Participated in the first, second, and third anti-"encirclement and suppression"
In October 1930, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 11 divisions and 2 brigades with a total of more than 100,000 troops, organized the army, navy, and air force, with Lu Diping, chairman of Jiangxi Province and commander-in-chief of the Ninth Route Army, as commander-in-chief, and Zhang Huizan, commander of the 18th Division, as the commander-in-chief of the front. Under the guidance of Mao Zedong's strategic principle of "luring the enemy deep into the base area and annihilating the enemy in the base area," the main forces of the Red Army retreated to the central Soviet area one after another, waiting for the opportunity to break the enemy.
On December 29, Zhang Huizan, the commander-in-chief of the enemy's front, led the headquarters of the 18th Division and two brigades to the Longgang area and continued to attack eastward. The commander of the Red Army immediately made up his mind to capture Longgang and annihilate the enemy. According to the deployment, the main force of our Red Fourth Army troops advanced upwards and downwards. On December 30, Zhang Huizan's headquarters was attacked by the vanguard of the Red Third Army Corps east of Longgang and west of Xiaobie, and our Red Fourth Army and the Red Third Army cut off the enemy's road to the south along Zhangjiache on the north side of Longgang, and at this time, the Red Army had surrounded the enemy. After two hours of fierce fighting, nearly 10,000 enemies were annihilated in one fell swoop, more than 9,000 weapons of various kinds were seized, and Zhang Huizan, the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang army's front, was captured alive, and other units of the Kuomintang army retreated one after another. Taking advantage of the victory, the Red Army transferred its troops to pursue eastward on January 1, 1931, and annihilated more than one brigade of the 50th Army in Dongshao on the 3rd, seizing more than 2,000 pieces of various weapons, and winning the first victory against "encirclement and suppression". It was the first time for me to take part in such a big battle, and I had a good temper in this anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign.
After the failure of the Kuomintang army's first "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army's First Front Army and the Central Revolutionary Base Area, in March 1931, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized about 200,000 people from 18 divisions and three brigades, appointed He Yingqin, Minister of Military Affairs, and concurrently served as the commander-in-chief of the army, navy, and air force, and the director of the Nanchang Battalion, to organize the second "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Front Army and the Soviet area. On 1 April, on the front from Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, to Jianning, Fujian, several hundred miles east and west, the enemy adopted the so-called tactics of "fighting steadily and steadily" and "taking every step as a battalion" to attack our Red First Army and the Soviet area in four directions. Under the command of Mao Zedong and Zhu De, more than 30,000 members of our Red Front Army adopted the strategic policy of concentrating superior forces, attacking the weak enemy first, and annihilating the enemy in each of them during the movement. The main forces of the Red Army moved from the periphery of the base area to the interior of the Soviet area, and in late April, they secretly assembled in the Donggu and Longgang areas, waiting for the opportunity to annihilate the enemy. On May 14, Wang Jinyu's 28th Division and the 1st Brigade of the 47th Division of the 5th Route entered the Piwei and Futian areas. The head of the front was determined to concentrate his forces to annihilate the enemy. The Red Army troops attacked on the left, center, and right. Our Red Fourth Army also had the 64th Division and the Red 12th Army as the right route army, seizing the two passes of Guanyin Cliff and Jiucun Ridge. At this time, I was still a soldier in the 1st Company of the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division of the Red Fourth Army. Our troops moved to the Baiyun Mountain, which is a steep mountain and easy to hide. As soon as the 1st Brigade of the 47th Division of the enemy King Jinyu appeared, we quickly attacked and opened fire fiercely, causing the enemy to be dizzy, and in the pursuit, most of the enemy was annihilated, and the remnants of the enemy fled to Shuinan. In this battle of Tomita, most of the enemy's 28th Division and most of the 1st Brigade of the 47th Division were annihilated, and more than 4,100 enemy soldiers were captured. After annihilating Wang Jinyu's troops, the Red Fourth Army, to which I belonged, participated in the battles of Baisha, Zhongguang, Guangchang, and Jianning one after another, and all of them won victories. From 16 to 31 May, in half a month, our Red Army swept more than 700 miles from the banks of the Ganjiang River to the mountainous areas of western Fujian, won five successive victories, annihilated more than 30,000 Kuomintang troops, captured more than 20,000 guns, and smashed the Kuomintang army's "encirclement and suppression" with great joy. After the victory of the second anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, our Red Fourth Army entered the area between Nanfeng, Nancheng, and Lichuan, consolidating and expanding the central revolutionary base areas.
