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The successful
junction of the three front armies at Jiangtaibao |
The Long March was a famous military maneuver conducted by
the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army led by the Communist Party
of China (CPC) from 1934 to 1936 to combat the then Kuomintang
regime. Though many soldiers died on the way, the Red Army finally
arrived at Yan'an in northern Shaanxi Province after the 12,500-kilometre
trek, where the new CPC headquarters was established.
At the beginning of Sep,1936, the cavalry regiment of the 15th
Army Corps of the First Front Army, originally stationed in
Tongxin City of Ningxia, had taken the enemy by surprise and
captured Huining City in southeast Gansu after two nights quick
march covering 150km. They wiped out the enemy troops guarding
the city and gloriously prepared the way for the junction with
the Fourth Front Army.
The Fourth Front Army led by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De joined
forces with troops of the First Front Army led by the Commander
of the First Division, Chen Geng. Zhu De was accompanied by
Zhang Guotao, Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao. Riding on horseback,
Zhu De passed through the gateway all decked out by the First
Front Army soldiers to welcome the Fourth Front Army, and as
he entered Huining City, he was welcomed by the commanders and
fighters of the First Front Army lining the streets, shouting
slogans, cheering and applauding. As soon as the commanding
officers entered the building, the soldiers of the two armies
rushed towards each other, warmly shaking hands and embracing.
The Second Division of the First Army Corps of the First Front
Army under Commander Yang Dezhi and Commissar Xiao Hua, successfully
captured Jiangtaibao town in Longde county of Ningxia, about
80km east of Huining, ready to welcome the Second Front Army
led by He Long, its general commanding officer and Ren Bishi,
political commissar. This marked the triumphant union of the
Red Army's three front armies, bringing the total number of
troops of the Red Army to between 30,000 and 40,000.
The grand joining of forces by the three front armies signaled
the victorious conclusion of the 25,000 li (12,500km) Long March.
It meant a tremendous boost to the Red Army forces. It meant
the Red Army had advanced to the forefront of the resistance
against Japanese aggression, of the struggle to national salvation.
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