红军时期四大山头:一方面军、二方面军、四方面军、陕北红军形成的来龙去脉
编者按:常识贴,红军山头从军队到后来对中国政治的影响一直存在,无非就是大小而已。从红军的山头可以,看一下对后来毛泽东,刘少奇(邓小平),周恩来(陈云)三大派系的影响。
山头是根据地的俗称,由于历史的原因,共匪军是由大大小小的山头组成的,这和历史上的农民起义颇有相似之处,其间分化组合,关系非常复杂。下面我把共匪军各山头的形成情况作一简单介绍。
头的形成分三个时期,红军时期、抗战时期、解放战争时期。
一、红军时期
红军时期是共匪军的初创时期,大大小小的山头数不胜数,其中,除琼崖红军一直坚持到全国解放以外,其他山头都逐渐合并,最后形成了四大山头:一方面军、二方面军、四方面军、陕北红军。其中大山头里面又有小山头。
红一方面军(即中央红军):有三大主力军团,即 1 军团、3军团、5 军团。
先说 5 军团,该军团前身是国民党西北军 26 路军,1931 年在宁都起义参加了红军。后来一、四方面军长征途中会师后,该军团划归张国焘指挥,后来参加西路军,在甘肃被马家军全部消灭,该山头遂不存在。5 军团出的最高级人物是当过副总理的姬鹏飞和副总长李达上将。
下面详细说说 1、3 军团。1927 年 9 月 9 日,毛泽东发动了秋收起义,建立了工农革命军一军一师,起义部队由武汉国民警卫团、安源矿工和萍、浏、澧的农军组成。起义失败后毛泽东率部上了井冈山,又收编了王佐袁文才的地方武装,这是毛泽东的最基本部队。罗荣桓元帅、谭政大将、宋任穷、张宗逊、陈士榘、陈伯钧、黄永胜上将都是参加过秋收起义的。1928 年 4 月,朱德陈毅王尔琢率领南昌起义残余部队,发动了湘南暴动后,也来到井冈山。这支部队出了朱德陈毅林彪三个元帅和粟裕黄克诚一个半大将,还出了 6、7 个上将。
两支部队会合后成立了红 4 军,下辖 3 师 8 团,但只有两个团是主力,即秋收起义部队的 31 团和南昌起义部队的 28 团。后来红 4 军(28团为核心)、红 6 军(黄公略组建的江西地方部队)、红 12 军(31团为核心)扩编为红 1 军团。1928 年 7 月,彭德怀发动平江起义,建立红 5 军,12 月来到井冈山与朱毛会师。后来,红 5 军加上李灿的红 8 军(原 5 军 5 纵队加上程子华大冶兵暴部队组成)发展为红 3军团,再后来,邓小平发动百色起义建立的红 7 军在张云逸大将带领下也加入了 3 军团。由于毛彭在井冈山时就心有芥蒂,影响了 1、3两个军团之间也互有不满,3 军团出身的王平上将在回忆录中就谈到过 1 军团对 3 军团的歧视。这件事影响很久远,直到 1959 年庐山会议批彭德怀时,林彪还提出来过要彻底搞清 1、3 军团关系问题。长征后期,成立陕甘支队,3 军团合并于 1 军团,番号从此取消。 后来中央红军又成立了 6、7、8、9、10 军团,除 10 军团有方志敏山头的部队外,其他军团都是在上述山头的基础上发展起来的。
另外还要说一点,中央本来曾决定将彭德怀的 3 军团扩编为红三方面军,但为彭德怀拒绝,他觉得部队太少,搭那么大的架子没意义,于是这个番号一直空缺。
红二方面军:二方面军实际上是到了长征即将结束时才成立的,开始时一直称为红 2、6 军团。
红 2 军团是贺龙的部队。南昌起义失败后,贺龙没有像刘伯承、叶剑英那样到苏联留学,而是回到老家湘鄂西拉队伍,建立了红 4 军,后与洪湖地区周逸群、段德昌、许光达的红 6 军合并,建立红 2 军团。这支队伍最多时曾达到三万人,但两任政治领导都起副作用,影响了部队的发展。先是邓中夏来贯彻立三路线,使部队遭到极大损失;后来的夏曦贯彻王明路线,更是乱杀一气,怀疑一切,弄的人人自危,6 军出身的领导干部几乎被杀害殆尽,一度全军团只剩下三个半党员:贺龙、夏曦、关向应和卢冬生,军团也缩编为红 3 军。
红 6 军团原是中央红军系统的,前身是红 3 军团的红 8 军和湘鄂赣地方部队红 18 军。后来为了牵制敌人,减轻中央苏区的压力,先期北上,由任弼时、萧克、王震率领,从湘赣地区赶到湘鄂西与 2军团会合,一起活动。
由于任弼时党内地位高,两个军团会,得以解决夏曦问题,挽救了红 2 军团的命运。2、6 军团与四方面军会师后,按中央指示,2、6 军团加上罗炳辉的 9 军团(当时归属四方面军指挥,改称 32 军)合编为红二方面军。
红四方面军:红四方面军的前身是黄麻起义、商南起义、六霍起义建立起来的鄂豫皖红军。最早部分是黄麻起义余部组成的第七,后改称 11 军 31 师;商南起义部队为 32 师;六霍起义部队为 33师。创始人吴光浩军长牺牲后,徐向前接任军长。后 11 军改称红 1,许继慎任军长。后来,1 军与蔡申熙的 15 军(原 3 军团 8 军余部发展起来的)合并,改称红 4 军,旷继勋、徐向前先后任军长;同时,鄂豫皖又建立了一支新部队 25 军;不久,4 军、25 军合编为红四方面军,徐向前任总指挥,陈昌浩任政委。由于张国焘决策失误,队伍在鄂豫皖呆不住了,转移到了四川,在那里建立了川陕根据地,鼎盛时期有 5 个军,近 10 万人。但使它如此强大究竟是谁的功劳,至今没有明确的评价。(???)一号人物张国焘先是叛变中共,后遭国民党唾弃,除了他在回忆录中自我标榜外,谁都恶心他,因此很少有人论及他的领导才能。二号人物陈昌浩精明强干,但政治上有张国焘做主,军事上有徐向前指挥,而他后来指挥西路军时遭到惨败,使他的水平究竟如何让人颇有疑问。三号人物徐向前是有军事才能的,但他是张国焘一手提拔起来的,究竟有多少自主权也很难说,连他的夫人被张国焘逮捕杀害他都无法阻拦。(前后矛盾,逻辑无法自洽)