After the failure of the second "encirclement and suppression" of the Kuomintang army, it was still unwilling, and organized the third "encirclement and suppression" again in June 1931. Chiang Kai-shek went from Nanjing to Nanchang, personally went out to serve as the commander-in-chief of the "encirclement and suppression" army, gathered more than 300,000 troops, and adopted the strategy of "driving straight in" to first break the main force of the Red First Army, and then go deep into the Soviet area to carry out "clearing and suppression" and destroy the Soviet area. When the Kuomintang army attacked the Soviet area on 1 July, the main force of our Red Fourth Army was still scattered in various places to carry out mass work, and it was not fully rested and replenished, and the total strength was only more than 30,000 people. After receiving the order to concentrate on the Soviet area, we braved the scorching heat of midsummer and marched to the area north of Yandu County in the central Soviet region, and then moved to the Xingguo area of Xingguo, where we waited for the opportunity to break the enemy. At the beginning of August, the main force of our Red Front Army was compressed by the enemy in a narrow area of several tens of miles with Xingwei as the center, and the situation was very critical. On the evening of 5 August, our Red Fourth Army and other Red Army units, taking advantage of the night, crossed the lofty mountains and mountains from the 20-mile gap between the enemy forces in Chongxian and Xingguo, secretly marched eastward, and sought out and annihilated the enemy's Third Route Attack Army, which had weak combat effectiveness. The next morning, we arrived at Liantang and Guantian areas. The enemy was not aware of our movements, and the enemy's Third Route Attack Army advanced towards Liantang and Chenggang in two directions, which was relatively isolated. In the afternoon of the same day, the 2nd Brigade of the enemy's 47th Division advanced to the vicinity of Liantang. The commander of the Red Army decided to concentrate his forces to annihilate the enemy. Our Red Fourth Army, the Red Third Army Corps, and the Red Seventh Army were responsible for the main attack, and that night, we secretly approached the enemy and launched a fierce attack at dawn on the 7th, and after a fierce battle, we annihilated the 2nd Brigade of the 47th Division and more than 1 battalion that came out from Liangcun to reconnoitre. After the battle of Liantang, our Red Fourth Army participated in the battles of Liangcun and Huangpi, and won three battles in a row. After winning three victories in three battles, our morale was high, and from September 6 to 15, we won another victory in the battles of Laoyingpun, Xingxingwei, and Fangshiling. At this point, Chiang Kai-shek's third "encirclement and suppression" was declared a failure.
After three frequent battles against "encirclement and suppression," I have been tempered and improved in all aspects. Just after winning the third victory against "encirclement and suppression," the leaders regarded me as a backbone and transferred me from the company to the telephone platoon of the 11 th Division, which had three squads, the first shift was the aircraft guarding class, the second and third shifts were the line squad, and I was a telephone operator in the second shift. This is the trust that the leadership has placed in me, and I am very happy in my heart. After arriving at the telephone platoon, in addition to completing the task of setting up wires, he also found time to go to the masses to do propaganda and mobilize young people to join the Red Army.
Xi at the Red Army School
In December 1931, the organization transferred me to the Ruijin Red Army School for special science Xi, and I was a student of the first class of engineers at the Red Army School. This military school was the first regular military school founded by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. I feel honored to have the opportunity to participate in the Xi. Our current special scientists mainly study professional and technical subjects such as Xi building cities (building various combat fortifications), demolition (destroying all obstacles of the enemy during combat), and bridge building (assembling various bridges during combat). At that time, the principal and political commissar of the Red Army School was Comrade Liu Bocheng. Our professional instructor is a Japanese student who has worked as an instructor in Japan. He is very experienced in lecturing, and each lesson starts with drawing diagrams on the blackboard before explaining in detail. After each professional lecture, the instructor also organized the students to go to Nanshan in Ruijin for field work. When working, one or several people can cooperate, everyone is emotional, not afraid of hardship, not afraid of tiredness, and they don't care about the blood blisters on their hands. Because our students have a low level of education, we adopt the method of teaching with less lectures and more field operations, so that our students can understand quickly and easily grasp. The teacher who served as the teacher of our political culture class was surnamed Lei. I have a low culture and have a hard time learning Xi professional skills. Therefore, I made up my mind to study Xi Xi culture in my spare time, in addition to conscientiously studying military technology. This enrollment not only Xi military technology, but also improved cultural level. After five months of intense Xi, he graduated in May 1932. At this time, I changed from a member of the Communist Youth League to a full member of the Communist Party of China. I think it's the biggest honor I've ever had. After graduating from Xi, we returned to the First Regiment with more than ten cadets, including infantry, artillery, and engineers. I was assigned to the 1st Red Army (the Red 4th Army fought Zhangzhou and returned to Jiangxi to be reorganized into the 1st Army). Corps Commander Lin Biao, Political Commissar Nie Rongzhen, Chief of Staff Chen Qihan, and Director of the Political Department Zhu Rui. Chief of Staff Chen Qihan talked to me and assigned me to be a staff member (staff officer) in the Transportation Section of the Corps Headquarters, and I expressed my obedience to the organization's assignment. He also encouraged me to work hard and apply what I have learned in my work. The main task of the Traffic Section is to manage radio communications and investigate the route of the march. At that time, there was no section chief in the traffic section, and the work of the section was in charge of the section member Feng, and Comrade Su Jing was in charge of the drawing work in the department at that time.
