In July 2012, the then 102-year-old Wang Yunmei finally came up with a century-long obsession: joining the Communist Party of China. It set a record for the "oldest new party member" since the establishment of our party. In Wang Yunmei's archives, not only is the date of birth of "May 1910" eye-catching, but the "Red Detachment of Women" in its remarks column is even more admirable.
Wang Yunmei
As soon as the news came out, it once again pulled people back to the red wave set off by the movie of the same name "Red Detachment of Women" in the 1960s.
Here, we will turn the page of history and enter the real "Red Girl Scout Army". Hear about revolutionary women who wrote revolutionary stories in those days.
Stills from the movie "The Red Detachment of Women"
In the winter of 1929, the Qiongya Independent Regiment, led by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, was established. In August of the following year, the Independent Regiment was expanded into the Independent Division of the Qiongya Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and at the same time established the "Niangzi Army Company".
From May 1931, the "Women's Army Special Agent Company of the Second Independent Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" was officially established, opening up the Qiongya area, and women could also stand up to the sky, and they could also carry steel guns and fight side by side with men.
On May 1, Wang Yunmei only listened to the county party committee's notice that "girls who want to join the army can sign up", and then wore the red armband of the "women's army" on her shoulder and joined the first women's revolutionary armed force in China, that is, the "Red Women's Army".
Wang Yunmei, one of the prototypes of "Red Detachment of Women"
At first, this special contingent consisted of 103 men, and the "three-three system" was implemented, with three squads in one platoon and three platoons in the whole company, of which all were female comrades except for the trumpeters, porters, and attendants who were gay men. Some of them were from the local peasant Red Guards, and some were already members of the Communist Party or the Communist Youth League, but most of them were originally ordinary young women.
In China, women have never really left the battlefield. The establishment site of the Niangzi Army was Qiongya Lehui County (in 1958, it was merged with Qiongdong, Lehui, and parts of Wanning County to form Hainan "Qionghai County"), at that time, the population of the entire Soviet District was only more than 10,000 people, but there were 600 to 700 young women actively joining the army, which showed the appeal of the Red Army, which showed that women were not as suitable for Chinese women as men.
Since its establishment, all of them have actively cooperated with the main force of the Red Army and fought against the enemy, fighting dozens of battles, and making indispensable contributions during the guerrilla warfare of the Red Army in Qiongya. What is even more amazing is that the company was famous on the Qiongdao side only in the second month after its establishment.
Stills from "The Red Detachment of Women"
In June 1931, under the policy of "suppressing the communists" carried out by the Kuomintang troops, the Qiongya Su District was once plunged into white terror. After careful consideration, it was decided to send the Red 3 Regiment to deal a reactionary armed attack led by chen Guiyuan, the commander-in-chief of the enemy army, and the Girl Scout Army was responsible for cooperating.
Because the enemy army was numerous and the weapons and equipment were relatively advanced, the general of the Red 3 Regiment decided to adopt the method of "first luring the enemy to go deeper, and then setting up an ambush to snipe the enemy" to destroy a wave of enemies first. On June 21, the Red 3rd Regiment marched first in the direction of Wanning County, deliberately exposing its targets and routes.
When the enemy discovered that the main force of our army had left, he thought that the Soviet organs were the only ones left with the Detachment of the Lady Scout Army to surround the county party committee organs, so he immediately rushed to the Soviet district organs with all his might, intending to encircle and suppress the Women's Army with all his might. Unbeknownst to them, the Red 3Rd Regiment quietly turned back on the night of departure and set up an ambush in the mountains and forests of Shamaoling.
Statue of the "Red Detachment of Women" in front of the Revolution Memorial
Early in the morning of the 27th, two hundred enemy soldiers marched in two directions to the county Soviet district organs. In order to lead the enemy into the ambush circle, the Girl Scout Army naturally had to pretend to be powerless, but retreated while fighting. At this time, the enemy still did not have the slightest doubt, and chen Guiyuan, who was the leader, also shouted proudly: "The opposite side is all women, and whoever you catch will be a wife to whomever you catch."
But as everyone knows, all this is in the plan of the Red Army.
The enemy finally retreated to the mountain forest, only to hear the leader of the Red 3 Regiment "Fight me", and the advantages and disadvantages of the battle immediately changed. Finding that the enemy who had been ambushed was in a chaotic mess in an instant, Chen Guiyuan had planned to organize a breakthrough, but there was no chance at all, so he took advantage of the chaos and only cared about himself to escape, but in the end he was captured alive.
The battle lasted for almost an hour, and the situation was very happy for our army. In total, more than 20 enemy were killed and wounded, more than 70 enemy were captured, and nearly 100 guns were captured.
The former site of the establishment of the "Red Women's Army" in Yangjiang Town, Qionghai City
As a result, the Girl Scout Army became famous, attracting more and more women who wanted to join the army. With the increase in numbers, the Special Committee decided in the spring of 1932 to expand the Women's Army and add a new company.
Regrettably, however, the secret agents of this women's army only existed for more than two years from birth to its withdrawal.
After the autumn of the same year, the Kuomintang warlords began to suppress the revolutionary flames in the Qiongya Su district more intensely. In order to avoid defeat in the enemy's "encirclement and suppression" operation and to ensure the revolutionary fire, the special committee, after consultation, decided to leave the Red Army to carry out guerrilla warfare on the spot, and the rest of the main force was transferred to the Base Area of Muruishan. The Girl Scout Army was in the procession of staying where they were and engaged in guerrilla warfare with the enemy.
However, the transfer of the main army was not smooth, and when it encountered the enemy when it reached Saddle Ridge, the Lady Scout Army and the Red First Battalion fought together to take cover. The enemy army was numerous and well armed, some of the soldiers of the Lady Scout Army were heroic and righteous, some of them were scattered and lost contact with the troops, and the 10 fighters of the second squad were beaten to the point of exhaustion, and the last drop of blood was shed in the hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, and all of them died heroically.
Stills from the "Red Detachment of Women" stage play
Grief-stricken, the special commissar had no choice but to integrate the scattered soldiers of the Girl Scout Army into other revolutionary ranks. However, under the large-scale search and arrest of the Kuomintang troops, Feng Zengmin, who was then the company commander of the Niangzi Army, Wang Shixiang, the instructor, and Huang Dunying, a soldier, were still discovered one after another and were arrested and imprisoned.
Who says who says women are inferior to men? The fact that they were born as daughters cannot be changed, but they can fight like men. During the days in prison, the enemy did everything in his power, torturing them in every way so that they could tell the secrets of the Qiongya organs.
Feng Zengmin, the second company commander of the "Red Women's Army"
Pour boiling hot water, whip with a leather whip thicker than your thumb, pull it off and hang it... These punishments, which only used words to describe us, were used on the 8 Soldiers of the Girl Scout Army. But despite this, they always preferred to die unyieldingly, and none of them rebelled or surrendered!
Heroes don't ask about provenance, and they have nothing to do with gender! Salute to the Red Detachment of Women, salute to all the heroes who have contributed to the victory of New China!