Among the local factions in various parts of the Republic of China, the Northwest Army has a pivotal historical position, from the Beiyang melee to the War of Resistance, the Northwest Army has always been full of battles. How powerful was the Northwest Army in the past? Relying on Feng Yuxiang's ability to manage the army and the support of the Soviet Union and other countries, it increased to 250,000 during the Northern Expedition, and at its peak, it had nearly 500,000 troops. But such a "strong army" that could wrestle with the Northern Expeditionary Army collapsed after the end of the Central Plains War and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Why did the once glorious Northwest Army quickly disintegrate after the Great War in the Central Plains? What was the end of Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army?
The Northwest Army disintegrated
In fact, although we are accustomed to calling Feng Yuxiang's troops the Northwest Army, in fact, their official title is the "National Army", but because Feng Yuxiang used to be the military and political supervisor of the Northwest, they were named the "Northwest Army".
Before the Zhifeng War, Feng Yuxiang was just a general under Wu Peifu, relying on the cooperation with Zhang Zuolin to defeat Wu Peifu and unite with Zhang Zuolin to control the north. Although he later fell out with Zhang Zuolin and was beaten badly by the Northeast Army, after a short break and the help of the Soviet Union, the Northwest Army integrated all forces and returned to its peak before the Central Plains War. However, because in the Central Plains War, in the face of the morale-boosting Northern Expeditionary Army, Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army and Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army were defeated all the way, and Feng Yuxiang himself was forced to go into the wilderness.
After the Great War in the Central Plains, the Northwest Army led by Feng Yuxiang completely disintegrated and split into four major factions, so where did the Northwest Army go after the defeat? In fact, these Northwest Army units were nothing more than three directions.
The first was incorporated by the National Government.
After the Great War in the Central Plains, all the units of the Northwest Army were basically scattered, but most of them chose to change the Nationalist Government or were absorbed by other warlord forces. For example, Song Zheyuan, one of Feng Yuxiang's four King Kongs, chose to defect to the Nationalist Government after the Central Plains War, and was retained an army, that is, the 29th Army in Beijing and Tianjin. Before the 77 Incident, it had been used as a forward position to resist the Japanese army's military expansion in North China, with a peak number of 100,000. After the start of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japan, the 29th Army was dispersed, Zhang Zizhong and Liu Ruming's troops were incorporated into other units, and the 29th Army also made a lot of sacrifices in the War of Resistance, Zhang Zizhong, Tong Linge and Zhao Dengyu and others sacrificed their lives for the country.
In addition to the 29th Army, there is also Sun Lianzhong, who was famous in the Anti-Japanese War, and Sun Lianzhong made great achievements in the famous Battle of Taierzhuang and the Battle of Songhu. Especially Taierzhuang. Many people thought that it was the Gui Army (commanded by Li Zongren), but it was the Sichuan Army and the Northwest Army that actually contributed the most, and in this battle, the prestige of the Northwest Army was completely displayed.
In addition to the lineage, Yang Hucheng's 17th Route Army, which was born in the Northwest Army in the early years, also accepted the reorganization of the Nationalist Government, and the 7th Army and the 38th Army under his command were all anti-Japanese iron armies, especially Sun Weiru's 38th Army can be said to be the elite of the Nationalist Army's miscellaneous army, and repeatedly repelled the Japanese attack in Zhongtiao Mountain in the Anti-Japanese War.
Of course, there are also slippery tough guys in the Northwest Army, who often sabotage the united front of the Anti-Japanese War.
For example, Feng Yuxiang was first one of the thirteen Taibao, Han Fuqu and Shi Yousan. Han Fuqu was often repeated in the Anti-Japanese War, and the battle was still in the style of a warlord, focusing on preserving strength, and was finally shot directly by Lao Jiang on the grounds of not obeying orders. Shi Yousan, the "defected general", was a famous wall-to-head grass, who colluded with the Japanese in North China in his early years, although he once insisted on resisting Japan and cooperating with our army, but finally chose to fight with our army, and was finally executed by his unbearable subordinate Gao Shuxun by the Yellow River.
