1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Here we must mention how Xia Xi, secretary of the Hunan-Hubei-West Central Branch Bureau, responded to the encirclement and suppression of the 10-strong army under the guidance of "left" adventurism: he stepped up the construction of fortifications and intensified the garrison work in order to achieve the goal of "preventing a single inch of the base area from being ravaged by the enemy";

The Red Third Army moved from the Xiangbei area to the Beijing-Hankou Railway area centered on Yunmeng, Xiaogan, Yingcheng, Yingshan, and Anlu to fight in order to unite with Hubei, Henan, and Anhui; then, unite with Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi, thereby encircling and capturing Wuhan and achieving complete victory in the three provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi.

Under the guidance of this idea, the Red Army deployed its forces and engaged in rounds of positional warfare with the Kuomintang army in various places...

Naturally, the Red Third Army, with only 1.5 men, suffered heavy casualties. When faced with the fourth encirclement and suppression campaign, the Hunan-Hubei-West Hubei base area had no resistance and soon fell along with the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area. So, what was the correct suggestion that He Long and others proposed in history but was rejected by Xia Xi?

Establish a base in the north of Xiangyang, and use the main force to develop the enemy's weakly defended areas, and then connect them with other small bases to expand the room for maneuver and strive for the initiative in resisting the "encirclement and suppression"; concentrate the main force to switch to external operations, fight guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare, in order to tire and numb the enemy in the movement, and then annihilate its vitality.

Does it sound familiar?

That’s right, the instructions given to them by the historical teacher and the new secretary of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Branch, Li Desheng, were:

"Dividing our forces into smaller groups will only benefit the enemy. The Red Third Army should concentrate its entire forces to maneuverably select the enemy's weak points, attacking and destroying one side first."

"Use local armed forces and guerrilla warfare by the masses to contain other forces, and then we can defeat the enemy one by one. We must not disperse our forces to defend positional warfare on all sides." Furthermore, in this world line, thanks to Li Desheng's strategy, their Honghu Soviet area hardly had to face encirclement and suppression, and the pressure was greatly reduced.

Therefore, it is natural that He Long and Guan Xiangying would be convinced by Li Desheng and willing to obey each other's orders without having met or discussed in detail. Now that Chiang Kai-shek's Tenth Army is no longer encircling the Honghu Soviet Area, does it mean that the Red Third Army can just watch the show from the sidelines?

Of course not. In Li Desheng’s plan, they have more important tasks.

Soon, under He Long's order, the main forces of the Red Third Army, except for a few guard and guerrilla forces, were concentrated to cooperate with the Red 12th Division in the northeast and also made a gesture of attacking Wuhan in a large scale. In order to successfully threaten and confuse the enemy, the Red Third Army also seized several strongholds and made a posture of attacking Wuhan with the Red Army in the north, which made the nearby Nationalist troops frantically ask for help.

Oh no!

There are tens of thousands of Communist bandits, they must be the main force among the main forces! They are going to do it for real!!

For the sake of the Party, the country and your own head, give your brother a hand!

Now, the 10th Army of the National Army, which was moving towards the northeast and preparing to besiege the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, was forced to rush back to defend; it had no choice but to come back.

The "Honghu bandit area" is right next to Hankou and Wuchang. If the defense line is penetrated, the Communist bandit troops can advance eastward along the Jianghan Plain at any time and may even enter Wuhan City.

By that time, no matter how many heads General Xu had, they would not be enough for Generalissimo Chiang to chop off. Then, the 10th National Army hurried back and found:

Hey hey!

damn it!

The Communist bandits have slipped back into the bandit area again!! Not even a hair of a person was seen!!!

It was as if the attack by tens of thousands of people before was all fake!

What? Seeing how powerful our reinforcements are, you're afraid to resist? Humph!

You guys run fast!

Seeing the Red Third Army retreat, the National Tenth Army could only arrange a new garrison and send a telegram back to the Wuhan headquarters saying that they had successfully wiped out the harassing Communist bandits. Then they rushed back again. There was no other way. The old man's telegram was urgent.

Chairman Chiang Kai-shek wished he could immediately send his entire army flying to Henan to kill the Communist bandits who had caused him such disgrace. And then, guess what?

The Communists are back again!

They're back in a big way!

Almost as soon as the National Tenth Army left, the new garrison troops had no time to familiarize themselves with the position and repair the previously damaged fortifications before they were wiped out in one fell swoop by the surging Red Third Army; so, the Red Third Army once again arrived in Wuhan.

