The 359th Brigade was a well-known unit in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which was subordinate to the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army and was reorganized from the Red 6th Army and the Red 32nd Army. In August 1937, the brigade was established in northern Shaanxi, with two regiments under its jurisdiction, with a total of more than 5,000 people. Brigade Commander Chen Bojun, who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy, participated in the famous Autumn Harvest Uprising. Deputy Brigade Commander Wang Zhen, one of the founders of the Xianggan Red Army, served as the political commissar of the Red 6Th Army. Chief of staff Liu Ziqi once served as a acting division commander in the Red 6 Army. Yuan Renyuan, director of the Political Training Office, once served as the political commissar of the Red 32Nd Army. The two regiments under their jurisdiction were regimental commanders Liu Zhuanlian and Wen Niansheng, both of whom served as division commanders during the Red Army period.
In September 1937, the 359th Brigade left the 718th Regiment to remain in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. The brigade headquarters and the 717th Regiment, led by Wang Zhen and others, marched to the northwestern Jin front. In October of that year, Wang Zhen was reappointed brigade commander and political commissar. In the nearly two years in northwestern Jin and other places, the 359th Brigade was heroic and tenacious, killing and wounding a large number of living forces of the Japanese puppet army. However, due to the needs of the rear, in August 1939, Wang Zhen was ordered to lead the main force back to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. Since then, the 359th Brigade has been stationed in northern Shaanxi for a long time, and has been ordered to guard the Yellow River defense and defend the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. And in order to improve the living environment, the 359th Brigade launched the famous Nanniwan large-scale production campaign, and obtained good returns.
The 359th Brigade was stationed in the rear for a long time and carried out a large-scale production campaign. Although countless grain and other materials were produced, the material conditions and living environment of the whole brigade were greatly improved. However, in the past few years, the whole brigade also lacked experience in fighting the regular army, and its thinking became more and more conservative and lacked vitality. It is difficult for commanders at all levels to effectively exercise their combat and command capabilities. In fact, the combat effectiveness of this unit was greatly reduced, which also affected the performance of its unit after the end of the War of Resistance. In September 1944, Wang Zhen led the main force of more than 4,000 people, plus more than 900 officers and men of the Central Committee to support the New Fourth Army, and was ordered to advance south to the Xiangyue border area and open up a new base area.
In January 1945, the Southward Detachment of the Eighth Route Army commanded by Wang Zhen and the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army met at Dawushan, Hubei Province. More than 900 cadres were left behind, and some officers and soldiers were also left along the way. Wang Zhen led more than 3,000 people all the way to Guangdong. At this time, the Japanese army had been defeated and surrendered, and under the heavy siege of the Nationalist army, Wang Zhen was forced to lead his troops north. In October of that year, Wang Zhen's troops returned to eastern Hubei and were soon incorporated into Li Xiannian's Central Plains Military Region and participated in the famous Central Plains Breakthrough. After a bloody battle, the 359th Brigade lost more than half of its losses and finally returned to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region at the end of August 1946. However, at this time, the 359th Brigade, together with the Central Plains Military Region Guard Regiment, had less than 1500 remaining troops.
After General Wang Zhen returned to northern Shaanxi, the 359th Brigade quickly recovered after replenishment. In November 1946, the 359th Brigade and some units of the Jinsui Military Region were merged into the 2nd Column of the Jinsui Military Region, with a total of more than 8,600 people, and Wang Zhen was reappointed as the commander of the 2nd Column. At this time, the 359th Brigade was headed by Guo Peng and Wang Enmao as the brigade's political commissar. In the Liberation War, the 359th Brigade, as the core main force of Wang Zhen's column, successively participated in the famous battles of Qinghua, Yangmahe, Panlong, Sanbian, Yulin, and Shajiadian. During this period, one part of the 359th Brigade was expanded into a brigade in Shandong, the Du 6th Brigade, and later returned to the northwest and was incorporated into the 2nd Column, and the brigade commander was Zhang Zhonghan.
The 2nd Column of the Northwest Field Army had 3 brigades, two of which were reorganized from the 359th Brigade. This column then participated in the Battles of Yichuan, Chengguo, Libei, and Winter. In 1949, the 2nd Column was reorganized into the 2nd Army of the First Field Army, with Wang Zhen as the commander and political commissar, Guo Peng, the commander of the 359th Brigade, promoted to deputy commander, and the brigade political commissar Wang Enmao as deputy political commissar. The 2nd Army consisted of three divisions totaling 36,000 men, and the 359th Brigade and the 6th Independent Brigade were reorganized into the 5th and 6th Divisions. Subsequently, the 2nd Army fought from Guanzhong all the way to Xinjiang. After coming to Xinjiang, the 2nd Army's name was quickly revoked, and the 5th and 6th Divisions were reorganized into the 1st and 2nd Divisions of Xinjiang Agricultural Construction.
