New Fourth Army
| New Fourth Army | |
|---|---|
| Active | 12 October 1937 – 23 January 1947 |
| Country |  China |
| Allegiance | .svg){kind=small} Chinese Communist Party |
| Branch |  National Revolutionary Army |
| Type | Army Light Infantry |
| Role | Guerrilla Warfare |
| Size | 10,300+ (1937) 290,000+ (1947) |
| Part of | CCP Central Military Commission Nationalist Government Military Affairs Commission |
| Garrison/HQ | Jiangsu, Anhui |
| Motto | Resolving the National Crisis (共赴国难) |
| Colors | Grey Uniform |
| Equipment | Hanyang 88, Chiang Kai-shek rifle, Type 38 rifle, Type 99 rifle, Mauser C96, Nambu pistol, Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun |
| Engagements | Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Ye Ting, Xiang Ying, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi, Su Yu |
| Insignia | |
| Arm badge (1945) | _badge_1.svg){kind=icon} |
| Arm badge (1941) | _badge_2.svg){kind=icon} |
The New Fourth Army (N4A; simplified Chinese: 新四军; traditional Chinese: 新四軍; pinyin: Xīn Sì Jūn) was a military unit nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China, established in 1937 as part of the Second United Front during the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, in practice, the New Fourth Army was under the exclusive command of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and operated independently of the Kuomintang (KMT)'s central military command. Unlike most NRA units, which were directly overseen by the Nationalist Government, the N4A maintained separate political and operational structures aligned with CCP objectives.
The New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army were the two main CCP military forces from 1938. The New Fourth Army was active south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), while the Eighth Route Army was based in Yan'an in the northwest. Members of the New Fourth Army wore their badges on the left arm, with "N4A" and the soldier's unit and name listed on the badge.[citation needed]
After the Xi'an Incident, the Kuomintang led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong formed a United Front against Japan, which was already in control of Manchuria and pushing into North China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937 marked the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).
In October 1937, an announcement was made that Red Army soldiers active in the eight provinces in southern China — those who did not embark on the Long March would be part of the New Fourth Army. The New Fourth Army was established on December 25, 1937 in Hankou, moving to Nanchang on January 6, 1938, when the detachments began marching to the battlefront. At the beginning, the New Fourth Army had four detachments and one task force battalion and numbered roughly ten thousand. Later the army moved to Anhui province. Ye Ting was the army commander, Xiang Ying the deputy army commander.[citation needed]
It was in theory a united front against Japan but in practice there was friction between Nationalist and CCP forces, which intensified in the fall of 1940, culminating in the New Fourth Army Incident with a full-fledged battle between the New Fourth Army and KMT National Revolutionary Army forces. Up until that point, most of the battles had been skirmishes. The army was fully reorganized after the incident and remained in active combat until the end of the war.
History
[edit]The Second Sino-Japanese War began on 7 July 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge incident.[1]: 44 As part of the Second United Front of the CCP and the Nationalists against the invading Japanese imperial forces, the Chinese Red Army was incorporated into the National Revolutionary Army, forming the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.[1]: 44
1937–1938
[edit]In 1938, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd detachments began marching to the battlefront in southern Anhui and southern Jiangsu. The 4th detachment got northern and middle Anhui. Due to being in the back of the Japanese army, the New Fourth Army didn't eliminate very many Japanese troops at first. The majority of the time they were establishing base areas and enlisting new recruits. After the Japanese had occupied Wuhan the New Fourth Army took the opportunity to set up several guerrilla camps in the area.[citation needed]
In January 1938, the New Fourth Army formed its Battlefield Service Troupe.[1]: 56 The group did propaganda work among soldiers, peasants, and other local people, teaching songs and other performances.[1]: 56
1939–1940
[edit] |
In 1939 the Japanese Army stopped attacking the Nationalist forces on a large scale. The New Fourth Army was restricted to the south of the Yangtze River. In order to establish a new base area the New Fourth Army sent an advance team to Northern Jiangsu and clashed with guerrillas of the Nationalist forces there. In the battle of Huangqiao the New Fourth Army destroyed the 89th Army and the 33rd division of the Nationalist forces. The Eighth Route Army also dispatched the 4th detachment's 12,000 men to support the New Fourth Army.
