274th Regiment of the 93rd Division of the 31st Red Army on the right road successfully crossed the stone hunchback at the entrance of Yuanxi River north of Cangxi River, capturing the enemy's position and burning it Temple, defeated a brigade of the enemy in front of him.On the left, the 27th Division of the Ninth Red Army and a part of the 30th Red Army crossed the Jialing River on a pontoon bridge from Liujiaba to Jianxikou in Langzhong.By dawn on the 29th, the left, middle, and right routes of the Fourth Red Army had all broken through the enemy's river defense fortifications.Overnight, Liu Xiang, Deng Xihou, and Tian Songyao worked hard for more than three months, and the 600-mile Jialing River fortifications all collapsed. At noon on March 29, after crossing the river, the Red Army recaptured a large number of ships that had been snatched by the enemy. With the support of the people along the river, they used the equipment prepared in advance to set up a battleship on the river from Tiger Leaping Station to Jianxikou. Several pontoon bridges, the Red Army troops quickly crossed the river, swept to the two wings. In the article "The 29th Army of the Kuomintang Fighting the Red Army on the Jialing River", it records the process of Tian Songyao's defense area being broken by the Red Army: ... On the evening of February 28, the Red Army took advantage of the stormy night at Liubo Ya in Cangxi River, and first crossed the river with a small force and successfully landed at Hujiaba.Defending this section of the river is the Chen Zeren camp of the Chen Chongpu Regiment of Chen Jishan's brigade on He Deyu Road.When the Red Army crossed the river, the riverside guards were gathering to gamble in the outpost.The Red Army continued to cross the river undetected.When the Red Army had advanced to the battalion headquarters of Chen Zeren, the battalion commander of the defending army, the battalion guards began to resist. Chen Zeren hurriedly got up and walked out of the battalion gate, and was shot dead by the Red Army.The Tian army was in chaos, and they fled.Other units of the Red Army crossed the river one after another from Songjiachang, Sunjiacang and other places, and violently attacked and mopped up the Tian army.The brigade commander Chen Jishan and the regiment commander Chen Chongpu hastily mobilized troops to fight. Under the fierce attack of the Red Army, Chen Jishan was seriously injured and Chen Chongpu was killed. The officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties.After crossing the river, the Red Army continued to penetrate and sweep left and right, so Liu Hanxiong's defensive positions in the third area collapsed. After the large troops of the Red Fourth Front Army crossed the river, they quickly deployed according to the scheduled deployment.After the 88th Division of the 30th Red Army defeated Deng Xihou's reinforcements from Siyichang, they immediately advanced towards Jianmen Pass.The 93rd Division of the 31st Red Army passed through the Pass and Siyichang in Langzhong, and attacked towards Jiange; the other division, with the cooperation of the Fourth Red Army, detoured to Baixi and Tian'an on the west bank of the Jialing River in Langzhong, and advanced to the south.The 27th Division of the Ninth Red Army, with the cooperation of the first part of the Fourth Red Army, launched an attack on Wang Zhiyuan's Fifth and Ninth Brigades stationed in Tian Songyao's Department on the outskirts of Langzhong City on the east bank of the Jialing River.At this time, Langzhong City was half surrounded by the Red Army and had become an isolated city. On March 30, the enemy troops stationed in Langzhong saw that the situation was over, and their main force retreated to the west of Jialing River overnight. On March 31, the Red Army entered Langzhong City and marched towards Jiange along Dongyue Temple in Cangxi. Deng Xihou felt quite uneasy these days. In order to defend the south of Zhaohua, Hu Zongnan publicly flung his sleeves, trying to pull Tian Songyao on his back, but he was pushed into the cotton bag with his palm, and Liu Xiang was in the middle again with the mud.This time to defend the Jialing River, my own troops took on nearly half of the defense of the river, and the responsibility was heavy. Chiang Kai-shek was going to enter Sichuan, and Liu Xiang was going to reorganize.Thinking of Chiang Kai-shek, who was bearded and staring, and Liu Xiang, who was gloomy, sent chills down Deng Xihou's spine. On the night of the 28th, he chatted with the chief of staff for a long time, and arranged for troops to attack the Red Army in Chaotianyi.The words he was most afraid of hearing came from the phone: "Report, the Red Army has crossed the river." Deng Xihou couldn't hear what the other party said, he just yelled at the phone: "Hold on, let me hold on." Putting down the phone, Deng Xihou immediately ordered Chen Dingxun and Yang Xiuchun to stabilize the defense of Jialing River. The news of the Red Army breaking through the Jialing River was quickly reported to Chiang Kai-shek.One can imagine Chiang Kai-shek's angry and annoyed expression.On the day after receiving the report, on the morning of the 30th, he first urged Deng Xihou, the person in charge of Jiangfang, to take quick measures: Immediately dispatch more than 10 regiments of the Zhao and Guang troops from the rear to station in Jinxianchang and Jiange to attack the bandit who fled across the Jialing River and take charge of clearing up the bandit. On April 2, he received more news of the collapse of the Sichuan