Under objective evaluation, the main force of the 359th Brigade developed into two brigades of the 2nd Column of the Northwest Field Army during the Liberation War, that is, the 359th Brigade and the Independent 6th Brigade. After the reorganization of the troops, the two brigades became two divisions of the 2nd Army. The 2nd Army came to Shubian, Xinjiang, but was later abolished and the two divisions became agricultural reclamation units. Although these units had made great achievements in the Liberation War, in terms of combat effectiveness, the system in Peng Dehuai's Northwest Region could only be regarded as second-rate troops, far inferior to Huang Xinting's 358th Brigade, Luo Yuanfa's Teaching Brigade, and Zhang Xianyue's New 4th Brigade. After all, the 359th Brigade had been stationed in the rear of northern Shaanxi for a long time, and with the breakthrough of the Central Plains, the 359th Brigade had been seriously injured and could not recover for a long time.
However, it is said that Wang Zhen took the main force of the 359th Brigade with more than 4,000 people in the late stage of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and was ordered to go to the south. The four battalions of the 359th Brigade and some of the officers and men of the brigade headquarters, adding up to less than 2,000 men, were reorganized into the 2nd Independent Guerrilla Detachment of the Eighth Route Army to the south. The unit, led by Liu Zhuanlian, chief of staff of the brigade, and Yan Fusheng, deputy political commissar of the brigade, marched south. Passing through Xin'an County, Henan Province, the Japanese army had been defeated and surrendered, and this force was ordered to the northeast. In October 1945, the unit came to Liaoyang and restored the 359th Brigade. Liu Zhuanlian was reappointed brigade commander, and Yan Fusheng was reappointed as the brigade political commissar. In 1946, the 359th Brigade was ordered to go to the Northern Manchuria region to suppress bandits, and achieved remarkable results.
The 359th Brigade, which came to the northeast, was expanded to 7 regiments with tens of thousands of people, which can be described as the largest brigade in the northeast region. In more than a year in the Northern Manchuria region, the 359th Brigade overcame various difficulties and annihilated nearly 10,000 bandits before and after, and was vigorously commended by the Northeast Bureau and the Northeast Military Region. In 1947, the 359th Brigade was reorganized into the 1st Independent Division, with Liu Zhuanlian and He Qingji successively serving as division commanders, and Yan Fusheng as the political commissar of the division. In the ensuing battle, the 1st Division first annihilated 561 men of the local security regiment, and then was ordered to pretend to attack Shantun and cut off the enemy's 87th Division's retreat to Nong'an. However, the 1st Independent Division, this time made a big mistake, causing Lin Biao's dissatisfaction.
The 1st Division was first confused by a small number of enemy troops, and then did not actively intercept the enemy forces. When the enemy 87th Division retreated, the 1st Division did not actively organize troops to pursue the enemy. In sharp contrast, the 5th Division of the 2nd Column, led by division commander Zhong Wei and others, actively sought out and annihilated the enemy near the Paoshan Tun. After the war, the 1st Independent Division was severely criticized by the headquarters of the Northeast Democratic Autonomous United Army. Before the outbreak of the Liaoshen Campaign, the overall performance of this unit was not too good, and it was specifically manifested as: lack of vitality, lack of initiative, relatively conservative, relatively slow progress, relatively passive combat style, and even concentrated on doing business, saving family belongings, and going to the rear to enjoy life...
In August 1947, the Northeast Field Army established the 10th Column, with General Liang Xingchu as its commander. The 1st Division was reorganized into his 28th Division, with He Qingji as division commander and Yan Fusheng as division political commissar. After the vigorous rectification of Liang Xingchu and others, this unit has greatly improved its combat effectiveness, morale, and military discipline. After the liaoshen campaign broke out, the enemy Liao Yaoxiang corps was ordered to leave Shenyang and kill Jinzhou, preparing to conquer Jinzhou, which had been captured by the Northeast Field Army. On the way, Liao Yaoxiang's corps was desperately blocked by the 10th Column, also known as the Black Mountain Blockade. After several days of fierce fighting, Liao Yaoxiang's corps was stopped by the 10th Column and suffered heavy losses.
