Gaohunao Battle Site Cluster

Gaohunao Battle Site Cluster

The Gaohunao Battle Site Cluster is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

Gaohunao Battle Site Cluster (including the Gaohunao Red Army Martyrs' Monument, the Red Army Bivouac Site under the Stage Hall, the former site of the Third Red Army Corps Command at Wannianting and its marker, the trenches at the Dalingge Red Army Battlefield Site, the Candle-shaped Red Army Battlefield Site, and the Tomb of Red Army General Chen Ajin)

During the third phase of the Fifth Encirclement Campaign, the Third Red Army Corps (comprising the 4th, 5th, and 6th Divisions), led by Commander Peng Dehuai and Political Commissar Yang Shangkun, fought a large-scale, fierce, and desperate battle in Guangchang to defend the Central Soviet Area against the Nationalist army. This is the famous Battle of Gaohunao. The over one-month-long Battle of Gaohunao was the last major engagement before the Long March, buying time for the strategic relocation of the main Red Army forces and the central authorities.

The Gaohunao-Wannianting Battle — historically known as the “Battle on the Eve of the Long March.” In July and August 1934, during the later stage of the Fifth Encirclement Campaign, the Red Army implemented the strategy of “dividing forces along six routes and defending along the entire front.” The Third Red Army Corps, along with the 34th and 15th Red Army Divisions, were ordered to set up defenses within 20 to 40 kilometers south of Guangchang County, at Dazhaipo, Gaohunao, and Wannianting, engaging in large-scale combat with the Nationalist army. The more than one-month-long defensive battle caused over 6,000 casualties among the Nationalist troops and nearly 2,000 among the Red Army, effectively striking back against the Nationalist forces advancing from Guangchang toward Shicheng and Ruijin, and buying time for the strategic relocation of the main forces of the Central Soviet Area Red Army in the world-renowned Long March.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units