Look, why didn't we go to Shanxi? Not only did he go, but he also fought a lot of victorious battles, and yan Xishan's panicked people could not find the north.
The reason why a large area of revolutionary base areas did not form was entirely due to the situation at that time, after all, the Japanese thoughts about all our Chinese were to swallow them in one bite.
If we want to understand this matter, it is best to follow the direction of history, and let's take a look.
At the beginning, Chiang Kai-shek encircled and suppressed five times, and we carried out five counter-encirclement and suppression. The last time we lost, the Red Army was forced into the Long March, a road of twists and turns, climbing snow-capped mountains over meadows, which reached hadapu.
In the hada shop, we rested for seven days in one breath. Why do you take so long off?
The first reason, we are too tired, you look at this road by the enemy chased and blocked, while fighting and walking, it is not easy, the fatigue value of the troops has broken through the limits of the human body.
In order to recover as soon as possible, at that time we also sent a piece of ocean to everyone in the army and every soldier and brother-in-law. The troops were like the New Year, bathing, cutting hair, and repairing clothes.
The second reason is that we have to calm down and think about where the troops should go, to find a place to stay, and to end the Long March.
Why? Along the way, we thought about this problem, not once or twice, and every time it was determined, we were always surrounded and blocked by Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement, and we had to give up the predetermined goal.
So this time, we decided to go to northern Shaanxi and meet Xu Haidong's Red Army.
Being able to set this goal actually has a certain degree of contingency. Because at Hadapu, Chairman Mao saw a newspaper, Jinyang Daily, which explained the news of Xu Haidong's Red Army and the Red Army in northern Shaanxi. Moreover, it is said that Liu Zhidan and Xu Haidong looked at Shanxi across the Yellow River, and also drew a sketch of the base area in northern Shaanxi with special care.
At that time, our news was blocked, and we didn't know anything along the way, which was a pillow for drowsiness.
Therefore, after seven days of repairs, we will come to the base area in northern Shaanxi.
After entering the northern Shaanxi base area in October 1935, our 25,000-mile long march was officially over.
Then after entering northern Shaanxi, we will have to face a development problem. Next, let's take a look at what our situation was like at that time.
First, let's take a look at the situation of the troops.
At that time, the Red First Army had about 10,000 people, the Red 15th Army had 7,000 people, and the Red 28th Army had less than 1,500 people.
The attrition was so severe that it would have to be expanded to develop the troops.
However, the entire base area of northern Shaanxi, with an area of 40,000 square kilometers, has a population of more than 400,000, which fundamentally limits the Red Army's replenishment of troops.
Then there is the northern Shaanxi base area, which is relatively barren, you don't look at our base area there are more than twenty counties, but the overall economy is relatively backward, traffic is blocked, and external ties are a big problem.
If we don't say anything else, let's just say that the Kuomintang newspapers at that time were very happy when they saw us enter northern Shaanxi. According to their account during that time, if the Red Army could survive in the base areas of northern Shaanxi, it would be an extremely absurd thing.
Even if this is the case, Chiang Kai-shek, seeing that we have entered northern Shaanxi, is called a tiger and a tiger, and he has begun to gather the combat strength around northern Shaanxi, form a five-province coalition army, and launch another encirclement and suppression.
Therefore, in history, we have to make another choice, where to develop. At that time, there was also no unity of opinion, some said to go to Inner Mongolia, with their backs to the Soviet Union, and some said to resist the attack of the Northeast Army to the south, block Chiang Kai-shek's passage to attack northern Shaanxi, and consolidate and develop the base areas in northern Shaanxi.
Finally, we decided to develop eastward and enter Shanxi and Yan Xishan to compete, after all, he also had his share in the five-province coalition army, which was the historical Red Army Crusade.
Therefore, the main topic says that we did not go to Shanxi to open up a base area, which has no basis.
So why should we develop a base area in Shanxi?
First, he was near. If you stand on the edge of the Yellow River and look east, it is Shanxi.
Second, this Shanxi has always been a place where soldiers and families must fight, it is a transportation hub in northwestern North China, and Shanxi is mountainous, and it has the meaning of attacking and retreating.
Let's not say anything else, during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, it was the State of Zhao that looked at the Six Kingdoms that could compete with the State of Qin alone, not only because the military value of the State of Zhao was outstanding, but also because the geographical location was also very important, and the place where the State of Zhao made its fortune was Taiyuan.
Third, Shanxi is a good place, since Yan Xishan became the king of Shanxi, there have not been many wars in Shanxi, coupled with Yan Xishan's operation in recent years, this economic development is needless to say.
Let's not mention anything else, just take Yan Xishan's military industry, small steel cannons, submachine guns, etc. This can be built by themselves, although it is worse than the original version, but there is something better than nothing.
When Yan Xishan went out to give gifts, they were all sent out with submachine guns as gifts.
