During the period of the agrarian revolutionary struggle, the Central Red Army established nine major corps, such as the Red 1, Red 3, Red 5, Red 6, Red 7, Red 8, Red 9, and Red 10 Corps. Among them, the vast majority of us know that the Red 1 and Red 3 Corps are the absolute main force and have made outstanding achievements, especially the two commanders of the Red 1 and Red 3 Corps, Lin Biao and Peng Dehuai, are the most prestigious generals in the Red Army, and they are unstoppable.
However, this is our one-sided consensus today, in fact, the Central Red Army, there is another unit, like the Red 1 and Red 3 Armies, is the three main legions, that is, the Red 5 Army, and its commander is Dong Zhentang, who said "I want to play a childbirth time".
In the birth of the Red 5 Legion, it showed strong combat effectiveness. In February 1932, Peng Dehuai, commander of the Red 3rd Army, attacked Ganzhou as the commander-in-chief of the front line. At this time, the Red 5Th Army was only sent to serve as the general reserve because it had just been revolted for less than 2 months and was in the process of rectification and training, so it only sent the 13th Army, where Dong Zhentang was also the commander of the army, as the general reserve.
The vanguard of the Red 3 Corps opened the breakthrough of Ganzhou City, and then rushed into the city with victory, but was counter-attacked by the enemy's superior forces, and the Red 3 Corps suffered heavy casualties and had to withdraw from the city. At this time, the reinforcements of the enemy's 4 divisions had also arrived in Ganzhou, and the enemy in the city was highly moraley, and launched a fierce pursuit of the Red 3rd Army that withdrew from the city.
Just when the pursuit of the enemy was gaining momentum, the halfway kill went out to bite the gold, and Dong Zhentang's 13th Army blocked the way.
Dong Zhentang's soldiers all abandoned their guns shirtless, holding large knives with cold light and shining in silence, and after the enemy approached, the soldiers held large knives to carry out close-quarters hand-to-hand assaults against the enemy. This fight was repeated dozens of times, and the direct killing was so long that the sky changed color, and the enemy abandoned his corpses, and his head was in a different place, and he was defeated and retreated in a hurry.
And the regimental commander Dong Zhentang, after each attack of the enemy, would sit on the ground and shout to the enemy with a knife: "Who will die!" ", like the possession of the ancient god of war, frightening the enemy's guts." Later, according to the prisoners who participated in the battle, thousands of enemy troops died under the sword in this battle.
Although the battle was finally lost, it showed the style of the first battle of the Red 5 Army, making the Red 5 Army widely respected by the Red 3 Army. Later, the senior leaders of the former Red 3 Corps commented:
Due to their lack of experience, the troops that attacked the city (the Red Third Army) were counter-attacked by the enemy, at which time the Five Corps played the characteristics of their city street warfare melee, engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and used a large knife to kill a bloody road to rescue the three legions.
Not only that, compared with the Red 1 Army, the Red 5 Army can be said to be on a par with the Red 1 Army, and it is difficult to distinguish between them.
During the Long March of the Red Army, within the Red Army at that time, there was such a sentence, which showed the status of the Fifth Red Army:
"One legion fights the vanguard and attacks everything; behind the hall of the fifth legion, it is invincible."
Behind the hall of the Red Fifth Army, it refers to the fact that in the course of the Long March of the Central Red Army, the Red Fifth Army assumed the role of a desperate defender, which can be described as the most arduous unit in the Long March, not only to face several times the enemy's pursuit and killing, but also to do a good job in the dangerous situation of independent combat with the main Red Army in the case of extremely urgent military conditions.
For example, in the Battle of Xiangjiang, the 34th Division of the Red 5th Army's Desperate Rear Guard Division, after covering the main force to break through the Xiangjiang River, was intercepted, and finally the division commander Chen Shuxiang and the 6,000 disciples of the whole division in western Fujian were almost all heroically sacrificed;
For example, in order to cover the main force crossing the river, the Red Fifth Army held out in the defensive position for 9 days and 9 nights, and finally enabled all the Red Army to cross the Jinsha River smoothly, so some people say that the "qiao" of crossing the Jinsha River was spelled out by the Red 5Th Army.
Because of this, the Red 5 Corps is known as the "Iron Stream Defender".
