Chapter 9 Beside the Xiang River (2)

  Liu Yimin and Director Cai immediately led the Vanguard Regiment and the 18th Red Brigade to reorganize.

  The 18th Regiment, excluding the seriously wounded, had a total of 521 people, including those with minor injuries. Since encountering the Red 34th Division, they had been in a state of protection, and the wounded had received initial treatment. The soldiers marched while eating dry rations, and their morale had somewhat recovered. Liu Yimin knew that these were exceptionally loyal and seasoned soldiers, the seeds of future troop development. As long as he could successfully lead them out of the Long March, they would become the backbone and heroes of the anti-Japanese war, the Liberation War, and the Korean War. If trained and educated well, each person had the potential to become a mid- or even high-ranking officer. Liu Yimin decided to start organizing them according to the model for cultivating officers.

  After counting the number of people, including the Vanguard Regiment and Director Cai Zhong, the entire division has 634 people. The regiment-level organization is temporarily cancelled, and it is organized into 5 combat regiments. The division directly leads the firepower support company, reconnaissance company, blocking company, guard squad, communication squad, and cooking squad.

  Firepower support team 36 people, team leader 1 person, deputy team leader 2 people. Due to the captured mortar being assigned to the Red Thirty-Fourth Division, the firepower support team is temporarily equipped with 6 heavy machine guns, divided into three firepower teams, each with 11 people, one team leader, two deputy team leaders, and two heavy machine guns. Two heavy machine gun groups are set up, with the deputy team leader serving as group leader. Due to insufficient personnel, the task of carrying heavy machine gun ammunition is assisted by the combat battalion.

  The guard squad, communication squad and combat squad were set up in the same way. The reconnaissance squad and sniper squad had higher requirements for marksmanship, physical fitness and cultural level because Liu Yimin was preparing to cultivate them as special forces, so it was more difficult to select people. There were only 13 people in the reconnaissance squad and 22 people in the sniper squad. The smallest was the cooking squad, with only 3 people, because there were not many soldiers willing to do this job for the time being.

  Each combat company has 108 people, one company commander, two deputy company commanders, one instructor, two deputy instructors, one clerk, and one communication officer. It is divided into three combat platoons and a firepower support squad. The firepower support squad has 10 people, with one squad leader and one deputy squad leader, equipped with four Czech-style light machine guns, each with a gunner and an assistant gunner; Each platoon has 30 people, with one platoon commander and two deputy platoon commanders, divided into three combat squads, each with 9 people, with one squad leader and two deputy squad leaders.

  The appointment of company, platoon and squad cadres adopts the method of soldiers' election. Soldiers elect squad leaders and deputy squad leaders, squad leaders and deputy squad leaders elect platoon leaders and deputy platoon leaders, and platoon-level cadres elect company-level cadres.

  It took a long time to say this, but actually very quickly, the warriors were all straightforward, crawling out of the bloody sea and mountain, who knew how to fight, command ability, rescue comrades, everyone was clear, so it only took half an hour to complete the formation.

  First Company: Captain Wang Dahai, Political Instructor Wang Xinyun, Deputy Captains Shen Nantang and Li Yunlai, Deputy Political Instructors Chen Dongsheng and Zhang Shan. Several former platoon leaders in the First Company, including Li Dashan, Liu Shizhu, and Luo Yandou, were promoted to platoon leader and deputy platoon leader.

  Second Company: Captain Zhao Dahai, Political Instructor Sun Manxi, Deputy Captains Tian Taiping and Yao Mingjun, Deputy Political Instructors Liu Run and Li Letian.

  Third Company: Captain Xu Hui, Political Instructor Luo Chenggang, Deputy Captains Peng Hu and Nan Hongjun, Deputy Political Instructors Cheng Guangrong and Shi Tugen.

  Fourth Company: Captain Zhang Minsheng, Political Instructor He Ke, Deputy Captains Yang Yan and Hou Sanxi, Deputy Political Instructors Ding Jiesheng and Yu Qingshan.

  Fifth Company: Captain Shen Yong, Political Instructor Liu Kun, Deputy Captains Sang Yida and Cheng Baicheng, Deputy Political Instructors Chen Xi and Guo Decheng.

  Fire Support Platoon: Platoon Leader Zhao Runqing, Deputy Platoon Leaders Chen Yong and Zhang Guocheng.

  Scouting Platoon: Platoon Leader Luo Yan, Sniper Platoon: Platoon Leader Wang Tongsheng, Guard Squad: Squad Leader Li Chengyi, Communication Squad: Squad Leader Hu Haishan.

  Director Cai quietly asked Liu Yimin, "Is this okay? Our Red Army cadres are appointed by superiors, and letting soldiers elect is not against the party's policy?"

  Liu Yimin smiled and said to him, "No problem, I've read the mimeographed newspaper of the Red Army. This isn't our innovation. When the Red Army first went up Jinggang Mountain, Comrades agreed with doing it this way. To be honest, doing it this way increases both the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the troops."

  Director Cai Zhong asked again: "You also know Chairman Mao?"

  Liu Yimin said: "Of course, many people across the country know that he is the founder of the Red Army and also the great savior of the Chinese people."

  Later, it is unknown how this sentence was passed on, and the people of northern Shaanxi also wrote this sentence into "The East Is Red", singing red all over China.

  Half an hour later, Liu Yimin led the reorganized Red 18th Regiment to the ferry and waited for crossing.

  At this time, the sky had completely darkened, and enemy planes could no longer appear. The soldiers of the 101st Regiment of the Red Thirty-Fourth Division had already waded across the Xiangjiang River. The soldiers of the 102nd Regiment also followed Liu Yimin's plan, using puttees to pull up two ropes. The soldiers lit torches and pulled the ropes while wading across the river.

