If you talk about the trump card of the National Army, surely the first impression in everyone's mind will be that the five main forces of the National Army are the five units with the best equipment and the strongest combat effectiveness during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, so they are called the five main forces of the National Army. In fact, in the Chiang family dynasty, in addition to these five troops, there is also an ace army known for its good fighting and vicious battles, and its name is the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
The 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army was born in a chaotic world, and at the same time, it was also famous in the anti-Japanese battlefield. Friends who may know history know that in the Battle of Songhu, a group of well-equipped German mechanics appeared, and they were fiercely fighting with the Japanese. The 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army was later formed by these German mechanic divisions. For example, the 36th Division, the 87th Division, and the 88th Division were all ace divisions of the Nationalist army to resist the invaders on the Songhu battlefield, and it can be said that if Chiang Kai-shek did not have these German mechanics, he really did not dare to hold Shanghai. Therefore, in the Battle of Songhu, this group of German mechanics became the main force in the Battle of Songhu, and they were also the Chinese soldiers who fought the most fiercely against the invaders. In particular, the 87th Division, the predecessor of the 88th Division of the Nationalist Guard Army, and the 2nd Guard Division belonged to the orthodox Yulin Army.
It was precisely because in the Battle of Songhu, these three German mechanic divisions were ready to kill the enemy bravely, resulting in great losses in the fight with the invaders. It can be said that after the Battle of Songhu, Chiang Kai-shek's German mechanic division was basically crippled, and in order to ensure that these three German mechanic divisions were not completely destroyed, they were finally transferred by Chiang Kai-shek to the rear to rest. It did not take long for these three divisions to enter the defense of Nanjing, and since the previous divisions had been replenished by soldiers, the three divisions were expanded into the 70th Army, the 71st Army, and the 78th Army. The enemy troops faced were the most elite of the Japanese Kou,6th and 9th Divisions, and the two sides fought bloodily for three days, and all the officers and men fought bloodily to repeatedly thwart the Japanese attack, and successfully killed two squadron leaders of the 2nd Brigade of the enemy's 13th Wing on the battlefield.
Of course, these three armies themselves also suffered great losses, and only one-third of the personnel of each army were left, so after the Battle of Nanjing. The former 71st Army, the 72nd Army, and the 78th Army were reorganized into one army, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and the first commander was Wang Jingjiu, a general of the Huangpu I Period.
This is the history of the establishment of the 71st Army, its predecessor is the most elite German mechanic division, belongs to the ace of the Nationalist army, in the Battle of Songhu, the Defense of Nanjing have made great achievements, the battle is very brave. This also doomed the newly formed 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army to become an iron army on the anti-Japanese battlefield.
In May 1938, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army was succeeded by Song Xilian as its commander and participated in the Battle of Lanfeng; the 71st Army under the command of commander Song Xilian garrisoned Lanfeng, but because the commander of the 88th Division, Long Muhan, retreated privately, resulting in the loss of Lanfeng, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the arrest of Long Muhan on the spot, and in order to strictly rectify military discipline, he became the first Huangpu general to be killed during the War of Resistance.
In order to make up for the mistakes of the 88th Division, the 71st Army joined forces with the 74th Army and the 64th Army to counterattack Lanfeng. After four days of bloody fighting, the two sides surrounded the elite 14th Division of the Japanese Army and successfully recaptured Lanfeng.
In August of the same year, the Battle of Wuhan broke out, in the Battle of Wuhan, the 71st point of the National Revolutionary Army is about to usher in the most brilliant and tragic moment of its life, that is, the Fusha Blockade Battle, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army blocked the three elite divisions of the Japanese army here, the two sides fought a month of bloody battles, the Seventy-first Army recaptured Fujinshan, Ma'anshan and other positions, was praised by the Headquarters, saying that the 71st Army is an iron army. At the same time, behind the glory, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army also paid a heavy price, with 75% of casualties, annihilating more than 10,000 enemy Japanese and Koukou, and fighting the most tragic battle of the Battle of Wuhan, but the German mechanic's family foundation was also exhausted. But Chiang Kai-shek did not forget this heroic unit, and just after the battle, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army was replaced by Soviet armaments, and the rested Seventy-first Army was an ambitious ace army.
From German equipment to Soviet equipment, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army made many achievements in the War of Resistance Against Japan and became a heroic unit that became famous throughout the country. In May 1944, the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army was again transferred by Chiang Kai-shek to western Yunnan to participate in the Great Counteroffensive Campaign, and the commander at this time was Zhong Bin, the tiger general of the Huangpu Phase I, and the Seventy-first Army, as the main force of the expeditionary army, successively recaptured Songshan, Huilongshan, Santaishan, Longling, Chafang, Mangshi and other strategic places, especially in the Battle of Songshan and Longling, the 71st Army suffered heavy casualties and annihilated more than 6,000 Japanese Kou.
Although it was a crushing victory, this battle was different from the past, and before that, the Seventy-first Army was on the defensive, waiting for the Japanese to attack. In the Great Counteroffensive Campaign in Western Yunnan, it was the 71st Army that attacked and the Japanese defended, so it was able to achieve such results, and the Seventy-first Army was also very remarkable. Just after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Seventy-first Army welcomed the fourth commander, Chen Mingren.
Whether it is the first commander Wang Jingjiu, or Song Xilian, Zhong Bin, Chen Mingren, they are all aces of the Huangpu Phase I, each of them is a veteran of the battlefield, and it is also under their leadership that the 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army is famous in the anti-Japanese battlefield.