Third Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet
Encyclopedia
The Third Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet
Jiangxi Soviet
The Chinese Soviet Republic , also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, and often referred to in historical literature as the Jiangxi Soviet , was a state established in November 1931 by the future Communist Party of China leader Mao...

was the third campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government in hope to destroy the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 in Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

. It was launched less than a month after the previous campaign have failed. However, this encirclement was against repelled by the Red Army's Third Counter Encirclement Campaign at the Central Soviet , also called as the Third Counter-Encirclement Campaign at the Central Revolutionary Base .

Strategy

Merely three weeks after the defeat of the Second Encirclement Campaign
Second Encirclement Campaign
The Second Encirclement Campaign is an abbreviated name used for several different encirclement campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army and its communist bases in several separate locations in China during the early stage of...

, Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

 reached Nanchang
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites...

 on June 21, 1931 with his foreign military advisory delegations including military advisors from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The nationalists planned to launch another encirclement campaign in very short time so that their communist enemy would not have enough time to regroup and prepare for the upcoming battles, and Chiang himself became the commander-in-chief of the nationalist force consisted of twenty-four divisions totaling more than three hundred thousand troops. The attacking nationalist forces were divided into two army group
Army group
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area...

s, with the He Yingqing named as the commander-in-chief of the left flank army group, and Chen Mingqu (陈铭枢) as the commander-in-chief as the right flank army group.

Order of battle

Nationalist
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 order of battle (300,000+ total)
  • Left flank army group commanded by He Yingqing would attack from Southern City (Nancheng 南城)
    • 5th Division commanded by Zhou Hunyuan (周浑元)
    • 6th Division commanded by Zhao Guantao (赵观涛)
    • 8th Division commanded by Mao Bingwen (毛炳文)
    • 9th Division commanded by Jiang Dingwen
      Jiang Dingwen
      Jiang Dingwen was a KMT general from Zhejiang....

    • 11th Division commanded by Luo Zhuoying
    • 14th Division commanded by Chen Cheng
      Chen Cheng
      Chen Cheng , was a Chinese political and military leader, and one of the main National Revolutionary Army commanders during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After moving to Taiwan at the end of the Civil War, he served as the Governor of Taiwan Province, Vice President and...

    • 24th Division commanded by Xu Kexiang (许克祥)
  • Right flank army group commanded by Chen Mingqu (陈铭枢) would attack from Ji'an
    Ji'an
    - External links :* *...

    , Eternal Abundance (Yongfeng, 永丰), Yue’an (乐安)
    • 25th Division commanded by Sun Lianzhong
      Sun Lianzhong
      Sun Lianzhong Sun Lianzhong Sun Lianzhong (Traditional Chinese: 孫連仲 ; Simplified Chinese: 孙连仲 ; pinyin: Sun Lianzhong; Wade-Giles: Sun Lian-chung (1893–1990) General during the Warlord Era, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War...

    • 27th Division commanded by Gao Shuxun
      Gao Shuxun
      Gao Shuxun sometimes written Kao Shu-hsun, was a KMT general from Zhili.Gao Shuxun took over the leadership of the 39th Army Group after kidnapping and killing the previous leader , Shi Yousan - who had planned to defect to the Japanese.-References:...

       (高树勋)
    • 47th Division commanded by Shangguan Yunxiang
      Shangguan Yunxiang
      Shangguan Yunxiang was a Kuomintang general from Shandong....

       (上官云相)
    • 52nd Division commanded by Han Deqin
      Han Deqin
      Han Deqin was a KMT general from Jiangsu. Han Deqin Commanded Nationalist forces involved in the New Fourth Army Incident during the Second Sino-Japanese War....

    • 54th Division commanded by Hao Mengling
      Hao Mengling
      Hao Mengling was a Chinese general who distinguished himself first in the Northern Expedition and then in the Battle of Xinkou. Born on 18 February 1892 into a family of poor farmers, Hao ran away from his apprenticeship at a grocery shop to join the army when he was just a child...

    • 60th Division commanded by Cai Tingkai
    • 61st Division commanded by Dai Ji (戴戟)
  • General Reserve
    • 10th Division commanded by Wei Lihuang
    • Urban Assault Brigade commanded by Li Yannian (general)
      Li Yannian (general)
      -Early life and career:General Li was a member of the first graduate class of the Whampoa military academy, his classmate was General Du Yuming. During the Northern Expedition, he was promoted from platoon leader to regimental colonel in the first corps of the National Revolutionary Army...

    • 53rd Division commanded by Li Yunheng (李韫珩) would station at Ji'an
      Ji'an
      - External links :* *...