Before the "Iron Stream Rear Guard", Dong Zhentang, commander of the Red 5 Army, was elected as a member of the Central Military Commission and a member of the Central Executive Committee because of his outstanding merits. He was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Mao Zedong on his chest and praised him as an outstanding commander and a "general who always wins".
However, such an outstanding military wizard, an outstanding and excellent general, Dong Zhentang was killed at the hands of the Majia Army in the northwest, which is lamentable, and posterity often assumes that if he did not sacrifice, he would be honored as a marshal in 1955.
However, history cannot be assumed, Dong Zhentang resolutely shot the last bullet at himself at the moment of his life. The cruel Northwest Jackal Ma Jiajun would not let go of his corpse, they cut off his head to take pictures and show the public to ask for merit and reward.
(Mentioned here is that the whereabouts of General Dong Zhentang were not found until 78 years later.
When the news of Dong Zhentang's death came, Mao Zedong, Zhu De and other leaders wept bitterly and held a solemn memorial service for him to comfort the hero's spirit in heaven. At the memorial service, Mao Zedong said with great affection: "He is a good comrade, a resolute revolutionary comrade ... The road knows the horsepower, and the people's hearts and minds are seen over time, and our revolutionary contingent needs such comrades..."
Heroes are respectable, tragic and lamentable!
But I can't help but ask: Why did Dong Zhentang and his Red 5Th Army, who made great contributions to the revolution during the Period of the Red Army's Soviet Zone and the Long March Tieliu RearGuard Period, die tragically at the hands of Ma Jiajun, a local Kuomintang force, at the end of the Long March, in the course of their orders to march west? Who exactly caused his fiasco?
Next, I will take these questions with me, trace back to the roots, restore a great hero who can sing and cry, and once again remember his outstanding merits and immortal spirit.
1. Bloody uprising;
2. The Iron Stream Revolution;
3. Tragic death in the northwest;
Fourth, the monarchy is eternal.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="154" ></h1>
Dong Zhentang, born in 1895, is a native of Xinhe County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province. He learned martial arts with his father since childhood, and was awarded the title of "Excellent Model" in middle school. In 1921, he was admitted to the 9th Artillery Department of the Baoding Army Officer School, and after graduation, he joined Feng Yuxiang's troops, he followed Feng Yuxiang's troops to participate in the Second Zhifeng War, experienced the "Beijing Coup" that expelled the last emperor from the palace, and then participated in the battle against the Feng clan, the direct warlords and the Zhilu coalition army.
In all the battles, Dong Zhentang was brave and good at fighting, and was deeply appreciated by Feng Yuxiang, and he was promoted from platoon commander all the way to brigade commander, becoming a brave and good general in the Northwest Army. In 1927, he participated in the Northern Expedition, and attacked the warlord Wu Peifu in Henan and Hubei, and Dong Zhentang was promoted to the commander of the 36th Division because of his military achievements. In June 1928, Feng Yuxiang transferred the 13th Division to garrison Luoyang, and Dong Zhentang concurrently served as the commander of the Luoyang garrison.
In May 1930, Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan joined forces to beg Jiang, and the Central Plains War broke out. Dong Zhentang also participated in the war with Feng Yuxiang and repeatedly performed miraculous feats. However, this battle eventually ended in the defeat of the combined forces of Feng and Yan. Feng Yuxiang was forced to go to the field, and his troops were absorbed by Chiang Kai-shek and reorganized into the 26th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. After the reorganization, Dong Zhentang served as the brigade commander of the 73rd Brigade of the 25th Division. In the spring of 1931, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Twenty-sixth Route Army, which had no rest and no replenishment of ammunition and grain, and rushed down to Jiangxi to encircle and suppress the Red Army.
At this time, Dong Zhentang saw it very clearly, knowing that this was Chiang Kai-shek's plan to eliminate the miscellaneous cards of "killing two birds with one stone"; he had been influenced by the Communist Party member Liu Bojian, and he deeply resented the meaningless warlord melee, and under the influence of Zhao Bosheng, chief of the general staff of the 26th Army and a communist, his thinking had undergone a drastic change.
When the first train heading south reached Sun's Shop Station, a group of Dong Zhentang refused to move forward. After hearing the news, Chiang Kai-shek sent people to "induce," and then threatened not to pay the troops, and the troops had to continue to go south after several days of detention.
