The commander of the Red Army, who could not be found in Baidu, lost all his information after his death, but the enemy remembered it for life. In that turbulent era, countless revolutionary pioneers threw their heads and shed their blood for their ideals. Some of them are famous, but others are obscured by the dust of history. Today, we are going to tell about a Red Army division commander who died in the revolutionary struggle, and although his name is almost unknown, his spirit and deeds are immortal. Who is he? Why is it forgotten? What kind of historical revelations will his story reveal? Let's find out.
Brave and loyal in the bloody era - the early years of the Red Army division commander Hu Tiantao
In 1925, a new revolutionary upsurge ignited on the land of China. This craze is like a torrent, rolling up countless people with lofty ideals, among whom is a young man named Hu Tiantao.
Hu Tiantao was born in an ordinary peasant family in Xishui County, Hubei Province. The poverty of his family did not erase his yearning for freedom and equality. In 1927, in the turbulent years of the Great Revolution, Hu Tiantao was only in his early 20s, and he had already seen the darkness and decay of the old society. He witnessed the brutal massacre of the Communists and the masses of workers and peasants by the Kuomintang reactionaries, and was determined to devote himself to the cause of the communist revolution. This year, he was selfless and fearless and resolutely joined the Communist Party of China.
After joining the Communist Party, Hu Tiantao was ordered to go to the base area in northeastern Jiangxi. It was the birthplace of the Chinese Revolution and a hot land that had been baptized by war. In 1928, under the leadership of Fang Zhimin and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army set out here and opened up the first base area of the Chinese revolution. However, the Kuomintang reactionaries never stopped "encircling and suppressing" this base area. The base area in northeastern Jiangxi is constantly facing encirclement and attacks from all sides.
In this white-hot struggle environment, Hu Tiantao got a glimpse of the army for the first time, starting from an ordinary soldier, and soon stood out with his extraordinary courage and indomitable fighting spirit. He successively served as battalion commander and regiment commander, and made great achievements. By 1933, this communist from a humble background had risen to the rank of commander of the Red Army division and became the best among the commanders.
In those years, countless revolutionaries from the base areas in northeastern Jiangxi struggled to the death against the reactionaries with all their might. Under the rain of bullets, every inch of flesh and blood is condensed with the blood of revolutionary martyrs. As the commander of the Red Army, Hu Tiantao personally participated in and commanded countless bloody and cruel anti-"encirclement and suppression" operations. He practiced the revolutionary belief of "sacrificing and daring to teach the sun and the moon to change the sky" with his actions, and became a heroic figure in the history of the struggle in the northeastern Jiangxi base area.
Resolutely sacrifice to repay the revolution - Hu Tiantao joined the Red Tenth Army
In 1933, the struggle in the Central Soviet District entered its most difficult period. Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 500,000 troops and launched an unprecedented "encirclement and suppression" against the revolutionary base areas in Jiangxi. In order to alleviate the pressure on the central Soviet area, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a major decision to transfer the Red Seventh Army Corps from the Central Red Army to the advance force of the anti-Japanese army in the north, and launched guerrilla attacks deep behind enemy lines to contain Chiang Kai-shek's main force.
Although this advance team was small in number, with its extraordinary courage and determination to win when it met on a narrow road, it shouldered the heavy task of opening up new battlefields and disrupting the enemy's formation. In October 1934, the Red Seventh Army Corps immediately left the central base area and advanced to northeastern Jiangxi. In November, it joined the Red 10th Army and was organized into the Red 10th Army, and the Red 21st Division led by division commander Hu Tiantao was called up to join it.
Joining the Red Tenth Army means that Hu Tiantao will face a more brutal test of war. According to the deployment of the central government, the Red Tenth Army Corps needed to fight guerrilla attacks all the way and smash the enemy's rear heart. Along the way, they will be frantically pursued and surrounded by the elite troops of the Kuomintang, and they are in danger of being completely annihilated at any time. However, for the sake of the cause of the party and the people, Hu Tiantao and every commander and fighter of the 10th Red Army Corps did not hesitate to turn away from death and regarded death as their home.
On November 18, the Red Tenth Army officially set out and headed for Chiang Kai-shek's old base camp in Zhejiang and Anhui. Although the number of this advance contingent is small, it embodies the blood and heroic fighting spirit of revolutionary soldiers. They went forward one after another, fought wherever the enemy was, and were determined to pave the way for the revolutionary cause with their lives and blood.
While passing through the Huangshan area, Chiang Kai-shek was shocked to learn of the movements of the Red Tenth Army. He hurriedly transferred the Zhejiang-Anhui garrison and set up a "pursuit team" headed by the fierce general Wang Yaowu to block the advance of the Red Tenth Army with all his might. The two sides encountered each other in the area of Tanjiaqiao and launched a tragic bloody battle.
