After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party once again reached cooperation to jointly resist the invaders and Japanese invaders. In this way, the ranks of the Red Army that arrived in northern Shaanxi were reorganized into the Eighth Route Army. Chiang Kai-shek, in order to reduce the establishment of our army, gave only three divisions.
The Red Army and the Red 15th Army were merged into the 115th Division, with about 15,000 men. The Red Second Front Army was reorganized into 120 divisions, with about 13,000 people. The Red Fourth Front Army was reorganized into 129 divisions, with about 11,000 people. The remaining troops were later reorganized into the Yan'an Left-behind Corps, with Xiao Jinguang as the commander.
At the beginning of its establishment, the main leaders of the 115th Division were division commander Lin Zong, deputy division commander Nie Rongzhen, chief of staff Zhou Kun, and director of the Political Training Office Luo Ronghuan.
The main leaders of the 120th Division, division commander He Laozong, deputy division commander Xiao Ke, chief of staff Zhou Shidi, and director of the Political Training Office Guan Xiangying.
The main leader of the 129th Division, the division commander Comrade Bocheng, and the deputy division commander Xu Xiangqian. Chief of Staff Ni Zhiliang and Director of the Political Training Office Zhang Hao.
These generals were the main leaders of the three divisions under the jurisdiction of the Eighth Route Army. Before that, they were all high-ranking generals in the ranks of the Red Army, and they held very high positions. In particular, the Big Four from the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army had a high status in the ranks of the Red Army.
Comrade Bo Cheng, the commander of the 129th Division, served as chief of the General Staff of the Red Army before 1937, and received a good military education, possessed a high knowledge of military theory, and rich experience in actual combat. During the Long March, the right-hand man by the side of the great man jointly led the Red Army team out of danger and completed the arduous road of the Long March.
Xu Xiangqian, the deputy commander of the 129th Division, was also very high in office before 1937, leading many troops, and was the military commander in charge during the Agrarian Revolutionary War, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army.
You must know that at the beginning of its establishment, there were three division commanders and three deputy division commanders under the jurisdiction of the Eighth Route Army, and before 1937, only two of them served as commanders-in-chief of the Front Army, and one was the division commander of the 120th Division, Mr. He, who was the commander-in-chief of the Red Second Front Army.
Who had the greatest influence among these two commanders-in-chief of the front armies during the period of the Agrarian Revolutionary War?
In its heyday, the Red Fourth Front Army militarily smashed the counter-encirclement and suppression of 200,000 Sichuan troops and eliminated more than 80,000 enemy troops. This move played a key role in consolidating and expanding the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area. At the same time, it also ushered in its highlight moment for the Red Fourth Front Army, with a total strength of 80,000, surpassing the Central Red Army at that time.
At the same time, Commander-in-Chief Xu was also a famous Red Army general who created the most classic battles during the Agrarian Revolutionary War. For example, the Battle of Huang'an, the Battle of Shanghuang, as well as the Battle of Sujiabu, Lingjiang and other battles, were all from the hands of this famous general.
Ni Zhiliang, chief of staff of the 129th Division, before 1937, served as chief of staff of the Red Fourth Front Army, part-time president of the Red Army University, and was a backbone member of the Fourth Front Army. Everyone may not be very familiar with Ni Zhiliang, but he is the highest-ranking division chief of staff.
Zhou Kun, chief of staff of the 115th Division, held the highest position during the Agrarian Revolutionary War as the commander of the Red Eighth Army.
The situation of Zhou Shidi, chief of staff of the 120th Division, was quite unexpected, during the Nanchang Uprising, he was the division commander and the backbone of the rebel army. If he continues to develop according to this position, it is not possible that during the Anti-Japanese War, he can also become the deputy commander of a division of the Eighth Route Army. It's a pity that creation makes people, due to various reasons, Zhou Shidi once lost contact with the organization, and when he joined the party again, everything had to start from scratch.
Zhang Hao, director of the Political Training Office of the 129th Division, also has a great background, he is the elder brother of the commander of the 115th Division, Mr. Lin, and he is also the revolutionary guide of Mr. Lin. At the same time, Zhang Hao was also one of the early main leaders of our party, an outstanding leader of the labor movement, and the main founder of the party organization in the Huangshi region.
Zhang Guotao wanted to go south and start anew, but refused to lead the Red Fourth Front Army to the north. At this time, Zhang Hao, a veteran and representative of the Comintern, came forward to persuade Zhang Guotao to let him go north to join the teacher.
On June 6, 1936, Zhang Guotao was forced to announce the abolition of the Second Central Committee and go north to join the division. As the boss of the Fourth Front Army, Zhang Guotao was very bullish at that time, and he didn't listen to anyone, including Zhu Maozhou, and Zhang Hao was able to change Zhang Guotao's mind as soon as he came forward. It is enough to see that Zhang Hao's status and prestige in the party at that time were very high.
If it weren't for the poor physical condition, maybe during the Liberation War, Liu Deng's army, which made the enemy frightened, have to be renamed Liu Zhang Dajun.
On March 6, 1942, Zhang Hao died of illness.
The Big Four of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, before 1937, were all very high-ranking and were the best military and political officers in the ranks of the Red Army.