After arriving in Jiangxi, the 26th Route Army participated in the second and third "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army's Soviet zone. The failure of the second "encirclement and suppression" allowed the 26th Route Army to see the invincible courage and arrogance of the Red Army.
Therefore, Dong Zhentang, who did not want to be the enemy of the Red Army, passively fought and created false intelligence to avoid fighting the Red Army, only to be discovered by Lao Jiang's eyeliner, which provoked Dong Zhentang to be "afraid of death".
After the failure of the third "encirclement and suppression", Chiang Kai-shek ordered the 26th Route Army to besiege Ningdu. At the same time, in order to prevent the 26th Route Army from retreating without authorization, Lao Jiang also specially stationed Zhu Shaoliang, a concubine, between Ningdu and Guangchang. Because many officers and men were infected with diseases in the water and soil, coupled with extremely poor medical conditions, thousands of people died within a few months, and the vast number of officers and men were generally tired of war.
In 1931, the "September 18" incident broke out, the anti-Japanese sentiment of the whole people was high, and the officers and men of the 26th Route Army also demanded to return to the north to fight the Japanese army, and wrote a letter to the commander-in-chief Sun Lianzhong. Sun Lianzhong also wanted to get out of the predicament by telegraphing Chiang Kai-shek and ordering the whole army to go north.
However, Chiang Kai-shek resolutely refused to allow the 26th Route Army to leave the front line of "suppressing the Communists." When the troops drove more than 60 miles to the lake ridge, they were blocked and had to return to Ningdu. The patriotic officers and men of the 26th Route Army were filled with indignation, and the underground party members of the 26th Route Army promptly exposed Chiang Kai-shek's conspiracy, publicized the party's ideas, and vigorously developed party members.
In such a dilemma, the chief of staff Zhao Bosheng and Dong Zhentang saw the opportunity for the uprising. The plan of the uprising was also quickly transmitted to Ruijin's Central Revolutionary Military Commission. The Central Revolutionary Military Commission welcomed and attached great importance to Dong Zhentang's uprising, and the high-level meeting was held to discuss it, and the two sides also decided on the reorganization and transformation of this army.
On December 14, 1931, the uprising, chief of staff Zhao Bosheng, the 73rd Brigade Dong Zhentang, the 74th Brigade Commander Ji Zhenping led more than 17,000 officers and men of the 26th Route Army to revolt.
The whole camp revolted, quite luxurious, 1 general headquarters, 2 division headquarters, 6 brigade headquarters, 11 whole regiments, and more than 20,000 weapons, more than 17,000 people, equivalent to more than one-third of the Central Red Army at that time, because the Central Red Army only had more than 40,000 people at that time.
Not only that, the weapons of the 26th Route Army are also relatively good compared to the Red Army, and they have won many victories over the Red Army in terms of hard power. It can be said that the uprising of the 26th Route Army greatly enhanced the strength of the Red Army.
On the third day, the rebel troops entered the Central Soviet District, where Dong Zhentang met his friend Liu Bojian, whom he missed day and night. On behalf of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, Liu Bojian announced the previously established deployment of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and the rebel troops. The former 26th Route Army was reorganized into the 5th Army of the Red Army, and the post of corps commander was held by Ji Zhentong, former brigade commander of the 74th Brigade of the 26th Route Army.
And Dong Zhentang, who led the uprising, did not initially serve as the commander of the legion, why is this? This is because, in order to win over the commander of the 74th Brigade, Ji Zhentong, to revolt together, Dong Zhentang proceeded from the overall situation and agreed with him that once the uprising was successful, he would serve as the commander-in-chief of the uprising, that is, the later commander of the army. From here, it can be seen that Dong Zhentang's uprising was not to calculate personal interests, but to be full of open-mindedness and look for the road of justice.
According to the military history of the Red 5 Army, the organizational framework at the beginning of the reorganization of the Red 5 Army was:
Ji Zhentong, commander-in-chief (regimental commander), Xiao Jinguang, political commissar, Dong Zhentang, deputy commander-in-chief, Zhao Bosheng, chief of staff, and Liu Bojian, director of the Political Department. There are three armies under its jurisdiction:
Red Thirteenth Army, Commander Dong Zhentang (concurrently), Political Commissar He Changgong;
Red Fourteenth Army, Commander Zhao Bosheng (concurrently), Political Commissar Huang Huoqing;
Red Fifteenth Army, Commander Huang Zhongyue, Political Commissar Zuo Quan.
