1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Comrade Deng Hua, your 12th Division has an extremely important mission in this anti-encirclement and suppression campaign. I don't have time to slowly adjust you. Get familiar with it as soon as possible! Comrade Fu Zhong will assist you." "Yes!"

"Comrade Zhang Aiping, your job as the political commissar of the special brigade is very heavy. There are many arrogant and powerful soldiers and generals there. Not only must you be responsible for political work, but you must also participate in training and keep up with their pace. If you have any questions, you can ask Comrade Ma Shiwu." "Yes! I will ensure that the task is completed!"

After giving instructions to the two cadres sent by the Central Committee, Li Desheng looked at the other middle and senior commanders and said, "Okay, now, let's talk about this counter-encirclement and suppression campaign!"

The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became solemn.

The reason is very simple - there are too many Kuomintang troops coming to encircle and suppress the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area.

According to the information released by the Nationalist Army itself, the Special Forces Brigade, the Reconnaissance Company, and the underground party organization:

This time, Chiang Kai-shek seemed to have made up his mind. In addition to the troops he had used to besiege and suppress the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, he also gathered another 30 people. Although it was "claimed to be 30", if you remove the water, it must be at least 20, right?

Whether it was 200,000 or 300,000, this was a force that the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area and the Red Fourth Front Army, which currently had less than 50,000 men, could hardly contend with. Moreover, in November of the previous year, Chiang Kai-shek had already mobilized 15 divisions to launch the third "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the Hubei-Henan-Anhui revolutionary base area.

Since the planned "Sujiabu Campaign" was not implemented, strictly speaking, the enemy started the "fourth" counter-encirclement and suppression campaign before the third one was even over!

This shows how much Chairman Chiang Kai-shek valued the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, which could directly threaten Wuhan and harass Nanjing and Shanghai to the east and Zhengzhou and Luoyang to the north. What the commanders and fighters did not know was that historically, the third and fourth encirclement and suppression campaigns against the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area were almost "closely connected";

In June 1932, the Fourth Front Army fought through the Huangan, Shanghuang, Sujiabu, and Huangguang campaigns, annihilating over 60,000 Chiang Kai-shek troops and completely crushing the Third Encirclement and Suppression Campaign. However, before the Red Army could even begin to recover, Zhang Guotao, ignoring the objections of Xu Xiangqian and others, ordered the Red Army to continue the siege and attempt to capture Macheng (which also failed).

Then, in late July and early August 1932, the Red Fourth Front Army, exhausted, short of supplies, and weary of war, faced a massive attack from Chiang Kai-shek's 300,000-man Fourth Encirclement and Suppression Campaign... How does this worldline compare to the historical scenario?

First, the Battle of Sujiabu and the Battle of Huangguang had not yet begun, and the 3 nationalist troops in Sujiabu and the 1 nationalist troops in Huangguang still maintained a relatively intact organization;

Secondly, the Red Army didn't go through these battles, didn't siege Macheng, and underwent a comprehensive reorganization. Their material supply, combat effectiveness, and morale were all much better than in history. Finally, the leader of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area and the Red Fourth Front was replaced by the headstrong, radical, and unyielding Zhang Guotao, and replaced by the "somewhat knowledgeable" Li Desheng... Honestly, UMP45 was looking forward to seeing something different.

At Li Desheng's urging, Xu Xiangqian was the first to speak:

"We must fight, but I think we should first deal with the 40,000 nationalist troops in Sujiabu and Huangguang, otherwise they will directly threaten us from the east and north..." According to the reconnaissance, this time, the nationalist army's posture is very clear. They want to encircle the Red Army in Hubei, Henan, Anhui and nearby areas from the left, center and right.

The left route was led by Wuhan Pacification Chief He Chengzhu and Tenth Army Commander Xu Yuanquan. Their main task was to besiege the Hunan-Hubei-West base where the Red Third Army (He Long's troops) was located and prevent it from connecting with the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base. The middle route was led by the Hubei-Henan-Anhui bandit suppression commander-in-chief Jiang Jieshi himself. They advanced from Xinyang, Henan from north to south. Their main task was to annihilate the Red Army and the resistance forces in the base in Henan.

