What did the Red Army eat during the Long March? Some people must say: eat grass roots, bark, and cook belts to eat. That's only half right. In fact, throughout the Long March, the Red Army's food varieties were very varied, in addition to grain, there were also meat, as well as wild vegetables, wild fruits, grass roots, bark, wild animals, and so on.
When the Long March departs, each person is required to carry a few pounds of dry food
In early October 1934, before the departure of the Long March of the Central Red Army, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission ordered all corps to quickly equip their personnel in accordance with the regulations and replenish weapons, ammunition, grain and socks, clothing and other materials. Each person is required to carry 4 days of grain, and each food unit is carried according to 1 kg of oil and 1 kg of salt per person.
In May 1935, when the Red Fourth Front crossed the Jialing River in the west to begin the Long March, the troops and the accompanying military and civilian workers each brought their own dry food for 3-6 days and grain for 3-5 days. The grain brought by the commanders and fighters included rice, bud grain, etc., and after receiving the grain, they made their own dry food. The rice method is very simple: first cook the rice to a semi-cook, fish out the empty dry water, then pour the rice into the pot and add salt, stir-fry into dry rice; the bud rice is first fried, and then add an appropriate amount of salt to grind the noodles to carry. This dry food is easy to carry, can be eaten dry, can also be soaked in water to eat, can be stored for a long time, will not deteriorate.
On November 16, 1935, the main force of the Red 25th Army withdrew from the Eyu-Anhui base area and carried out a strategic transfer to the west of the Pinghan Railway. Before departure, prepare 3 days of dry food and two pairs of straw shoes per person. At that time, each warrior had two rice bags: one for raw rice and one for cooked dry food. Each bag could hold four or five catties, and the excess grain was carried by the livestock of the grooms.
On November 19, 1935, the main forces of the Red Second and Sixth Red Armies were evacuated from the Sangzhi area and moved westward, and before the troops set out, they carried out a packing inspection and required each person to bring 3 things, the first of which was a grain bag containing 3 days of grain.
Although all the Red Army made the necessary preparations and brought dry food before departure, it was only enough for a few days, which was a drop in the bucket for the long march.
After leaving the Soviet zone, the troops raised their own food
At the beginning of the Long March of the Red Army, supplies were mainly solved through confiscation, requisition and purchase. After the main forces of the Red Army left the central base areas, it became more and more difficult to supply grain and so on because there was no base area to rely on. In this regard, on October 22, 1934, the General Political Department of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission issued the "Notice on the Provisions of the Provisional Rules for Grain Raising and Donations" to the whole army. The "Circular" demands that all units should pay attention to the work of raising funds and collecting materials at all times during operations in the white areas, mainly confiscating the property of landlords and reactionaries and mobilizing rich peasants and urban businessmen to donate money. It is forbidden to harm the interests of the workers and peasants in the slightest, and to prevent unorganized and indiscriminate confiscation.
On November 12 and 15, the Japanese Military Commission sent a series of instructions to the commanders of various corps and columns, asking the field army to raise food. "The field army is advancing west of the Chenyi Line, there are many mountains along the way, houses and grain are scarce, and the troops must take advantage of the opportunity to search all the grain and other food of the local tycoons in the areas they pass, and quickly grind the confiscated millet into rice and distribute it to the troops, each of whom must carry at least 5 days of grain, 1 day of fried rice, and also bring some dried vegetables or salt fried beans." At the same time, he also instructed that the grain and other materials that he could not bring with him should be left to the follow-up troops, and the rear guard troops could distribute all the surplus rice grain, clothing, etc., to the masses, causing difficulties in the enemy's supplies and hindering his advance.
In order to advance lightly, 80% of the marching pots carried by the troops were thrown off on the way, and cooking was even more problematic. When crossing the Miao Mountain, there were very few people in the deep mountains, confiscated the grain of the local tycoons, could not find the mill and mill, could not make rice, had to send the grain down, everyone rubbed the rice bran on the stone slab, cooked brown rice to eat.