At the beginning of the new life, the Red Fifth Army ranked first among the red army corps. Since then, in the journey of the Chinese revolution, he has made outstanding meritorious achievements and has been recorded in the annals of history.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="152" > second, the iron flow revolution</h1>
Less than 2 months after joining the revolutionary ranks, the Red 5th Army ushered in the first battle of Ganzhou. Soon after, the Red Army was defeated, suffered from the enemy in ganzhou' belly, and the war situation was critical, and the Central Military Commission urgently sent Mao Zedong to "suspend recuperation" and go to the front line to command.
Mao Zedong boldly used the Red Fifth Army, which was reserved as a reserve, and sure enough, Dong Zhentang lived up to the expectations of the people, won the victory, and the main force of the Red Army broke the siege.
On March 12, 1932, according to the order of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, three corps of the Red 1st Front were mixed into a mixed group. The Red 5 Corps was divided into three parts: the Red 5 Corps Red 15 Corps was incorporated into the Red 1 Corps; the Red 14 Army was organized into the Red 3 Corps; the Red 13 Army and the Red 3 Army of the former Red 1 Army formed the new Red 5 Corps.
Since then, the Red 5Th Army, the Red 1st Army, and the Red 3rd Army have become the three main armies of the Central Red Army, and the three main corps of the Red Army have the troops of the Red 5th Army.
In June 1932, after Dong Zhentang was promoted to regimental commander, the Red 3rd Army was soon transferred back to the Red First Army. In June 1933, the Central Red Army was reorganized again, abolishing the first-level organization of the army, and the Fifth Red Army only had the 13th, 14th and 34th Divisions under its jurisdiction. But on the eve of the Long March, the Red 5 Army grew to more than 12,000 people.
Despite several reorganizations and abolitions, the strength of the Red 5 Corps can still be compared with the Red 1 and Red 3 Corps. After the Battle of Ganzhou, one beautiful battle after another was fought, conquering Zhangzhou, fighting a great battle in Nanxiong Shuikou, advancing into Yihuang and Dong'an in the north, entering Gandong in the east, Entering Lichuan, Jianning, Taining, and so on in each battle.
Taking the Battle of Nanxiong Shuikou as an example, from July 2 to 10, 1932, it lasted 9 days, and the corpses were all over the field, which was the first time that the Red 5Th Army fought independently, but it left a brilliant record, and the Cantonese army did not dare to act rashly for a long time. Nie Rongzhen, who was the political commissar at the time, later wrote in the Memoirs of Marshal Nie Rongzhen: "The Battle of Shuikou was a famous and vicious battle, with heavy casualties on both sides and a tragic battlefield scene, which was rare during the Second Civil Revolutionary War..."
On the first anniversary of the Ningdu Uprising, Dong Zhentang and Zhao Bosheng both received the "Red Flag Medal" -- the earliest medal made, the earliest and only once awarded by the Provisional Government of the Chinese Soviet, which was copied by the Chinese Soviet Provisional Government in the style of the Soviet Red Army medal, and was issued only once, 8 months earlier than the "August 1st Red Star Medal" later produced and issued by the Red Army.
Mao Zedong also sent his wife He Zizhen to the Red 5 Army to perform a program for everyone. Dong Zhentang sighed.
In late April 1932, when Dong Zhentang joined the party, he handed over all the 3,000 silver dollars he had accumulated as party fees, alarmed Mao Zedong, talked to him, asked him to leave some money for himself, and sent something to his family, he said: "Now that I am a Red Army and have joined the party, it is useless to keep this money, I want to dedicate everything to the party, even my life to the party!" Mao Zedong was greatly moved by his actions.
This scene reminds me of dong Zhentang's farewell to his mother's words in the past: "Don't worry about me being outside alone, I will not smoke, drink alcohol, or visit the kiln in my lifetime." Even if I get bigger, I won't look for a little wife. ”
It can be seen that from this time on, Dong Zhentang was fundamentally different from the vast majority of officers in the old warlords.