Army.After the Red Army broke through the Jialing River, it was like a broken bamboo.Tian Songyao not only did not resist, but commanded the troops to retreat. As a result, Tian Bu was defeated and retreated for hundreds of miles.Tian Songyao knew that he was responsible for the loss of the defense of the Jialing River. In order to alleviate the responsibility for the defeat, he sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek asking for "removal of posts and punishment" and reported to Chiang Kai-shek his generals Liu Hanxiong, He Deyu, Yang Tesheng, Chen Jishan and others. .Chiang Kai-shek decided to take this opportunity to justifiably remove Tian Songyao from his position, in order to solve the difficult problem of the Sichuan warlords one by one: The Chajialing River has always been known as a dangerous place, in the areas of Lang, Cang and the south.It originally belonged to the defense line of the 29th Army.Over the past year, repeated orders have been issued to build bunkers, strengthen fortifications, and strictly deploy defenses to curb the disturbance of the remaining Xu bandits.The army was responsible for the garrison for many years, and the salary was huge.With the great righteousness of saving the country and the countryside, how should Tianjin motivate the army, and try to report it.It was reported day after day that the army's defenses were not strict, and Xu bandits broke through the Jialing River in the evening of Jian. After the battle was ineffective, Cangxi, Langzhong, and the south also retreated one after another.Abandoning the barriers and not guarding them will trap the people in misery!It is a negligence of orders, causing harm to the local area, and it will be difficult to tolerate it. Gai Sichuan-Shaanxi Frontier Anti-Bandit Supervision Office Commander-in-Chief of the 12th Route, Sichuan Bandit Suppression Army Commander-in-Chief of the Second Route, and Commander of the 29th Army Tian Songyao were immediately dismissed and investigated. .His deputy army commander, Sun Zhen, failed to assist and recorded a major demerit.Order Sun Zhen to lead the twenty-ninth army, and seek meritorious deeds; this time the army's failure was responsible for the generals, and Sun Zhen would find out and report it to avoid punishment separately;Adhering to Commander-in-Chief Liu Xiang to handle the notification.If you look up, you will transfer the order, and you must follow it. After Liu Cunhou and Luo Zezhou, Tian Songyao, who had been in the Sichuan warlord's nest for more than ten years, was also kicked away by Chiang Kai-shek. From then on, he lost his military power with nothing.Not only "chasing and suppressing" the Red Army, but also attacking local warlords, and obtaining actual control of the local government, Chiang Kai-shek killed three birds with one stone.Later, He Deyu, Commander of the 22nd Brigade of Tian Songyao's Department, Yang Tesheng, Commander of the 20th Brigade, Chen Jishan, Commander of the 21st Brigade, Chen Chongpu, Commander of the 21st Brigade, Liu Hanxiong, Commander of the 3rd Column, Qin Shike, Commander of the 13th Brigade, and the Eighth Brigade The conductor Li Weiru and the second conductor Li Juntao were both dismissed and demerited. Chiang Kai-shek withdrew Tian Songyao and killed chickens to scare monkeys. Deng Xihou did not dare to neglect. On March 30, he immediately issued another order to his troops to stick to Zi, Jian and Zhao: 1. After the bandits crossed the Jialing River, they extended to the left and right, and the gap gradually widened. 2. On the North Road, Jianjiangkou, Baituguan, Jiange, and the line from Jiangkou to Zhaohua River Defense, it has been negotiated that the Second Route Army should coordinate defense. 3. The distance from Jiange to Zitong is very large, and the Diao Commander's troops rushed to Jiange quickly.After the fifth regiment led by Yu Qin arrived at Zitong, they went straight to Jiange to make contact with them to prevent bandits from fleeing, but they had to use Zitong, Jiange and Zhaohua as three strongholds. 4. The Guangyuan troops should contact the Hu division, and transfer three regiments to be commanded by Chen, and lead the follow-up after Diao's troops. 5. All units in the rear of our own army should be dispatched without exception, and must be concentrated in Mianyang in April and winter. After the three armies of the first echelon crossed the river, the Fourth Red Army of the second echelon also crossed the Jialing River from the mouth of Cangxi Yuanxi. Part of it cooperated with the part of the left-wing Ninth Army and went south through the Langzhong area to capture the southern counties and wipe out the The three regiments of the enemy's Li Weiru Department, the 30th Red Army in the Central Road and another part of the Ninth Army defeated the first part of Tian Songyao's 10th Brigade, and occupied Jiange on March 31. Xu Xiangqian led the team to follow the middle road. He recalled: ... Our army had just entered the Jiange, and the enemies from other places did not know that the Jiange was lost. They called and asked, "Where are the red bandits? How are you doing?" Some cadres replied simply: "I am the Red Army, you are finished." .” It was both irritating and funny. Hearing that Jiange County was lost, Deng Xihou was really burning his butt, and immediately issued successive orders. On April 1, he ordered the troops stationed near Guangyuan to return to Jiange, and on April 2, he ordered Zitong's troops to stick to the city.He himself led his troops to help from Mianyang Xingye.