He was the first division commander to die in the Long March, the political commissar was the founding general, and the successor was the founding general
Heroes from ancient times! In the historical journey of going through hardships and indomitable progress, there are countless heroes. For the sake of the victory of the revolution, many people did not live to the day of victory. They rushed into the stage of history without hesitation, and disappeared into history with endless pride. The stories of heroes deserve to be written as a way to perpetuate the backbone of our nation.
As the saying goes: a strong general has no weak soldiers. During the Red Army period, the Red Third Army was the main army, and during the Long March, it made great contributions and made great sacrifices to defend the security of the central government. On October 10, 1934, the Central Column began to withdraw from the Soviet Zone, and the Long March began, and only twelve days later, a division-level cadre was sacrificed while breaking through the first blockade line. Who is he? Let's take a look at his story.
After the strategic transfer, we must first break through the first blockade line of chen jitang, the "Southern Heavenly King". The Central Military Commission decided that the Red 1st Army would be on the left and the Red 3rd Army on the right, with WangMudu, Hanfang, Jinji, and Xintian sections breaking through the Guangdong army defense line; the Red 9th Army would follow behind the Red 1st Army, and the Red 8th Army would follow behind the Red 3rd Army, covering the safety of the left and right flanks respectively; the 1st and 2nd Columns of the Central Military Commission would be in the center, and the Red 5th Army would be behind the hall. After breaking through the Cantonese defense line, the whole army advanced towards Shonan. The breakout time was determined from the night of the 21st to the morning of the 22nd.
On October 22, 1934, the troops of the Red 1st Army on the Left Road encountered two regiments of the 1st Division of the Guangdong Army that had retreated from Chongshi and Banshi to Anxi, and the two sides fought fiercely for several hours, and the Guangdong army was not supported and fled to Anxi. The red 1st army launched a pursuit, annihilated about one of its regiments, and took advantage of the situation to advance to Ansi. While the Right Red 3rd Army was advancing towards Baishiwei, the 11th Regiment of the Forward Red 4th Division was suddenly intercepted by the Cantonese army. Division commander Hong Chao commanded the Red 11th Regiment to fight back and quickly repelled the Cantonese army, but Hong Chao was unfortunately killed in the battle.
Marching and fighting, those who can act as vanguard divisions and rearguard divisions are units that dare to fight hard battles, undertake heavy tasks, and take great risks in combat. The commanders and fighters in charge were all fierce generals who could fight well, and in fact, before Hong Chao, the Red Fourth Division of the Red Third Army had already sacrificed several division commanders.
Hong Chao, born in 1909 in Huangmei, Hubei Province, engaged in the peasant movement in his hometown in his early years, joined the teaching team of Ye Ting's 24th Division in the summer of 1927, and participated in the "August 1st" Nanchang Uprising. He served as a staff officer in both the Red Fourth Army and the Fifth Red Army, and then served as a captain in Li Can's first column, and was a fierce general under the command of Peng Lao.
Hong Chao's bravery and courage in combat and his outstanding command are recognized by everyone. He successively served as a staff officer of the Red 8th Army, the commander of the 1st Division of the Red 5th Army, the commander of the 6th And 4th Division of the Red 3rd Army, and was the military commander of the Fist Unit. In March 1933, in the Battle of Caotaigang, Hong Chao was seriously wounded and lost his left arm, becoming a famous one-armed general in our army. In January 1934, during the battle to capture the county seat of Shaxian County, he served as the main attacker, took the lead in attacking the city, and was awarded a second-class Red Star Medal by the Central Revolutionary Military Commission.
At the beginning of the Long March, the Red Fourth Division, as a vanguard division, took the lead in contacting the Guangdong army. After the Red Army did united front work, the Guangdong warlord Chen Jitang reached an agreement with the Central Red Army to "borrow ways from each other." Chen Jitang gave up a gap of forty miles for the Red Army to march into Hunan. Chen Jitang also ordered: "The enemy does not attack me, is not allowed to attack, the enemy does not shoot at me, and is not allowed to shoot." However, Chen Jitang did not have time to inform all his troops. After passing through the enemy's first blockade line, the Red Fourth Division, which was the vanguard of the right wing, was suddenly flanked by Chen Jitang's unit at Baishiwei in an attempt to cut off the Red Fourth Division from the follow-up troops.
Division commander Hong Chao and political commissar Huang Kecheng immediately commanded the Red Fourth Division into battle. Hong Chao personally commanded the Red Eleventh Regiment to repel the enemy. Subsequently, Hong Chao led a platoon to the front to reconnoiter, just in time to meet a group of retreating enemy troops, the enemy in panic randomly released a burst of guns, Hong Chao rode on his horse, was hit by stray bullets, and died heroically.
Political Commissar General Huang Kecheng led the Red Fourth Division, continued the battle and then occupied Gupi. Not long after, Zhang Zongxun, chief of staff of the Central Column, came to the Red Fourth Division and served as the commander of the division.
In the arduous revolutionary process, many martyrs bravely sacrificed their lives, and among the officers and men of the Red Army who died during the Long March, there were about 430 cadres at or above the battalion level with names and surnames, of which about 80 were divisional cadres. Due to the difficult conditions at that time, many senior generals did not leave detailed information, which is a pity.
When the rank was conferred in 1955, General Huang Kecheng was awarded the rank of General and General Zhang Zongxun was awarded the rank of General. However, many of The comrades-in-arms of the martyr Hong Chao did not forget him, and their descendants built a cemetery for the martyr Hong Chao in the stone village of Xinfeng Bai (Hundred) in Jiangxi Province, which can let people remember his exploits and pay tribute to the indelible heroic soul.