The right wing was led by Li Jishen, deputy commander of the bandit suppression in Henan, Hubei and Anhui provinces, and Wang Jun, commander of the Third Army. They advanced from Lu'an, Anhui from east to west, and their main task was to attack the Soviet area in northwestern Anhui. In other words, this time, the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army was under tremendous pressure just to deal with the Central Army and the Right Army independently, let alone support the Hunan-Hubei-West Base Area and the Third Army of the Red Army. Therefore, Xu Xiangqian proposed that the two nails of Huangguang south of Xinyang and Sujiabu west of Lu'an must be removed first.

Chen Changhao and other cadres also agreed with this suggestion - to directly send a part of the army to defeat the relatively small number of Huangguang National Army, and then surround Sujiabu and attack the reinforcements.

In fact, this is exactly what they did in history—they defeated 4 nationalist troops in one fell swoop. But the price they paid was that the Red Fourth Front Army, which had already experienced two battles, became even more exhausted... After everyone had expressed their opinions, Li Desheng shook his head:

"Comrades, you can't fight like this."

"..."

Because of Li Desheng's good temper, people were more willing and brave to speak out compared to the Zhang Guotao era. Someone immediately raised an objection:

"Chairman, why can't we fight this way? These two units are weak in the Nationalist Army. We've tested them and they're very easy to defeat. Perhaps if we just surround them, they'll surrender!" This wasn't entirely an exaggeration, and history has proven this point—by encircling a point and attacking its reinforcements, 14 Nationalist reinforcement regiments were completely wiped out, and all six regiments at Sujiabu were forced to surrender. "You're right, but you've overlooked one thing."

Li Desheng pointed at the map and said:

"When you launched the Huangan and Shanghuang campaigns, Chiang Kai-shek's army wasn't fully prepared, and many of its troops hadn't yet arrived. Therefore, if you attacked them, the other troops wouldn't be able to support you."

"It's been over three months since the Battle of Shanghuang. Chiang Kai-shek's army has assembled, and Chiang Kai-shek will come to Wuhan in person. If we attack Sujiabu and other places at this time, we will definitely be held hostage!"

Everyone looked at the map and considered the information they had gathered, and suddenly a chill ran down their spines.

As actual commanders and fighters, they were not Zhang Guotao, the historical figure who shouted "No matter how many troops Chiang Kai-shek's army mobilizes, they cannot withstand a blow from the Red Army." On the contrary, they were very clear about the strength of the National Army; especially those troops led by outstanding National Army generals such as Hu Zongnan and Liu Zhi, who were even more difficult to deal with.

Then again, even if these 30 people were 30 pigs, the Red Army would be exhausted to death trying to capture them, not to mention that these were 30 armed, equipped, and combat-ready troops.

So, just as Chairman Li said, we can't fight according to the original plan, otherwise we'll probably get entangled, and then not only won't we be able to "attack the reinforcements" but we'll also be bitten hard. But...

"Chairman, if we don't remove these two nails, the threat Chiang Kai-shek's army will pose to us will be very great." "Haha, why do we have to insist on attacking these two places?"

"If not here... where then?"

“Isn’t Wuhan a good target?”

“Oh, Wuhan… Eh??!

185 Chairman was bombed in Wuhan

"...Wuhan, a city renowned for its history, culture, economy, and politics! A crossroads connecting nine provinces! And also the birthplace of our National Revolutionary Army!"

"It was here that Mr. Huang and Mr. Song led the rebel army to fire the first shot of the Chinese Revolution, ultimately overthrowing the rule of the Qing Dynasty!"

