The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"The power of steel"

"We are the armed forces created by Sun Yat-sen"

"Nurtured by Cheung Chau Island"

"Growth on the Eastern Expedition"

"The enemy is timid in the struggle for supremacy in the Central Plains..."

The 10th Division of the Fourth Army, marching from eastern Guangdong to southern Jiangxi, entered Ganzhou in formation. Fourth Army Commander Chen Kang led the 10th Division. The First Marching Column, numbering over a thousand, marched through the streets of Ganzhou, singing the Fourth Army's anthem in unison, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

"The Fourth Army, the Iron Army of Guangdong!" "The Fourth Army is back!"

Many citizens of Ganzhou are familiar with the Fourth Army. The Fourth Army also did the same during the first anti-encirclement and suppression campaign more than a year ago. It entered southern Jiangxi from eastern Guangdong and gave a severe beating to Chiang Kai-shek's army that came to attack Ganzhou. The beating made Chiang Kai-shek dare not make any moves for more than a year.

Now, hmm, does Chiang Kai-shek deserve a beating again?

There are thousands of migrant workers and business people from all over the country and even foreign countries in Ganzhou, and they find this scene even more novel.

"Why does this Chinese army cause such a frenzy among the citizens?" a French mining businessman in Ganzhou curiously asked his translator.

"Sir, this is the Guangzhou government's Fourth Army, one of their two most powerful units. It's generally believed that as long as the Fourth Army appears there, the enemy on the opposite side will be destroyed, no matter how powerful the enemy is."

A British brokerage informant from Hong Kong was also trying to figure out the whole story. He figured out that this was the Fourth Army, and was also wondering what its presence in Ganzhou meant.

"The Fourth Army under the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government appeared in Ganzhou. It was the Fourth Army, wearing tall hats and new uniforms, without a doubt. I even heard them singing their military songs on the streets."

"Currently, people in Ganzhou generally believe that the Guangzhou revolutionary government will launch a punitive strike against central Jiangxi to relieve military pressure on their revolutionary base in Hubei and Anhui, which is about to be besieged. But I don't think so."

"I think the Guangzhou revolutionary government was probably taking this opportunity to expand the scope of their revolutionary base in Jiangxi, making Ganzhou more secure."

April 8th. Morning.

Still Ganzhou.

"First Army Song, begin—sing!" "The great motherland has given me a mission," "The rejuvenated nation has given me strength," "The road of revolution is bloody and glorious," and "The Whampoa Army is unstoppable."

Just like yesterday, teams of soldiers, in strict formation, and in brand new uniforms.

The song sung was the military song of the First Army.

Actually, this is the instructor of the Whampoa Military Academy. Why did the instructor sing the First Army's military song?

...This question is about the instructor. Now he can sing the military songs of all six armies.

Moreover, the instructors sang the First Army's military songs very well. Now, Dai Anlan, Qian Deng Ruoxian and a large number of people who returned to Huangpu from the First Army for further studies and research on armored mechanized warfare are all in the instructors.

Under the gaze of Ganzhou citizens and people from China and abroad, the training division infantry regiment marched through the streets. The mountain infantry regiment marched through the streets.

Motorized Infantry Battalion...

Engines rumbled as more than forty off-road trucks, loaded with soldiers, moved through the streets. At the rear of the motorized infantry battalion were several trucks towing mountain artillery.

"OMG, which Chinese ace military unit is this?"

The British brokerage informant who had been drinking coffee on the street yesterday was still drinking coffee in the same cafe today. He tossed a silver dollar to the waiter, who caught it and said, "Sir, this could be the First Army, another major force of the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government."

Broker: "The Guangzhou government has concentrated the First and Fourth Armies in Ganzhou?" "Yes, sir."

Broker: "Settle the bill."

The brokerage firm had to quickly send another telegram to its Hong Kong headquarters.

Chapter 32, The plane is coming.

Yingshan County.

Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area, Hubei-Henan-Anhui Military Region Headquarters. "Telegram from the General Staff! Military orders!"

The communications officer delivered the telegram to the headquarters: "General Staff Order. Operation codenamed 'Gao Yao', initiated."

Zhou Shidi took the telegram.

That was all the telegram said. "Gao Yao" was the action plan that had been discussed repeatedly in Hubei, Henan, Anhui, and Guangzhou over the past two or three months, with all the details finalized. This military order from the General Staff meant to initiate action according to this plan.