一、四方面军长征中先联合又分裂,造成了两军的严重对立。本来四方面军人多势众,但先是张国焘南下战略失败,随后西路军失败,两个军全部损失,只有李先念率领一小股部队逃出,连总指挥徐向前都是要饭才回到陕北的,这使得张国焘底气大虚,从此双方攻守逆转。许世友等四方面军将领就是在红大上学时因为不满一方面军的歧视,才计划出逃回四川打游击的。
陕北红军:陕北红军从规模和影响上讲,不能与三大主力红军相提并论,但它在红军的存亡绝续上起了极其重要的作用。说到陕北红军,不能不先提及鄂豫皖红军。当初鄂豫皖红军主力西征四川时,留下了一小股部队红 25 军,由沈泽民、徐海东、吴焕先率领,在当地打游击,后来的中央军委副主席刘华清就是这支部队的。但这支部队在蒋介石的重兵围剿下很难继续立足,于是在沈泽民牺牲后,由中央派来的军长程子华和徐海东等人率领也开始长征,并最先到达陕。到陕北后,他们发现那里有刘志丹的两块小根据地,于是两支部队合并,建立了红 15 军团,徐海东任军团长、程子华任政委、刘志丹任副军团长。正宗的陕北红军其实是很弱小的,但这支小部队却出了个大人物高岗,此人曾一度被毛泽东作为接班人培养,地位和刘少奇、周恩来并列。红一方面军到达陕北时,从出发时的八万人减少到八千人,1、3 军团合并为 1 军团,于是 15 军团加入进来,组成了新的红一方面军。当时的 15 军团兵强马壮,但徐海东坚决服从中央指挥,要钱给钱,要粮给粮,对中央帮助极大。因此毛泽东一直很感激徐海东,称他是“对中国革命有大功的人”。尽管他后来因伤病长期休养,没有工作,但1955 年授衔时仍排为第二大将。
二、 抗战时期
抗战时期,原来的四大山头逐渐演变为五大山头。
三大主力红军改编为国民革命军第八路军,原红一方面军改编为第 115 师,红二方面军为第 120 师,红四方面军为第 129 师。115 师师长林彪,副师长聂荣臻,政治部主任罗荣桓。下辖 343旅,旅长陈光,为原 1 军团部队;344 旅,旅长徐海东,为原 15 军团部队。平型关战役后,林彪受伤出国,这支部队分为三部分,第一部分由聂荣臻率领,建立了晋察冀军区,成了一个新的山头,即以后著名的华北山头。“华北山头”这个词文革时曾很常用,杨余傅被打倒时开始批华北山头,一直批到九一三事件之后。晋察冀军区除了聂荣臻从 115 师带去的基本部队外,后来又加入了两股,一股是原东北军吕正操部建立的冀中军区,另一股是李运昌建立的冀热辽军区。第二部分主要是由罗荣桓、陈光率领的 343 旅,东出山东,建立了山东军区。第三部分是 344 旅部队,后一分为二,一部由杨得志率领建立了冀鲁豫军区,另一部由黄克诚率领建立了苏北军区,皖南事变后该部加入了新四军。
120 师师长贺龙,副师长萧克,政治部主任关向应。下辖 358旅,旅长张宗逊,为原 2 军团部队;359 旅,旅长陈伯钧、副旅长王震,为原 6 军团部队。由于贺龙过于看重统一战线,该师不注重建立根据地,一直发展缓慢,是几支部队中最弱的,该师建立的晋绥军区与其他几大根据地相比要小的多。担任 120 师副师长是萧克一生最辉煌的时候,后来就不再得志了。八路军中另外两位副师长聂荣臻和徐向前后来都是元帅,萧克却只授了个上将军衔,这主要是因为二、四方面军会师时,萧克支持张国焘,被毛泽东视为叛徒。王树声尽管在一、四方面军会师时也坚决支持张国焘,但他本就是四方面军的人,各为其主,也不为过,毛泽东能原谅他,1955 年仍授他大将军衔。而萧克是毛在井冈山的老部下,因此不能容忍。
129 师师长刘伯承,副师长徐向前,政治部主任张浩(林彪堂兄)。恢复政委制后,邓小平接替因病去职的张浩,担任政委。下辖385 旅,旅长王宏坤,为原 4 军部队;386 旅,旅长陈赓,为原 31 军部队。该师活动范围主要在晋冀鲁豫地区,以 385 旅为主建立了太行军区,386 旅为主建立了太岳军区,还有陈再道的冀南军区,后来,115 师的冀鲁豫军区也划归 129 师管辖。
原南方八省游击队改编为国民革命军新编第四军,新四军既包括原中央红军留下的部队,如陈毅部、粟裕部;也包括原红 25 军留下的部队,如高敬亭部;还有谁也不属的小部队,如闽东的叶飞部。尽管它是个军,但级别只能与八路军的师平级。这又形成一个新的山头。不过,中央从八路军派出了大量部队加入新四军,使新四军的成分大为改变,后来,只有粟裕的一师和谭震林的六师是比较纯的新四军部队,其他几个师都是原来八路军的部队了。还有个特殊情况:李先念的新四军五师,虽然名义上属新四军序列,但它归中央直接领导,其实是个小山头。他的部队既不是由原南方游击队组成,也不是八路军部队南下,而是李先念从延安带一部分干部过去自己发展起来的。到抗战后建立了中原军区,更明确脱离了新四军领导。
三、解放战争时期
解放战争时期,原来的五大山头格局不变,但地域发生了巨大变化。
东北:抗战胜利后,中央原准备派林彪到山东军区接管老部队,但半路上改派他即刻出关,和国民党抢占东北地盘。然后,山东军区的老部队(原 343 旅发展起来的)和新四军 3师(原 344 旅发展起来的)从海路陆路分别进入东北,建立了东北根据地。随后建立了东北军区和东北野战军,但这支部队已不是原来意义上的红一方面军山头了,高级指挥员里四方面军的干部很多。程子华的冀察热辽部队原属晋察冀军区,但解放战争初期国民党部队隔断了两处的联系,该部队改隶东野指挥,即后来的 13 兵团,但该兵团被林彪视为异类,屡受排挤。
