In October 1937, the Red Army and the guerrillas active in 14 regions of the eight southern provinces (except the Qiongya guerrillas) carried out a historic reorganization and were formally organized into the New Fourth Army, shouldering the sacred mission of the War of Resistance Against Japan. When the New Fourth Army was first established, its troops were already quite large-scale, with four detachments, a total of 10 regiments, and an overall strength of about 10,000 people, revealing the rudimentary form of the anti-Japanese iron army.
However, the great wheel of history is always full of twists and turns. In October 1940, the Southern Anhui Incident caused the New Fourth Army to suffer an unprecedented blow. However, the heroic New Fourth Army was not defeated, and only a few months later, on January 25, 1941, the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army was reborn and reorganized in Yancheng, northern Jiangsu. This reorganization not only absorbed the troops of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army that persisted in the War of Resistance in Central China, but also received the addition of elite forces such as the 5th Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was reinforced from southeast Shandong.
After the reorganization, the strength of the New Fourth Army increased greatly, with seven divisions and one independent brigade under its jurisdiction, and the total strength jumped to more than 90,000 troops, becoming an indispensable force in the anti-Japanese battlefield in Central China. The composition of these seven divisions and one independent brigade has its own characteristics, and they each wrote a glorious chapter in the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The First Division of the New Fourth Army was reorganized from the former Northern Jiangsu Command of the New Fourth Army and the troops under its jurisdiction, with a strength of about 1There are more than 30,000 people, under the jurisdiction of three brigades, and the outstanding general Su Yu serves as the division commander. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the division repeatedly smashed the "sweeping" and "clearing of the countryside" of the Japanese puppet army, and made important contributions to the consolidation and development of the Soviet-Chinese anti-Japanese base areas.
The Second Division of the New Fourth Army originated from the Jiangbei Command of the New Fourth Army and the troops under its jurisdiction, with a total strength of about 1With 80,000 people, it has three brigades and two joint defense commands, and the experienced Zhang Yunyi serves as the division commander. The division played a key role in the creation and consolidation of the Huainan anti-Japanese base area, and at the same time actively coordinated operations in other theaters.
The Third Division of the New Fourth Army was reorganized from the Fifth Column of the Eighth Route Army after it went south to support the New Fourth Army, with a strength of about 130,000 people, under the jurisdiction of three brigades, with Huang Kecheng as the division commander. The division made great achievements in the development and construction of the anti-Japanese base areas in northern Jiangsu, and also undertook the important task of marching to the northeast.
The Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army was reorganized from the Fourth Column of the Eighth Route Army, which was supported by the south, with three brigades and a strength of about 120,000 people, with Peng Xuefeng as the division commander. The division played an important role in the creation and development of the Huaibei anti-Japanese base area, and at the same time actively carried out guerrilla warfare to strike at the living forces of the Japanese puppet army.
The Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, formerly known as the Henan-Hubei Advance Column of the Eighth Route Army, has three brigades under its jurisdiction and a total strength of about 120,000 people, with *** as the division commander. The division repeatedly performed miraculous feats in the anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare in the Hubei-Henan border region and made outstanding contributions to opening up and consolidating the anti-Japanese base areas in the Hubei-Henan border region.
The Sixth Division of the New Fourth Army was adapted from the New Fourth Army troops that insisted on the War of Resistance in southern Jiangsu, with two brigades under its jurisdiction and a strength of about 8,000 people. The division performed an outstanding role in the construction and defense of the anti-Japanese guerrilla base areas in southern Jiangsu, and played an important role in resisting the attack of the Japanese puppet army and maintaining the stability of the base areas.
The Seventh Division of the New Fourth Army was reorganized from the Wuwei Guerrilla Column, the Third Detachment Advance Regiment, and some units that broke through the Southern Anhui Incident, and although it had only one brigade and one advance regiment under its command, with a strength of less than 2,000 troops, it played an important role in the anti-Japanese guerrilla war in the Wanjiang area under the leadership of Zhang Dingcheng (not yet in office) and Fu Qiutao, deputy division commander.
The Independent Brigade of the New Fourth Army was reorganized from the 5th Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was supported from the southeast of Shandong, with three regiments under its jurisdiction and a strength of about 1,000 people, with Liang Xingchu as the brigade commander. The brigade carried out many important tasks in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and made positive contributions to resisting the attack of the Japanese puppet army and defending the anti-Japanese base areas.
By the time of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the New Fourth Army had grown from more than 90,000 at the time of its establishment to more than 310,000 troops, including the main force of the New Fourth Army and the local armed forces under the leadership of the New Fourth Army. In the subsequent liberation war, the units of the New Fourth Army became an important part of the three field armies of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Among them, the Third Division of the New Fourth Army (including the Independent Brigade, which was also ordered to go to the Northeast after going north to Shandong) developed into the Northeast Field Army; The Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army entered the Central Plains region and became part of the Central Plains Field Army; Other units of the New Fourth Army moved north to Shandong and developed into part of the East China Field Army. These troops continued to play an important role in the War of Liberation and made immortal contributions to the establishment of New China.