In the Battle of Montenegro and the Battle of Western Liaoning, the 10th Column annihilated nearly 15,000 enemy troops and lost more than 4,000 of its own. Among them, the 28th Division heroically and tenaciously stopped Liao Yaoxiang's corps, winning precious time for the main force to go north to encircle and annihilate the enemy army. In this battle, the 28th Division annihilated more than 5,000 enemy troops and lost more than 2,000 people on its own, which can be described as a turnaround battle. In November 1948, this division was reorganized into the 139th Division of the 47th Army, and the division commander and division political commissar remained unchanged, or He Qingji and Yan Fusheng. In 1949, the division was ordered to go south and came to Dayong, Hunan in October, to participate in the siege of the enemy's 122nd Army. After fierce fighting, the 47th Army quickly captured Dayong and annihilated more than 5,000 enemy troops.
After the liberation of western Hunan Province, the 47th Army entered eastern Sichuan and participated in the encirclement and annihilation of the Song Xilian clique. Among them, the 139th Division marched more than 2,000 miles, fought 43 large and small battles, and annihilated tens of thousands of enemies before and after. In December of that year, the 139th Division, together with other units of the 47th Army, participated in the famous Xiangxi Bandit Campaign. After more than a year of fierce fighting, the 47th Army has annihilated more than 80,000 bandits, liberated the entire territory of western Hunan and pacified the century-old bandit plague in western Hunan Province. In 1951, the 139th Division was ordered to fight in Korea and returned to China in 1954. After returning to China, the 139th Division was first stationed in Shonan and later for a long time near Huashan Mountain in Shaanxi, and was later reorganized into a mechanized infantry brigade of the Lanzhou Military Region.
The 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army developed from two regiments of more than 5,000 people at the beginning of the founding of the army to two southbound detachments in the late period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Brigade Commander Wang Zhen led the main force of more than 4,000 people from Yan'an to northern Guangdong. After being besieged by heavy enemy troops, this unit came to the Central Plains base area and was incorporated into the Central Plains Military Region. In the Central Plains breakout, the 359th Brigade lost more than half of its losses, and fewer than 1,500 men returned to northern Shaanxi. Fewer than 400 officers and men arrived in Shandong, later expanded into a brigade, and eventually returned to the northwest. Both brigades later became the old base of the 2nd Army. Later, it became two agricultural reclamation divisions under the jurisdiction of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. These units, the main body of the 359th Brigade.
The remnants of the 359th Brigade, with less than 2,000 men, were brought to the northeast by Liu Zhuanlian, the brigade chief of staff, and grew to tens of thousands. However, the headquarters of the Northeast Field Army has a bad evaluation of this unit: This division is one of the units with the oldest historical foundation among the units in the northeast, many of which are the backbone components of the agrarian revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the vast majority of cadres above the company level are veteran cadres who joined the army in Kannai, and the work style of the troops is very tired, lacks vitality, is conservative, progress is slow, the fighting style is passive, and the combat effectiveness has not been brought into full play, and its unit history should be included in the main divisions of the northeast units. However, its combat effectiveness is not as good as that of ordinary old units and new units that cannot keep up with the rapid progress.
The 359th Brigade and the derived brigade were not first-class main brigades under Peng Dehuai, far inferior to the 358th Brigade, the New 4th Brigade, and the Teaching Brigade. In terms of overall performance, it can only be regarded as an ordinary unit. The 359th Brigade in the northeast also performed at a lower-middle level before the Liaoshen Campaign. It was not until the liaoshen campaign broke out that the 359th brigade in the northeast finally broke out and became the second-rate main force in the northeast. It can be seen from this that the long-term presence in the rear, coupled with the large-scale production movement, has a great impact on this unit and the depth of its influence. In order to defend the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, the 359th Brigade paid too much and lost too much, but there was no complaint or regret. The spirit of Nanniwan is immortal throughout the ages!
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army has successively produced a large number of founding generals, such as: General Wang Zhen, who served as commander of the railway corps and vice chairman of the state; General Chen Bojun, who served as the president of the Higher Military Academy; Lieutenant General Liu Zhuanlian, who served as deputy commander of the Shenyang Military Region; Lieutenant General Yan Fusheng, who served as deputy political commissar of the Guangzhou Military Region; Lieutenant General Guo Peng, who served as deputy commander of the Lanzhou Military Region; Lieutenant General Wang Enmao, who served as vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Major General Liu Ziqi, who served as deputy commander of the Guangdong Provincial Military Region; lieutenant general Wen Niansheng. He served as deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region; Major General He Qingji served as commander of the Liaoning Provincial Military Region; Major General Yan Deming served as deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region...