西北:彭德怀在党的“七大”后召开的华北工作会议上挨了一通批判后,不再让他上前线指挥作战了,只担任解放军的参谋长,协助毛泽东朱德。但彭德怀不甘寂寞,胡宗南进攻陕北后,再次向中央请缨,鉴于他的指挥才能,毛泽东把贺龙部队交给了他,(在此以前,贺龙已只管后勤供应工作了,野战部队由张宗逊负责。)组建了西北野战军。贺龙只负责晋绥军区和陕甘宁晋绥联防军,后改为西北军区。军区和野战军分头管理,各战略区中只有西北地区一家有这种现象。
中原:战胜利后,原 129 师的晋冀豫区加上杨勇的冀鲁豫军区合并成立了晋冀鲁豫军区。1947 年,按照中央战略部署,刘邓大军抢渡黄河,进军大别山,建立了大中原军区(与原李先念的小中原军区相区别),原晋冀鲁豫野战军改称中原野战军。原李先念部改隶刘邓指挥。1949 年整编后二野有三个兵团,杨勇 5 兵团就是原冀鲁豫军区部队,陈赓的 4 兵团是原太岳军区部队(386 旅),陈锡联的 3 兵团是原太行军区部队(385 旅)。
华北:抗战胜利后,晋察冀和其他战略区一样分为两摊,主力部队组建为野战军,军区管地方部队和后勤供应。刘邓大军南下后,原晋冀鲁豫军区与晋察冀军区合并,建立了华北军区。1949 年全军整编时,华北野战军未加入野战军序列,三个兵团直接受中央指挥。这三个兵团只有杨成武的 20 兵团是晋察冀的老部队,周士第的 18 兵团是原 129 师的太岳军区部队,杨得志的 19 兵团是原冀鲁豫军区部队。后来,18、19 兵团都划归一野指挥。
华东:115 师的部队进军东北后,原山东军区交给新四军,陈毅任司令兼新四军军长,原新四军的地盘建立华中军区暨野战军,中央原定由粟裕任司令,但他很谦虚(不可能是因为谦虚),坚持由张鼎丞任军区司令,自己任副司令兼野战军司令。当时的华中军区只是战略上受陈毅指挥。同时,陈毅对山东军区的原八路军部队指挥也不顺利,八路军和新四军的指挥员时有冲突,加上分兵造成的兵力不足,所以,解放战争初期华东战场形势并不乐观。鉴于此,中央决定华中山东合并为华东军区及华东野战军,这才摆脱了被动局面。
三大战役后,地域又发生变化。东北野战军改称四野,一直打到广东,建立了中南军区,辖豫鄂湘粤桂五省,解放后改称广州军区。华东野战军改称三野,华东军区辖苏浙皖闽赣沪六省市,解放后改称南京军区。中原野战军改称二野,解放大西南后,建立了西南军区,辖云贵川藏四省区,解放后改称成都军区。西北野战军改称一野,西北军区包括陕甘宁青新五省区,解放后改称兰州军区。华北野战军整编时已经撤消,华北军区辖京津冀晋蒙五省区市,解放后改称北京军区。东北野战军入关后,东北军区依然存在,辖黑吉辽三省,解放后改称沈阳军区。山东军区建国初期对华东军区呈半独立状态,后志愿军归国后,大部分留在山东军区,于是该军区彻底独立,解放后改称济南军区。
对应图表:一野》西北军区》陕甘宁青新》兰州军区
二野》西南军区》云贵川藏》成都军区
三野》XX军区》苏浙皖闽赣沪》南京军区
四野》中南军区》豫鄂湘粤桂》广州军区
华北野战军》华北军区》京津冀晋蒙》北京军区
东北野战军》东北军区》黑吉辽》沈阳军区
XX野战军》山东军区》鲁》济南军区
四方面军抗战以后基本上被分散,各部队都有,以后的地域性就不太明显;二方面军人数本来就少,又是由两部分合并而成的,地域性也不明显,西北地区六军团的人略多一些;比较明显的是广州军区、南京军区和北京军区。南京军区是新四军的地盘,北京军区是聂荣臻的地盘,而林彪九一三时想到广州另立中央更说明了问题。毛泽东对待山头的态度是:承认山头、消灭山头。1973 年八大军区司令员对调就是为了消除山头。但山头的真正消除是八十年代以后的事了。
英文翻译
The origins of the formation of the four major mountaintops during the Red Army period: the First Front Army, the Second Front Army, the Fourth Front Army, and the Shaanxi-Northern Red Army
Mountaintops are the common name for bases. Due to historical reasons, the Communist bandit army is composed of large and small mountaintops, which is quite similar to the peasant uprisings in history. The differentiation and combination during this period are very complicated. Below I will give a brief introduction to the formation of the various mountaintops of the Communist bandit army.
The formation of the head is divided into three periods, the Red Army period, the Anti-Japanese War period, and the Liberation War period.