"The late Prime Minister once said that whoever controls Wuhan will secure the Central Plains! Therefore, Wuhan is a place that must be fought for! The Party and the country have invested a lot! It can be said that it benefits all the gentry and the people!" "Therefore, wherever our party and our army go, the people welcome them wholeheartedly. It can be said that we have the best timing. The vibrant energy and the flourishing of all things are still before our eyes;" "However, I don't understand why a group of lawless bandits are still lingering near such a core location and military stronghold and cannot be expelled!" "I don't know whether it is the incompetence of the local Wuhan government or the constraints of the Military Commission that have led to this unsightly scene!"

"But it doesn't matter anymore. Now, I'm here! I'm here with an army of 30! No matter what setbacks we've encountered before, we'll definitely avenge them this time!" "No matter what, our army is now 30 to 5. The advantage is ours! This time, we will definitely annihilate the Communist bandits and clear the sky!"

“Pah pah pah pah pah pah…”

There was warm applause from the audience, and everyone looked at the chairman speaking on the stage with an expression of reverence.

Well, not only did he boast about himself, but he also secretly satirized the former "Wuhan National Government", that is, the current President Wang.

Not only did he mock them, he also summoned Li Jishen, deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei, Henan, and Anhui bandit suppression campaign; Wang Jun, commander of the Third Army; Liu Zhi, director of the Kaifeng Pacification Campaign; Hu Zongnan, commander of the First Division; Zeng Wanzhong, commander of the 12th Division; and Xu Tingyao, commander of the Fourth Division. Well, that was his style.

Many people secretly criticized the Communist Party, but on the surface, they all sat upright and composed. Some even openly flattered the Communist Party: "...With the Chairman here! The Communist bandits will definitely be vulnerable! Unable to withstand a single blow!"

As soon as you hear this name, you know that this kind of guy is most likely from the local army and is not Chiang Kai-shek's direct subordinate at all;

However, even so, Chiang Kai-shek still gave a look of approval to the Tenth Army Commander Xu Yuanquan who was speaking, and then he walked off the stage leisurely and threw the clothes in his hand to Hu Zongnan: "Shoushan..."

"Yes, Principal!"

"I specially transferred you here for this battle. You must give your all and win a great victory." "Yes! Principal! I will do my best and live up to your trust!"

"Hmm...hmm? Yu'an (Qiu Qingquan), what are you talking about with Jingfu (Liu Zhi)?" "I said, the Chairman... has a great opinion!"

"Hmm... not bad, not bad..."

Chiang Kai-shek nodded in satisfaction and proceeded to give the other generals earnest instructions, imposing himself as the Generalissimo and giving some of the disobedient ones a good beating. Just as he was giving the rebellious Li Jishen a lesson, a sharp whistle interrupted the Generalissimo's pleasure:

“Woo! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

"What's going on?!"

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was furious, but suddenly realized that this seemed to be an air defense alarm. Oh, so it was an air defense alarm, then...

etc?

Air defense? Against whose air defense? The Japanese?

No, no, no, it’s impossible;

Putting aside the fact that the peace treaty had been signed and both sides had ceased fighting, even if the war was still going on, how could the Japanese have possibly entered Wuhan! And what the hell was the point of sounding the air raid sirens?

False ring?

Chiang Kai-shek was puzzled. Seeing that the others around him were also confused, he realized that he might find the answer by looking at the expression of one person: "Xuezhu! What's going on?"

Facing Chiang Kai-shek's questioning, He Chengjun, the head of the Wuhan headquarters, looked a little panicked: "I will send someone to ask right away!"

In fact, there was no need to ask, he had already guessed the answer.

Who else could it be other than that Red Army plane that flew over Wuhan from the direction of Nanchang!!!

During this period, because of the "strong support" from the Kuomintang (referring to the last time Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei relayed to deliver supplies to the Red Army to rescue Yue Weijun), the Red Fourth Front Army frequently came to harass Wuhan! Sometimes there was one plane, sometimes two!

But no matter if it was just one or two, Wuhan was powerless to resist!