Cai Shenxi: "Commander, why did you give it such an obscure name? Operation Gao Yao. If you don't reveal the characters, I won't know what it means."

Zhou Shidi: "How would I know...it won't have much of an impact. Even though this operation involves tens of thousands of people, not everyone needs to know the name of the plan."

Guo Moruo: "Because, three thousand years ago, the descendants of Gao Yao established a vassal state here, with a monarch named Yan."

"Comrades, let's hold a pre-war meeting now."

Zhou Shidi convened a meeting of the main commanders of the Sixth Army and the commanders of the independent regiments in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area.

"Intelligence from our reconnaissance forces and the military and civilians in the base area indicates that all three of Chiang Kai-shek's armies have launched offensive operations. In the direction of Macheng, the 41st Army has departed from Hanyang and is expected to launch an attack on Macheng tomorrow. In the direction of Lu'an and Huoshan, the 31st Army is already at the gates of Huoshan City. Furthermore, the Second Division of Chiang Kai-shek's First Army is stationed in Lu'an. In the direction of Anqing, Chiang Kai-shek's Fourth Army is gathering towards Qianshan, preparing to enter the Dabie Mountains."

"According to the General Staff's instructions, we are now activating the active defense plan 'Gao Yao'. We must first lure the enemy deep into our territory, then tear open the front lines and repel the enemy through large-scale mobile operations."

Cai Shenxi stated: "The 1st Independent Regiment will conduct a frontal blocking battle against the invading enemy in Macheng, holding them back for a day before retreating northward into the mountains. In the Qianshan direction, if the 4th Army advances, the 2nd Independent Regiment will retreat to the vicinity of Shiguan and Lianyun, and continue to retreat depending on the situation. In the Huoshan direction, the 3rd and 4th Independent Regiments will also lure the enemy deeper into the Dabie Mountains. As a field mobile force, the 6th Army will take the initiative in the first phase of the operation, launching an attack on Qichun on April 10th, creating a situation where the battle will reach the Yangtze River."

Xu Ziqing, commander of the 1st Independent Regiment, said: "Our Independent Regiment has been building fortifications in Macheng for a long time. Holding it for just one day is too much."

Zhou Shidi: "Your position may hold off the enemy for several days, but the ammunition consumption during this blocking battle is very high, and the captured items are not much. Your regiment should try to conserve ammunition as much as possible, as it will be needed in the subsequent stages of the battle."

"yes! "

Zhou Shidi looked at the commanders of the Sixth Army again and said, "To be honest, I'm still a little worried. Comrades, I know your troops have been training for almost a year, and the personnel and organization of your teams are very complete. However, the actual combat of the three divisions of the Sixth Army this year has mainly come from suppressing bandits and attacking earthen walls. Even at this level, we haven't fought many battles. Everyone must be fully prepared for the high-intensity and fierce battles that are coming."

Xu Haidong, commander of the 16th Division of the Sixth Army: "All officers and soldiers of the 16th Division are ready to fight the enemy to the death."

Wang Shusheng, commander of the 17th Division, said: "The same goes for the 17th Division. All officers and soldiers swear to defend the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area to the death."

Liu Yongyao, commander of the 18th Division, said: "As the battle's general reserve, the 18th Division is ready to engage in combat at any time and defeat all enemies."

Macheng.

1929 4 Month 9 Day.

Fang Zhenwu, commander of the 41st Army of the Northwest Army, personally went to Macheng to inspect the county town that was about to be attacked.

Fang Zhenwu had made considerable contributions during the Northern Expedition. When the Nationalist Army relieved Xi'an, it was Fang Zhenwu's Nationalist United Army that spearheaded the Shaanxi Rescue Army. However, after the Beiyang warlords were eliminated, Chiang Kai-shek moved on to eliminate the Communist Party, so his troops had no choice but to follow suit and be transferred to Wuhan to suppress the Communists.

Observing the defenders' positions through his telescope, Fang Zhenwu quickly discerned that the defenders weren't simply defending the county walls. Instead, they had established a defensive line with the city at its core, extending two kilometers to the northwest and southeast. The defenses were meticulously constructed, and Fang Zhenwu even spotted several brick and stone bunkers or firing points.

"These bunkers, even a single hit from a 75mm mountain gun probably wouldn't be enough to destroy them..." Fang Zhenwu smacked his lips. "Didn't they say there were no regular Communist troops in Macheng? Only peasant self-defense forces?"