- Red Army period
The Red Army period was the initial period of the Communist bandit army. There were countless mountaintops of all sizes. Among them, except for the Qiongya Red Army that persisted until the national liberation, other mountaintops gradually merged and finally formed four major mountaintops: the First Front Army, the Second Front Army, the Fourth Front Army, and the Shaanxi-Northern Red Army. Among them, there are small mountaintops in the big mountaintops.
The First Front Army of the Red Army (i.e. the Central Red Army): There are three main corps, namely the 1st Corps, the 3rd Corps, and the 5th Corps.
Let’s talk about the 5th Corps first. The predecessor of this Corps was the 26th Route Army of the Northwest Army of the Kuomintang. In 1931, it joined the Red Army in the Ningdu Uprising. Later, after the First and Fourth Front Armies joined forces during the Long March, this Corps was placed under the command of Zhang Guotao. Later, it joined the West Route Army and was completely wiped out by the Ma family army in Gansu, and the mountaintop no longer existed. The highest-ranking figures from the 5th Corps were Ji Pengfei, who served as vice premier, and General Li Da, deputy chief.
Let’s talk about the 1st and 3rd Corps in detail. On September 9, 1927, Mao Zedong launched the Autumn Harvest Uprising and established the 1st Army and 1st Division of the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army. The uprising troops were composed of the Wuhan National Guard, Anyuan miners, and the peasant army of Ping, Liu, and Li. After the uprising failed, Mao Zedong led his troops to Jinggang Mountain and incorporated the local armed forces of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai. This was Mao Zedong’s most basic force. Marshal Luo Ronghuan, General Tan Zheng, Song Renqiong, Zhang Zongsun, Chen Shigui, Chen Bojun, and General Huang Yongsheng all participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising. In April 1928, Zhu De, Chen Yi, and Wang Erzhuo led the remnants of the Nanchang Uprising and launched the Southern Hunan Uprising, and also came to Jinggangshan. This army produced three marshals, Zhu De, Chen Yi, and Lin Biao, and one and a half generals, Su Yu and Huang Kecheng, and 6 or 7 generals.
