New China's "No. 1 Martyr" Duan Dechang

Duan Dechang was born in Jiuwu Factory, Jiudushan Township, Nanxian County, Hunan Province in August 1904. He joined the Communist Party of China in September 1925 and participated in the Northern Expedition and Nanchang Uprising. He was one of the founders of the Honghu Revolutionary Base and the revolutionary base in western Hunan and Hubei. A brave fighter. In May 1933, he was mistakenly killed in the third "elimination of counter-revolutionaries" in the western Hunan and Hubei base areas. In 1945, the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party was Duan Dechang's redress. In 1952, Mao Zedong issued the Central People's Government's No. 1 "Glory Memorial Certificate for the Families of Revolutionary Sacrifice Soldiers" to Duan Dechang's relatives ". In 1989, the Central Military Commission designated Duan Dechang as one of the 33 military strategists of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Peng dehuai's "revolutionary guide". Duan Dechang and Peng Dehuai met during the Northern Expedition. They had similar personalities and similar interests, and forged a very deep and sincere friendship. In the subsequent exchanges, Duan Dechang repeatedly publicized progressive ideas and revolutionary principles to Peng Dehuai, so that Peng Dehuai, who was struggling to find the truth of saving the country and the people, deepened his understanding and understanding of Chinese society and the Communist Party of China, and was determined to follow the Communist Party. "Peng Dehuai's Self-report" wrote: One day after the Northern Expedition captured Wuchang, the troops reached Yuquan Mountain in Hubei Province. He and Duan Dechang stayed in a Guandi Temple. Duan asked him what he thought of Guan Yu. He believed that Guan Yu was a tool of the feudal rulers and was still being used as a tool by the ruling class, which was meaningless. Duan Dechang asked what was interesting. He said that serving workers and peasants was interesting. The two also talked about the ideals and tasks of the Communist Party, the ultimate goal of the National Revolution, and the views of the Kuomintang. Peng Dehuai believed that this talk "benefited a lot" and "up to now, I sometimes recall this talk". Before and after this conversation, Duan Dechang also gave Peng Dehuai progressive books such as "Guide" and "Popular Das Kapital". After reading it, Peng Dehuai strengthened his belief in Marxism-Leninism and repeatedly asked Duan Dechang to join the party. Under Duan Dechang's introduction, Peng Dehuai joined the Communist Party of China in April 1928 and embarked on the revolutionary road. Peng Dehuai regarded Duan Dechang as a "revolutionary guide".
Guerrilla warfare expert in the base area. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, based on the characteristics of the enemy and the number of people, only by carrying out guerrilla warfare can we preserve and develop ourselves. Throughout Duan Dechang's military career, it can be said with certainty that he is a good hand in guerrilla warfare. In the practice of guerrilla warfare in the Honghu base area, Duan Dechang combined the military theory he mastered with the reality of the revolution at that time, and created a set of guerrilla warfare theories with Zhou Yiqun. The basic principle is "when the enemy comes, we fly; when the enemy goes, we return; when there are many people, we run; when there are few people, we do it". On this basis, Duan Dechang also summed up the strategies and tactics of the four guerrillas: dispersing guerrillas and giving centralized guidance; avoiding their edge and attacking them unprepared; only fighting the false, not fighting the real; if you want to fight, you will win, but you will not fight; dividing the troops to mobilize the masses and concentrate on dealing with the enemy. This guerrilla warfare theory is similar to the 16-character formula of "the enemy advances and we retreat, the enemy is stationed in us, the enemy is tired and we fight, the enemy retreats and we chase" summarized by Mao Zedong and Zhu De. They are both based on the characteristics of the enemy's strength and our weakness. Give full play to the advantages of mobility and flexibility, preserve oneself, and attack the enemy.
It was under the guidance of the guerrilla warfare theory that Duan Dechang led his troops to fight against the enemy, often defeating the strong and defeating the strong, and consolidating and expanding the Honghu base. In 1938, Mao Zedong said in "The Strategic Issues of the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla War", "The Honghu guerrilla war in the Red Army era has been supported for several years, and it is evidence that the river-lake harbor area can develop guerrilla warfare and establish base areas".