  • Western Flank along the Gan River:
    • 28th Division commanded by Gong Bingpan (公秉藩)
    • 77th Division commanded by Luo Lin (罗霖)
    • 34th Brigade of the 12th Division commanded by Ma Kun (马昆)
  • Eastern Flank at the border region of Fujian
    Fujian
    ' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

    -Jiangxi
    Jiangxi
    ' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

    -Guangdong
    Guangdong
    Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

     province
    Province
    A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

    s:
    • 49th Division commanded by Zhang Zhen (张贞)
    • 56th Division commanded by Liu Heding (刘和鼎)
    • Newly Organized 14th Brigade commanded by Zhou Zhiqun (周志群)
  • Counterguerrilla garrisons in the regions including Zhangshu
    Zhangshu
    Zhangshu is a county level city in Yichun, west-central Jiangxi province. It has an area of 1,291 km² and a population of 536,500. The literal translation of the name is Camphor laurel, because traditionally, the city was a major commercial hub for camphor laurel oil.It is the home of famous Site...

    , Fuzhou, Jiangxi
    Fuzhou, Jiangxi
    Fuzhou is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China.It is located to the south of the provincial capital Nanchang. Its total area is 18,800 km². Its population is 3,700,000 people...

    , Yihuang (宜黄), Southern City (Nancheng, 南城), Lichuan (黎川):
    • 1st Cavalry Division commanded by Guan Shuren (关树人)
    • 23rd Division commanded by Li Yunjie (李云杰)
    • 79th Division commanded by Lu Xiaochen (路孝忱)
  • 5 wing
    Wing (air force unit)
    Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....

     of RoCAF
    Republic of China Air Force
    The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...

    :
    • 1st wing
      Wing (air force unit)
      Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....

    • 3rd wing
      Wing (air force unit)
      Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....

    • 4th wing
      Wing (air force unit)
      Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....

    • 5th wing
      Wing (air force unit)
      Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....

    • 7th wing
      Wing (air force unit)
      Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....

  • Other nationalist forces mobilized as the second line units.

Communist order of battle
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...

: (30,000+ total)
  • First Front Army of Chinese Red Army

Campaign

On July 1, 1931, the nationalists begun their offensive. The communists had not fully recovered yet from the last encirclement campaign and Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...

’s proteges including Xiang Ying
Xiang Ying
Xiang Ying was a war-time Chinese communist leader reaching the rank of political chief of staff of the New Fourth Army during World War II until his assassination by a member of his staff in 1941.- Biography :...

 had to agree with Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

’s decision to adopt the proven strategies in the earlier campaigns by letting the nationalists penetrate deep into the communist base and then to counterattack individual isolated enemy formations as they were dispersed. On July 10, 1931, the communist main force left western Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 and traveled more than five hundred kilometers back to Xingguo in southern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

 and waited their opportunities to counterattack. By the end of July, 1931, nationalists had discovered that the communist main force had withdraw to Xingguo, and Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

 immediately ordered his troops to simultaneously attack southward from north and westward from east, so that communists would be forced onto the eastern bank of Gan River and annihilated. The communists, in turn, decided to avoid direct clash with main nationalist force but instead, attack the weaker ones by outflanking the nationalists.

To achieve their goal, communists planned to strike Rich Field (Futian 富田) from Xingguo via Wang’an (万安), and then to strike eastward from the west to severe the nationalist communication / supply lines while the main nationalist force was trapped deep inside the communist base. As the main communist force moved toward Rich Field (Futian 富田), its intent was discovered by the nationalists and the nationalist 11th and 14th Division reached Rich Field (Futian 富田) ahead of the communists, resulting in the communist main force was blocked by the Gan River in the west, and faced the nationalist forces in the east, south and north. The communist high command decided to change the strategy by breaking through in the center and move eastward to the regions of Lotus Pond (Liantang, 莲塘), Liang Village (Liangcun, 良村), and Huangbi (黄陂).

In order to hide their true objective, the 35th Army of the Chinese Red Army and the 35th Division of the 12th Army of the Chinese Red Army pretended to be the communist main force and moved toward Gan River to fool nationalists. The main communist force, meanwhile, swiftly moved to the region of Lotus Pond (Liantang, 莲塘) at the night under the cover of the darkness on August 4, 1931 via passing through a twenty-kilometer gap in the nationalist lines between the nationalist divisions commanded Cai Tingkai and Jiang Dingwen
Jiang Dingwen
Jiang Dingwen was a KMT general from Zhejiang....