After the two troops joined together, the Red 4th Army was established, which had 3 divisions and 8 regiments under its jurisdiction, but only two regiments were the main force, namely the 31st Regiment of the Autumn Harvest Uprising troops and the 28th Regiment of the Nanchang Uprising troops. Later, the Red 4th Army (with the 28th Regiment as the core), the Red 6th Army (the Jiangxi local troops formed by Huang Gonglue), and the Red 12th Army (with the 31st Regiment as the core) were expanded into the Red 1st Corps. In July 1928, Peng Dehuai launched the Pingjiang Uprising and established the Red 5th Army. In December, he came to Jinggangshan to join forces with Zhu and Mao. Later, the Red 5th Army, together with Li Can’s Red 8th Army (formed by the 5th Column of the original 5th Army and Cheng Zihua’s Daye Bingbo Riot Unit), developed into the Red 3rd Corps. Later, the Red 7th Army established by Deng Xiaoping in the Baise Uprising also joined the 3rd Corps under the leadership of General Zhang Yun逸. Because Mao and Peng had a grudge when they were in Jinggangshan, the 1st and 3rd Corps also had dissatisfaction with each other. General Wang Ping, who came from the 3rd Corps, talked about the discrimination of the 1st Corps against the 3rd Corps in his memoirs. This incident had a long-lasting impact. Until the Lushan Conference in 1959 to criticize Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao also proposed to thoroughly clarify the relationship between the 1st and 3rd Corps. In the late stage of the Long March, the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment was established, and the 3rd Corps was merged into the 1st Corps, and the number was cancelled from then on. Later, the Central Red Army established the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Corps. Except for the 10th Corps, which had troops from Fang Zhimin’s mountain, the other corps were developed on the basis of the above-mentioned mountain.
Another point to note is that the Central Committee had originally decided to expand Peng Dehuai’s 3rd Corps into the Red 3rd Front Army, but Peng Dehuai refused. He felt that there were too few troops and it was meaningless to build such a large frame, so this number remained vacant.
The 2nd Front Army: The 2nd Front Army was actually established at the end of the Long March. At the beginning, it was always called the Red 2nd and 6th Corps.
The Red 2nd Corps was He Long’s army. After the failure of the Nanchang Uprising, He Long did not go to the Soviet Union to study like Liu Bocheng and Ye Jianying, but returned to his hometown in Hunan and Hubei to recruit troops and established the Red 4th Army. Later, it merged with the Red 6th Army of Zhou Yiqun, Duan Dechang, and Xu Guangda in the Honghu area to establish the Red 2nd Corps. This team once reached 30,000 people at its peak, but the two political leaders had side effects and affected the development of the army. First, Deng Zhongxia came to implement Li Lisan’s line, which caused great losses to the troops; later, Xia Xi implemented Wang Ming’s line, killing people indiscriminately, doubting everything, and making everyone feel insecure. Almost all the leading cadres from the 6th Army were killed. At one time, there were only three and a half party members left in the entire corps: He Long, Xia Xi, Guan Xiangying and Lu Dongsheng, and the corps was also reduced to the Red 3rd Army.
The Red 6th Army was originally part of the Central Red Army system. Its predecessor was the Red 8th Army of the Red 3rd Army and the Red 18th Army of the Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi local force. Later, in order to contain the enemy and reduce the pressure on the Central Soviet Area, it went north in advance, led by Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke and Wang Zhen, and rushed from the Hunan-Jiangxi area to the Hunan-Hubei-Xiangxi area to meet with the 2nd Army and work together.
Because Ren Bishi had a high status in the party, the two corps met, and the Xia Xi problem was solved, saving the fate of the Red 2nd Army. After the 2nd and 6th Corps joined the 4th Front Army, according to the instructions of the Central Committee, the 2nd and 6th Corps plus Luo Binghui’s 9th Corps (which was then under the command of the 4th Front Army and renamed the 32nd Army) were reorganized into the 2nd Red Front Army.
The 4th Red Front Army: The predecessor of the 4th Red Front Army was the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Red Army established by the Huangma Uprising, Shangnan Uprising, and Liuhuo Uprising. The earliest part was the 7th formed by the remnants of the Huangma Uprising, and later renamed the 31st Division of the 11th Army; the Shangnan Uprising troops were the 32nd Division; the Liuhuo Uprising troops were the 33rd Division. After the founder, Commander Wu Guanghao, died, Xu Xiangqian took over as commander. Later, the 11th Army was renamed the 1st Red Army, with Xu Jishen as commander. Later, the 1st Army merged with Cai Shenxi’s 15th Army (developed from the remnants of the 8th Army of the original 3rd Corps) and was renamed the Red 4th Army. Kuang Jixun and Xu Xiangqian successively served as army commanders; at the same time, Hubei, Henan and Anhui established a new unit, the 25th Army; soon, the 4th Army and the 25th Army were combined into the Red Fourth Front Army, with Xu Xiangqian as the commander-in-chief and Chen Changhao as the political commissar. Due to Zhang Guotao’s wrong decision, the team could not stay in Hubei, Henan and Anhui, and moved to Sichuan, where the Sichuan-Shaanxi base was established. At its peak, there were 5 armies and nearly 100,000 people. But who is responsible for making it so powerful? There is still no clear evaluation. (???) Zhang Guotao, the number one figure, first betrayed the Communist Party of China and was later spurned by the Kuomintang. Except for his self-promotion in his memoirs, everyone was disgusted with him, so few people talked about his leadership ability. The second person, Chen Changhao, was smart and capable, but Zhang Guotao was in charge of politics and Xu Xiangqian was in charge of military affairs. He suffered a disastrous defeat when he later commanded the West Route Army, which made people question his level. The third person, Xu Xiangqian, had military talent, but he was promoted by Zhang Guotao, and it was hard to say how much autonomy he had. He could not even stop his wife from being arrested and killed by Zhang Guotao. (Inconsistent, logically inconsistent)
The first and fourth front armies first united and then split during the Long March, causing serious confrontation between the two armies. Originally, the Fourth Front Army had a large number of troops, but Zhang Guotao’s southward strategy failed first, and then the West Route Army failed. Both armies were completely lost. Only Li Xiannian led a small group of troops to escape. Even the commander-in-chief Xu Xiangqian had to beg for food before returning to northern Shaanxi. This made Zhang Guotao very weak, and the offensive and defensive positions of the two sides reversed from then on. Xu Shiyou and other generals of the Fourth Front Army planned to escape back to Sichuan to fight guerrillas when they were studying at the Red University because they were dissatisfied with the discrimination of the First Front Army.