In October 1934, the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign failed, and the Central Red Army had to make a painstaking strategic shift and begin the Long March. Due to its second-to-none combat ability, the Fifth Red Army was ordered to serve as a rearguard, cover the transfer of the whole army, and successfully completed the strategic tasks assigned by the Central Revolutionary Military Commission. In particular, it played a particularly important role in the bloody battle of the Xiangjiang River and the jinsha river blockade battle.
In the Battle of Xiangjiang, Dong Zhentang's Red 5Th Legion, which was responsible for the break, paid a tragic sacrifice. There were only 2 divisions of the Red 5th Army, of which 34 divisions were completely destroyed, and more than 6,000 people below the division commander Chen Shuxiang all died heroically.
Later, due to the large number of attritions, in late December 1934, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission was reorganized in Huangping County, Guizhou. After reorganization, the Red 8 Corps and the Red 5 Corps were merged to form a new Red 5 Corps.
In January 1935, the Zunyi Conference, which had turned the fate of the Red Army, was held, and Dong Zhentang and Political Commissar Li Zhuoran of the Fifth Red Army, who were deploying in the southeast direction of Zunyi, received a notice to attend the Zunyi Conference. Because Dong Zhentang wanted to deploy and inspect the fortification of the troops, Dong Zhentang was unable to catch up with this important meeting. However, Dong Zhentang led the Red Fifth Army to deploy in the southeast of Zunyi City, preventing the pursuit of the Kuomintang army and ensuring the smooth convening of the Zunyi Conference.
The most thrilling battle took place during the crossing of the Jinsha River.
Because when the Red Army rushed to cross the Jinsha River, due to the small number of ferries, there were only seven small boats, and one still had problems, the Central Red Army could only cross hundreds of people at a time, and it was difficult for the 20,000 or 30,000 Red Army to cross the river for a while.
After Dong Zhentang took the order, he led the Red Fifth Army to block the rearing enemy in the Area of the Shiban River south of the ferry. Faced with the grim situation, Dong Zhentang led his troops to hold out for nine days and nine nights, and only after learning that the main force of the Red Army had crossed the river in victory did he command all the legionnaires to cross the Jinsha River overnight.
Among them, the Red Fifth Army, which was escorted all the way, had been in a state of combat throughout the Long March. Because the Various Kuomintang factions along the way, in order to preserve their strength, did not block the Red 1st and 3rd Armies that were the pioneers of the way, and mainly blocked the tail of the Red Army, the Red 5th Army paid a greater sacrifice price, but it again and again let the enemy gain more than it lost, and never broke through the rear guard defense line.
The bloody combat capability of the Red 5Th Army made Chiang Kai-shek deeply resentful. On February 15, 1935, he issued such a notice of arrest and published a reward in the Minguo Daily in Yunnan Province with the following contents:
"(1) Zhu De, Mao Zedong, and Xu Xiangqian were each awarded 100,000 yuan for those who were born and captured, and 80,000 yuan for those who offered the first rank.
(2) Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, Dong Zhentang, Luo Binghui, each awarded 80,000 yuan for those who were born and captured, and 50,000 yuan for those who donated the first class.
(3) Zhou Enlai, Zhang Guotao, Xiang Ying, Wang Jiaxiang, Chen Changhao, each awarded 50,000 yuan for those who were born and captured, and 30,000 yuan for those who donated the first rank. (4) Wang Hongkun, Wang Shusheng, He Wei, Sun Yuqing, Yu Tianyun, Wang Weizhou, Liu Bocheng, Ye Jianying, Ni Zhiliang, each awarded 50,000 yuan for those who were born and captured, and 20,000 yuan for those who donated the first class. ”
We can see that Dong Zhentang ranks behind Lin Biao and Peng Dehuai, which shows the weight that must be eliminated quickly in old Jiang's heart.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="150" >3, tragic death in the west</h1>
However, Dong Zhentang, who had given Chiang Kai-shek no chance to get rid of him quickly, let himself do the dirty thing of "the relatives and the enemies are fast", and sacrificed in vain a member of the Red Army.
In June 1935, after the Red 1st Front and the Red 4th Front met in Maogong, Sichuan, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission mixed the two fronts into two armies. Among them, the main force of the Right Route Army was the Red 1 Front, the main force of the Left Route Army was the Red 4 Front, and Dong Zhentang's Red 5 Army was organized in the Left Route Army and was under the command of Zhang Guotao.