Let's not talk about the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, when the Japanese invaded Shanxi, Yan Xishan was anxious, breaking the Kuomintang tradition of not replenishing weapons for our Eighth Route Army and only replenishing ammunition, and gave us two hundred submachine guns in one breath, with the purpose of allowing us to enter the anti-Japanese battlefield as soon as possible.
Speaking of the real thing, then we will not talk about submachine guns, it is good to have an old sleeve in hand, after all, the average of four people in our Eighth Route Army is not evenly enough to have a gun, most of them hold large blades, red guns!
So from this point, you can see the strong financial resources of Shanxi.
Fourth, Shanxi's population is dense, which is a good condition for war recruitment.
Moreover, in the 1930s, the Red Twenty-fourth Army, which was established after the guerrillas of the Red Army in western Jin and the Jin Dynasty and the Peaceful Mutiny, was established in Shanxi, so the mass base was guaranteed.
And finally? As we said before, Yan Xishan joined the five-province coalition army, and he could send five brigades to plague our northern Shaanxi base area. If we enter Shanxi like this, you will see that Yan Xishan and we are not in a hurry, and he will immediately have to let those five brigades return to help. This can greatly alleviate the pressure on the base areas in northern Shaanxi, and there is so much meaning in encircling Wei to save Zhao.
You see, the benefits of entering Shanxi are manifold, and of course we have to go.
Moreover, if you look at the history, you will find that there is really a problem with the combat effectiveness of Yan Xishan's troops, and if we don't say anything else, Yan Xishan went out of Shanxi to fight a war, and where did he win the war? Almost none, and every time it was beaten back to Shanxi.
Whatever you say, right? This eastern expedition to Shanxi is settled.
Don't you say that our thirteen thousand troops, the Yellow River defense line that protected Yan Xishan, began to fight against 20,000 people on Yan Xishan, and there were more than a thousand high forts and bunkers of various kinds.
On February 17, 1936, the Red Army of the Eastern Crusade entered a state of war, and by February 20, more than 40 people of the 223rd Regiment of the 75th Division had broken through the Yellow River defense line.
This way down, more than an hour of fighting, what fortress let us give a pot of stew, the Red Fifteenth Army this smoothly came to the Yellow River, all the way to fight.
You said that Yan Xishan also bothered to think about it, dividing three lines of defense, large and small, dividing into six war zones, and he did not resist our attack.
In short, this crusade was quite smooth, Yan Xishan was really unable to hold on to the final beating, and those who were panicked could not find the north, so this sent a distress signal to Chiang Kai-shek.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was very happy, after all, you are like Yan Xishan, the head of the local army, the local control is quite tight, under normal circumstances, Chiang Kai-shek's troops can not enter. This time, Yan Xishan took the initiative to invite Chiang Kai-shek's troops into Shanxi, and if he went in, it would be basically impossible for Chiang Kai-shek to withdraw his troops.
So we saw that Chiang Kai-shek had prepared ten divisions of troops, let Chen Cheng lead the troops, and entered Shanxi.
At the same time? Chiang Kai-shek still did not give up the encirclement and suppression of our base area in northern Shaanxi, and mobilized Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army and Yang Hucheng's Northwest Army to attack northern Shaanxi.
Then the question arises, if at this point in time, if we continue the Eastern Crusade, the results of the battle must be there, after all, whether it is Yan Xishan or Chen Cheng, we have not fought, that is not a defeated general?
But if such a fight continues, it is bound to form a big civil war. At this point in time, the Japanese are looking at us with a tiger's eye, he is eager for us to fight, he will easily encroach on our land.
So in the end, only the Japanese can be happy, can we let them take advantage of this bargain? No, you can't!
At that time, then, our Communist Party raised the issue of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front.
And Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng did not want to fight, after all, the foreign enemy was right in front of them, so if we did this united front work against Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, the effect would be quite good.
Therefore, at this point in time, the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army attacking our northern Shaanxi base area have stopped.
Then, based on these circumstances, our eastern crusade stopped, and we crossed the Yellow River in the west and returned to the base area in northern Shaanxi.
Therefore, our Red Army's crusade was victorious, but it did not establish a large base area, which was caused by the development of the situation at that time.
But at the time of the Crusade, we expanded the ranks of the Red Army, enlarged more than eight thousand people, raised half a million yuan, organized more than thirty local guerrillas, and established Soviet power.
This laid a certain foundation for the future resistance against Japan.
After that, everyone knew that after the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek finally put away his careful thinking, and the Kuomintang and the Communist Party entered the second cooperation.
Our Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and after the establishment of the Eighth Route Army, it launched a war of resistance against the Japanese.
And this time, Yan Xishan was a little undesirable at the beginning, and we asked for some supplies to be replenished, saying that it was difficult to do anything. As a result, the Japanese called over, Yan Xishan could not hold on, turned around and took the initiative to send us a million rounds of bullets of two models, plus two hundred submachine guns, so that we could hurry up.
That's the last word.