The Red Army in Northern Shaanxi: The Red Army in Northern Shaanxi cannot be compared with the three main Red Armies in terms of scale and influence, but it played an extremely important role in the survival of the Red Army. Speaking of the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi, we must first mention the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Red Army. When the main force of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Red Army marched west to Sichuan, it left behind a small force, the Red 25th Army, led by Shen Zemin, Xu Haidong, and Wu Huanxian, to fight guerrilla warfare in the local area. Later, Liu Huaqing, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was from this unit. However, it was difficult for this unit to continue to gain a foothold under Chiang Kai-shek’s heavy encirclement and suppression. So after Shen Zemin’s death, the army commander Cheng Zihua and Xu Haidong sent by the Central Committee also started the Long March and arrived in Shaanxi first. After arriving in northern Shaanxi, they found that there were two small bases of Liu Zhidan there, so the two troops merged and established the Red 15th Corps, with Xu Haidong as the corps commander, Cheng Zihua as the political commissar, and Liu Zhidan as the deputy corps commander. The authentic Shaanxi Red Army was actually very weak, but this small unit produced a great figure, Gao Gang, who was once trained by Mao Zedong as a successor and was on par with Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai. When the First Red Army arrived in Shaanxi, it was reduced from 80,000 people at the start to 8,000 people. The 1st and 3rd Corps merged into the 1st Corps, so the 15th Corps joined in and formed a new First Red Army. At that time, the 15th Corps was strong, but Xu Haidong resolutely obeyed the command of the Central Committee, giving money and food, which was of great help to the Central Committee. Therefore, Mao Zedong was always grateful to Xu Haidong and called him “a man who made great contributions to the Chinese revolution.” Although he later rested for a long time due to injuries and had no work, he was still ranked second in 1955 when he was awarded the title.
- Anti-Japanese War Period
During the Anti-Japanese War, the original four major mountaintops gradually evolved into five major mountaintops.
The three main Red Army forces were reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. The former First Red Army was reorganized into the 115th Division, the Second Red Army into the 120th Division, and the Fourth Red Army into the 129th Division. The 115th Division was headed by Lin Biao, with Nie Rongzhen as deputy division head and Luo Ronghuan as director of the Political Department. It was composed of the 343rd Brigade, headed by Chen Guang, which was originally part of the 1st Corps; and the 344th Brigade, headed by Xu Haidong, which was originally part of the 15th Corps. After the Pingxingguan Campaign, Lin Biao was injured and went abroad. This unit was divided into three parts. The first part was led by Nie Rongzhen, who established the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and formed a new mountaintop, which was later known as the North China Mountaintop. The term “North China Mountaintop” was commonly used during the Cultural Revolution. When Yang Yufu was overthrown, the North China Mountaintop was criticized, and it was criticized until after the September 13 Incident. In addition to the basic troops brought by Nie Rongzhen from the 115th Division, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region later joined two more groups. One was the Ji-Zhong Military Region established by the former Northeast Army’s Lü Zhengcao, and the other was the Ji-Re-Liao Military Region established by Li Yunchang. The second part was mainly the 343rd Brigade led by Luo Ronghuan and Chen Guang, which went east to Shandong and established the Shandong Military Region. The third part was the 344th Brigade, which was later divided into two. One part was led by Yang Dezhi to establish the Ji-Lu-Yu Military Region, and the other part was led by Huang Kecheng to establish the Su-Bei Military Region. After the Southern Anhui Incident, this unit joined the New Fourth Army.
