Operations Against the Five Encirclement and Suppression Campaigns of the Central Soviet Area

The establishment and growth of the revolutionary base areas under the CPC's leadership threatened the rule of Chiang Kai-shek's government. From 1930 to 1934, Chiang summoned large numbers of troops and launched five attempts to achieve military encirclements of the Central Revolutionary Base Area and the Hunan-Jiangxi, Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi, Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangxi base areas.

In October 1930, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized about 100,000 troops and started a large-scale encirclement and suppression campaign of the Central Revolutionary Base Area in Jiangxi, planning to drive straight into the revolutionary base area and make a concerted attack by converging columns. The First Front Red Army led by Mao Zedong and Zhu De adopted a successful strategy of luring the enemy troops in deep and then counterattacking. They killed more than 15,000 KMT troops, and seized vast quantities of arms, thus achieving a notable victory in the first counter-campaign.

In February 1931, the KMT gathered 200,000 troops to launch a second campaign. This time the strategy was to consolidate gains at each step and attack only when sure of success. The Red Army, with only 30,000 men under Mao Zedong's command, continued the strategy of luring the enemy in deep and counterattacking that had been so successful in the first campaign and won five battles in succession, achieving a decisive victory against the enemy's second encirclement campaign.

In July 1931, Chiang Kai-shek personally took the post of commander-in-chief, and brought military consultants from Britain, Japan and Germany with him. Once again they followed the tactic of driving straight into the Central Revolutionary Base Area, with 300,000 troops advancing in three columns. The Red Army also repeated its successful strategy of luring the enemy in deep, avoiding its main forces, and striking at its weak spots. In three months, the Red Army killed more than 30,000 enemy troops, and achieved a third decisive victory.

At the end of 1932, KMT troops mounted a fourth encirclement campaign on the Central Revolutionary Base Area, with troops of 30 divisions advancing in three columns. The Red Army, under the command of Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, following Mao Zedong's strategy of active defense, wiped out three enemy divisions by making a feint to the east but attacking in the west, with an ambush by a large force. They concentrated their forces to create local superiority over the overstretched enemy lines. Once again they achieved a decisive victory.

In September 1933, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized one million troops and about 200 planes to launch the fifth encirclement and suppression campaign, this time on several revolutionary base areas. Half of these forces were used to attack the Central Revolutionary Base Area.

Under the heavy influence of Wang Ming's (1904-1974) "leftist" dogmatic ideas, Otto Braun (1900-1974, the German military advisor by the Chinese name Li De who was sent from the Comintern) advocated an adventurist strategy and tried to engage the numerically superior and better-equipped KMT troops in conventional open and static warfare. The results were catastrophic, resulting in huge losses of manpower and territory. This time the Red Army met a failure in Chiang's fifth encirclement campaign.

In October 1934, the main forces of the Central Red Army were compelled to retreat from the Central Revolutionary Base Area and start a strategic shift of position.

中央蘇區(qū)五次反“圍剿”

中國共產(chǎn)黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)革命根據(jù)地的建立和發(fā)展，威脅著蔣介石反動政府的統(tǒng)治，引起了國民黨反動派的恐慌。從1930年到1934年，蔣介石先后調(diào)集大批兵力對中央革命根據(jù)地以及湘贛、湘鄂贛、閩浙贛等根據(jù)地進行了五次軍事“圍剿”。

1930年10月，蔣介石糾集10萬兵力，采取“長驅(qū)直入，分進合擊”的戰(zhàn)術(shù)，對中央革命根據(jù)地發(fā)動大規(guī)模的“圍剿”。紅一方面軍采取“誘敵深入”的作戰(zhàn)方針，共殲敵1.5萬多人，勝利粉碎了敵人的第一次“圍剿”。

1931年2月，國民黨又調(diào)集20萬軍隊，采取“穩(wěn)扎穩(wěn)打，步步為營”的戰(zhàn)術(shù)，對中央革命根據(jù)地進行第二次“圍剿”。紅軍3萬人在毛澤東的指揮下，仍取“誘敵深入”方針，連續(xù)取得五場戰(zhàn)斗的勝利，粉碎了敵人的第二次“圍剿”。

1931年7月，蔣介石親自任總司令，隨帶英、日、德軍事顧問，率兵30萬人，采用“長驅(qū)直入戰(zhàn)術(shù)”，分三路進攻中央革命根據(jù)地。紅軍依然使用“誘敵深入”的戰(zhàn)略方針，“避敵主力，打其虛弱”，前后3個月，殲敵3萬人，勝利粉碎了敵人的第三次“圍剿”。

1932年年底，國民黨調(diào)集30個師的兵力，分三路向中央革命根據(jù)地發(fā)動第四次“圍剿”。紅軍在周恩來和朱德的指揮下，根據(jù)毛澤東積極防御的戰(zhàn)略思想，采取聲東擊西、大兵團伏擊、集中優(yōu)勢兵力、堅決圍殲的作戰(zhàn)方針，消滅敵人三個師，取得了第四次反“圍剿”的勝利。

1933年9月，蔣介石調(diào)集100萬軍隊、200多架飛機，向各革命根據(jù)地發(fā)動第五次“圍剿”，其中用于中央根據(jù)地的兵力達50萬。在王明“左”傾教條主義錯誤的影響下，李德等人先推行“軍事冒險主義”策略，在敵人猖狂進攻面前采取“拼命主義”，最后發(fā)展成“逃跑主義”，導(dǎo)致中央紅軍第五次反“圍剿”失敗。1934年10月，中央紅軍主力被迫撤出中央革命根據(jù)地，實施戰(zhàn)略轉(zhuǎn)移。