  Cheng Cuilin, the political commissar, also made arrangements for the wounded to cross the river. The troops of the vanguard regiment were busy building simple stretchers to carry the wounded across the river. A cadre from the regiment's political department led a dozen soldiers in gathering the scattered Red Army soldiers at the crossing point, but it seemed that not much progress had been made, with some gathered here and there, still unable to form a column.

  In the distance, a torch-carrying troop was vaguely seen rushing towards the ferry terminal. Without thinking, it must be the pursuing enemy army. Time waits for no man, Liu Yimin ordered Wang Dahu to immediately lead a company to gather the scattered Red Army soldiers. After gathering, they asked about the situation and found out that most of them were from the 8th Red Army Corps, with over 2,400 people. The Central Army's Zhou Hunyuan unit was pursuing them. When the International Division crossed the river, it was a whole team running across the river. Who knew that after the 8th Red Army Corps retreated, they swarmed across the river and blocked more than 400 people from the International Division behind. As a result, the floating bridge was blown up, and the Hunan army's pursuit unit arrived. More than 400 people from the International Division fought back and sacrificed some of their men. Now there are only over 300 people left. If it weren't for these little red devils, the 8th Army Corps' 2,000+ scattered soldiers might have been captured by the Hunan army long ago. There were also some scattered soldiers from other units like the 6th Red Division.

  Liu Yimin knew that the 8th Corps and the 9th Corps were both newly formed troops adopted by the Central Revolutionary Military Commission before the Long March, expanding the Red Army policy. The main force of the 8th Corps was the Central Guard Regiment, which was originally responsible for guarding the central authorities and was considered a treasure in the eyes of Bo Gu and Li De. However, the Central Guard Regiment had rarely experienced battles and its combat effectiveness was not strong to begin with. After expansion, there were too many new recruits, many of whom were farmers from the Soviet areas who had just put down their hoes and had not undergone any training, let alone having any combat effectiveness.

  At the beginning of the Long March, when breaking through the four blockade lines, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission may have known that the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Army was not strong, so it arranged the Eighth Army in the middle of the marching sequence. The vanguard on the right wing was the First Army Corps, followed by the Ninth Army Corps; the left wing was the Third Army Corps, followed by the Eighth Army Corps; the center was the Central Column; and the rear guard was the Fifth Army Corps. This formation was vividly described by Peng Dehuai as a sedan chair formation.

  During the Xiangjiang Battle in history, more than 10,000 people of the Red Eighth Army Corps were attacked by two regiments of the Central Army and the troops dispersed. After Director Luo Ronghuan of the Political Department of the Army Corps crossed the river, there was only one soldier carrying an oil press machine beside him; after Commander Zhou Kun crossed the river, there were only three soldiers beside him. Only about 1,000 people from the Eighth Army Corps crossed the Xiangjiang River, with more than 200 combat personnel, mostly logistics personnel. In the end, it was abolished and incorporated into the Red Fifth Army Corps.

  In fact, the heavy casualties of the Red Army in the Xiangjiang Campaign were mainly due to the incorrect strategic thinking of Li De and Bo Gu, and the slow action of the Central Column. At the same time, it was also related to the poor combat effectiveness of the newly formed troops. Among several corps, the Eighth Corps suffered the greatest losses, almost annihilated. Unlike the First, Third, and Fifth Corps, which suffered heavy casualties, the soldiers of these three corps fell facing the enemy's gunfire, tragic, brutal, and glorious; but the losses of the new troops were mainly due to their weak combat effectiveness, fleeing in disarray when encountering the enemy.

  In the past, propaganda mainly publicized our army's undefeated battles, and rarely publicized lost battles. Especially since our army also had a problem with deserters, it can be said that it was a taboo topic. For example, the Battle of Xiangjiang, the defeat of the Western Route Army, and the Battle of Jinmen were only gradually understood by ordinary people after the 1980s. As for the problem of deserters in our army, historical books have always rarely mentioned it. In fact, our army became a hundred-battle lion only after being tempered through countless battles, and issues like desertion are not worth hiding.

  Think of the heroic spirit of the Red Army's vanguard, the First and Third Corps, who fearlessly charged forward and defeated all enemies. Think of the true historical heroism of the 34th Division of the Fifth Corps, who fought to the last drop of blood. And then look at the remnants of the Eighth Corps, Liu Yimin felt a pang of gloom in his heart: such troops could no longer be considered combat-effective, their morale was scattered, and only by reorganizing and relying on capable cadres could they recover their fighting strength. He remembered reading "The Legend of Iron Blood" by Brave Sheep online, which had a scene about reorganizing troops on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, and he thought he could borrow from that.

  Liu Yimin stepped forward to the front of the troops and shouted loudly: "Now I, as the acting commander of the 18th Regiment of the Red Sixth Division, under the order of the commander of the Red Thirty-Fourth Division, am reorganizing you. Who dares not to obey?"

  The troops were silent, Liu Yimin scanned them with his eyes, saw the effect, and shouted: "I declare battlefield discipline: those who do not listen to orders will be killed! Those who flee in battle will be killed! Those who are panicked will be killed! Fire support squad leader Wang Runqing!"

  Wang Runqing took a step forward and shouted loudly "Arrived!"

  Liu Yimin ordered: "I command you to take charge of the law enforcement team and execute by shooting anyone who violates battlefield discipline!"

  Wang Runqing gave a crisp salute and bellowed: "Resolutely carry out the order!" He turned around and shouted: "All firepower support teams are in position, machine guns ready to fire!"

  As they gazed at the six heavy machine guns in front of them, their muzzles gaping like black holes, the group suddenly fell silent.