This time the momentum was even greater than the last time because He Long had added more troops.

Indeed, Li Desheng's order was to "hold back the Kuomintang's 10th Army, preventing them from advancing or retreating," but He Long had considerable leeway in determining how to proceed. To convince the 10th Army that the Red Third Army was truly intent on attacking Wuhan, He Long adopted the strategy of "gradually increasing the offensive force and increasing the intensity each time."

Otherwise, what if the National Tenth Army decided that the Red Third Army was merely harassing them and refused to mobilize them?

After all, Li Desheng didn't really want to attack Wuhan.

We are not fully prepared yet, it is not the right time!!

As expected, facing the even more intense offensive of the Red Third Army, He Chengqian, the Wuhan pacification chief who received the request for assistance, was fooled and immediately ordered Xu Yuanquan, commander of the Tenth Army, to return to provide assistance. Indeed, everyone suspected that the Red Third Army was likely a feint and had no intention of attacking Wuhan at all, but was merely harassing and delaying the Nationalist forces.

But the question is, do you dare to gamble with the safety of the middle and senior commanders in Wuhan, especially Chairman Chiang?

In military affairs, there has always been a constant flow of false and real, real and false, and constant changes;

At this moment, the Red Third Army was indeed playing tricks, making a fuss, and then slipping away when they saw that you had more people.

The next moment, he sees that you are really defenseless, do you think he will really pounce on you and bite you?

So, let alone He Chengjie and Xu Yuanquan, even Chiang Kai-shek, who knew that the 10th National Army had been mobilized three times in succession by himself and the Red Army, would dare to say no? So, the 10th National Army, which had run halfway, received an order to run back again;

Then, facing the National Tenth Army coming back to support, the Red Third Army slipped away again... like a dog slipping away.

6.

189 Hold on firmly! There is a way!

"Fuck!!!!"

Don't get me wrong, this is not Chairman Chiang who is scolding people, but Xu Yuanquan, the commander of the 10th Army who was treated like a dog by He Long several times, who is imitating Chairman Chiang's scolding.

This 46-year-old man is also an old revolutionary. He participated in the Xinhai Revolution, the Second Revolution, the Restoration Army, the Northern Expedition, the Central Plains War, and quite a few battles. He has very long experience. By the way, this guy was once the right-hand man of the deceased Marshal Zhang Zongchang. It was he who helped Marshal Zhang to gather his troops and stabilize the people's hearts when he was defeated. Later, Marshal Zhang completely lost power, and he led his troops to surrender to Chiang Kai-shek. He is currently serving as the Supervisor of the Cleanup Campaign in Hubei Province and the Commander-in-Chief of the Suppression of the Communists in Western Hubei.

Logically, this guy was a capable and experienced general and shouldn't have been fooled like this. But "unfortunately", there was a huge problem that hindered his ability to perform: his military thinking was backward and rigid. He was suitable for large-scale positional warfare, but not for the guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare of the Red Army.

Before Xia Xi arrived at the Hunan-Hubei-West base and gradually gained power, He Long relied on this tactic to fight against Xu Yuanquan, making the other party extremely annoyed but helpless;

Although his army nominally occupied Huangan and Honghu for a time, it was only a small area and could not be stationed there for a long time. As soon as the Nationalist troops left, the Red Army returned and continued to harass them. Commander Xu was completely helpless against this tactic and was tortured to death by He Long's troops and Xu Xiangqian of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area.

(Unfortunately, in history, Xia Xi ordered the Red Army to engage in positional warfare with him, so this man relied on piling up casualties to achieve victory. He was later commended by Chiang Kai-shek for this, and even a county was renamed after his name - "Kecheng County") (Incidentally, another person who received similar commendation after the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army during the same period was the "General Commander" - a "Jingfu County")

In July 131, after the 7th Army was deployed east of Wuhan to attack the Fourth Red Army, General Xu, thinking, "Isn't guerrilla warfare just a small-scale surprise attack? I'll do it myself." He dispatched two brigades to attack the Red Army's Ximagui town. However, they were surrounded by Xu Xiangqian's troops, and over 2000 of their men were killed.

This great defeat, coupled with the subsequent disaster in Hubei, made Xu afraid to send troops to fight the Red Army for a full six months, just like He in Nanchang now;

This time, for the position of Chairman of Hubei Province, he gathered 10 people at the instigation of Chiang Kai-shek and mustered up the courage to fight the Red Army to the death; but he ended up being treated like a dog again and again...

