Located in northern Shaanxi and eastern Gansu, including shaanxi-Gansu-Gansu and northern Shaanxi regions, the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region is located on the northwest plateau, far from China's political and economic center, with undulating mountains and inconvenient transportation. Here, class contradictions are sharp, warlords and warlords have been fighting for years, landlords and gentry are rampant, and the people are not happy. However, it was in this underdeveloped inland area, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, that armed struggle against the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang arose one after another: beginning in October 1927, the Qingjian Uprising led by Tang Peng, Xie Zichang, and others, the Weihua Uprising led by Liu Zhidan and Tang Peng, and the Liyi (now Xunyi) Uprising led by Lü Youqian and Xu Caisheng were held one after another. In 1930, when a severe drought occurred in Shaanxi, the Communist Party of China put forward the slogan of "it does not rain in the sky, the people are forced to rebel, the taxes and miscellaneous taxes are harshly paid, the officials force the people to rebel, if they do not rebel, it is not far from death, everyone rises up and implements communism", which has been widely responded to by the peasant masses. The armed forces led by the Communist Party of China have been fighting in various ways in the Shaanxi region.
In 1930, after suffering setbacks in the military movement, Liu Zhidan led the peasant armed forces in Shaanxi-Gansu-Bian, and after more than a year of guerrilla activities, formed the first guerrilla group directly led by the Communist Party in Shaanxi-Gansu-Gansu, namely the Southern Liang Guerrillas. The guerrillas had 3 brigades under their command, with a total of more than 300 people. The guerrillas waged struggles in the areas of Nanliang and Xihuachi, actively cracked down on the activities of the militia groups, and mobilized the masses to resist grain and donations. Edgar Snow, in his famous book Tower Red Star Shines on China, described Liu Zhidan this way:
In the mountains far northwest, another Whampoa Military Academy cadet, Liu Zhidan, laid the foundation for the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Su District, Liu Zhidan was a modern Robin Hood with hatred for the rich among the people in the mountains; among the poor, he became a savior; and among the landlords and moneylenders, he was also the whip of heaven.
From 1929 to 1932, Liu Zhidan's career was filled like a kaleidoscope of failures, setbacks, frustrations, rebellions, risks, and escapes, and he was reinstated as an official for a while. All the small detachments he led were wiped out; he was once the head of the security militia, and he used his authority to arrest and execute several landlords and old money—a strange act for a vigilante leader. The governor of Bao'an County was dismissed as a result, and Liu Zhidan and three of his subordinates fled to neighboring counties. In the county, one of General Feng Yuxiang's officers invited them to a banquet, and while they were drinking, Liu Zhidan and his friends disarmed their masters and fled to the mountain with more than twenty guns, where they quickly assembled a contingent of about three hundred men.
Finally he returned to the security guards with the head of the reward—and many of the Communists and young officers of his own brigade followed him. There, he finally formed an independent army under the red flag in 1931, occupied Bao'an and Zhongyang counties, and quickly launched activities in northern Shaanxi.
In March 1931, the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, with more than 20 Communist Party members as the backbone, established the Jinxi Guerrilla Group of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in Songzhuang, Xiaoyi County, to carry out guerrilla warfare in the Lüliang Mountains. The activities of the guerrillas in western Jin threatened the rule of the Yan People's Party in Shanxi. The Kuomintang Shanxi Provincial Government mobilized the 72nd Division and an artillery regiment to "encircle and suppress" the western Jin guerrillas by means of fortification and siege on all sides. Under the extremely difficult circumstances of the situation, the guerrillas in western Jinxi decided to reorganize their troops in accordance with the instructions of the Shanxi Provincial CPC Committee that "if the enemy dispatches powerful troops to besiege and the guerrillas are unable to gain a foothold, they can cross the Yellow River to fight a guerrilla attack in northern Shaanxi." In early September, the guerrillas in the west crossed the Yellow River in the west and reached Gaojie Village in Qingjian County.