1941–1943
[edit]In January 1941, in what became known as the New Fourth Army incident the Nationalist forces surrounded and destroyed the headquarters of the New Fourth Army in retaliation, losing the New Fourth Army about 8,000 men. The commander of the New Fourth Army was also caught.[citation needed]
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) made a strong protest and announced the rebuilding the New Fourth Army in northern Jiangsu. In Jiangsu, it again expanded.[1]: 44 At this time the New Fourth Army had already had seven divisions and 90,000 soldiers. Between 1941 and 1943, the New Fourth Army fought mainly with the Japanese and lost a portion of the Army's base areas. Because of heavy losses the 6th Division's designation was revoked.[citation needed]
1944–1945
[edit]By the end of the war, the New Fourth Army had fought 22,000 battles against the Japanese in central and southern China.[1]: 44 Because the New Fourth Army operated in pockets among the Japanese forces, collaborationist regimes, and the Nationalist Forces, it often engaged in action and fought against Japanese mopping-up campaigns.[1]: 59
The New Fourth Army established base areas that covered three 253,000 square kilometres and which had a population of three million.[1]: 44 By 1945, the New Fourth Army had grown to 215,000, with a further 97,000-strong local military force.[1]: 44
Due to a lack of troops the Japanese ceased actively attacking the New Fourth Army. Several fierce battles erupted again between the New Fourth Army and the Nationalist forces.[citation needed] In order to quickly occupy northeast China political commissar Huang Kecheng ordered the 3rd Division's 35,000 men to leave his base area.[citation needed]
Overall Campaign
[edit]In April 1938, the New Fourth Army had 10,329 direct troops. By July 1945, the army's strength had swelled to 215,325 direct troops, 97,547 local armed forces, and 960,603 militiamen. From May 1938 to May 1946, the New Fourth Army fought 24,617 battles against Japanese and Chinese collaborationist troops, claiming to have killed or wounded 117,605 Japanese troops and 176,101 collaborationist troops and captured 2,022 Japanese troops and 122,181 collaborationist troops. Additionally, 30 Japanese troops and 60,825 collaborationist troops defected to the New Fourth Army. Casualties of the New Fourth Army fighting against the two units from May 1938 to January 1946 reached 51,602.[2]: 654-656
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, there were frequent frictions between Communist and Nationalist troops. From March 1940 to June 1945, the New Fourth Army fought in 3,212 battles in Anti-Diehard Army operations, claiming to have annihilated 143,320 troops[a] and suffered 30,544 casualties.[2]: 657 [b]
1946–1947
[edit] |
In the summer of 1946 the Chinese Civil War broke out. The Nationalist forces attacked the 5th Division first and occupied the division's base area successfully. However, in middle Jiangsu Su Yu's 1st Division miraculously won despite having fewer forces and wiped out 56,000 Nationalist soldiers. Later, because of a lack of troops the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th Divisions had to withdraw to Shandong in the winter of 1946. In January 1947 the New Fourth Army and Shandong Military Region of the People's Liberation Army were merged into the East China Field Army.[citation needed]
Headquarters
[edit]
The New Fourth Army Headquarters (Chinese: 漢口新四軍軍部舊址) was located at No. 332-352, Shengli Street, Jiang'an District, Wuhan. The site was renovated by the Wuhan People's Government in 2005.[3] On March 5, 2013, it was named a Major National Historical and Cultural Sites.[4]
Main leadership
[edit]| military posts | First term | Second term | Third term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commander | Ye Ting (1938.2 - 1941.1) | Chen Yi (1941.2 - 1947.1) | |
| Deputy Commander | Xiang Ying (1938.2 - 1941.1) | Zhang Yunyi (1941.2 - 1947.1) | |
| Political Commissar | vacancy | Liu Shaoqi (1941.2 - 1943.11) | Rao Shushi (1943.12 - 1947.1) |
| Chief of Staff | Zhang Yunyi (1938.2 - 1941.1) | Lai Chuanzhu (1941.2 - 1945.12) | Chen Shiqu (陈士渠, 1946.1 - 1947.1) |
| Deputy Chief of Staff | Zhou Zikun (1938.2 - 1941.1) | vacancy | Yuan Zhongxi (袁仲希, 1946.1 - 1947.1) |
| Director of Political Department | Yuan Guoping (1938.2 - 1941.1) | Deng Zihui (1941.2 - 1945.12) | Shu Tong (1946.1 - 1947.1) |
| Deputy Director of Political Department | Deng Zihui (1938.2 - 1941.1) | vacancy | Tang Liang (1946.1 - 1947.1) |
Personnel
[edit]Guerrillas
[edit] |
Most of the New Fourth Army's military officers were guerrillas of the Chinese Red Army, others being from the 8th Route Army. Experience from China's Civil War led to them rapidly expanding their forces at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. During the eight years of the war officers with excellent abilities were usually promoted faster. For example, general Zhang Aiping was only a battalion commander of Chinese Red Army in 1934 but had become a division commander of the New Fourth Army by 1945.
