The 38th Army, known as the "Long Live Army", has performed well on the battlefields at home and abroad, and has created many brilliant achievements. The "Pingjiang Uprising in Jinggang, Iron Flows to the North" in its military song reminds people of the Pingjiang Uprising in the history of the Chinese revolution, which was an armed uprising launched by Mr. Peng, Teng Daiyuan and others in 1928, and the rebel troops were later reorganized into the Red Fifth Army, which became one of the predecessors of the Red Third Army.
Therefore, some friends will equate the 38th Army with the Red Third Army, thinking that the 38th Army is the continuation of the Red 3rd Army, and some people even think that the 38th Army is the "descendant" of Mr. Peng, and therefore has been praised by Mr. Peng and awarded the title of "Long Live Army".
However, is this view correct?
The 334th Regiment of the 112th Division, which is respectfully known as the "Pingjiang Uprising Regiment", has continued from the period of the Red Third Army to the present, and their establishment has never been dismantled or disrupted.
As one of the 27 "Red Regiments" recognized by the whole army, the 334th Regiment has the largest composition of the Red Army, and it can be said that it is a unit with the blood of the Red Third Army Corps.
The 337th Regiment of the 113th Division has a long history, originating from the 1st Special Service Company of the Red Fifth Army, and later became the Special Service Company of the 3rd Red Army. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the unit was reorganized into the special service company and reconnaissance company of the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
At the end of 1937, based on this department, the 686th Regiment was supplemented with recruits and the 343rd Brigade Supplementary Regiment was formed, which was later changed to the 115th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Division. After moving to the Northeast, it was changed to the 2nd Division and 5th Regiment of the First Column of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and in November 1948, it was reorganized into the 337th Regiment of the 113th Division of the 38th Army.
The 334th Regiment and the 337th Regiment both developed from the Pingjiang Uprising Army, but the 334th Regiment has always retained the structure of the Red Army, while the 337th Regiment does not have the history of being established during the Red Army period, so it is called an old unit with Red Army components.
However, the 3rd and 8th companies of the regiment originated from the "Red Army Company" of the Pingjiang Uprising.
In the 38th Army, except for the two companies of the 334th Regiment and the 337th Regiment, the other units had no historical connection with the Red Third Army. The 335th Regiment of the 112th Division originated from the Red Red Guard Brigade established in the Jinggangshan area in early 1928, and was later reorganized into the Red First Army, and the number during the Anti-Japanese War was the new 2nd Battalion of the 685th Regiment of the 115th Division and the 13th Regiment of the 5th Brigade.
The 338th Regiment of the 113th Division was originally the 75th Division of the Red 25th Army, the 1st Battalion of the 688th Regiment of the 344th Brigade in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, and then the 23rd Regiment of the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army, which was also recognized as the "Red Army".
The 336th Regiment of the 112th Division and the 339th Regiment of the 113th Division were both the main regiments upgraded by the local troops of the Shandong Military Region, and the predecessor of the 114th Division was the new 111th Division of the Northeast Army uprising force in Shandong on August 2, 1942, and was later reorganized into the Binhai Detachment of the Shandong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, not the old Red Army troops.
Therefore, although one regiment of the 38th Army was inherited from the formation of the 3rd Army of the Red Army, and two companies of another regiment were developed from the Pingjiang Uprising, the proportion of the 38th Army of the Red Army in the 38th Army was not large, and the 38th Army did not have a "Red Army Division", and its military headquarters was not inherited from the corps headquarters of the Red Third Army Corps.
Therefore, the 38th Army cannot be directly equated with the 3rd Army of the Red Army.
By the time the Long March reached northern Shaanxi, the 3rd Red Army had been renamed the 4th Red Division of the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, which included the 10th, 11th, and 12th regiments. In August 1937, these three regiments were incorporated into the 115th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 686th Division.
Of these, the 10th Regiment was changed to the 1st Battalion, which is the 334th Regiment we mentioned earlier; The 11th Regiment was changed to the 2nd Battalion, and later went to Shandong and became the 5th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 115th Division, and developed into the 23rd Regiment of the 8th Division of the 3rd Column of the Third Field Army during the Liberation War, and after 1949, it became the 194th Regiment of the 65th Division of the 22nd Army; The 12th Regiment was changed to 3 battalions, and later went to the Hebei-Shandong-Henan region and became the 10th Regiment of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, and became the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army during the Liberation War, and after 1949, it became the 139th Regiment of the 47th Division of the 16th Army.
In 1998, the 139th Regiment was transferred to the 46th Division of the 16th Army, and Zhang Zhen, then vice chairman of the ** Military Commission, wrote the inscription "The First Regiment of the Pingjiang Uprising" for the team.
In the Second Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the 38th Army, where the 334th Regiment was located, was widely known for its prestige. However, those who delve into the history of the war will find that this battle was not fought by the 38th Army alone, but by the joint efforts of the two armies.
Among them, the 113th Division forcibly marched 140 miles overnight to seize Sansholi, creating a miracle in the history of the world's infantry; The 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 335th Regiment stubbornly resisted the US army at Songgu Peak, and was awarded the collective special merit by the Volunteer Army Headquarters, which is the famous "Songgu Peak Special Meritorious Company".
The commander and political commissar of the Chinese People's Volunteers, who wrote "Long live the 38th Army" on the commendation telegram, was because the officers and men of the 38th Army used their own blood and sacrifice to fight the prestige of the Volunteer Army and win the victory.
This has nothing to do with the historical origins of the 38th Army and the 3rd Army of the Red Army.