The Cpc's Northern Shaanxi Special Committee instructed the guerrillas to mobilize the masses, expand their strength, carry out guerrilla warfare in Anding and other counties, and when necessary, carry out activities in Shaanxi-Gansu-Gansu Border, and instructed more than 30 Communists and young peasants to join the guerrillas. The guerrillas quickly grew to more than 100 people. After that, the guerrillas in western Jin, centered on stability, fought for several months in Yanchuan, Ansai, Jingbian and other areas, attacking the Kuomintang army and the landlord class, increasing their strength and posing a great threat to the rule of the Kuomintang and Shaanxi warlords in northern Shaanxi. The Nationalist army gathered more than 10 companies of troops and attacked the guerrillas with the cooperation of the militia groups. The western Jin guerrillas, under the leadership of Yan Hongyan and others, avoided the attack of the superior enemy and moved to the Shaanxi-Gansu border.
In late October, the Western Jin guerrillas and the Southern Liang guerrillas met at the Lin Jin Temple in Heshui County on the Shaanxi-Gansu border. In order to adapt to the development situation of the national anti-Japanese national salvation movement, the revolutionary armed forces after the rendezvous were reorganized, and in early 1932, they were merged into the "Northwest Anti-Imperialist Alliance Army" in Chaiqiaozi, Zhengning County, Gansu Province. Xie Zichang served as the commander-in-chief, Liu Zhidan as the deputy commander-in-chief, and Yang Chongyuan as the chief of staff. The whole army was divided into 2 detachments and 1 guard brigade, and at the same time set up the Northwest Anti-Imperialist Allied Army Committee of the COMMUNIST Party of China, with Xie Zichang as the secretary. In February 1932, the Northwest Anti-Imperialist Alliance Army was reorganized into the "Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla Group of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" and held a flag awarding ceremony. The Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas set up a general command, with Xie Zichang, Liu Zhidan, and Yan Hongyan successively serving as commanders-in-chief, and Li Jeff as political commissar. The whole team has more than 400 people and more than 300 guns. The local people and delegates warmly celebrated the birth of the first Red Army guerrilla.
The Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas attached special importance to expanding the influence of the Communist Party and the Red Army guerrillas and to carrying out revolutionary propaganda against the masses of the people. It issued the "Bulletin of the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrillas of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" drafted by Liu Zhidan himself, stating:
In order to announce the incident, the Shaanxi and Gansu guerrillas of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army fought dozens of bloody battles with the Kuomintang warlords through several provinces of Jin, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and were invincible and invincible, and wherever they went, the White Army was overwhelmed, helped the peasants in Zhengning, Shanshui, and Fuhua to establish revolutionary committees, organized Red Guards, and helped workers and peasants in Dozens of counties, including Sanyuan, Fuping, Binzhou, Liquan, Yijun, and Central China, distribute millions of grain and property among haokun landlords. The toiling masses and the Red Army guerrillas unite to fundamentally shake the rule of the Kuomintang warlords in the northwest, to promote the rapid development of the revolution in the northwest, to enable the broad masses of toiling workers and peasants and comrades of the White Army soldiers to rise up, to fight for the overthrow of the exploitation and oppression of the Kuomintang warlords, to fight for the liberation of themselves to join the Red Army guerrillas, and to support the Red Army guerrillas, and hereby declare that the fundamental task of this army is on the left:
I. Our army is the armed force of the poor workers and peasants themselves, and under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, it wages a mortal struggle against the Kuomintang warlords and will never compromise with any ruling forces. Second, the areas to which our army goes will eliminate all the Kuomintang warlord ruling organs—the county government, the district offices, the militia bureaus, and The Lizheng. Third, the extortion work of the former Kuomintang warlords to the workers and peasants to the toiling masses of all harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes is ineffective. Fourth, help the poor workers and peasants and the soldiers of the White Army to rise up and distribute the grain property and land of the rich landlords. (5) All verbal usury, debt, and contracts in all words shall be declared null and void. 6. Collect the armed forces of the White Army, militia groups, and police, and arm the peasant Red Guards to protect their own interests. 7. Establish the Shaanxi-Gansu Peasants' Workers' and Soldiers' Congress, the Soviet Government. 8. Create the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the Northwest.
