Site of the Zhenxia Battle

Site of the Zhenxia Battle

The Site of the Zhenxia Battle is a cultural relic protection unit of Xunwu County.

The Site of the Zhenxia Battle is located in Zhenxia Village, Jitan Town, Xunwu County. It was originally built in the early Qing Dynasty and was formerly the ancestral hall of the Liu family (Gong’anwei).

On February 2, 1929, the main force of the Fourth Red Army, led by Mao Zedong and Zhu De, passed through Zhenxia Village in Jitan Town, Xunwu County while establishing new revolutionary bases in southern Jiangxi and western Fujian. Here, they engaged in fierce combat with the pursuing enemy forces of Liu Shiyi.

To establish new revolutionary bases in southern Jiangxi and western Fujian, on January 14, 1929, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Chen Yi personally led over 3,600 soldiers of the Fourth Red Army from Jinggangshan. They advanced through Suichuan, Shangyou, Dayu, and Anyuan toward western Fujian, fighting while retreating against the pursuing enemy forces of Liu Shiyi. On February 1, the Fourth Red Army arrived at Zhenxia Village in Jitan Town, Xunwu County, which is surrounded by mountains with a narrow, several-hundred-acre field in the center, and set up camp there. At the time, Mao Zedong and Zhu De estimated that the pursuing enemy forces of Liu Shiyi from Jiangxi Province might arrive the next morning, so they prepared contingency plans in advance. Based on the geographical environment of Zhenxia Village, Mao deployed the army’s defenses as follows: the Army Headquarters and Political Department were stationed in the Wenchang Pavilion in the middle of the fields; the 31st Regiment of the Red Army served as the left flank, acting as the vanguard and guarding the flanks of the fields; the 28th Regiment of the Red Army served as the right flank, acting as the rear guard and stationed behind the Wenchang Pavilion and around the Dayinggang area; the Special Service Battalion followed the Army Headquarters.

In the early hours of the following morning, before dawn, most of the troops had finished breakfast and were preparing to set off when two brigades and four regiments totaling over 6,000 soldiers of the pursuing Liu Shiyi forces suddenly launched an attack on the Red Army. They quickly divided the Red Army forces and surrounded Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Chen Yi, and the Army Headquarters within the enclosed compound. Lin Biao, responsible for guarding the Army Headquarters, was also encircled and unable to ensure the safe escape of Mao Zedong and Zhu De. In this extremely critical situation, Mao Zedong and Zhu De personally commanded the Red Army in battle. Chen Yi, then the head of the Political Department, led the soldiers bravely forward, engaging the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, breaking through the encirclement, and covering the Army Headquarters’s breakout.

By dawn, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Chen Yi, and the main force of the Red Army successfully broke through the enemy’s encirclement. Due to the disparity in strength between the two sides, the Red Army suffered significant losses in this battle. Zhu De’s wife, Wu Ruolan, was captured during the battle (and later executed in Ganzhou), and Mao Zetan was seriously wounded.

The site includes an exhibition of the former residence of Comrade Wu Ruolan.

In August 2012, the People's Government of Xunwu County designated it as a fifth batch county-level cultural relic protection unit.

Zhenxia Village: Zhenxia Village…… Detailed information about Zhenxia Village++