Former Site Memorial of the Sixth Division Headquarters of the New Fourth Army

Former Site Memorial of the Sixth Division Headquarters of the New Fourth Army

The Former Site Memorial of the Sixth Division Headquarters of the New Fourth Army is a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism destination.

The Former Site Memorial of the Sixth Division Headquarters of the New Fourth Army is located at Zhuxiang, Zhaimen Village, Xibei Town, Xishan District, Wuxi City. It is recognized as a Wuxi Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a Wuxi Municipal Patriotic Education Base, and a Wuxi Municipal Party History Education Base. The former site of the Sixth Division Headquarters of the New Fourth Army was originally a Western-style private residence belonging to Professor Zhu Shuiben, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Zhejiang University and a U.S.-educated Ph.D.

During the war of resistance, the anti-Japanese struggle of the people of Wuxi was closely linked with that of the people in southern Jiangsu. Southern Jiangsu was one of the wealthiest regions in the country. After the outbreak of the war, Japanese puppet troops heavily controlled this area, and the Kuomintang also deployed its second armed force, the Loyal and Patriotic Salvation Army, to southern Jiangsu in an attempt to regain control. Meanwhile, numerous anti-Japanese armed groups emerged across Wuxi’s urban and rural areas, totaling 39 guerrilla units by the first half of 1938.

Under these circumstances, the higher-level Party organization sent Wang Chengye (also known as Wang Zhongliang) to Wuxi to rebuild the county Party committee. Based in Meicun, the committee reestablished grassroots Party organizations, restructured local guerrilla forces, and gradually developed an anti-Japanese guerrilla stronghold centered around Meicun.

During this period, in order to implement the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s strategic directive for the New Fourth Army—“consolidate southward, fight eastward, and develop northward”—in April 1938, the New Fourth Army headquarters decided that the First Detachment Commander Chen Yi would form an advance column to conduct strategic reconnaissance behind enemy lines in southern Jiangsu. In June, Chen Yi led his troops into Maoshan. In October, Chen Yi dispatched the Second Regiment’s Chief of Staff Wang Bicheng to lead the First Battalion eastward for reconnaissance, gathering detailed intelligence on the guerrilla forces and Japanese strongholds in the Wuxi and Suzhou areas. Local Wuxi cadres Zhang Zhuoru and Chen Zhenbai reported on the situation. In October, Chen Yi authorized three anti-Japanese units under the leadership of underground Party members such as Mei Guangdi to be organized into the Third Route of the Southern Jiangsu People's Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army.

With these preparations in place, Chen Yi decided to dispatch the Sixth Regiment eastward into southern Jiangsu. At the time, Chen Yi only had two regiments under his command—the Second and Sixth Regiments of the New Fourth Army. He assigned the Second Regiment to solely handle guerrilla warfare in the Maoshan area, while sending the Sixth Regiment eastward. Chen Yi explicitly defined the objectives of the eastward mission: expand anti-Japanese strength by developing forces, increasing weaponry, and securing funds and supplies—in short, focusing on three priorities: “men, guns, and money.”

To prevent the Kuomintang die-hards from finding excuses to sabotage the eastward advance, Chen Yi decided that the Sixth Regiment would go under the guise of a local anti-Japanese force. To this end, Regimental Commander Ye Fei took leave from the Nationalist Third War Zone, and all regimental leaders used assumed names.

In May 1939, Ye Fei led over 700 troops of the Sixth Regiment under the banner of the “Second Route of the Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Detachment” (commonly referred to as “Jiang Kang”) advancing eastward from Maoshan to fight the Japanese. Upon reaching Daiqiao in Wujin, they integrated with the unit previously reorganized as the “Third Route of the Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army” under Mei Guangdi, continuing their eastward advance under the name “Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army” (abbreviated as “Jiang Kang”). After arriving in the Wuxi area, the “Jiang Kang” headquarters was stationed at Chucengshang in Songshan. Using Meicun as a base, the unit leveraged the strengths of flexible and proactive guerrilla tactics, striking Japanese and puppet forces through ambushes, raids, and night attacks while on the move.

On May 30, a main force under the command of Wu ?j, leader of the “Second Route of Jiang Kang,” after eliminating over ten Japanese and puppet strongholds and bandit forces in eastern Changshu, encountered Japanese troops on a “mopping-up” operation while returning to Meicun via Huangtutang in the northeastern outskirts of Wuxi. A battle ensued. As fighting broke out, Japanese reinforcements arrived, but the “Jiang Kang” soldiers fought tenaciously despite being poorly equipped. After half a day of intense combat, they killed over 30 Japanese soldiers, including one colonel. The Huangtutang battle marked the first engagement between “Jiang Kang” and the Japanese following their eastward advance. This initial victory greatly boosted the morale of the Wuxi people in resisting the Japanese. Later, “Jiang Kang” soldiers also conducted a night raid on Hushuguan and attacked Hongqiao Airport, shocking the Shanghai-Nanjing corridor.

While fighting Japanese and puppet forces, “Jiang Kang” also negotiated the incorporation of local guerrilla units. Thanks to the extensive persuasion and restructuring efforts undertaken by the Wuxi County Committee, a solid foundation was laid for “Jiang Kang” to absorb these groups. Between May and June 1939, with the cooperation of local Party branches, “Jiang Kang” incorporated and commissioned seven guerrilla units in the Wuxi area, totaling more than 1,350 personnel, along with four heavy machine guns, 36 light machine guns, over 1,100 rifles and pistols.