Later, Zhang Guotao plotted to usurp power and decided to establish another central government, so the Red 5 Army, which was trapped in the Left Route Army, was suddenly taken away by Zhang Guotao to contact the central radio code. Since then, the Red 5 Army has broken off contact with the central government.
Zhang Guotao began to take control of Dong Zhentang and the Red 5Th Army, who were able to fight in battle, step by step: first transferring the two main regiments of the Red 5th Army and the political commissar Li Zhuoran, then merging the remnants of the Red First Army with the 33rd Army of the Red 4th Front (the 33rd Army was reorganized from guerrillas and had weak combat effectiveness), changing its name to the Red 5th Army, Dong Zhentang changed from regimental commander to commander; and finally sent his own close associate Huang Chao as the political commissar of the Red 5th Army, and dong Zhentang was elevated.
But even so, until later the Red Fourth Front and the Red 2 Front met the division, and then to the final three main forces of the Red Army, Huining, Tieliu Dong Zhentang led the Red 5 Army, still defending the rear of the Red Fourth Front.
Later, in order to seek greater development, to strive for the development of Ningxia and Gansu areas west of the Yellow River, not only to avoid the area east of the Yellow River ruled by the powerful Kuomintang, but also to open up international communications with the Soviet Union, with the help of the Soviet Union, the Central Military Commission (this title was clearly defined at the Luhua Conference in July 1935) formulated the Ningxia Campaign.
The deployment of the Ningxia Campaign was to form the Western Expeditionary Army led by Xu Xiangqian and the Red Fourth Front Led by Peng Dehuai to fight through Hexi.
On October 25, 1936, Dong Zhentang's Red 5th Army was ordered to defend the Yellow River crossing and cover the crossing of the river by various armies. When the 9th Army and the 30th Army of the Red Fourth Front crossed the river, Hu Zongnan's troops suddenly attacked the Yellow River crossing, forcing the Red 5th Army to withdraw to the west of the Yellow River, but the 4th Army, the 31st Army and the Peng Dehuai Red Army of the Follow-up Red Fourth Front were blocked east of the Yellow River.
At this time, the Red Army troops that crossed the Yellow River were the 9th Army, the 30th Army, the 5th Army, plus the cavalry divisions, women's independent regiments and organ personnel directly under the headquarters of the Red Fourth Front, with a total of more than 21,800 people, of which Dong Zhentang's 5th Army was less than 4,000 people.
On November 11, the Red Army troops that crossed the Yellow River in the west received instructions from the Central Military Commission to form the Western Route Army of the Red Army, with Chen Changhao as the chairman and political commissar of the military committee and Xu Xiangqian as the vice chairman and commander-in-chief, and continued to march west to Xinjiang to complete the task of opening up international lines of communication.
Since then, the Western Route Army has embarked on a journey of going deep alone, without a rear base area, without ammunition replenishment, and without clothing and clothing; along the way, they have to constantly fight against the Majia Army, which has artillery and cavalry, and the personnel are constantly depleted in repeated battles but cannot be replenished, and all they have is a belief, to fight to Xinjiang to receive Soviet foreign aid, and then to fight back fiercely to avenge the sacrifice of their comrades-in-arms.
Therefore, during the Long March, the Red 5Th Army, which had been serving as the "Iron Stream Rear Guard", was now the Red 5th Army, and became the pioneer of the Western Route Army on the way forward, and they attacked all the way to Gaotai in Gansu.
However, what is fatal is that Dong Zhentang at this time is constrained by Huang Chao everywhere.
When Dong Zhentang occupied Linze, took the two regiments of the Red 5th Army away, and liberated Gaotai, Huang Chao, who remained in Linze, did not lead the other 2 regiments of the 5th Army to support Gaotai without the arrival of the 9th Army and the 30th Army, so that when the Majia Army was in danger of encircling Gaotai, Xu Xiangqian had to send another newly established cavalry division to the rescue and missed the fighter.
From January 5, 1937, when the Ma family army that surrounded Gaotai arrived one after another, Dong Zhentang, who was good at judging the situation, realized that Gaotai was not defended, and he secretly sent some soldiers to dig a hole in the ground near the North City, which was covered with thin soil and prepared to use it when breaking through.