As the commander of the Red 21st Division, Hu Tiantao personally commanded the troops of three regiments and fought with the enemy. He strategized and outflanked his troops and dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. In the smoke of the war, Hu Tiantao personally charged into battle, sometimes appearing at the forefront, sometimes dealing with the opportunity. His heroic and fearless command style greatly boosted the morale of the troops and inspired the officers and men of the Red Army to fight bloody battles and go forward one after another.
After nearly 10 hours of fierce fighting, the Red Tenth Army finally defeated the attack of the Kuomintang "pursuit team" at the cost of heavy casualties. However, due to the continuous reinforcements of the enemy, the Red Tenth Army could not continue to advance, so it had to abandon the original plan and turn back to northeastern Jiangxi.
Although the mission was not fully completed, this battle demonstrated the extraordinary military command skills of the Red Tenth Army and Hu Tiantao. It is precisely by relying on tens of thousands of revolutionary heroes like him that they can open up bright prospects in the midst of many desperate situations.
Tan Jiaqiao fought bloodily and wrote a loyal soul
After the Battle of Tanjiaqiao, the Red Tenth Army failed to smash the enemy as it wished, so it had to readjust its strategy and move to Jiangxi. In late November 1934, Hu Tiantao led the Red 21st Division to join the Red 19th and 20th Divisions in northeastern Jiangxi, and the whole regiment was stationed in the Huaiyushan area.
Surrounded by mountains, this small city was originally a secluded hideaway. But soon after the arrival of the Red Army, Huaiyushan soon became a great wall of steel, blocking the enemy's surging attack. The two sides launched a life-and-death fight here.
Since the Battle of Tanjiaqiao, Wang Yaowu's "pursuit team" has been in hot pursuit. He transferred troops from Zhejiang and Anhui, claiming to have gathered 50,000 heavy troops, with more than 100,000 supporters, and vowed to annihilate the Red Tenth Army in one fell swoop in Huaiyushan.
In the face of the enemy's wolf-like ferocity, the officers and men of the Red Army did not flinch. As the commander of the Red 21st Division, Hu Tiantao personally commanded the troops to stand on the mountain, build fortifications, and be ready for battle. The two sides launched a fierce battle for nearly 10 days, with you coming and going, bullets and bullets, and gunsmoke billowing out.
On November 26, the enemy concentrated heavy forces and frantically bombarded the positions of the Red Army. Hu Tiantao, who had experienced a hundred battles, did not panic in the face of danger, turned defeat into victory, and personally led three regiments of the Red 21st Division to break out of the encirclement and give the enemy a fierce counterattack. He divided his troops to open the way and outflanked the enemy, so that the enemy army was surrounded by heavy hesses, and he commanded and strategized.
In the twists and turns of the battle, the two regiments of the Red Army fell into a heavy siege, and Hu Tiantao personally charged in front and took the lead. He took the lead in killing the enemy with a grenade, and his heroic and fearless image greatly boosted the morale of the Red Army officers and men, and they charged forward regardless of their bodies.
As the fierce fighting intensified, casualties on both sides continued to rise. The positions of the Red Army gradually fell into passivity due to the heavy bombardment of enemy artillery fire. Seeing that there was an opportunity to take advantage of the victory, Wang Yaowu personally commanded the battle, ordered the whole army to encircle the Red Army, and dealt a ruthless blow.
On 29 November, the enemy finally broke through the Red Army position, and the Red 10th Army was annihilated. Countless brave soldiers were burned alive in artillery fire in order not to be captured. In the end, after paying thousands of casualties, Hu Tiantao and the rest of the survivors of the Red 21st Division were captured by Wang Yaowu.
This tragic battle of Huaiyushan demonstrated Hu Tiantao's revolutionary integrity of not fearing danger and treating death as home. He watered this hot land with his blood, allowing the revolutionary spirit to take root here. To this day, Huaiyushan is still a strong fortress of the spirit of the Red Army.
Being captured by the enemy shows revolutionary sentiments
In the Battle of Huaiyushan, the Red Tenth Army was defeated and finally besieged and captured by Wang Yaowu's Kuomintang army. As the commander of the Red 21st Division, Hu Tiantao was captured alive along with a large number of Red Army soldiers under him. Hu Tiantao never imagined that he would one day fall into the hands of an enemy, but as a communist, his steadfastness to revolutionary ideals has never wavered.