It's not that there wasn't resistance, but the plane that resisted was hit by a volley of bullets before it even took off, and after that, those "old, weak, and sick" refused to take to the sky again. Fortunately, the Communist bandits only dropped leaflets and did not attack Wuhan or Director He himself;

Therefore, after two incidents, Wuhan, which had suffered a loss, turned a blind eye under Director He's order; and the two sides were "at peace."

But damn, now that Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek has arrived, you're still here! Do you have any tacit understanding? Are you giving me, Director He, any respect?

Is there still law?

Is there still law?!

As expected, before the person He Chengjun sent out to question him returned, an officer rushed in in a panic: "Director He, this is bad! The Communist planes are coming again! This time there are two of them!!"

? ? ?

Fuck you!!!

He Chengjun wanted to pull out his gun and shoot this brainless bastard! Can't you see the Chairman is here?

How clever was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek?

He knew what was going on at first glance and immediately shouted angrily: "Xuezhu! What the hell is going on! What Communist plane!"

Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, He Chengjun had no choice but to honestly tell the truth about the Communist plane and pass on the blame:

"Commander! I don't know where the plane came from! I only know it flew from Nanchang! It's extremely powerful! It doesn't look like something the Communists could train!" He Chengjun wasn't just saying this casually.

He had vaguely heard some rumors that something major had happened in Nanchang, that they had suffered a great loss but were afraid to report it. Furthermore, the combat capabilities and fighting style of the two planes (and pilots) certainly didn't seem like those of the poor Communist bandits! The pilot of one plane was none other than Long Wenguang, an outstanding former Nationalist pilot.

Although the pilot of the other plane was unknown, it was obvious that the one who could keep Long Wenguang as his wingman must be a talented Nationalist pilot who had surrendered to the Communists! And in the entire Hubei-Henan-Anhui-Hunan-Jiangxi region, where else could there be such a pilot, except for the "General Center for Suppressing the Communists" in Nanchang?

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was no fool. He, too, recalled the slight anomaly in Nanchang some time ago. He narrowed his eyes and was about to ask when a sharp whistling sound suddenly erupted from the sky. Some officers, who had witnessed numerous bombing raids, suddenly changed their expressions. Without a second thought, they grabbed Chiang Kai-shek and ran towards the underground fortifications.

"Sir, run! This is coming towards us!"

According to the foreign instructors, this kind of shrieking sound is usually only produced by specially modified heavy bombs! Only an idiot would continue to stay in the auditorium, which is definitely going to be the main target of the bombing!

A group of senior generals of the National Army dragged their supreme leader into the narrow and stuffy underground fortifications in a panic.

I'm not trembling, but I'm definitely feeling uneasy and anxious.

What's more, a group of men went into the underground fortifications in the early summer, their sweat and the smell of fermentation...

In short, the Generalissimo's initial high spirits had completely vanished, his face looking like rusted copper, and if his bald head were a little slicker, it would look even more like it. Listening to the explosions, whistles, and faint screams outside, he threw away Hu Zongnan and his adjutant who were supporting him and roared:

"Order the flight team to take off immediately! We must shoot down these communist planes!"

He launched the encirclement and suppression of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Red Fourth Front Army this time, bringing with him the Air Force, a total of 4 air squadrons with more than 40 aircraft;

However, the suppression of the Communists had just begun, so only six planes followed the "escort" to Wuhan, while the others remained in Nanjing. "Ask Nanchang right away! Ask that old dog He Yingqin! Ask him what he wants to do!"

Chairman Chiang was furious, calling He "old dog" in front of so many senior officers. It seemed that Chairman Chiang was still very angry about He's betrayal.

Everyone pretended not to hear the Chairman's angry words, and even pretended not to know where the Red Army's bombs and gasoline came from, and hurriedly urged their subordinates to get busy.

Meanwhile, in a tall building near the meeting place of senior Nationalist officers, a man observed the situation with a telescope. After a moment, he ordered the person next to him: "Quick! Send a telegram to 'Sister 45'! Confirm that the senior Nationalist generals are all in this underground fortification and have not left! Request further instructions!"

