Red 25th Army Memorial
The 25th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was a workers' and peasants' armed force born in the Eyu-Anhui Soviet Region, which is said to be the establishment of the army, but in fact there were only about 3,000 people at the beginning of the Long March, which was less than the post of one division.
In November 1934, before the departure of the Long March of the Red 25th Army, it was reorganized, with then commander Cheng Zihua, political commissar Wu Huanxian, deputy commander Xu Haidong, and political department director Dai Jiying. The whole army was organized into 4 regiments, pistol regiment, 223rd regiment, 224th regiment and 225th regiment. In December 1934, the Red Army entered Caichuan, Luonan County, Shaanxi Province, and reorganized again, abolishing the 224th Regiment.
At this time, the three regiment leaders of the 223rd Regiment were Zhang Shaodong, the regimental commander, Zhao Lingbo, the political commissar, and Chen Xianrui, director of the Political Department. The two chief officers of this regiment defected one after another, and the director of the political office became a founding lieutenant general.
After the Red 25th Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, it was reorganized into the Red 15th Army together with the Red Army in northern Shaanxi. There were three divisions under its jurisdiction, the 75th Division, the 78th Division and the 81st Division, and Zhang Shaodong and Zhao Lingbo served as division commanders and political commissars of the 75th Division respectively. At this time, Chen Xianrui, director of the Political Department, was ordered to lead the 7th Company of the 223rd Regiment and a small number of cadres to the E-Shaanxi Border Region to fight guerrillas, open up the E-Shaanxi base area, and set up the E-Shaanxi Guerrilla Division, and he was appointed commander.
First, let's talk about Zhang Shaodong, the head of the regiment
At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Red 15th Army was reorganized into the 344th Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, with brigade commander Xu Haidong, deputy brigade commander Huang Kecheng, and subordinate 687 regiments and 688 regiments. At this time, the leader of the 687th Regiment was Zhang Shaodong.
After the victory of Pingxingguan, the 344th Brigade was on its way to the southeast of Jin to carry out guerrilla warfare, and Zhang Shaodong, the commander of the 687 regiment, and Lan Guoqing, the chief of staff, defected for the high-ranking official Houlu who coveted the Kuomintang, and Zhang Shaodong and Lan Guoqing defected to the Kuomintang after defecting. His rebellion made Xu Haidong extremely sad, and the 344th Brigade had two regiments, and Zhang Shaodong could serve as the commander of the 687 regiment, which showed Xu Haidong's love for him. After defecting, Zhang Shaodong was not taken seriously by the Kuomintang army, and after the founding of New China, Zhang Shaodong was arrested and executed.
Let's talk about political commissar Zhao Lingbo
Zhao Lingbo went to the New Fourth Army in 1938 and successively served as chief of staff of the third detachment, chief of staff of the new fourth army, chief of staff of the first detachment of the new formation, and deputy commander of the first column at the time of the Anhui Incident.
Zhao Lingbo, who was originally a member of the Kuomintang army and joined the Red Army after being captured by the Red Army, was arrested in the Southern Anhui Incident. He declared to the interrogators: "I have long wanted to leave the CCP and have no chance." According to the enemy's intentions, he also fabricated the lie that the New Fourth Army would first open fire on the Kuomintang troops, and lured Zhao Xizhong, chief of staff of the First Column, to defect with him. The two of them, together with Liu Houzong, the murderer of Xiang Ying and Zhou Zikun, successively published anti-communist articles in newspapers, sold themselves for glory, and acted as shameful Kuomintang agents. In May 1942, Zhao Lingbo was captured by the Seventh Division of the New Fourth Army in Wuwei, Anhui Province, and escaped and was killed on the way to escort.
Finally, let's talk about Chen Xianrui, director of the Political Affairs Department
Lieutenant General Chen Xianrui
In February 1935, the E-Shaanxi Guerrilla Division was changed to the General Headquarters of the E-Shaanxi Guerrilla Division, with Chen Xianrui as the commander, and unified command of the 6-Way Guerrilla Division and the Huayang Guerrilla Brigade in the E-Shaanxi Border Region, and participated in the struggle to create the revolutionary base area of Eyu-Shaanxi.
In September, the Eyu-Shaanxi Special Committee was established and the Red 74th Division was formed, with Chen Xianrui as a member of the Standing Committee of the Special Committee and the commander of the Red 74th Division, leading the unit to independently persist in guerrilla warfare in the border areas of Eyu-Shaanxi. He led his troops to clamp down on the strength of more than a dozen regiments of the enemy, coordinated the struggle in the revolutionary base areas of Shaanxi and Gansu and the long march of the main red army, and was praised by the Party Central Committee and the Chairman.
When the chairman met Chen Xianrui in northern Shaanxi, he said: "Your name is Chen Xianrui, and the Kuomintang newspaper has written your name as Chen Guangrui, whether it is 'Xian' or 'Guang', you have registered a number with the Kuomintang." People have used tens of thousands of troops to besiege you, but they have not overthrown you, which shows that the Kuomintang cannot do it..."
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Xianrui successively served as the commander of the Anti-Japanese Army on the South Road, the director of the Remaining Office of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and the commander and political commissar of the 3rd Detachment in Western Henan.
During the Liberation War, he mainly led troops to fight against the Kuomintang army in the Eyu-Shaanxi Border Region and the Central Plains. He successively served as commander of the Henan Central Military Subdistrict, commander of the Henan Southern Military Region, deputy commander and chief of staff of the Eyu-Shaanxi Military Region, deputy commander of the 38th Army of the Central Plains Military Region, deputy commander of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region and deputy commander of the 19th Army, and other posts.
After the liberation of the whole country, he was appointed deputy commander and chief of staff of the Shaanxi Provincial Military Region in May 1950. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he served as director of the political department and deputy political commissar of the 19th Corps including the Chinese Volunteer Army, and participated in the five major battles of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In 1955, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general and was awarded the Order of August 1st Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom first class, and the Liberation Medal first class.
In the years of revolutionary war, the harsh war environment not only tested life and death, but also tested loyalty, and only those who had firm faith, strong will, and always stood with the party and the people could be monumental and famous in history.