You would get angry too if it were you.

Commander Xu slammed the cup in his hand and spitted on the messenger who came to give the order:

"One moment east! The next moment west! One moment he wants me to fight He Long! The next moment he wants me to fight Zhang Guotao! Has that Mr. He gone crazy?"

Xu Yuanquan knew this wasn't He Chengqian's fault, but he didn't dare to scold Chiang Kai-shek, so he vented all his dissatisfaction and anger on his nominal superior. The messenger didn't dare to speak, but could only kneel there trembling with fear, his head bowed. Another lieutenant general with a cold and arrogant look interrupted him:

"Commander, He Long is nothing to worry about. I will lead the 41st Division to capture them, and you can lead the other troops to encircle and suppress Zhang Guotao, isn't that enough?" "...Yansheng..."

The speaker was Zhang Zhenhan, commander of the 41st Division of the 10th Army, holding the rank of Lieutenant General. He was currently stationed in the Zaocheng area of ​​Yingcheng. Incidentally, it was this 41st Division that suffered a crushing defeat in the "Ximagui Battle" on September 1st of last year, losing nearly three regiments of troops. So why was Commander Zhang still so arrogant?

Because he had only taken office this year and had yet to fight the Red Army, and had just easily captured Yingcheng and Zaoshi, he instinctively believed that those peasants were vulnerable: "...Forget me, even my brigade commander Huang would be enough to lead a brigade!"

Huang Baitao, the brigade commander of the 144th Brigade of the 41st Division of the 10th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, was also a recent appointment.

"..."

Commander Xu was very unhappy and didn't want to pay attention to this arrogant bastard. He was silent for a while, but then he thought about it and found that there was really no need for him to run back and forth with his troops.

Since we need to follow the Chairman's orders to encircle and suppress the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base in the northeast while leaving enough troops to guard against He Long's attack on Wuhan, wouldn't it be better for Zhang Zhenhan to stay? If Zhang Zhenhan wins and He Long is eliminated, Xu Yuanquan's mission will be completed, and he can focus on flattering the Chairman.

If Zhang Zhenhan lost, He Long's troops would likely suffer heavy losses and be unable to fight again, and Xu Yuanquan wouldn't have to worry about it either. In other words, no matter whether Zhang Zhenhan's 41st Division won or lost, no matter what the outcome, Commander Xu would not lose out. So what was he hesitating about?

"Alright! Since Yan Sheng is so confident, the task of annihilating He Long's troops is now yours!" "I guarantee that they will be completely wiped out!"

Zhang Zhenhan returned with confidence, and immediately led his troops out of Yingcheng and headed south, preparing to cooperate with the defense forces southwest of Wuhan, and he himself would be the main force to give He Long a hard blow. He Long, aren't you just playing tricks on us by relying on your fast running speed?

it is good!

I am now advancing with my mighty army. Let's see where you can run! Run?

The monk can run away, but he can't run away from the temple!

Two days later, under the urging of Division Commander Zhang, the 41st Division, under the banner of "Enter the Honghu District and capture He Huzi alive," hurried to the vicinity of what would later become Tianmen East Station. "Is Wenjiadun just ahead?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Ah..."

Looking at a certain spot on the map where Xu Yuanquan had suffered a great loss, Zhang Zhenhan sneered twice, his contempt for his superior growing. What kind of idiot would be defeated by such a rubbish army as the Communist bandits?

Along the way, his troops had come under attack from the Red Army, but to describe those attacks as "tickling" would be an exaggeration. Even mosquito bites hurt more than those!

Looking at the equipment captured by his men, not to mention the worn-out Mannlicher 1888 rifles that the 41st Division considered trash, there were even older Qing Dynasty-era large lifting poles, spears, and bows. Can you believe it? How could such an enemy occupy such a large area?

How could they actually defeat Xu Yuanquan's army?

Haha, it’s really a waste.

A raging soldier, and a raging nest.

After Commander Zhang cursed his superior in his heart, he issued an order:

"Pass the order! All troops, speed up! We must reach the Wenjiatun camp before dark!" "Division Commander, the terrain of Wenjiatun is easily..."

"I know! But it doesn't matter! What equipment do our army have? What equipment do the Communist bandits have? Why are we afraid of them?" Commander Zhang waved his hand:

"Besides, it's night! Those poor fellows! It's strange they can see anything!"

