In the history of the development of the Chinese Red Army, the Eastern Expedition to Shanxi plays an important role. It not only expanded the influence of the Red Army and promoted the anti-Japanese slogan, but also consolidated the base area and strengthened the strength of the

In the development history of Chinese Red Army , Eastern Expedition Shanxi has an important position . This is a military operation conducted by the Central Red Army after they arrived at the base area in northern Shaanxi after going through all the difficulties and dangers of the Long March. not only expanded the influence of the Red Army , promoted the anti-Japanese slogan, but also consolidated the base areas and strengthened the strength of the Red Army. The Eastern Expedition began on February 20, 1936, and returned triumphantly after 117 days of fighting. In Mao Zedong's words, " won the battle, aroused the people, prepared supplies, and expanded the Red Army." , the revolutionary situation is still not optimistic. Although there was no front and rear interception during the Long March, the Red Army troops still faced severe challenges in northern Shaanxi.. The first was the Kuomintang's encirclement and blockade of , with hundreds of thousands of troops marching towards northern Shaanxi. Secondly, the national crisis intensified. The Japanese invaders intensified after the North China Incident. The contradiction between China and Japan was extremely acute. Then there is the objective factor-the capacity of the base area in northern Shaanxi is limited.

As one of the most barren areas in the country, the Shaanxi-Gansu region has congested transportation, backward economy, harsh natural conditions, and rampant landlords and bureaucrats. It is indeed a big challenge to feed tens of thousands of Red Army troops here. In order to improve the living conditions of the Red Army and obtain military funds as soon as possible; at the same time, in order to promote the anti-Japanese slogan, open up the anti-Japanese passage to the north. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to take Shanxi and Suiyuan as the main development direction of the Red Army.

In December of this year, the Wayaobao Conference was officially held. The meeting analyzed the current domestic and international situation and gave specific guidance on the development direction of the party and the Red Army.. It is necessary not only to resist the suppression of the Kuomintang and persist in the revolutionary struggle; but also to unite more anti-Japanese forces and establish a anti-Japanese national united front . thus determined the basic principles for the military development of the Red Army - combining domestic war with national war, preparing for war against Japan, and expanding the Red Army.

If you want to expand the power of the Red Army, to the north is the more desolate Loess Plateau , to the west is the territory of Qingma and Ningma, to the south is the area heavily guarded by the Kuomintang, and only to the east is Shanxi, Yan Xishan Enter . Under the slogan " resist Japan and oppose Chiang Kai-shek, cross the river and march eastward", the Red Army began preparations for the eastward expedition against Japan. The Soviet governments at all levels and localities quickly mobilized and added more than 3,000 troops to the original strength.

In the eastern expedition to Shanxi, the Red Army was invincible.

At this time, in the northern Shaanxi region, the Central Red Army and the Northern Shaanxi Red Army were merged into the First Red Army, with Peng Dehuai as the commander. Under the jurisdiction of Xu Haidong's 15th Red Army and Lin Biao's The Red Army has a total of about 13,000 people. Together with the local Red Army armed forces in northern Shaanxi, the 28th Red Army, the 29th Red Army and the Yellow River Guerrilla Division were successively formed. In order to ensure the supply of military supplies after the Red Army's Eastern Expedition, the central government appointed Zhou Enlai as the director of the rear office to coordinate the military dispatch of the rear.

Team establishment, cadre deployment, recruitment of migrant workers and supply of military uniforms are all under intense preparation. At the beginning of 1936, various Eastern Expedition teams were waiting in hiding, ambush on the west bank of the Yellow River, and were ready to go. On January 31, the Red Army of the Eastern Expedition officially formed the "Anti-Japanese Pioneer Army of the Chinese People's Red Army". Peng Dehuai served as the commander-in-chief and Mao Zedong served as the general political commissar. The 28th Red Army, the 1st Red Army and the 15th Red Army were divided into three armies: left, center and right. The crossbows were strung and the swords were unsheathed.