. On August 7, 1931, communists succeeded in annihilating more than a brigade of troops from the nationalist 47th Division in the region of Lotus Pond (Liantang, 莲塘), and soon afterward, badly mauling the nationalist 54th Division in Liang Village (Liangcun, 良村). On August 11, 1931, communists succeeded in completely destroying four regiments of the nationalist 8th Division at Huangbi (黄陂), and after three consecutive defeats, the nationalist advance was checked temporarily.

Realizing the communist main force was moving eastward, the nationalist troops moving southward and westward was ordered to move eastward on August 9, 1931, in an attempt to sounding the communist main force in the region to the east of Junbu (君埠). The communists ordered their 12th Army (missing its 35th Division) of the Chinese Red Army to move toward Yue’an (乐安) to lure the nationalists northeastward, while the communist main force secretly returned to Xingguo by quietly passing a ten kilometer-wide gap in the nationalist encirclement in the mountain. Half a month later, nationalists chasing the communist 12th Army realized they were after the wrong target and abandoned the chase. As the over stretched nationalist forces attempted to regroup, the communists already had plenty of time to rest and regrouped already, and the nationalist morale dropped to a new low while the supply had run out. Realizing further fighting was impossible, nationalists were forced to abandon their plans by starting to withdraw in early September, 1931.

Taking the opportunity, communists counterattacked, and the only nationalist offensive still remaining was successfully checked when the nationalist 60th Division and 61st Division were forced to be on the defensive and abandoned all offensive attempts. Communists were not satisfied with this success and did not consider it was a victory, but a draw instead, and continued their offensive on other fronts. On September 7, 1931, they succeeded in destroying an entire brigade of the nationalist 9th Division in the region of Old Encampment (Laoyingpan 老营盘), and on September 15, 1931, another brigade of the nationalist 9th Division and the entire nationalist 52nd Division were totally destroyed by the communists in the region of Square Stone Ridge (Fangshiling 方石岭). The nationalist commander of the 52nd Division, Han Deqin
Han Deqin
Han Deqin was a KMT general from Jiangsu. Han Deqin Commanded Nationalist forces involved in the New Fourth Army Incident during the Second Sino-Japanese War....

, was captured alive together with his staff, becoming the highest ranking nationalist commander captured, but they had successfully avoided being identified by disguised as ordinary soldiers and each received two dollars in silver when released after the campaign. A total of seven nationalist divisions were badly mauled in the six battles, which communists themselves labeled as five victories and one draw, and nationalists suffered over thirty thousand casualties. In addition, the communists also captured more than twenty thousands guns in their victory.

Aftermath

Capitalizing on their victory, communists launched their offensives into the nationalist dominated regions, further expanding their communist base in Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

, resulting in previously two separate communist bases in southern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

 and western Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 joining together into a larger one, covering twenty-one counties totaling more than fifty square kilometers, with permanent resident totaling more than two and half a million. The communist success paved the way for the communist base to later expand to its ultimate size with population over three million. It was worth to note that though Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

 was still viewed by many communists as the supreme commander, his positions had already been actually reduced significantly since the last encirclement campaign, and it was only because the Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...

's proteges had not fully established their absolute authority, plus the fact that Mao's previous proven strategies had once more applied in this campaign that created the false impression that Mao was still the supreme leader. After this campaign, Mao soon fell from power as the internal political power struggle intensified and Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...

 emerged victorious.

See also

  • List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
  • National Revolutionary Army
    National Revolutionary Army
    The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...

  • History of the People's Liberation Army
    History of the People's Liberation Army
    The history of the People's Liberation Army began in 1927 with the start of the Chinese Civil War and spans to the present, having developed from a peasant guerrilla force into the largest armed force in the world.-Historical background:...

  • Chinese Civil War
    Chinese Civil War
    The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

  • First Encirclement Campaign
    First Encirclement Campaign
    The First Encirclement Campaign is an abbreviated name used for several different encirclement campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army and its communist bases in several separate locations in China during the early stage of...

  • Second Encirclement Campaign
    Second Encirclement Campaign
    The Second Encirclement Campaign is an abbreviated name used for several different encirclement campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army and its communist bases in several separate locations in China during the early stage of...

  • Fourth Encirclement Campaign
    Fourth Encirclement Campaign
    The Fourth Encirclement Campaign is an abbreviated name used for several different encirclement campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army and its communist bases. The battles took place in several separate locations in China during...

  • Fifth Encirclement Campaign
    Fifth Encirclement Campaign
    The Fifth Encirclement Campaign is an abbreviated name used for several different encirclement campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army and its communist bases in several separate locations in China during the early stage of...

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