The New Fourth Army Incident (), also known as the South
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
Incident (), occurred in China in January 1941 during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...
, during which the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
was in theory suspended, uniting the
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
s and
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
s against the Japanese. It is significant as the end of real cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists. Today,
ROC and
PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
historians view the New Fourth Army Incident differently. From the ROC point of view, the Communists attacked first and it was a punishment for the Communist insubordination; from the PRC view, it was Nationalist treachery.
Causes
ROC viewpoint
In the fall of 1940, the Communist
New Fourth Army
The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
attacked Nationalist forces under
Han Deqin
Han Deqin (; 8 October 1892–15 August 1988) was a KMT general from Siyang County, Jiangsu. He graduated from the Baoding Military Academy. He fought against the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in Jiangxi and the forces of the Empir ...
. Also, Benton's book ''New Fourth Army'' argues the Communists first attacked the Nationalists and the Nationalists fought back against the Communists.
[
]
PRC viewpoint
For PRC historians the incident began in December 1940, when Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
ordered Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chines ...
and the New Fourth Army
The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
to withdraw from Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
and Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
to the north of the old Yellow River track in a month. In response, the Communist Party only agreed to move the New Fourth Army troops in Southern Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
(Wannan) to the northern shore of the Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
. On 4 January, the 9000-strong force started to move from Yunling Township in Jing County towards Jiangsu, planning to cross the river along three routes.
Ambush
On January 5, the Communist forces were surrounded in Maolin Township by a Nationalist force of 80,000 led by Shangguan Yunxiang
Shangguan Yunxiang (; 1895–8 August 1969) was a Kuomintang general from Shanghe County, Shandong. He was the brother-in-law of Kuomintang general Yu Hanmou.
Early life
Shangguan enrolled in the Infantry Division of Baoding Military Academy in ...
and attacked days later. After days of fighting, heavy losses – including many civilian workers who staffed the army's political headquarters – were inflicted on the New Fourth Army due to the overwhelming numbers of Nationalist troops. On January 13, Ye Ting, wanting to save his men, went to Shangguan Yunxiang's headquarters to negotiate terms. Upon arrival, Ye was detained. The New Fourth Army's political commissar Xiang Ying
Xiang Ying (; 1895(?) – 1941) 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
Initially a la ...
was killed, and only 2,000 people, led by Huang Huoxing and Fu Qiutao, were able to break out.
Aftermath
Chiang Kai-shek ordered the New Fourth Army disbanded on January 17, and sent Ye Ting to a military tribunal. However, on January 20, the Chinese Communist Party in Yan'an
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...
ordered the reorganization of the army. Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to:
* Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty
* Chen Yi (Kuomintang)
Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...
was the new army commander. Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and ...
was the political commissar. The new headquarters was in Jiangsu, which was now the general headquarters for the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chines ...
. Together, they comprised seven divisions and one independent brigade, totalling over 90,000 troops.
Because of this incident, according to the Chinese Communist Party, the Nationalist Party of China was criticized for creating internal strife when the Chinese were supposed to be united against the Japanese; the Chinese Communist Party, on the other hand, was seen as heroes at the vanguard of the fight against the Japanese and Nationalist treachery. Although as a result of this incident, the Communist Party lost possession of the lands south of Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
, it drew the party support from the population, which strengthened their foundations north of Yangtze River.
According to the Nationalist Party, this incident was retribution to numerous occasions of treachery and harassment by the New Fourth Army.
The novelist Mao Dun
Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing; 4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981), known by the pen name of Mao Dun, was a Chinese essayist, journalist, novelist, and playwright. Mao Dun, as a 20th-century Chinese novelist, literary and cultural critic, and Minis ...
's story '' Fushi'' is about this incident.
Notes
Further reading
* Benton, Gregor. ''New Fourth Army: Communist Resistance along the Yangtze and the Huai, 1938–1941.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. 949 pages.
*''This articles uses the translation of the corresponding Chinese-language article, retrieved on August 24, 2006.''
{{Coord missing, Anhui
Conflicts in 1941
National Revolutionary Army
Military operations of the Chinese Civil War
1941 in China
Military history of Anhui