The above is the fundamental task of our army, and it is hoped that the comrades of the toiling workers and peasants and the soldiers of the White Army in all localities will deeply understand and quickly coordinate with our own army to carry out their efforts, with a view to realizing it at an early date. This cloth.
Commander-in-Chief Liu Zhidan
Political Director Huang Ziwen
The second month and day of the Chinese Soviet Republic
The proclamation of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas clearly shows the nature of its proletarian revolutionary army. On February 28, the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a letter to the workers, peasants, soldiers, and all the toiling people in order to support the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, calling on the masses from all walks of life to rise up and struggle. The notice states:
Only by uniting, fighting for their own vital interests, and supporting the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas of the Red Army! Oppose the "encirclement and suppression" of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas!
Workers are to increase wages, reduce working hours, improve treatment, assemble, associate, speak, publish, strike, and be completely free.
The peasants must resist taxes and debts, distribute the food and grain of the gentry landlords and rich peasants, confiscate the land of the warlord landlords and rich peasants and distribute it equally among the poor, and arm themselves to develop guerrilla warfare!
Soldiers must settle accounts, manage accounts, are not allowed to beat and scold, must be paid regularly, have freedom to take leave, be free to discharge, elect chiefs, kill reactionary chiefs, mutiny, and throw themselves into the Red Army!
The urban poor demand food, clothing, and things to do from the government, and the workers, peasants, and soldiers and the urban poor unite to overthrow the Kuomintang and overthrow Japanese imperialism, to overthrow all imperialism!
On March 21, 1932, shortly after the establishment of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas, the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China made a report to the Central Committee:
The Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas of the Chinese Red Army held an oath-giving ceremony at The Shaanxi-Gansu Border (i.e., Sanshui) a month ago, issued a declaration and telegram instructions, and so on. A total of three brigades were formed, a general headquarters was set up, and the number of people was more than 400 people, and more than 300 guns were all good guns... The guerrillas of the Red Army continued to win incessant victories, and their political influence penetrated very rapidly into the peasant soldiers' masses, greatly enhancing the determination and courage of the peasant soldiers, and the revolutionary soldiers of the various units could be quickly organized... Militarily, it is necessary to prepare for the formation of a formal Red Army, how to organize it, how to stipulate the number, please reply immediately.
In accordance with the instructions of the Shaanxi Provincial CPC Committee, the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas entered Shaanxi in the east and actively carried out guerrilla activities. On the second day after the establishment of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas, the guerrillas took the initiative to attack, eliminating the people's regiment of Zhitian Town in Liyi, destroying the district offices, burning the account books of the district offices and the contracts of the landlords and gentry, and mobilizing the masses, organizing peasant associations, and leading the masses in the struggle for grain distribution. The local warlords in Shaanxi ordered the 3rd Battalion of his Guard Regiment and about 1,000 people from 3 counties, including Bin County, to attack the town of Zhitian.
After the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas received the enemy's attack plan, on February 15, Xie Zichang led his troops to set up an ambush at Yangpotou, more than 20 miles east of the town of Futian, and attacked the enemy. When the enemy vanguard troops entered the edge of Yangpotou Village, Xie Zichang commanded 2 brigades to quickly attack and repel the enemy's vanguard. After the enemy main force was deployed, it fired at the guerrillas with heavy fire. Xie Zichang sent 2 squads to attack in a roundabout flank, and the enemy was suddenly panicked and shaken. Li Mingxuan, an underground MEMBER of the COMMUNIST Party and then a company commander who was active in the guard regiment, took the opportunity to shout loudly: "The Red Army is coming, run away." "Nationalist soldiers fled in a race. The troops were defeated, the guerrillas took advantage of the situation to counterattack across the board, and the enemy collapsed. The guerrillas pursued the enemy fiercely. In this battle, the guerrillas annihilated the 3rd Battalion of the Guard Regiment and the first part of the militia regiment, killing more than 160 enemy soldiers, capturing about 400 enemy prisoners, and surrendering more than 500 guns. After the war, the Red Army publicized to the prisoners, held a welcome meeting for those who were willing to join the Red Army, and the rest paid for the road, sent them home, treated the wounded prisoners, and returned the enemy's corpses to Binxian County, breaking the enemy's propaganda that "the Red Army kills prisoners".