Just when Dong Zhentang led the whole army to break through, he was sent by Huang Chao to disguise himself into the city and order him to die in the name of party discipline and military discipline. Dong Zhentang had no radio around him and could not contact the headquarters, so Dong Zhentang had to give up the breakthrough and stick to the high platform. Dong Zhentang summoned the remaining 50 cadres to a meeting and issued an order to his subordinates to "coexist and die with Gaotai."
After 8 days and 8 nights of fierce fighting, the high platform fell.
Dong Zhentang escaped from the city wall north of the East Gate with his guards and the commander. The enemy gathered around, and he was half-kneeling on the ground because of his left leg wound, and his two guns took turns to shoot at the enemy. Finally he was martyred with a bullet.
Huang Chao not only harmed the Red 5th Army, but also the newly formed cavalry division. This inexperienced cavalry division was scattered by the Ma family army, and the division commander and political commissar were both killed.
However, Huang Chao, who demanded Dong Zhentang to stick to his feet with party discipline and military discipline, did not have such high requirements for himself. When the Ma family army attacked Linze, it did not have the spirit of surviving with Linze, and ran to the Ni family camp and then to Xinjiang. But in the end, he did not get a good ending and was killed in Xinjiang.
Xu Xiangqian later recalled in "Blood Battle hexi corridor": "Dong Zhentang was one of the main leaders of the Ningdu rebellion. The Fifth Army under his command fought bravely and made important contributions in the five "encirclement and suppression" campaigns of the Central Red Army, in the course of the Long March, and in the battle after the rendezvous with the Fourth Front. Later, it was merged with the Thirty-third Army of the Fourth Front army to form the Fifth Army.
During the period when the Red Fourth Front was moving south, he actively completed combat tasks while standing on the side of General Manager Zhu and resisting and fighting against Zhang Guotao's separatism. The sacrifices of him, Yang Keming, Ye Chongben, Liu Peiji, Dong Yanjun, Qin Xiandao, and many other commanders and fighters were a major loss to the party and the people. The Western Route Army was extremely shocked and saddened. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="148" >4</h1>
Dong Zhentang not only had outstanding military achievements, but also had a noble character, and was deeply admired and remembered by his comrades-in-arms.
During the Long March, just as a fierce breakout battle had just begun, Deng Fa's wife, Chen Huiqing, suddenly had difficulty giving birth. Chen Huiqing was rolling around in pain, and there was not a single medical staff around him, only a few small soldiers of the Red Army.
Only 1 kilometer away, Dong Zhentang was leading the soldiers to fight desperately, and seeing that he could not resist, Dong Zhentang rushed back with a gun and asked: How much time is there to give birth to the child? No one can answer. So Dong Zhentang rushed into the position again and shouted loudly: "You must play a time to give birth!" ”
As a result, the warriors held out for several hours, waiting for Chen Huiqing to give birth to the child. After the battle, when some of the soldiers passed by Chen Huiqing's side, they all glared at each other, but Dong Zhentang said another sentence that has gone down in history: "What are you staring at?" Aren't we bloody and sacrificed for these children? ”
More than 80 years ago, Dong Zhentang said such shocking words, which explained his noble personality and sentiments; more than 80 years later, every time posterity saw this paragraph, they were inexplicably moved.
The leader Mao Zedong later proposed Dong Zhentang on different occasions. He particularly emphasized at the Wa Yao Fort Conference: "Dong Zhentang, who became the Red Army in the stronghold of the landlords and bourgeoisie, became a resolute revolutionary comrade. ”
In the new security guard, when Edgar Snow interviewed Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong specifically mentioned Dong Zhentang. Then in 1936, Mao Zedong wrote to Feng Yuxiang to discuss the issue of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and specifically mentioned Dong Zhentang: "Mr. Dong Zhentang, the princes of the old subordinates, have made great progress, and they can be comforted." ”
After Dong Zhentang's sacrifice, Mao Zedong spoke highly of the memorial service held by the Party Central Committee: "The road knows the horsepower, and Dong Zhentang is a resolute revolutionary comrade." ”
In November 1956, when Ye Jianying inspected the Hexi Corridor and came to Gaotai, looking up at the Gaotai City Tower that had hung the head of the martyr Dong Zhentang, he was full of emotions and gave a poem:
"The hero died on the wrong road, and today he cherished Dong Zhentang alone." The hanging eye city tower is amazing, and the high platform is glorious for you. ”
In August 1979, Xiao Hua, who was the political commissar of the 15th Division of the Red First Army (formerly the International Division of the Young Communist Party), came to Gaotai to mourn Dong Zhentang, and could not help but weep and write two poems:
"Su Li Gaotai mourned the loyal souls, and heard the sound of the ningdu cannon." The attack on the case was indignant and the city general was raised, and the hero of the Zhenguo country swab The cloud front. ”
"The wrong way to die in battle is not rewarded, and the red flag of green blood is left behind." Seven days and seven nights, one step book, tragic and majestic tears. ”
Other comrades in the Red Army also remembered him and cared for his bereaved family. After Dong Zhentang's death, Song Renqiang, Wang Renzhong, and Chen Zaidao visited Dong Zhentang's home in Xinhe County, Hebei Province.