Thus, the headquarters of the 41st Division and the troops of the 121st and 123rd Brigades marched into Wenjiadun and began to station there.

What Commander Zhang was completely unaware of was that their telegraphic exchanges with Wuhan were essentially under the Red Army's surveillance, and their actual actions were rapidly reported to the Red Third Army by the local people. Consequently, He Long, Guan Xiangying, and others who were secretly observing the 41st Division's movements looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Isn't he... stupid? We just fought a battle here in March!"

He Long looked at the darkening sky and felt the humidity in the air: "Besides, it's also night time, so it's going to rain, right?"

What?

"Wenjiadun Battle" limited-time reprint?

Then all our preparations for the battlefield were in vain?

Guan Xiangying was also confused:

"It shouldn't be a trap, right? Could it be that the 144th Brigade following behind is planning to ambush us?"

".…"

He Long frowned and thought for a while:

"...No, that shouldn't be the case. The rearguard is stretched too far. By the time we're done, the opportunity will be gone." "Perhaps they underestimated our reorganized combat effectiveness and thought they could hold us back?"

"...It's possible..."

"How about leaving another unit behind to monitor the 144th Brigade?"

...Well... they wouldn't think we have nystagmus and are afraid to fight at night, would they?"

"That shouldn't be the case. We're by Honghu Lake, so eating fish shouldn't be a problem. The commander of the 41st Division graduated from the Baoding Army Officers School, so he shouldn't be so clueless." "Oh... never mind. Anyway, it's better to be careful..."

So, the Red Third Army dispatched a part of the Military Training Corps to quietly move further back and, together with other troops, secretly cut off the 41st Division's retreat route while carefully monitoring the movements of the 144th Brigade. Then, in the middle of the night, braving the drizzle, the Red Third Army launched a fierce attack on the 41st Division headquarters.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep..."

The fierce blasts of trumpets, shouts of killing, footsteps, and the sound of gunfire shook the entire night sky. Commander Zhang was awakened from his sleep: "What's going on! What's going on!"

"Commander! The Communists are attacking!"

"How could the Communists come here! How could the Communists come here! Hold on! Hold on!"

"Oh no! Commander!! The communists are all desperate! We brothers can't stand it anymore! !" "Help! Help!"

Not long after, Division Commander Zhang was stunned by a telegram from the 144th Brigade that read, "Our troops are blocked by the Communist bandits and cannot advance. Commander, hold on firmly, and there will be a way!" Meanwhile, a certain bearded man in front of him smiled broadly: "I heard you want to capture me alive?"

190 Our Team Towards the Sun

The 41st Division of the National Tenth Army, which came to encircle and suppress the Red Third Army, was completely wiped out after less than a night of fighting.

However, the regiment directly under the division headquarters and the two vanguard brigades were completely wiped out. Huang Baitao, the major general and brigade commander of the 144th Brigade of the rear guard force, saw that the situation was not good and simply abandoned the division commander Zhang Zhenhan and "retreated backwards", just like what he did in the "Zhongbao Battle" in history that led to Zhang Zhenhan's capture.

It seems like he's too anxious to become a teacher!

In short, after the two division commanders Zhang Huizan and Yue Weijun were captured, the commander of the 41st Division of the National Army, Zhang Zhenhan, was also captured by the Red Army.

Commander Zhang believed he was going to die, so he closed his eyes and put on an appearance of waiting to be killed. However, He Long ordered someone to pour a cup of hot water for the haggard-looking commander: "Drink something, Commander Zhang, so you can go on your way."

"...You communists...you send people off with just a glass of water? You don't even give me a good meal?" "What else do you want? Water is good enough. Where can I find food for you right now?"

He Long had a lot of things to do and had no time to argue with Zhang Zhenhan. He waved his hand and said:

"Alright, alright, finish your drink and rest for a while. We're leaving tomorrow morning, so don't let yourself fall behind the team."

As soon as these words came out, Commander Zhang knew that he had misunderstood the other party's meaning. He felt relieved and asked cautiously:

"You...you won't kill me?"

"Why should I kill you?" He Long asked curiously:

"First, your hands are clean of the blood of the Red Army and the revolutionary masses. Second, you are a prisoner, and the Red Army has always treated prisoners well. Why should we kill you?" "But I am from the Kuomintang..."

"We have never wanted Chinese people to fight Chinese people. If you insist on fighting, then we will fight with you to the end. But now that the fight is over, why do we have to kill you?"