Wang Yaowu knew very well that Hu Tiantao's military rank and seniority were high, and he was the backbone of the Red Army. He personally launched the interrogation of Hu Tiantao, trying to extract more information about the secrets of the Red Army from his mouth.
However, despite his hands tied behind his back and his body scarred, Hu Tiantao never confided half a word of information in favor of the enemy in the face of Wang Yaowu's severe torture. His eyes were like lightning, his expression was grim, and he used the steadfast willpower of a revolutionary fighter to resist the enemy's piercing interrogation.
"I am a member of the Communist Party, and even if I die, I will never bow down to you! In the face of Wang Yaowu's intimidation, Hu Tiantao did not flinch and responded categorically.
In the face of this tenacious Communist, Wang Yaowu's several aggressive interrogations were fruitless. I couldn't help but sigh: "I really can't understand the level of loyalty of your communists. Even if you are in such a desperate situation, you still can't shake the party flag! ＂
In fact, before being captured, Wang Yaowu had witnessed Hu Tiantao's unruly and heroic command. He admired the revolutionary spirit of this Red Army division commander, and he was also imperceptibly edified.
During the captivity, although Wang Yaowu was still under strict supervision, his attitude towards Hu Tiantao was somewhat more lenient than that of ordinary prisoners. He had heart-to-heart talks with Hu Tiantao many times, inquired about the Communist Party's views, and discussed this "fanatic" who was known to him as a rumor.
During his long and depressing life in prison, Hu Tiantao often thought about his life and looked forward to the day when the great cause of revolution could be accomplished. At the same time, he also took the opportunity to explain the political propositions of the Communist Party to Wang Yaowu and answer all kinds of doubts about this "teacher and student". As a result, a teacher-student-like relationship was formed between the two.
Despite the torture of prison, Hu Tiantao never gave up his ideals and beliefs. In that turbulent era, he was like a glimmer of light, penetrating many obstacles and illuminating the way forward for countless fellow travelers. Even in the cage of the enemy, his indomitable revolutionary spirit still burns.
The immortal revolution is iron-clad
After Hu Tiantao was captured, Wang Yaowu was helpless against the stubborn communist for a while. It stands to reason that Hu Tiantao's revolutionary experience and jealousy and hatred have long been doomed to his fate. But Wang Yaowu did not carry out the execution himself, but detained him in a hidden detention center.
This move was unexpected, but it gave Hu Tiantao a glimmer of life. In those turbulent times, human lives were at stake, and life could be ruthlessly claimed at any time. But Hu Tiantao survived here year after year, because the revolutionary spirit contained in his body touched something in Wang Yaowu's heart.
In a small, closed cell, Hu Tiantao reflected on his revolutionary journey day after day. He was meditative and often distracted. Although his hands were cuffed and he was imprisoned, his heart was never bound by shackles. His ideals, his beliefs, have become an invisible force that holds him together.
Some of the other prisoners in the detention center have gradually become mentally exhausted due to torture and torture, while others have been brutally tortured and martyred. And Hu Tiantao is still as resolute as steel and tenacious. He often encouraged his fellow travelers to show the spirit of an old revolutionary with his own example.
"Comrades, we must not be crushed by the enemy! We have to live, to think hard for the revolutionary cause, until the last breath! Hu Tiantao's words spread throughout the detention center, injecting a new revolutionary force into the soldiers whose morale was almost exhausted.
Faced with Hu Tiantao's tenacious willpower, Wang Yaowu couldn't help but be in awe again. In the depths of his heart, which he had longed for the revolutionary cause for a long time, he unconsciously admired Hu Tiantao from the bottom of his heart.
After thinking about it again and again, Wang Yaowu finally made up his mind and released Hu Tiantao in person. He admonished the old revolutionary, hoping that he would lay down his arms and live a good life when he returned home. However, Hu Tiantao glared at Wang Yaowu angrily and rebuked him as a "reactionary" and a "lackey".
In the end, Wang Yaowu had no choice but to hand over Hu Tiantao to a higher military court for trial. But on the way to the escort, the Kuomintang soldiers escorting him could not control Hu Tiantao's fanatical behavior at all. This old man in prison is like a fierce tiger waiting to pounce, roaring, showing a heroic image of iron bones.
On the way to escort him, Hu Tiantao suddenly fled in an attempt to rejoin the revolutionary cause. But he was over half a hundred years old and seriously injured, and he was soon frantically attacked by the Kuomintang military and police. In the rain of bullets, Hu Tiantao finally fell to the ground and died, and the curtain came to an end.
Hu Tiantao was loyal to the revolutionary cause all his life, brave and loyal, and composed a magnificent heroic song. Although his name has not been published, the breath of revolutionary gunfire will always burn in people's hearts.