The marching pot used in the Long March of the Red Army
In the course of crossing the Chishui River, every time they occupied a market town or village, the Red Army troops could not forget to beat up the local tyrants, open warehouses and distribute grain, replenish the troops' supplies, and rescue the poor masses. In late April 1935, the Red Army entered and occupied Xuanwei and Dongchuan. Xuanwei is a famous rich city in eastern Yunnan, and Xuanwei ham is well-known throughout the country. During the period of recuperation in this area, the Red Army confiscated the bureaucratic ham company and obtained a large amount of property. During this period, he ate ham, sausages, etc. many times, which improved his supplies and replenished his physical strength.
In addition, the Red Army also bought food from local compatriots to maintain supplies. After the vanguard of the Red Army (1 company) crossed the Jinsha River from Kyaukpyeong, they ran out of dry food they carried because of the night march. In order to solve the problem of supply and continue to move forward, they bought some cookies from some dim sum shops opened by private people in villages and towns, and more than 100 people were given a small share of each. Purchase methods like this are also often used in fellow villagers.
The military supplies captured on the battlefield are like charcoal in the snow
Shortly after the departure of the Long March of the Central Red Army, on the evening of October 21, 1934, the enemy's first blockade line was broken from Wangmudu and Xintian in the southwest of Yudu, Jiangxi. Along the way, the Cantonese army dropped many weapons, ammunition, food, etc., which became the spoils of the Red Army.
On January 24, 1935, the Central Red Army defeated more than 3 regiments of the Marquis of Qianjun's Department in Tucheng, Guizhou, seized and confiscated some moutai wine, grain and property, and distributed the rest to the troops except for a part of the poor masses on the spot. In late February, the Central Red Army regained Zunyi, seized a large number of guns, ammunition and supplies, and the troops were replenished in time. The Red I and Red Iii Armies marched to Kunming's Dongmalong County to intercept three transport vehicles full of medicines, supplies, and Xuanwei ham that Long Yun had given to Xue Yue, and seized a large amount of military food prepared for the Kuomintang army there. Before the Red Army rushed to cross the Dadu River, it captured the grain station organized by Liu Wenhui's department of the Sichuan Army at Cairo Field and obtained more than 4,000 bags of grain.
In late September, after the Battle of Zhiluo, the Red Army intercepted more than 10 heavy trucks full of military supplies such as quilts, shoes and socks delivered by the enemy from Xi'an to Mao Bingwenbu who besieged the Red Army on the Sealand Highway, and intercepted more than 10 axle heavy wagons and more than 300 military horses of the Kuomintang Northwest Army between Pingliang and Guyuan. The captures during the Long March all replenished the troops in time and solved some of the urgent needs.
During the Long March, the Red Second and Fourth Fronts also captured through the battlefield, obtaining a certain number of guns, ammunition, horses, cattle and sheep, grain and other materials to replenish the troops. For example, at the end of August 1935, the Fourth Army and the 30th Army of the Red Fourth Front won the Battle of Baozuo, captured a large number of booty, and timely replenished the supplies of the Red Army moving north.
Over the snowy mountain meadow "to cherish every piece of cowhide"
Crossing the snowy mountains and meadows was the most difficult stage in the Long March of the Red Army, and the three fronts of the Red Army successively crossed many snowy mountains and vast meadows, suffered countless hardships and made great sacrifices.
The so-called "snowy mountain meadows" are mainly located in the territory of present-day Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, in the northwest of Sichuan Province and southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Deng Yingchao, who participated in the Long March, recalled: "In addition to the battle, the grain problem became the biggest difficulty at that time, especially in the Tibetan areas of northwestern Sichuan. Nie Rongzhen, political commissar of the Red First Army, also mentioned: "This area is sparsely populated, and it is also an ethnic minority area, and the troops are seriously short of food, so we worry about the food problem almost every day." ”
In order to prepare for crossing the snowy mountain meadows, on June 20, 1935, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and Wang Jiayan issued the "Telegram on the Methods for Preparing for Saving and Carrying Grain", requiring all troops to raise enough grain for 7 days to prepare to carry in addition to the grain needed for 5 days of rest; all troops should do everything possible and dispatch troops to confiscate, requisition, and purchase all wheat, bud grain, grain, grain, oil and salt, cattle, sheep, and pigs in the prescribed areas; cattle, sheep, and pork were roasted into jerky instead of dry food, and every 1 kilogram of fresh meat was counted as half a kilogram; and every day was changed to two meals, one thin and one dry.