After the Battle of Yangpotou, the local authorities of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Party mobilized several regiments to launch an attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas. Xie Zichang led his troops to avoid the enemy's front, moved to the southeast, and after defeating the Miaowan militia, jumped out of the enemy's encirclement. Then turn to the southeast, take advantage of the Lantern Festival enemy's lax security, attack the town of Zhaojin in Yao County, and completely annihilate the Zhaojin militia. In mid-April, the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas attacked the town of Shanhe at the request of the masses and with the cooperation of the Red Guards. The Red Army lacked offensive firepower, lost the battle, and suffered heavy casualties, from more than 300 people to more than 100 people. On the 21st, Xie Zichang led a guerrilla force to take advantage of the enemy's defense of Liyi County's empty defense and negligence, and suddenly rushed to attack Liyi County, eliminating the militia regiment headquarters and the prison defenders. The guerrillas held mass meetings in the city to propagate revolutionary ideas and distribute confiscated grain and clothing to the poor people. This was the first county town captured by the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas, which expanded its influence and enabled the troops to obtain a large number of supplies. After the war, in accordance with the instructions of the Shaanxi Provincial CPC Committee, the guerrillas of the Red Army marched into Majiapu, Liyi, divided the troops into the 3rd and 5th detachments, led by Liu Zhidan and Yan Hongyan respectively, and carried out guerrilla warfare in the Yongshou, Qianxian, and Sanyuan areas of the Xilan Highway, and the Red Army was expanded.
In May, the Kuomintang army mobilized heavy troops to carry out "attack and suppression" of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas in three routes. The Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas held a team committee to analyze the enemy situation, and held that the 511th Regiment of the 86th Division of the Kuomintang Army was stationed in the counties of Central China, Yijun, and Luochuan, and its combat effectiveness was relatively weak, and it was far away from the central area of its rule. It was also a mountainous area, and the Red Army guerrillas had a certain influence on the masses, so they decided to launch an attack on the Nationalist Army here. On the night of May 15, under the unified command of Liu Zhidan, the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas rushed to attack Malan Town, eliminating 2 companies of the Kuomintang army and a part of the militia regiment, and on the 17th, they annihilated 2 companies of the Kuomintang army and more than 500 militia groups in Jiaojiaping and Wulizhen. The Kuomintang 17th Route Army Special Regiment followed up and pursued, and the remnants of the 511th Regiment of the Kuomintang Army formed a pinch attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas. The Red Army jumped out of the enemy's encirclement. On the 30th, the Red Army guerrillas entered the town of Niuwu. Taking advantage of the fact that the 1st battalion of the 86th Division of the Kuomintang Army had just entered the town of Yingwang, on the basis of an unstable opportunity, it rushed to attack the enemy on the morning of the 31st, annihilating him in one fell swoop, surrendering more than 300 guns and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition. The Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas moved to Yanxian (present-day FuXian County), Luochuan, Chubu, Yijun and other places, and after half a month of arduous battles, they fought 9 large and small battles, won 8 victories, annihilated more than 1,400 enemy personnel, surrendered more than 1,200 guns, and a large number of military supplies. The Kuomintang army switched to the defensive, and the enemy's 17th Route Army Guard Regiment retreated to the original defense. The Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas crushed the enemy's "advance and suppression," and the troops quickly grew to more than 1,500 people.