In October 1936, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Fronts of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army met in Gansu and Jiangtai Bun (present-day Ningxia), north of Jingning, posing a serious threat to Kuomintang rule in the northwestern region. For two years, Chiang Kai-shek, who had been doing everything possible to encircle and intercept the Red Army, was very panicked. Therefore, despite the repeated slogans of the Chinese Communist Party "Stop the Civil War and Unite to Resist Japan," Chiang Kai-shek continued to adhere to the civil war policy of counter-offensive, mobilizing five corps of the Kuomintang Army to launch an attack on the Red Army in an attempt to annihilate the Red Army in one fell swoop.
In order to smash the enemy's offensive and promote the formation of the anti-Japanese national united front, the General Headquarters of the former enemy of the Red Army, in accordance with the instructions of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, decided to concentrate its main forces on the 1st Army of the Kuomintang Army (commander Hu Zongnan) to deal a annihilating blow; pinning down the 3rd and 37th armies with one force and attacking them one after another; The 67th Army of the Northeast Army actively carried out united front work to delay its advance.
At the end of October, all units of the Red Army moved east one after another from the Talachi and Haiyuan areas, looking for opportunities to annihilate the enemy. By November 15, they entered the area east of Mengcheng, Tianshuibao, and Yuwangbao. At the same time, the 37th Army of the Kuomintang Army was preparing to cross the Yellow River west to "hunt down" the Hexi troops of the Red Army; The 67th Army of the Northeast Army and the Cavalry Corps were dissuaded by the Red Army and advanced slowly; After the 3rd Army entered and occupied Tongxin City, it also stopped advancing; There was only the arrogant Hu Zongnan's 1st Army, with its own excellent weapons and equipment, did not pay attention to the Red Army at all, and went deep into the Yuwang area alone.
The main force of the Red Army was ordered to quickly approach the mountain castle to counter the attack of the Kuomintang army. Under the instructions of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the military and civilians of the whole Soviet region mobilized and carried out the clearance of the wilderness. As a result, Huzong could not find food in the south, causing a food shortage, and calling Chiang Kai-shek several times to complain about it. Chiang Kai-shek ordered him to quickly occupy Dingbian and Yanchi to solve the problem of sustenance. The mountain castle is located in the middle of Hongde and Sweetwater Fort north of Huanxian County, with ravines and complex terrain, which is very conducive to ambushing large troops.
On the 17th, Huzong's southern 1st Army advanced towards Dingbian and Yanchi in three ways. At 11 a.m. on the same day, the 4th and 31st Armies of the Red Army defeated the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division of the Central Road of the enemy army in the area west of Mengcheng and Sweetwater Fort, killing and wounding more than 600 of its men and shooting down an enemy plane. On the 19th, Peng Dehuai, the former commander-in-chief of the Red Army, decided to concentrate superior forces in accordance with the instructions of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and annihilate the 78th Division of the Kuomintang Army, which was advancing alone towards the mountain castle.
On the 20th, the 78th Division of the Kuomintang Army on the right side entered Zhanshan Castle, Xiaotaizi, Fengtai Fort and other places, and sent two companies along the mountain castle to Hongdecheng Avenue to reconnoiter south, and was suddenly attacked by a part of the 1st Army south of Balipu, most of them were annihilated, and a few fled back to the mountain castle. On the afternoon of the 21st, the Red 15th Army and the 2nd Division of the 1st Red Army attacked the sentinel horse camp northwest of the mountain castle, cutting off its retreat. The enemy army immediately collapsed, and one broke through. By 9 o'clock on the 22nd, the Red Army had completely annihilated more than one brigade of the enemy. At the same time, the Red 28th Army defeated the First Brigade of the First Division of Hu Zongnan's faction attacking in the direction of Yanchi near Hongjingzi, and the rest of the enemy retreated to the west, and the Battle of Mountain Castle ended victoriously.
The Battle of Mountain Castle was the first major military victory after the three main forces of the Red Army joined forces, and it was also the last battle at the end of the Long March. The victory in the Battle of Mountain Castle dealt a heavy blow to the southern part of Chiang Kai-shek's Huzong, forcing the Kuomintang to stop its attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu region, strengthening the unity and unity of the three fronts, and promoting the formation of the anti-Japanese national united front.
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