The Shanxi-Sui Army units on the other side of the Yellow River are also heavily guarded. After all, Yan Xishan has always regarded himself as the local emperor of Shanxi. Neither Chiang Kai-shek ’s Central Army nor other warlords in the northwest can easily enter Shanxi territory . At this moment, if the Red Army and the Communist Party want to enter Shanxi, this is something Yan Xishan cannot agree to.The Shanxi-Sui Army deployed three lines of defense one after another, and implemented military and political measures to fortify the walls and clear the country to prevent and fight communism. For a time, white terror filled the western part of Shanxi.

On February 20, 1936, Mao Zedong gave an order, and the Red Army of the Eastern Expedition was like a dragon emerging from the abyss, overcoming many natural dangers on the other side of the Yellow River in one fell swoop. The three armies of the left, center and right continued to expand their results. The Red Army came to the Xiaoyi front line to hold a Politburo meeting . On the one hand, it consolidated the existing results, and on the other hand, it expanded the scope of the Red Army, crossing the Tongpu Line eastward and heading to the anti-Japanese front line in Hebei. The two sides started a fierce battle in the Duijiuyu area.

Zhidan died and returned to force Chiang to resist the Japanese.

Faced with the heroic charge of the Red Army, Yan Xishan dispatched his troops and generals while asking Chiang Kai-shek for help. The Jinsui Army was tightly fortified along the Tongpu Road and Fenhe fortresses. The main force was concentrated on the , Xiaoyi, Lingshi and Jiexiu lines. And Chiang Kai-shek mobilized troops from Luoyang , Xuzhou and Wuhan and other places, with Chen Cheng as the general commander, the mighty Central Army entered Shanxi territory effortlessly. A big war is about to break out. The Red Army troops on the Eastern Expedition switch battles and attack in the northwestern part of Shanxi Province, causing an uproar.

However, during the fierce battle between the two sides, Liu Zhidan, commander of the 28th Red Army and an important founder of the Northern Shaanxi Red Army, died forever on the front line of the Eastern Expedition. On April 14, when the 28th Army attacked the heavily guarded Sanjiao Town of Sanjiao Town, Liu Zhidan, as the commander of the army, went to the front line in person and commanded the battle despite a hail of bullets. Unfortunately, he was hit by the enemy's bullets and died heroically. Mao Zedong personally inscribed the monument: Mass leader, national hero . Zhou Enlai's inscription: Over the past five thousand years, there have been countless heroes; the people's hero must be Liu Zhidan.

Seeing the dramatic change in the situation in Shanxi, the Central Army and the Shanxi-Sui Army are united, and they will be in crisis if they continue to attack. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adjusted its strategy in a timely manner and made timely preparations for a strategic retreat . At the same time, the CCP successively sent Zhou Enlai, Li Kenong and others to carry out united front work with Zhang Xueliang. The Northeast Army and the Northwest Red Army reached an armistice agreement, and both sides agreed to jointly resist Japan.. After the rear is stabilized, the next step is to work on Yan Xishan.

Yan Xishan, the self-proclaimed "King of Shanxi", was not only afraid of the Communist Party and the Red Army, but also more afraid of Chiang Kai-shek and the Central Army. The lessons of the Central Plains War are vivid in my mind. I feel the same for the southwest warlords. The contest between Yan Xishan and Chiang Kai-shek is now far greater than the threat of the Red Army. After some hard work, the Communist Party and Yan Xishan reached a consensus - the Red Army returned to the west and retreated westward, the 117-day eastward expedition across the river ended successfully.

Postscript

The Red Army's Eastern Expedition in 1936 replenished the Red Army's human and financial resources, developed the party's local organizations, expanded the Red Army's influence in Shanxi, and laid a solid foundation for the Eighth Route Army's subsequent operations in Shanxi and the establishment of base areas . From resisting Chiang's resistance to Japan to forcing Chiang to resist Japan, the CCP re-established new strategic decisions. In the Zhang Xueliang camp of Xi'an , they are about to plan a major revolution that will change China's destiny.