Military education
[edit] |
With the rapid expansion of the size of the army a large number of junior officers and newly recruited students needed training. Because of a lack of teachers the Eighth Route Army dispatched hundreds of military instructors to the New Fourth Army in two separate occasions. From 1940 to 1942 the New Fourth Army built and established six military training schools in the battlefield. These military training schools were collectively referred to as branches of the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University.
| School | Principal | Establishment time | belongs to | Number of periods | Number of the Cadets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th branch school | Peng Xuefeng | 1940.3 | 4th Division | 7 | 5000 |
| 5th branch school | Chen Yi | 1940.11 | 3rd Division | 4 | 3000 |
| 8th branch school | Zhang Yunyi | 1941.5 | 2nd Division | 4 | 3000 |
| 9th branch school | Su Yu | 1942.5 | 1st Division | 5 | 3300 |
| 10th branch school | Li Xiannian | 1942.2 | 5th Division | 5 | 5000 |
| 10th branch school (Anhui) | Tan Xilin | 1945.3 | 7th Division | 1 | 600 |
Organization
[edit] |
In the first three years of its existence the New Fourth Army operated independently with the regiment as its basic unit. After the New Fourth Army Incident the army was reorganized into seven divisions and nineteen brigades.
1938
[edit]In the spring of 1938 the Chinese Red Army's surviving guerrillas in the South were organized into the New Fourth Army's four detachments.
| Detachment | Commander | Order of battle | Commander | Troop strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Detachment | Chen Yi | 1st regiment | Fu Qiutao | 2300 |
| 2nd regiment | Zhang Zhengkun | |||
| 2nd Detachment | Zhang Dingcheng | 3rd regiment | Huang Huoxing | 1800 |
| 4th regiment | Lu Sheng | |||
| 3rd Detachment | Zhang Yunyi | 5th regiment | Rao Shoukun | 2100 |
| 6th regiment | Ye Fei | |||
| 4th Detachment | Gao Jingting | 7th regiment | Yang Kezhi (杨克志) | 3100 |
| 8th regiment | Zhou Junming (周骏鸣) | |||
| 9th regiment | Gu Shiduo (顾士多) | |||
| Pistol regiment | Zhan Huayu |
1941
[edit]After the New Fourth Army Incident the New Fourth Army was rebuilt in January, 1941.
| Division | Commander | Order of battle | Commander | Troop strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Division | Su Yu | 1st Brigade | Ye Fei | 12000 |
| 2nd Brigade | Wang Bicheng | |||
| 3rd Brigade | Tao Yong | |||
| 2nd Division | Zhang Yunyi | 4th Brigade | Liang Congxue | 18000 |
| 5th Brigade | Cheng Jun | |||
| 6th Brigade | Tan Xilin | |||
| 3rd Division | Huang Kecheng | 7th Brigade | Peng Mingzhi | 20000 |
| 8th Brigade | Tian Shourao (田守饶) | |||
| 9th Brigade | Zhang Aiping | |||
| 4th Division | Peng Xuefeng | 10th Brigade | Liu Zhen | 15000 |
| 11th Brigade | Teng Haiqing (腾海清) | |||
| 12th Brigade | Tan Youlin | |||
| 5th Division | Li Xiannian | 13th Brigade | Zhou Zhijian | 14000 |
| 14th Brigade | Lou Houfu | |||
| 15th Brigade | Wang Haishan | |||
| 6th Division | Tan Zhenlin | 16th Brigade | Luo Zhongyi | 8000 |
| 18th Brigade | Jiang Weiqing | |||
| 7th Division | Zhang Dingcheng | 19th Brigade | Sun Zhongde | 3000 |
| Others | Independent Brigade | Liang Xingchu | 1000 |
1945
[edit]By the end of World War II the New Fourth Army had grown to 268,000 men.