"Reporting to the army commander, the intelligence does say that there are no Communist field regular troops inside, but they may have allowed the regular troops to repair the fortifications first."

Fang Zhenwu: "First Division, send out two regiments to launch attacks in the northeast and southeast. On the first day, we'll break through the defenses outside the city and then encircle Macheng. The artillery... the artillery will be used on the northwest hillock."

Xiangxi.

Dayong County (present-day Zhangjiajie area).

He Long led the Xiangxi Autonomous Army - the 8th Army of the Revolutionary Army, with more than 17,000 soldiers, from Sangzhi, Cili, Yongshun and other places, and gathered outside Dayong City.

"Brothers!"

He Long delivered a speech to the bustling Autonomous Army:

"I, He Huzi, have fought for more than ten years, and every time I fought, I fought for the poor! But sometimes I lost, sometimes I won!"

"After joining the revolutionary army and fighting under the leadership of the Communist Party, things were different. From then on, I, He Huzi, never lost!"

"Follow the Communist Party and carry out the revolution. Only then can the poor rise up and we can win every battle!"

"Now, Eighth Army, follow my orders and take the county town!"

Dayong's fortified city, known as Wukouzhai, is an ancient city steeped in history. Within the walls, the defenders number over a thousand, including a security corps and over a hundred police officers. Faced with the 10,000 to 20,000-strong peasant army outside, the defenders were a bit nervous. Fortunately, they had already dispatched swift horses to alert Changde. As long as they could prevent the peasants from climbing the city walls with ladders and hold out for three days, reinforcements from Changde would arrive.

The head of the security corps gazed out from the city walls. Sure enough, he saw several ladders—crude but high enough, all homemade by the peasants. He wanted to take a closer look, but a flash of muzzle flash appeared from the peasant army's position outside the city, and he quickly retreated to the battlements in panic.

"Damn it! These peasant soldiers actually have heavy machine guns! They must have been smuggled in by the rebels from Guangzhou!"

"Sir, look, what is that?" A soldier pointed outside the city.

The head of the security team stuck his head out to look outside.

On the peasant army's position, in addition to the ladders on standby and the heavy machine guns that fired a burst of "bang bang bang" from time to time, there were also several pieces of white cloth.

The peasant army spread out a white cloth on the ground, forming a pattern. The pattern was… a “ ” shape. Yes, a giant white arrow made of white cloth.

"What are these peasants doing?" "Sir, look, a big bird!"

"Sir, it's not a big bird, it's a plane!" "It's a plane!"

The soldiers chattered in a flurry, each pointing their fingers towards the sky and shouting excitedly. The head of the security team said, "..."

Six German-made AEG C.4 reconnaissance/bombers flew over Dayong Ancient City. The pilots quickly spotted a white arrow on the ground, pointing in the direction of their bombing target.

轰炸机队在空中调转了一下方向，重新编队,6架飞机摆成1-2-3机的等腰三角形编队,在600米高度掠过大庸古城上空。

Then, the security team on the city wall heard the whistling of bombs passing through the air above their heads.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

A 50-kilogram aerial bomb was not enough to blow down the city wall, but it was enough to reduce the morale of the defenders to zero.

After six bombs were dropped, the defenders who had just been excitedly shouting "Airplane, airplane is coming" suddenly fled in all directions. At least half of the soldiers wanted to leave the city wall and hide in the houses in the town.

However, this was not the end. A few minutes later, the six planes that had circled in the air came back, still forming an isosceles triangle formation at an altitude of 600 meters, and flew over the ancient city.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

The Eighth Army captured the ancient city of Dayong in just half an hour. After the bombers finished dropping their bombs, the peasant army immediately launched a siege with ladders. When the ladders were placed on the city walls, the defenders on top of the walls showed no reaction, not even firing shots or throwing grenades.

At 9:30 am on April 10, the Eighth Army of the Revolutionary Army captured Dayong, the first county town in western Hunan.

Chapter 33, Li Zongren, come and reinforce Nanchang!

Guangzhou.

General Staff.

The battle situation in the four war zones of the second anti-encirclement and suppression campaign - Hubei, Henan and Anhui, Jiangxi, central and southern Hunan, and western Hunan - was continuously transmitted back to Guangzhou through high-power radio stations, and the work of the General Staff was instantly saturated.

Now Chen Tianheng must try hard to let go of the habit of interfering in everything, especially when checking the battle reports sent back by each station area. He must focus on whether the war zone has completed the tasks of this stage, rather than worrying about the details.