"Yes!"

186 Thanks List─Big Brother brushed the plane!

Chairman Chiang Kai-shek was unaware that all KMT telegraph traffic in the vicinity of Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Nanchang was monitored by a highly specialized electronic warfare tactical doll. Naturally, he was also unaware that the Communists were fully aware of the time and location of the "Wuhan Bandit Suppression Pre-War Mobilization Meeting."

He also didn't know that before this meeting, the "Red Fourth Front Special Operations Brigade" carrying a radio had already entered Wuhan and was lurking;

If Li Desheng hadn't restrained her, given Ma Shiwu's temper, codenamed "Sister 45," she would probably have ordered the unit to kill all the senior KMT officers inside. What a shame. The commander had said that for the long-term future of the CCP and the country, that was absolutely not the way to go.

Oh, by the way, the special brigade's radio station was "voluntarily" donated by the National Army last time.

In other words, it was donated by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, the honorary general manager of the Logistics Department of the Red Fourth Front Army and later the general of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army.

Chairman Chiang did not know that with his help, his head was successfully put on the muzzle of someone else's gun, otherwise he would only be more panicked and filled with incompetent rage.

Because, after he issued those orders, one bad news and one even worse news soon came.

First of all, in fact, before his order was issued, the six planes of the aviation brigade that saw the enemy coming and were preparing to take off to meet the enemy had already suffered a disastrous defeat.

To use the words of the opera, "After only one move, he was cut off his horse." Well, to be more precise, he was stopped before he even took off.

The two Communist planes flew at low altitude and killed anyone who dared to approach the airport, leaving no one alive.

This miraculous technique not only scared all the ground crew and airport security forces into fleeing, but even the brave Nationalist pilots fled far away. Fighting the Japanese in Shanghai, they dared

Because they knew they would not necessarily lose, and even if they did, they would die fighting the Japanese, a glorious death; but they did not dare to fight the current "Communist bandits" in Wuhan;

Because no one knows better than them the terrifying combat capability of the Communist Party Air Force, so they know they will lose. In this situation, only a fool would take the risk of forcing a takeoff!

Force me to take off?

Oh, if I'm forced into a corner, I'll surrender to the Communists!

How could the messenger dare to offend these air force uncles who were more valuable than gold? Not to mention him, Chairman Chiang was not willing to threaten this group of people easily.

Because the second, even worse news, not only did he not dare to offend these cultured, well-educated, and knowledgeable air force pilots, he even had to find a way to appease them!

Seeing Chiang Kai-shek's stern telegram coming down, Nanchang knew it could no longer conceal the truth and could only give a "brief" account of the situation. Well, it was indeed brief, so brief that Chairman Chiang's blood pressure almost rushed to his head and he passed out. That is:

Ten Type 03U "Cosset" biplane armed light reconnaissance aircraft (Vought V-92C) from Nanchang were completely destroyed during a bombing mission over Ruijin. How did they fail?

The pilots surrendered with all their planes...

Originally, some intelligence had come in from Ruijin, claiming the plane had been shot down, and that traces of the crash were still visible in Ruijin County. However, He Yingqin himself didn't believe this, and he certainly didn't think Chiang Kai-shek would believe it either, so he went along with the Red Army's threatening statement.

After all, it is "understandable" that a pilot surrendered his plane to the Communist bandits, but it is completely beyond comprehension that the Red Army, which did not even have anti-aircraft weapons, shot down 10 planes; humans are naturally unwilling to believe things that they cannot understand.

Therefore, after repeatedly verifying the authenticity of the news, Chairman Chiang not only immediately stopped the order for all the Nanjing flight teams to take off to support Wuhan, but also ordered Dai Li to conduct a strict review of all pilots! Why?

The pilots in Nanchang were able to surrender their planes en masse, but the pilots in Nanjing didn't dare to do the same?!