"Red Army 25th Division Chronicle - Complete History of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Part Four)"

Author: Xu Zhanquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The Red 25th Army was a legendary army, established in October 1931 and under the command of the Red Fourth Front Army. In October 1932, after the failure of the fourth anti-"encirclement" campaign in the Ehuai-Anhui Soviet Region, the main force of the Red Fourth Front Army withdrew westward for a strategic transfer. The 73rd Division of the Red 25th Army followed the main force west, while the 74th Division and the 225th Regiment of the 75th Division were assigned to the main force divisions of the Fourth Front Army. The 223rd and 224th Regiments of the 75th Division and the army's special service company remained in the base area. At that time, the units that remained in the base area to persist in the struggle included the 27th Division (79th, 80th, and 81st Regiments) and two regiments of the newly formed Red 27th Army in Anxi, totaling seven main force regiments and one special service company, with about 10,000 people. Adding local armed forces and a large number of Red Army wounded, there were over 20,000 people in total. Under the lack of unified leadership, they were scattered in various places to persist in the struggle. Due to the lack of unified command, they could not form a strong fist to effectively curb the enemy's unrestrained "encirclement" and "purge," and the situation of the struggle became increasingly severe. On November 29, 1932, the Ehuai-Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China held a military meeting in Huang'an Tanshugang, deciding to unify the main force regiments in the base area and reorganize the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army 25th Army as the backbone force for persisting in the struggle in the Ehuai-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area. On the 30th, the new Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army 25th Army was declared established on the riverbank south of Tanshugang Village. The commander was Wu Huanyan, and the political commissar was Wang Pingzhang. The Political Department of the original 27th Division was changed to the Army's Political Department. The 27th Division was reorganized into the 74th Division. The division commander was Xu Haidong, and the political commissar was Dai Jiying. Their 79th, 80th, and 81st Regiments were successively changed to the 220th, 221st, and 222nd Regiments, respectively; the original 75th Division of the Red 25th Army retained its designation, with the division commander being Yao Jiafang and the political commissar being Gao Jingting, still commanding the 223rd and 224th Regiments. Additionally, a part of the 2nd Regiment of the Huang'an Independent 1st Division was organized into the division's special service company; the original Red 25th Army's special service company remained the army's special service company. The entire army had about 7,000 people. The reorganization of the Red 25th Army ended the scattered and chaotic situation of armed forces in the base area after the transfer of the main force of the Red Army and strengthened the Party's leadership, unified military command, and concentrated the strength of the Red Army. The revolutionary struggle in Ehuai-Anhui entered a new stage of defending the Ehuai-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area under the leadership of the Ehuai-Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. On December 12, 1932, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 15 divisions and one brigade of the Kuomintang army to carry out large-scale zoned "purge" in the Ehuai-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area, combining "encirclement" and "stationary" operations, aiming to completely eliminate the Red Army in one go. Chiang Kai-shek demanded that the "remaining bandits" be completely suppressed by the end of January 1933. The Ehuai-Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China obtained the enemy's zoned "purge" plan from captured Kuomintang army documents and learned that the main force of the Red Fourth Front Army had already arrived in southern Shaanxi. Therefore, on December 30, they held an emergency meeting in Mahcheng Dafan (now part of Xin County), deciding that the Red 25th Army would operate in units, with the main tasks being to prepare supplies, replenish and repair the army, accumulate strength, and eliminate enemies under favorable conditions: at the same time, it was necessary to mobilize the masses, restore the Soviet governments in various places, and expand local armed forces. The meeting also proposed the formation of the Red 28th Army in Anxi Northwest to restore and consolidate the Anxi Northwest Revolutionary Base Area. This was an extremely important meeting held by the Ehuai-Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China after the main force of the Red Fourth Front Army withdrew. The decisions and measures made at the meeting played a significant guiding role in breaking the enemy's "purge" and restoring and consolidating the base area. After the emergency meeting of the Provincial Committee, the 74th and 75th Divisions of the Red 25th Army operated separately in the areas north of Mahcheng and Huang'an, successively eliminating hundreds of enemy soldiers and a large number of reactionary armed forces. The local armed forces also continuously harassed the enemy. The guerrilla activities of the Red Army and local armed forces forced the enemy to dare not carry out "purges" with small forces, giving the Red Army greater room for maneuver. In early January 1933, the Red 28th Army was formed in Dafan, with the commander being Liao Rongkun and the political commissar being Wang Pingzhang, with a total of two regiments and one company. The original 221st Regiment of the 74th Division was reorganized into the 244th Regiment, the original 2nd Regiment of the Red 27th Army was reorganized into the 246th Regiment, and the original special service company of the Red 25th Army was changed to the special service company of the Red 28th Army. The entire army had over 3,000 people. P2-3