Learning from the past, learning from the past, learning history from the general secretary: Why did Xi Jinping linger on this battle that took place more than 80 years ago?
On April 25, General Secretary Xi Jinping went to Guangxi for an inspection. The first stop came to the Red Army Long March Xiangjiang Battle Memorial Park in Quanzhou County, Guilin City.
This is the site of the site of the battlefield site of the Jiaoshanpu blockade in the Xiangjiang Battle.
The general secretary has repeatedly talked about this tragic battle.
More than 80 years have passed, the smoke of gunpowder has dissipated, and the thinking is far from stopping.
What have we lost in this battle?
"The hero's blood stains the Xiangjiang River crossing, and the bones of heroes are buried at the bottom of the river; no water from the Xiangjiang River for three years, and no fish from the Xiangjiang River for ten years."
Through this folk song circulating in northern Guangxi, we can still clearly look back at the bloody and tragic battle more than 80 years ago, and the heroic tragedy in the history of the Long March.
Geng Ying, the daughter of Geng Biao, once said: "My father is from Hunan and he likes to eat fish, but he never eats fish from the Xiangjiang River. Because the battle on the Xiangjiang River was so tragic, the blood of so many comrades in the Xiangjiang River was flowing."
In late November 1934, the Central Red Army, which began the Long March, broke through the Kuomintang's three blockades in succession and arrived at the border of the Xiangjiang River in Quanzhou and Xing'an in Guangxi, planning to cross the river and enter Xiangxi.
At this time, Chiang Kai-shek had mobilized 400,000 troops and laid down the fourth blockade known as the "Iron Triangle" in an attempt to encircle the Red Army to the east of the Xiangjiang River.
On November 27, the main force of the Red First Army took the lead to cross the Xiangjiang River, and divided the troops to control the crossing point from Jieshou to Jiaoshanpu on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, and erected a pontoon bridge.
△ Jieshou Ferry Port in Xing'an County, Guangxi (photographed by Pan Yi, reporter from Central Radio and Television Station)
However, due to the wrong command of Bogu, Li De and others, the marching speed of the central column was extremely slow. It was not until December 1st that it rushed to the ferry on the Xiangjiang River, which missed the opportunity to seize the Xiangjiang River.
In the early morning of December 1, the blocking lines deployed by the Central Red Army on the north and south wings of the Xiangjiang River were all crushed to desperation, and the final moment of survival had arrived.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, and the General Political Department of the Red Army jointly issued an emergency telegram, issuing a military order that "we are not the victors, we are the defeated" and "hold the banner of victory high and go to the line of fire."
△ The telegram displayed at the Xiangjiang Battle Memorial Hall (photographed by Pan Yi, a reporter from Central Radio and Television Station)
Tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers fought hard and fought for their beliefs. They simply tore open the enemy's line of defense, covered the central column across the Xiangjiang River, and preserved the flames of the Chinese revolution.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has mentioned on many occasions the heroic story of Chen Shuxiang, the commander of the Red 34th Division, who "broken his heart and made his mind".
During the Battle of Xiangjiang, 29-year-old Chen Shuxiang was ordered to lead his troops as the guards of the entire army. He fought desperately for four days with an enemy more than ten times his own. After completing the task of covering the main force of the Red Army and the central organs crossing the river, the roads across the river have been completely covered. Cut off.
When breaking through, Chen Shuxiang was shot in the abdomen and was captured in a coma.
After waking up, Chen Shuxiang took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, took out his intestines from the wound in his abdomen with his hands, and strangled it forcefully, fulfilling his vow of "to shed the last drop of blood for Soviet China".
The 34th Red Division was eventually wiped out.
△The tomb of Chen Shuxiang in Dao County, Hunan (photographed by Li Jin, a reporter from Taiwan and Guoguang)
The Battle of Xiangjiang River was the worst battle since the Central Red Army broke through.
After this battle, the Central Red Army dropped sharply from 86,000 at the time of departure to more than 30,000.
The green river water was soaked with blood.