Due to the shortage of local supplies, it is difficult for the troops to prepare enough food as required. Founding General Yang Chengwu recalled that when he was in the drum village in Tibetan areas, "due to the high terrain, the wheat was not yet ripe, and it began to bud, and the fields were still a turquoise color." Eating wild celery, wild bitter wheat, pea leaves, and that's where it begins. Each person can only eat three or two whole grains of barley wheat per day, and the hunger in the stomach is indeed a little uncomfortable. Every day, each company took turns sending out some people to look for wild vegetables and seedlings to feed the hungry. ”
The Snow Mountain that the Red Army overturned during the Long March was the Jiajin Mountain
Xie Fangci, who was the director of a company of the Red Third Army at the time of the Long March, recalled: "Before entering the snowy mountains, our superiors informed us to pack lightly. We threw away unnecessary cooking utensils and only picked up food that could be eaten for a day or two. In addition, each person also brought some ginger, spicy seeds and ten pounds of dry firewood. ”
When crossing the snowy mountains, each person is about two small bowls of porcelain cooked grain per day. Tan Fagui, who had been a soldier of the Ninth Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 12th Regiment of the Red Third Army, recalled: "... The rice was also cooked. What kind of rice is it? Nothing else, just two small porcelain bowls of corn cooked in boiled water,...... Each person is only allowed to eat one bowl, and the remaining bowl must be taken to the mountain to eat... No one will eat. Some people only eat a few bites, some people only eat half a bowl."
The Red Army crossed the meadows, and the routes and frequencies taken by the various armies were different, the least had to go for about 7 days, and the longest was nearly two months. Yang Dezhi, head of the Central Red Army's Vanguard Regiment, recalled that local Tibetan compatriots told him that it would take 5 to 7 days to cross the meadows, so they prepared enough food for seven days. "I have said to the cadres of the battalions many times: 'This time, we have focused on one thing – grain. Be sure to bring enough food for seven days, and bring as much cooked food as possible. ’”
Founding General Song Renqian said in his memoirs, "Friendship warms the heart to overcome difficulties, 7 days and 7 nights through the big meadow", "We walked in such a meadow for 7 days and 7 nights, eating only three or two grains a day, one or two pieces of roast lamb jerky, mainly by eating green shoots." In the 7 days across the meadow, we didn't see a single house."
The meadows of western Sichuan through which the Red Army's Long March passed
In August 1935, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China led the Right Route Army, starting from Maoergai, and marched across the Songpan Grassland to Gannan. Before crossing the meadow, the troops had asked each person to bring enough grain (10 catties) for 10 days, but due to insufficient grain raising, most of them did not bring enough 10 catties, and some only brought 2 or 3 catties, in addition to the dried meat (skin), mainly cooked barley flour, there were also boiled or even uncooked barley grains. Whenever they went to a resting place, the warriors used the squad as a unit to boil water in boiling water to drink or boil the wheat grains to eat. On the 4th day, there was a shortage of food, and many people had to dig up wild vegetables to eat. When the wild vegetables were eaten, they had to dig up grass roots and peel the bark to eat. Later, he even cut the waist belt, gun belt, etc. into small pieces and boiled it with water.
The Red Second Front only prepared grain for seven or eight days before crossing the meadow, and it was expected that 10 days would pass through the meadow, but in fact it walked for more than 20 days. At the beginning, it was stipulated that each person could only eat 3 small bowls of fried noodles per day, which was reduced to two bowls after two days, reduced to a small bowl in two days, and half a small bowl in a few days. The warriors mixed a little fried noodles with wild vegetables to boil and drink, and later they completely lived on wild vegetables and grass roots. In addition, the Red Second Front walked behind the Red Fourth Front, and the front troops collected wild vegetables, and the rear guard troops could not even find wild vegetable roots. In the end, yaks and horses with pack tents, supplies, and weapons had to be killed to feed them. A cow or horse ate for several days, and even collected cow and sheep bones, as well as cowhide, gun belts, belts, etc. on straw shoes to fill the hunger.