Hit the water mouth, attack Le'an
After graduating from the Ruijin Red Army School and returning to the 1st Army Corps for assignment, we immediately participated in the Battle of Shuikou. In May 1932, most of the 19 regiments commanded by Yu Hanmou of the Guangdong Army invaded southern Jiangxi and occupied Ganzhou, Dakang, Dayu, Shangyou, Yangmei Temple, Xinfeng and other places, posing a serious threat to the southern Jiangxi Soviet area. At this time, our 1st Army Corps had been organized into the East Route Army of the Central Red Army, and at the end of May, it was assembled in the Longyan area of Fujian. At the beginning of June, after receiving the order to defend the southern Jiangxi Soviet area, he set out from the concentration area and marched westward and returned to southern Jiangnan. At this time, the weather was very hot, the troops were very tired on the march, and they encountered many difficulties due to various diseases. But everyone heard that it was to defend the Gannan base area and encourage each other, and their emotions were very high. In late June, the troops entered the Anyuan and Xinfeng areas in southern Jiangxi to stand by.
After returning to southern Jiangnan, the number of the Red Army was restored. Comrade Zhu De concurrently served as commander-in-chief, and Comrades Ye Jianying and Wang Jiaxiang concurrently served as chief of staff and director of the Political Department of the Front Army respectively. Comrade Mao Zedong acted with the army and presided over the policy as chairman of the government. The Red Fourth Army was changed to the First Army Corps, with Lin Biao as the corps commander and Nie Rongzhen as the political commissar.
In the early morning of July 9, the Red Fifth Army launched an attack on the enemy at Shuikou, and in the afternoon, the 1st Army and the 12th Army urgently rushed to Shuikou to reinforce the 5th Army Corps. At dawn on the 10th, our army arrived at the Shuikou battlefield, that is, it joined the Fifth Army Corps and the 3rd and 6th Independent Divisions to bravely charge and kill the enemy. Our army fought very bravely, and many comrades fought hand-to-hand with the enemy with broadswords, and the sound of killing on the battlefield shook the sky for a while, causing heavy losses to the enemy. However, in the end, because the three army corps failed to arrive, the enemy and our forces were basically equal, and only the enemy was routed and fled back to Nanxiong. After this lesson, the Guangdong enemy completely withdrew from the base areas in southern Gansu. After a long time, we did not dare to act rashly and recklessly, so that our base areas in southern Jiangxi were able to stabilize, and this was very beneficial to our subsequent operations on the northern front. The Battle of Shuikou is a famous battle. The casualties on both sides and the tragic battlefield scene were rare during the Second Civil Revolutionary War. It can be said that corpses are everywhere and blood is flowing like a river. Some troops camped there at night, only to find out at dawn the next day that they had been sleeping with the corpses. Some comrades were thirsty at night, and when they touched the ditch to drink water, there was a smell of blood, and the next day at dawn, the water in the ditch was red.
After the Battle of Shuikou, in mid-August, our 1st Corps participated in the Battle of Ta Le'an. Le'an defended the enemy by two regiments of the 80th Brigade of Sun Lianzhong's 27th Division, and strong fortifications were built around the city. Lin Biao served as the commander-in-chief of the siege, and political commissar Nie Rongzhen also participated in the command, and the first corps undertook the main attack task. On the morning of August 16, the battle began, when the city of Le'an was surrounded by our troops on all sides, and enemy planes came to harass it that morning. At this time, Lin Biao ordered the artillery company to knock down the enemy's pillbox as soon as possible, and Company Commander Zhao personally shot at it, accurately hitting all the shells on the enemy's pillbox, and the enemy desperately fled out; on the other hand, he ordered the guard company and our accompanying personnel to use infantry weapons to hit the planes, and the long and short guns opened fire at the same time, knocking down the enemy's low-altitude planes, and the other planes turned around and fled. This is the first time that infantry has hit planes in our army. At this time, the besieging troops set up ladders and charged bravely, and soon opened the gates of the city, rushed into the city, and ended the battle by noon. More than 3,000 people from two regiments and another battalion of the 80th Brigade of the 27th Division were wiped out, from the brigade commander and regiment commander to the miscellaneous personnel, and none of them escaped. The comrades were very happy, and the battle was fought with great joy.