On both sides of the Xiangjiang River, one grass, one tree, one loyal soul, one mountain, one stone and one monument.
General Secretary Xi Jinping spoke highly of the Battle of Xiangjiang, always concerned about the revolutionary martyrs who died in the Battle of Xiangjiang, and clearly requested that the martyrs' remains should be collected and protected, and memorial facilities should be planned and constructed.
What have we seen in this battle?
In October 1934, under the leadership of the "Left" wrong line, the Central Red Army failed to break the fifth "encirclement and suppression" of the Kuomintang army and was forced to withdraw from the Central Soviet Area and begin the Long March.
At this time, Bo Gu, the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Li De, the military adviser of the Communist International who controlled the military power of the Red Army, had deprived Mao Zedong of command of the Red Army, and regarded Mao Zedong’s correct military line as so-called "guerrillaism" and "escapeism." Oppose and attack.
Before the Battle of Xiangjiang, Mao Zedong suggested that the Red Army organize forces to counterattack and change the passive situation while the Kuomintang troops were not firmly established.
However, Li De and Bo Gu did not adopt them. Instead, they ignored changes in the enemy's situation, blindly marched westward, and gave orders to cross the Xiangjiang River.
△The battle sculpture in the memorial hall of the Red Army's Long March Xiangjiang Battle (photographed by Li Jin, a reporter from Taiwan and Guoguang)
During the marching breakout, Bogu and Li De adopted a large-scale move-style strategic shift and a "challenge"-style marching formation.
Liu Bocheng likened this to "carrying a sedan chair to march," Peng Dehuai directly called it "carrying a coffin to walk."
A large amount of heavy supplies seriously slowed down the speed of the march. It took 4 days to walk for less than 80 kilometers, causing the Red Army's cover forces to be broken up by the enemy or even killed in action.
The heavy losses in the Xiangjiang Battle fully exposed the serious consequences of the "Left" adventurism and escapeism in retreat to the Red Army.
For the Red Army that finally broke through the blockade, the biggest proposition before it is what kind of road will it take in the future?
What have we gained in this battle?
"There has not been a huge historical disaster that was not compensated by historical progress."
The failure of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, the successive failures after the beginning of the Long March, especially the painful lessons of the Xiangjiang Battle, made more and more soldiers of the Red Army realize that they must change their wrong strategies and tactics and return to being represented by Comrade Mao Zedong. The correct military line and political line of the People’s Republic of China.
Liu Bocheng later recalled that “the suspicion and dissatisfaction and the active demand for leadership changes were clearly grown in the army” and “the Xiangjiang battle reached its culmination.”
The Battle of Xiangjiang provided an opportunity for a great turning point in the history of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Zunyi Conference held later established Comrade Mao Zedong's leadership position in the Party Central Committee and the Red Army, and opened a new stage for our party to independently solve the practical problems of the Chinese revolution.
Our party once again turned dangers into barbarians, won the historical initiative, and created heroic feats such as crossing the Chishui River, conquering Loushan Pass, flying over the Luding Bridge, crossing the Jinsha River, crossing the Dadu River, fighting Lazikou, and defeating Zhiluo Town. .
History tells us that only by establishing the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee, having a strong and mature leadership core, and persisting in combining Marxism-Leninism with the concrete reality of the Chinese revolution, can we win one victory after another on the revolutionary road.
△Red Army Long March Xiangjiang Battle Memorial Hall (photographed by Li Jin, a reporter from Taiwan and Guoguang)
As General Secretary Xi Jinping said: "The history of the party is the most vivid and convincing textbook."
Every passage of the past, success and failure, honor and disgrace, is the precious spiritual wealth of the centuries-old party, and it is also a powerful spiritual driving force for the long march of the new era.
Producer丨Shen Yong, Zhao Xuehua, Gong Xuehui
Chief Author丨Hou Yan
Broadcast丨Chun Li
Audio Production丨Yifei Liu
Vision丨Chen Kuo
Editor丨Wang Nan and Cui Zhilin