The Red Fourth Front sent Xu Shiyou to lead the cavalry division to raise 20,000 or 30,000 cattle and sheep and 40,000 to 50,000 catties of grain, leaving more than 1,090 cattle and sheep in Anqu to the Second Front. Commander-in-Chief Zhu specifically told the person in charge of the station: "This task is very important, we still have tens of thousands of Red Army troops in the rear guard, and the General Command has decided to leave all the tents and luggage of the four fronts directly subordinate units to supply the troops." It will take 6 days to get out of the meadow from here, and the beef and mutton we each send every day, even the belt meat can not exceed 1 pound, and the rest are left, otherwise, the rear guard troops will not be able to cross the grass. Commander-in-Chief Zhu stressed: "The sheep are killed with boiling water, the cowhide is burned with fire, the intestines and stomachs must be eaten, and every piece of cowhide must be cherished!" ”
The Red Fourth Front made serious preparations before crossing the meadow. Each person prepared the grain needed for the grassland according to the standard of 4 taels per day, and at the same time called on all ministries to identify edible wild vegetables and wild fruits. Some yaks were collected as means of transport, and when food was difficult, they could be slaughtered for feeding. To this end, beef and mutton cooking training was carried out among the cooks, and a pot was required to be brought in shifts and platoons. When the Left Route Army crossed the meadow, under the auspices of Commander-in-Chief Zhu, an exhibition of wild vegetables was held to guide commanders and fighters to learn to identify the knowledge available for eating wild vegetables.
Specimens of wild vegetables eaten by the Red Army on the Long March
After arriving in Shaanxi and Gansu, he proposed that "everyone should eat well"
In late August 1935, the Right Route Army marched through the arduous grassland to reach the areas of Brazil, Banyou and Assi, which were half agricultural and half-pastoral, and the food was greatly improved, and every day you could eat turnips, beans, beets, and wheat, and you could eat enough, and your physical strength began to recover. During the period of recuperation, the political departments at all levels carried out extensive preparation of grain, and the red army's supplies were replenished to a certain extent.
When the Red Army left the Tibetan areas in the snowy mountains and meadows, it entered the Dacaotan and Hadapu areas in southern Gansu. Hadapu is a commercial distribution center at the junction of the three provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan, the price is very cheap, all the food units have bought mutton and white noodles, salt, oil, compared with the snowy mountain meadows eat wild vegetables, grass, for months without tasting the taste of salt and oil, it is simply heaven and earth!
Hadapu Town
Yang Dinghua, a veteran Of the Red Army, recalled: Because of the estimation of the possibility of material conditions, the General Political Department of the Red Army specially put forward the slogan of "everyone must eat well." This novel slogan was the first time I had heard it in the years since I had been in the Red Army, probably because the Red Army was in a hurry to recover. This is also the peculiarity and meticulousness of the political work of the Red Army. For a moment, the slogan "Everyone must eat well" spread throughout the troops. All the company food units cut chickens and ducks, slaughtered pigs and sheep, three meals a day, each meal was three meats and two vegetarians, and the soldiers ate a mouth full of oil, bare and slippery, almost like the New Year! At that time, the soldiers of the Red Army greeted each other with the words "Happy New Year comrades!" "Many old Red Army soldiers recall that they have never eaten so well since joining the Red Army!
"Everyone must eat well", a seemingly ordinary sentence, in the difficult and difficult years of the Long March, was an inspiring slogan, which greatly encouraged the officers and men of the Red Army to complete the Long March and meet the new climax of the Chinese revolution!
Produced by WeChat (zgjw_81) of China Military Network
Author: Xu Ping
Editor: Li Yujie