The "victorious general" in the hearts of the masses ". "You can't fail with congratulations, you can't win without stages." (He refers to He Long, Duan refers to Duan Dechang) is a saying circulated in the western Soviet area of Hunan and Hubei. Duan Dechang was the main general in the base area of western Hunan and Hubei. He led his troops to fight many beautiful victories, showing great power and making the enemy fearful. The masses in the base area called him "the victorious general".
In January, 1932, Duan Dechang used the tactics of encirclement to attack Yingcheng and led the Red 9th Division to divide Chenjiahe and Longwangji, which surrounded the southwest of Yingcheng, with the cooperation of Hanchuan Independent Regiment. The 12th Brigade of the 4th Division of the Kuomintang, Zhang Lianhua, was ordered to go to the rescue. After Duan Dechang led his troops to conquer the Chenjiahe River, he took the night to lie in ambush on both sides of the road from Longwangji to Yingcheng. When the enemy entered the ambush circle, Duan Dechang gave an order, and our troops on both sides of the highway rushed to the enemy like heavenly soldiers. In this battle, the Red Army wiped out the 12th Brigade, captured Zhang Lianhua, more than 4000 enemy troops, and seized a mountain of booty. After this battle, the Honghu base area expanded to Yingcheng County.
At the end of February, the enemy launched a clean-up campaign focusing on the days (doors) and Han (Sichuan) Soviet areas. The 144th brigade of the 48th division of the enemy moved to the head of the gray port, and the enemy Xu Jiwu brigade moved from Tianmen and Zhang Jigang to the head of the gray port at the same time. At the beginning of March, heavy rain poured down and the roads were muddy. The 144 brigade was trapped in Wenjiadun, and Xu brigade also returned to Tianmen. After Duan Dechang learned of the enemy's movement, he quickly led the Red 9th Division to march in the rain all night. He arrived at Wenjiadun at dawn on March 4 and launched a sudden attack on the 144 brigade. Soon, more than 4000 members of the brigade were wiped out and brigade commander Han Changjun was captured alive.
At the beginning of June 1932, the 21st army of Sichuan army invaded Honghu Soviet area in four routes. Led by He Long and Guan Xiangying, the 3rd Red Army rose up to meet the enemy. The 4th Division of the Sichuan Army led by Fan Shaozeng occupied the area of Laoxinkou, which was close to Zhou Laizui, the headquarters of the head office in western Hunan and Hubei. Xingouzui was an important barrier for Zhou Laozui. At that time, our army had very few troops there and the situation was extremely critical. On June 9, Duan Dechang was ordered to lead two clusters of the Red 9th Division back to Xingouzui at night to organize defense overnight. On the 13th, Duan Dechang sent a small force to the old new mouth to harass and lure the enemy, and lured the 4th division to the new ditch mouth. The Red Army relied on the fortifications to open its fire and the enemy suffered heavy casualties. At the same time, the three cavalry companies lying in ambush to the east of xingouzui, using the cover of the river bank, detour to the side of the 4th division, suddenly launched an attack, and then the front troops of the 9th red division took advantage of the situation to counterattack. The 4th Division of the Sichuan Army was beaten on the back and abdomen and fled in panic. The 9th Red Division chased to the Xiong Kou area and wiped out most of it. In this battle, the Red Army wiped out more than one brigade of the 4th Division of the Sichuan Army, captured more than 3000 people, and seized more than 2500 guns (all kinds of guns).
On March 24, 1933, the Central Sub-bureau of western Hunan and Hubei held a meeting in Jinguoping, Badong County, to check the reasons for the failure of the struggle in the base area and to study the direction of action in the future. Xia Xi believed that the main reason for the failure was due to the ineffective "elimination of counter-revolutionaries" and proposed to dissolve the Communist Party of western Hunan and Hubei. Duan Dechang believed that the loss of the Honghu base area was mainly due to the wrong "elimination of counter-revolutionaries" and the implementation of the wrong military line. The two men were tit-for-tat and did not give in to each other. On March 25, Duan Dechang was trapped and killed on May 1.

Source: Learning Times