In 1946, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping found Jia Mingyu's family through Dong Zhentang's cousin. After understanding the specific situation, Jia Mingyu and his son and daughter were quickly taken back to the Liberated Areas. In order to ensure their livelihood, Mao Zedong specially approved: the government of the border region allocated 50 mu of good land to Dong Zhentang's family, and later he also sent someone to send 600,000 yuan of border area coins.
Here, a date-red blanket is also mentioned, because it records the deep friendship of the revolutionary fathers.
Shortly after the Ningdu uprising, Dong Zhentang went to the headquarters of the Red Army for a meeting. At Zhu De's residence, Dong Zhentang found that Zhu De's wooden bed only had a cushion and a very thin military quilt, which could not withstand the cold at all. The next day, Dong Zhentang took his own blanket and gave it to Zhu De. Zhu De repeatedly resigned. Dong Zhentang said sincerely: "This blanket was bought by me with clean money, but it is not a foreign wealth, if it is not too old, please accept it." ”
Jude had to be touched to take it. Later, this blanket followed him, climbing snow-capped mountains, crossing meadows, and experiencing days and nights on the Long March, all the way to Yan'an.
After the Xi'an Incident, Zhou Enlai, as the plenipotentiary representative of our party, often traveled back and forth between Yan'an and Xi'an, often working late into the night, and Zhu De gave this blanket to Zhou Enlai to resist.
Later, after the bad news of Dong Zhentang's sacrifice reached Yan'an, Zhou Enlai saw things and thought about people, and while gently touching this jujube red blanket with his hand, he said to the staff around him: "Comrades, the revolution is not easy! When the whole country is liberated, we must display the relics of these martyrs for future generations to pay good attention to. ”
After the "July 7 Incident" in 1937, the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, Zhu De led the Eighth Route Army to the front line to fight against the Japanese, and Zhou Enlai gave this blanket back to Zhu De. Zhu De took this blanket to the south to fight the Northern War until the founding of New China.
In the hereafter, the king's wind is high, the merit is long, and the posterity will remember:
The appearance is high in martial arts, and the iron bones of Zheng Zheng are sighing.
Earlier conquest drove away the strong, and later fought for the red sword of the tree.
The Jedi expedition dragged the enemy behind, and the withered west frustrated the barbarian mastiff.
Juryu's good story for who dies, the heroic thousands of generations to praise.
1. Biography of Dong Zhentang; 2. Military History of the Fifth Red Army;
3. History of the First Front of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army; 4. History of the Fourth Front of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army;
5. "The Founding General"; 6. "The Legion Commander Dong Zhentang and His Aftermath";
7. "The Soul of the Western Route Army"; 8, "Memoirs of Marshal Nie Rongzhen";
9. Ye Jianying's poetry collection "Distant Look"; 10, Xu Xiangqian in "Blood Battle Hexi Corridor"
11. "Father has been looking for the head of the martyr Dong Zhentang in Yuhuatai... 70 years ago, they "went straight down to Jinling Cheng Liuhe", Wen Wei Po, April 11, 2019;
12. Citations of network-related historical materials.
【Author】
Gu Xinguang: A native of Yueyang, Hunan, he is a senior researcher of the Chinese Academy of Management Sciences, an expert of the Shenzhen Science and Technology Expert Database, and a inheritor of red culture.