| Division | Commander | Order of battle | Commander | Troop strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiangsu and Zhejiang Military Region | Su Yu | 1st Detachment | Wang Bicheng | 26000 |
| 2nd Detachment | He Kexi | |||
| 3rd Detachment | Tao Yong | |||
| 4th Detachment | Liao Zhengguo | |||
| 1st Military Subarea | Zhong Guochu | |||
| 2nd Military Subarea | Chen Liping | |||
| 3rd Military Subarea | He Minxue | |||
| Middle Jiangsu Military Region | Guan Wenwei | 1st Military Subarea | Huang Yifeng | 11000 |
| 3rd Military Subarea | Chen Yusheng | |||
| 4th Military Subarea | Lu Sheng | |||
| 5th Military Subarea | Wei Yongyi | |||
| 6th Military Subarea | Bao Houchang | |||
| Teaching Brigade | Liu Fei | |||
| 2nd Division Southern The Huai River Military Region |
Luo Binghui | 4th Brigade | Liang Congxue | 40000 |
| 5th Brigade | Cheng Jun | |||
| 6th Brigade | Chen Qingxian | |||
| Eastern Route Military Subarea | Bi Zhanyun | |||
| 3rd Division Northern Jiangsu Military Region |
Huang Kecheng | 7th Brigade | Peng Mingzhi | 50000 |
| 8th Brigade | Zhang Tianyun | |||
| 10th Brigade | Liu Zhen | |||
| Independent Brigade | Qin Jian | |||
| 4th Division Northern Huai River Military Region |
Zhang Aiping | 9th Brigade | Teng Haiqing (腾海清) | 50000 |
| 11th Brigade | Zhang Zhen | |||
| 12th Brigade | Rao Zijian | |||
| 5th Division Hubei, Anhui and Henan Military Region |
Li Xiannian | 13th Brigade | Zhou Zhijian | 47000 |
| 1st Military Subarea | Wang Haishan | |||
| 2nd Military Subarea | Wang Haishan | |||
| 3rd Military Subarea | He Bingyan | |||
| 4th Military Subarea | Han Dongshan | |||
| 5th Military Subarea | Wu Shian | |||
| 6th Military Subarea | Chen Gang | |||
| Middle Henan Military Subarea | Chen Xianrui | |||
| Southern Hubei Military Subarea | Zhang Tixue | |||
| Hubei and Anhui Command | Huang Shide (黄世德) | |||
| 7th Division Wanjiang River Military Region |
Tan Xilin | 19th Brigade | Lin Weixian | 27000 |
| Southern Anhui Military Subarea | Liang Jinhua | |||
| Hanhe Military Subarea | Sun Zhongde |
Media
[edit]A documentary on the women of the New Fourth Army titled My Mother: The Stories of Three Women Soldiers of the N4A aired in 2010.[1]: 34 Created by the children of New Fourth Army Veterans, the documentary explores the experiences of women in the New Fourth Army, focusing on the lives of three of them from childhood to their old age.[1]: 34 A book about the three featured women was published in 2011.[1]: 34
A televised drama, Women Soldiers of the New Fourth Army, aired in 2011.[1]: 34 The drama tells the story of five pairs of lovers in the New Fourth Army, focusing on themes of "red youth" and "red romance".[1]: 34
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^
- 65,382 killed or wounded
- 72,556 captured
- 5,382 surrendered and defected
- ^ Statistics does not include :
- Battles prior to March 1940
- Battles in November and December 1940
- The South Anhui Incident
- Battles from July to December 1945
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pan, Yihong (2025). Not Just a Man's War: Chinese Women's Memories of the War of Resistance Against Japan, 1931-45. University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 9780774870368.
- ^ a b 新四军战史 [History of the New Fourth Army]. Chinese People's Liberation Army Press. 2000.
- ^ 水世闿.汉口新四军军部旧址发现记[J].武汉文史资料,2007,(第8期). pp21-27.
- ^ 中华人民共和国中央人民政府. 国务院核定公布第七批全国重点文物保护单位 Archived 2013-11-05 at archive.today. 2013-05-03.
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