In addition, Pang Bingxun was also not guaranteed in the late season, and he fought very vigorously in Taierzhuang that year, and directly hardened the fifth division of the Japanese "Steel Army". In the subsequent Anti-Japanese War, he was captured and then accepted the conditions of the Japanese to become a puppet army, and Sun Dianying was also repeated, but he fought against the people in the early stage of the anti-Japanese war and later period, and was finally captured by our army in the War of Liberation.
The second active uprising joined our army.
Of course, in addition to those who defected to the national army, there were also some people who chose to join our army, mainly when Feng Yuxiang received assistance from the Soviet Union, so that I entered the Northwest Army in large numbers and slowly sprouted. For example, Dong Zhentang and other troops who rebelled in Ningdu were actually the 26th Army Sun Lianzhong's first unit, and they later became the Red Fifth Army of our army, known as the "iron guard". In the War of Liberation, Gao Shuxun, who had cooperated with our army many times, resolutely chose to revolt in 1946, joined our army, and belonged to Chen Geng's column.
In addition to the troops of the 26th Route Army, Zhang Kexia and He Jifeng of the rest of the 29th Army have always been underground party members of our army, during the Huaihai Campaign, the third appeasement area led by them led the 77th Army and the 59th Army adapted from the Northwest Army in Taierzhuang to revolt on the battlefield, which directly led to a gap in the defense line of the National Army, Huang Botao retreated, and the Huaihai Battle broke out.
Why disintegrate so easily
In fact, after the Central Plains War, not only Feng Yuxiang, but even Yan Xishan and others also went into the wilderness, but even Yan Xishan still firmly controlled the Jin Sui army, and even Li Bai, who suffered a defeat, still controlled Guangxi. Then why did only the Northwest Army disintegrate after the Central Plains War?
First of all, it is also the composition of the Northwest Army, earlier Feng Yuxiang relied on the "Five Tiger Generals": Lu Zhonglin, Zhang Zhijiang, Song Zheyuan, Zheng Jinsheng, Liu Yufen and the Thirteenth Taibao: Sun Liangcheng, Sun Lianzhong, Tong Linge, Liu Ruming, Han Fuqu, Shi Yousan, Zhang Weixi, Guo Zhigang, Wen Chenglie, Cheng Xixian, Ge Jinzhang, Zhao Xipin, Han Duofeng and others. Subsequently, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue and others joined, and even Feng Yuxiang also incorporated the troops of Guo Songling and Zhang Zhang Zongchang.
Therefore, the troops have become more mixed, and to put it bluntly, everyone is an alliance that huddles together to keep warm, not who leads whom. Don't look at the people who are all united around Feng Yuxiang, there are nearly 500,000 troops, but once they encounter difficulties, everyone will definitely be scattered, and these people themselves are all won over by Feng Yuxiang with interests, not to mention loyalty.
Secondly, it is also Feng Yuxiang's personal reasons.
Feng Yuxiang always likes to treat the army as a "family", trying to impress these people with education and playing emotional cards. But after these people's power began to grow and they became big members of the party, it would definitely be difficult for them to win people's hearts just by relying on friendship. In fact, Feng Yuxiang's defeat in the Central Plains War was still due to his own people. In the war, Han Fuqu and Shi Yousan were bought by Lao Jiang respectively, Yang Hucheng and others even started a war with their old colleagues, and Ji Hongchang also abandoned him. Therefore, he was alone and could not go into the wilderness with electricity.
In the end, there is the reason for strength.
At that time, Shaanxi, Gansu and the Great Northwest had poor harvests for three consecutive years during the Central Plains War, and these places were the birthplace of the Northwest Army. Even if Feng Yuxiang can paint cakes again, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice. And these people couldn't stand the temptation of the wealthy Yan Xishan, Lao Jiang and other forces, so they naturally broke away from the camp of the Northwest Army one after another.