After the Huangtutang battle, the “Loyal Rescue Army’s” Tenth Detachment, entrenched in northern Xishan, obstructed the anti-Japanese effort. “Jiang Kang” decided to seize their weapons. Following meticulous planning, in the early hours of June 2, “Jiang Kang” launched a three-pronged attack from Zhuxiang Zhuxiang toward Shijia Bang, Donghutang, and Hetangqiao, striking the “Loyal Rescue Army’s” Tenth Detachment headquarters and routing two of its battalions. They captured four heavy machine guns, 20 light machine guns, over 300 submachine guns and rifles, and one small radio station. This operation not only struck a blow against the obstructive die-hard forces but also significantly improved “Jiang Kang’s” equipment.

The wartime achievements of “Jiang Kang” in their eastward advance not only unsettled the Japanese invaders along the Beijing-Shanghai railway but also provoked the jealousy and anger of the Kuomintang die-hards. Upon learning that “Jiang Kang” was part of the New Fourth Army, the Nationalist Third War Zone used the excuse of “crossing boundaries” and secretly ordered their suppression. To avoid conflict, in October 1939, “Jiang Kang” was ordered to withdraw westward and advance northward across the river.

By the end of 1939, “Jiang Kang” had grown from 1,000 to over 5,000 troops, successfully accomplishing the three major tasks assigned by their superiors: expanding manpower, acquiring weapons, and securing funds.

After “Jiang Kang” moved westward, they took some local anti-Japanese forces with them. Deprived of “Jiang Kang” support and unable to operate openly, the Wuxi Party organization shifted to underground work. The struggle became extremely challenging.

Recognizing the strategic importance of the eastern route but also its relative weakness in anti-Japanese forces, while planning the main force’s northward crossing, Chen Yi recommended Tan Zhenlin—Deputy Commander of the Third Detachment of the New Fourth Army and one of the founders of the Southern Anhui Anti-Japanese Base—to come to southern Jiangsu to “take charge independently” and open up a new front. In March 1940, the Southeast Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the New Fourth Army headquarters decided to transfer Tan Zhenlin to southern Jiangsu’s eastern route to organize a military-political committee and unify military leadership.

In April 1940, Tan Zhenlin was transferred from southern Anhui to the eastern route area. He first arrived in Changshu, where he renamed the “Eastern Command of the Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army”—originally formed around wounded cadres and soldiers left behind by “Jiang Kang” near Yangcheng Lake—into the “Eastern Command of the Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Salvation Army” (distinguished from the “Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army” led by Ye Fei and abbreviated as “New Jiang Kang”). Tan Zhenlin served as both Commander and Political Commissar, with He Kexi as Deputy Commander.

After its establishment, “New Jiang Kang” resolutely implemented the Central Committee’s directives to “expand the army and establish political power,” forming a military-political committee and creating anti-Japanese guerrilla bases. The focus was on developing armed forces and establishing bases. The Eastern Route Military-Political Committee based its strategy in the Suzhou-Changzhou-Taicang region, expanding eastward to Kunjia Tai (Kunshan, Jiading, Taicang) and westward into Chengxianyu (Jiangyin, Wuxi, Changshu), using tactics such as raids and sabotage to strike Japanese and puppet troops. After initially expanding its forces, in September 1940, Tan Zhenlin led “New Jiang Kang” from the Suzhou-Changzhou-Taicang region into the Chengxianyu area, setting up headquarters in the same Western-style private residence in Zhuxiang Zhuxiang. The arrival of “New Jiang Kang” opened the way for establishing an anti-Japanese guerrilla base in the Wuxi area.

After bringing the “New Jiang Kang” headquarters to the Chengxianyu region, Wang Chengye, a member of the Eastern Route Military-Political Committee, worked with the local Party in the well-established Wuxi area to establish an anti-Japanese democratic government. In February 1941, the Wuxi County Government and Xibei Administrative Office were established. Within six months of forming the county and district governments, over 80 towns (townships) and 500 villages in the Wuxi area held democratic elections to establish grassroots political power. Through these democratic institutions, the Wuxi local Party carried out extensive work in finance, education, military affairs, and more, implementing a fair taxation and land tax system. They issued the “Jiangnan Commercial Currency Certificate,” also known as “Anti-Japanese Currency,” unifying the circulating currency in the eastern route base. They also established educational institutions at various levels to promote anti-Japanese education and set up hospitals for the rear of “Jiang Kang,” thereby consolidating the anti-Japanese guerrilla base.

After the Southern Anhui Incident, the New Fourth Army reestablished its headquarters in Yancheng and unified the reorganization of its forces across central China. In early March 1941, the main forces of the New Fourth Army in southern Jiangsu—including the Southern Command and the Jiangnan People’s Anti-Japanese Salvation Army—were reorganized into the Sixth Division of the New Fourth Army, with Tan Zhenlin serving as both Division Commander and Political Commissar. The headquarters of the Sixth Division of the New Fourth Army was once located in this Western-style house in Zhuxiang Zhuxiang.

In July 1941, Japanese and puppet troops carried out brutal “pacification” campaigns in the Suzhou-Changzhou-Taicang region, shifting their focus to the Wuxi area in September. Following directives from the Central China Bureau and the New Fourth Army headquarters, “New Jiang Kang” was ordered to break out of the “pacification” zone, cross the river northward, and relocate to the Central Jiangsu Base.

Travel Guide

Location: Zhuxiang, Zhaimen Village, Xibei Town, Xishan District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: Take bus 738 in Suzhou City and get off at Xinzhailu.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units