The commander of the 120th Division was He Long, the deputy commander was Xiao Ke, and the director of the Political Department was Guan Xiangying. It was under the jurisdiction of the 358th Brigade, with the commander Zhang Zongshun, which was the original 2nd Corps; the 359th Brigade, with the commander Chen Bojun and the deputy commander Wang Zhen, was the original 6th Corps. Because He Long attached too much importance to the united front, the division did not pay attention to establishing bases, and it has been developing slowly. It is the weakest among several troops. The Jinsui Military Region established by the division is much smaller than the other major bases. Serving as the deputy commander of the 120th Division was the most glorious time in Xiao Ke’s life, but he was no longer successful. The other two deputy commanders of the Eighth Route Army, Nie Rongzhen and Xu Xiangqian, were later marshals, but Xiao Ke was only awarded the rank of general. This was mainly because when the Second and Fourth Front Armies joined forces, Xiao Ke supported Zhang Guotao and was regarded as a traitor by Mao Zedong. Although Wang Shusheng also firmly supported Zhang Guotao when the First and Fourth Front Armies joined forces, he was originally a member of the Fourth Front Army. It was not too much for each to serve his own master. Mao Zedong could forgive him and still awarded him the rank of general in 1955. Xiao Ke was Mao’s old subordinate in Jinggangshan, so he could not tolerate him.
Liu Bocheng, the commander of the 129th Division, Xu Xiangqian, the deputy commander, and Zhang Hao, the director of the Political Department (Lin Biao’s cousin). After the restoration of the political commissar system, Deng Xiaoping replaced Zhang Hao, who resigned due to illness, as the political commissar. It was composed of the 385th Brigade, led by Wang Hongkun, which was originally from the 4th Army; and the 386th Brigade, led by Chen Geng, which was originally from the 31st Army. The division’s activities were mainly in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan region. The Taihang Military Region was established with the 385th Brigade as the main force, the Taiyue Military Region was established with the 386th Brigade as the main force, and the Ji’nan Military Region of Chen Zaidao. Later, the Ji’nan-Henan Military Region of the 115th Division was also placed under the jurisdiction of the 129th Division.
The original guerrillas of the eight southern provinces were reorganized into the New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. The New Fourth Army included troops left behind by the original Central Red Army, such as Chen Yi’s troops and Su Yu’s troops; troops left behind by the original Red 25th Army, such as Gao Jingting’s troops; and small troops that did not belong to anyone, such as Ye Fei’s troops in eastern Fujian. Although it was an army, its level was only equal to that of the Eighth Route Army’s division. This formed another new mountain. However, the central government sent a large number of troops from the Eighth Route Army to join the New Fourth Army, which greatly changed the composition of the New Fourth Army. Later, only Su Yu’s First Division and Tan Zhenlin’s Sixth Division were relatively pure New Fourth Army troops, and the other divisions were all troops of the original Eighth Route Army. There is also a special case: Li Xiannian’s New Fourth Army Fifth Division, although nominally belonging to the New Fourth Army sequence, is directly led by the central government and is actually a small mountain. His troops were neither composed of the original southern guerrillas nor the Eighth Route Army troops going south, but Li Xiannian brought some cadres from Yan’an to develop himself. After the Anti-Japanese War, the Central Plains Military Region was established, and it was more clearly separated from the leadership of the New Fourth Army.
- Liberation War Period
During the Liberation War, the original five mountain patterns remained unchanged, but the region underwent tremendous changes.
Northeast: After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the central government originally planned to send Lin Biao to the Shandong Military Region to take over the old troops, but halfway through, he was sent out immediately to compete with the Kuomintang for the Northeast territory. Then, the old troops of the Shandong Military Region (developed from the original 343rd Brigade) and the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army (developed from the original 344th Brigade) entered the Northeast by sea and land respectively and established the Northeast Base Area. Subsequently, the Northeast Military Region and the Northeast Field Army were established, but this unit was no longer the Red First Front Army in the original sense, and there were many cadres from the Fourth Front Army among the senior commanders. Cheng Zihua’s Ji-Cha-Re-Liao troops originally belonged to the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, but the Kuomintang troops cut off the connection between the two places in the early days of the Liberation War. The unit was transferred to the command of the East Field Army, which was later the 13th Corps, but the Corps was regarded as an alien by Lin Biao and was repeatedly excluded.
Northwest: After Peng Dehuai was criticized at the North China Work Conference held after the “Seventh National Congress” of the Party, he was no longer allowed to command operations on the front line. He only served as the chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army to assist Mao Zedong and Zhu De. But Peng Dehuai was unwilling to be lonely. After Hu Zongnan attacked northern Shaanxi, he asked the central government for help again. In view of his command ability, Mao Zedong handed over He Long’s troops to him (before that, He Long was only responsible for logistics supply, and the field troops were in charge of Zhang Zongsun.) The Northwest Field Army was formed. He Long was only responsible for the Jinsui Military Region and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Jinsui Joint Defense Army, which was later changed to the Northwest Military Region. The military region and the field army were managed separately, and only the Northwest region had this phenomenon among the strategic regions.