For example, the battle report from Xiangxi, the combat briefing sent back by He Long on that day was ridiculous.

In the 8th Army's first battle after its formation, with the support of frontline bombers, the army launched a coordinated air-ground attack to capture Wukou Village (the county seat) in Dayong County. During the battle, the bombers frightened not only the enemy but also the 8th Army's own troops.

The 22nd and 23rd Divisions of the 8th Army participated in the battle. The 22nd Division behaved fairly normally. The 22nd Division was formed in Sangzhi County and, after being organized into three regiments, He Long took the entire division to the Sangzhi County field airfield and had them watch planes descend and ascend, descend and ascend, for several days straight. Even the entire 22nd Division lined up to view the AEG C.4 aircraft parked on the runway, as if they were a rare treasure.

The 23rd Division did not have such good conditions, because the 23rd Division was organized in Cili County instead of Sangzhi County. When the 22nd and 23rd Divisions joined forces in Dayong County, most of the officers and soldiers of the 23rd Division had never seen an airplane.

于是在4月10日上午的战斗中，从城东发动进攻的22师表现正常,地面的轰炸指示箭头就是由22师摆出来的。从城西发动进攻的23师则出现了骚乱。

At that time, six "big iron birds" flew over the sky, dropping bombs. The officers and soldiers of the 23rd Division on the ground were in chaos. One of the company commanders turned around and ran for three kilometers and hid in a farmer's house in the countryside. He crawled under the bed and trembled, becoming the laughing stock of the entire 8th Army.

Chen Tianheng threw the telegram away, trying not to think about the details of the story, and instead focused on the progress in Xiangxi.

Putting aside the details, from the perspective of the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign, progress in the Xiangxi direction was smooth.

第8军本计划用一天的时间攻占大庸县,实际上战斗从上午9时持续到9时30分便告结束。现在贺龙正带着第8军向慈利县城进军，预计11日晚抵达慈利县城外，4月11日发动攻城。

After capturing Cili County, the 8th Army's next target was Changde. Surrounded by water on three sides, Changde was easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, the advantage was that it would be difficult for the defenders inside to flank the 8th Army. Therefore, the battle plan for western Hunan was for the 8th Army to bypass Changde and advance directly toward Yiyang via Hanshou County.

"The 4th Army arrived in Taihe, and the vanguard 10th Division arrived in Yongxin."

Chen Tianheng: "Reply and remind me that after the Fourth Army arrives in Lianhua County, it will be transferred from the Jiangxi War Zone to the Central and Southern Hunan War Zone and will be under the command of the First Group Army."

"Still heading towards Jiangxi. The 19th Division of the 7th Army has arrived in Ji'an. The 20th and 21st Divisions of the 3rd and 7th Armies have departed from Ganzhou and have now arrived in Guangchang."

The two main forces in Jiangxi are progressing normally.

Chen Tianheng: "The position of the instructor?"

"The 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Training Division arrived at the square with the 3rd Army. The Training Division... Regimental Combat Team arrived in Ji'an with the 19th Division."

"In central and southern Hunan, the First Army arrived in Hengyang and joined the Third Army and the First Army's artillery."

Chen Tianheng: "There's nothing to adjust. Hubei, Henan, and Anhui?"

In the Hubei-Henan-Anhui direction, on April 11, the Sixth Army suddenly rushed out from the Dabie Mountains. The 16th Division marched 60 kilometers a day and occupied Qichun County before the enemy could react.

This was a gap in Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui. Qichun County had only half an infantry regiment of the 36th Army plus a local security regiment, totaling about 1100 men. Xu Haidong led the 16th Division on a forced march, organizing their forces on the move. Upon reaching Qichun County, they launched an attack, securing the city by 9:4 PM on April 11.

At 10 p.m. on April 11, the 17th Division also arrived in Qichun City. In a short period of time, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area expanded its control area to the Yangtze River.

In fact, in the past, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area also obtained weapons and ammunition through the Yangtze River water transport - they used cargo ships with British licenses to load weapons and ammunition, continued upstream after passing Wuxue, and quietly unloaded the weapons and ammunition at a dock on the Yangtze River. Local grassroots organizations and guerrillas could operate semi-openly and transport the supplies back to the base area.

However, the fact that the guerrilla zone was openly upgraded to a base area and horses were allowed to drink water from the Yangtze River was still a huge shock to Chiang Kai-shek and the Nanjing government.