Participated in the Fourth and Fifth Anti-"Encirclement and Suppression" Campaigns
In February 1933, Chiang Kai-shek gathered 500,000 troops and personally concurrently served as the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi's "suppression of the communists". After the Red Army won three victories against "encirclement and suppression," the Soviet area continued to expand, and the Red Army grew to 70,000 troops. At that time, there was a famous saying in our Central Red Army: the first army corps was "outflanked", the third army corps was "bayonet", and the fifth army corps was "sabre", and this was the characteristic and fighting style of our Central Red Army. At this time, Mao Zedong had been squeezed out by Wang Ming's "left-leaning" adventurism and left the leadership of the army. Under the command of Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, the Red Front Army followed the experience of the previous three anti-"encirclement and suppression" operations and adopted the ambush tactics of the large corps to successively carry out ambush battles at Huangpi and Caotaigang, annihilating the enemy's 11th and 52nd divisions and winning the fourth anti-"encirclement and suppression" victory. Before this anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, I was transferred from the Communications Section of the Headquarters of the First Army Corps to the Engineer Company of the First Army Corps as an instructor. The task of the engineer company was to follow the advance guard to build roads in the mountains, build bridges in the water, and break down obstacles to open up the road to charge. In both ambushes, our engineer company took part in them, and each time they were at the forefront of the battle, carried out the tasks expected of the engineers, and participated in the battle.
In October 1933, Chiang Kai-shek gathered 1 million troops and more than 200 planes to launch the fifth "encirclement and suppression" of our central Soviet region. The enemy adopted the fortress tactic of "taking the battalion step by step", building pillboxes while advancing, and pressing on our central Soviet area step by step. By this time, the number of troops in our Red Army had grown to 100,000. At the beginning of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, the Red Army and the people in the Soviet area faced serious difficulties due to the comprehensive implementation of the "leftist" line represented by Wang Ming in the central Soviet region. At that time, the slogans put forward were: "Crush the counter-revolutionary offensive with a revolutionary offensive," "keep the enemy out of the country," and not allow the enemy to occupy an inch of land in the Soviet zone. It was also proposed to militarily use pillboxes against pillboxes to destroy the enemy in a "short assault". As a result of the strategy and tactics of passive defense, we are in a situation of being passively beaten. In this anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, our engineers successively fought many battles, such as Yungai Mountain, Daxiong Pass, Guangchang, Jianning, and Xingguo. During this period, in my engineer company, in order to complete the so-called "fortress to fortress" tactics of the superiors, I repaired fortifications and pillboxes every day. According to the terrain, the 1.8-meter-deep dug and covered with trees and grass seemed to be relatively strong, but in fact it could not withstand the bombardment of enemy aircraft and artillery fire. The bunkers built by the enemy were all made of straw, and they were all built on the ground, and there was one every two or three hundred meters. We don't have enough artillery, let alone planes, to destroy the enemy's pillboxes. The enemy advanced with the fortress, advancing a little bit a day, as a result of which the base areas were occupied by the enemy, and the Red Army was forced to withdraw from the base areas.
The final battle of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign in which I participated was a defensive battle in the Xingguo area. In order to prevent the enemy from entering Xingguo City, the higher authorities ordered our engineer company to blow up a bridge leading to Xingguo City. We were instructed to blow up the bridge as soon as our combat units had crossed the river. Lianli decided that I would lead a squad to carry out this task. One night at about 10 o'clock, we set off with explosives. As I walked, I thought, this is the first time I have undertaken such a blasting task, how can I bomb it? When we came to the bridge, I told the whole class to stop and rest for a while, and I went to the bridge to reconnoiter first. It's a big stone bridge, and I chose a hole in the middle of the bridge and decided to blow it up. I went back to the bridge, arranged for everyone to tie up the explosives, plug in the fuse, and put the explosives under the pre-selected bridge hole. I said that when the troops crossed the bridge, they would set fire to the bridge. At about 3 o'clock in the morning, all the units of our Red Army passed the bridge. Ten minutes later, I ordered the fuse to be lit, and then dispersed to observe in concealment, only to hear a bang, the big stone bridge was blown up, and the enemy could not cross the bridge if they wanted to. After we successfully completed the blasting mission, we immediately rushed back to the company, and then the troops moved to Ruijin.
[Guo Yanlin, a native of Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province, joined the guerrillas in 1929, joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1930, joined the Communist Youth League, transferred to the Communist Party of China in 1932, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1961. He used to be the deputy political commissar of the railway soldiers. 】