Central Plains: After the victory of the war, the Jin-Ji-Yu Region of the former 129th Division and Yang Yong’s Ji-Lu-Yu Military Region were merged to form the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Military Region. In 1947, according to the central strategic deployment, Liu Deng’s army rushed across the Yellow River and marched into the Dabie Mountains to establish the Great Central Plains Military Region (distinguished from the former Small Central Plains Military Region of Li Xiannian), and the former Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Field Army was renamed the Central Plains Field Army. The former Li Xiannian’s troops were transferred to the command of Liu and Deng. After the reorganization in 1949, the Second Field Army had three corps. Yang Yong’s 5th Corps was the original Jiluyu Military Region, Chen Geng’s 4th Corps was the original Taiyue Military Region (386th Brigade), and Chen Xilian’s 3rd Corps was the original Taihang Military Region (385th Brigade).
North China: After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Shanxi
Like other strategic areas, Chahar-Hebei was divided into two parts. The main force was organized into a field army, and the military region was in charge of local forces and logistics supply. After Liu and Deng’s army moved south, the former Jinjiluyu Military Region merged with the Jinchaji Military Region to establish the North China Military Region. When the entire army was reorganized in 1949, the North China Field Army did not join the field army sequence, and the three corps were directly under the command of the central government. Among these three corps, only Yang Chengwu’s 20th Corps was an old unit of Jinchaji, Zhou Shidi’s 18th Corps was a unit of the Taiyue Military Region of the former 129th Division, and Yang Dezhi’s 19th Corps was a unit of the former Jiluyu Military Region. Later, the 18th and 19th Corps were both placed under the command of the First Field Army.
East China: After the 115th Division’s troops marched into the Northeast, the original Shandong Military Region was handed over to the New Fourth Army, with Chen Yi as the commander and commander of the New Fourth Army. The Central China Military Region and Field Army were established on the territory of the original New Fourth Army. The Central Committee originally planned to appoint Su Yu as the commander, but he was very modest (it couldn’t be because of modesty) and insisted that Zhang Dingcheng be the commander of the military region and he himself be the deputy commander and commander of the field army. At that time, the Central China Military Region was only under the command of Chen Yi strategically. At the same time, Chen Yi’s command of the original Eighth Route Army troops in the Shandong Military Region was not smooth. The commanders of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army had conflicts from time to time, and the lack of troops caused by the division of troops, so the situation on the battlefield in East China was not optimistic in the early days of the Liberation War. In view of this, the Central Committee decided to merge Central China and Shandong into the East China Military Region and the East China Field Army, which got rid of the passive situation.
After the three major battles, the region changed again. The Northeast Field Army was renamed the Fourth Field Army, and it fought all the way to Guangdong, establishing the Central South Military Region, which governed the five provinces of Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi. After liberation, it was renamed the Guangzhou Military Region. The East China Field Army was renamed the Third Field Army. The East China Military Region governed six provinces and cities, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi and Shanghai. After liberation, it was renamed the Nanjing Military Region. The Central Plains Field Army was renamed the Second Field Army. After the liberation of the Southwest, the Southwest Military Region was established, governing four provinces and regions, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Tibet. After liberation, it was renamed the Chengdu Military Region. The Northwest Field Army was renamed the First Field Army. The Northwest Military Region included five provinces and regions, including Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. After liberation, it was renamed the Lanzhou Military Region. The North China Field Army was abolished during the reorganization. The North China Military Region governed five provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. After liberation, it was renamed the Beijing Military Region. After the Northeast Field Army entered the customs, the Northeast Military Region still existed, governing three provinces, including Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. After liberation, it was renamed the Shenyang Military Region. In the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Shandong Military Region was semi-independent of the East China Military Region. After the return of the Volunteer Army, most of them stayed in the Shandong Military Region, so the military region became completely independent. After liberation, it was renamed the Jinan Military Region.
Corresponding chart: First Field Army> Northwest Military Region> Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Qinghai-Xinjiang> Lanzhou Military Region
Second Field Army> Southwest Military Region> Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan-Tibet> Chengdu Military Region
Third Field Army> XX Military Region> Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Anhui-Fujian-Gansu-Shanghai> Nanjing Military Region
Fourth Field Army> Central-South Military Region> Henan-Hubei-Hunan-Guangxi-Guangzhou Military Region
North China Field Army> North China Military Region> Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shanxi-Inner Mongolia> Beijing Military Region
Northeast Field Army> Northeast Military Region> Heilongjiang-Jilin-Liaoning> Shenyang Military Region
XX Field Army> Shandong Military Region> Shandong> Jinan Military Region
The Fourth Front Army was basically dispersed after the Anti-Japanese War, and each unit had it, so the regionality was not very obvious afterwards; the Second Front Army had a small number of people, and it was formed by the merger of two parts, so the regionality was not obvious either, and the Sixth Corps in the Northwest had slightly more people; the more obvious ones were the Guangzhou Military Region, Nanjing Military Region and Beijing Military Region. The Nanjing Military Region was the territory of the New Fourth Army, and the Beijing Military Region was the territory of Nie Rongzhen, and Lin Biao’s idea of setting up a separate central government in Guangzhou during the September 13 Incident further illustrates the problem. Mao Zedong’s attitude towards factions was: recognize factions and eliminate them. The exchange of commanders of the eight major military regions in 1973 was to eliminate factions. But the real elimination of factions was after the 1980s.