Site of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition

Site of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition

The Site of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition is a national AA-level tourist attraction, a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, a classic red tourism destination, a patriotic education base, and a national defense education base.

The Memorial Hall of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition is located in Ting Siqiao (the town center), Ting Siqiao Town, Xian’an District, Xianning City.

After the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, in July 1926, the National Revolutionary Army set out from Guangzhou on a northern expedition along three routes. The Northern Expeditionary forces advanced victoriously and swiftly, while the direct-line warlord Wu Peifu suffered continuous defeats. On August 25, the vanguard unit of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army—Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment, which was led by communists and had a backbone of Communist Party members—occupied Zhonghuopu Station in Chibi (then known as Puqi), cutting off the retreat route of Wu Peifu’s troops stationed in Hunan along the Canton–Hankow Railway. Wu Peifu hastily gathered more than 26,000 die-hard enemy troops to heavily fortify Ting Siqiao. At that time, it was the autumn flood season, and Ting Siqiao was surrounded by water on three sides and backed by hills to the southeast, making the terrain perilous and highly defensible. Tang Shengzhi, the front-line commander-in-chief of the Central Route Army of the Northern Expedition, ordered the Fourth Army to launch the main assault on Ting Siqiao, the First Route of the Seventh Army to strike straight into Puqi to join the attack on Ting Siqiao, and the Eighth Army to advance along the southern bank of the Yangtze River to capture Jiayu and attack Ting Siqiao from the side. At 4:00 AM on August 26, the Fourth Army launched an offensive from the southern bank of the Ting Siqiao River toward the Wu army positions on Ta’ao Mountain and Shigu Mountain on the northern bank. The fierce battle continued until noon when progress was halted. In the afternoon, more than 1,000 Wu army soldiers launched an attack under artillery cover. Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment was ordered to counterattack. After several hours of intense fighting, they repelled the Wu army’s counteroffensive. At 2:00 AM on August 27, guided by local members of the Peasant Association, Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment crossed mountains and took a mountain path to reach Gutangjiao, then moved south to Ting Siqiao. Attacking from higher ground and from behind, they seized the eastern positions of Ting Siqiao, disrupting the Wu army’s defensive system and causing their entire line to waver. Meanwhile, the 36th Regiment of the 12th Division crossed the Ting Siqiao River under cover of darkness, captured the high ground along the southeastern edge of Ting Siqiao, and seized key positions such as Ma’aoling at dawn. The 29th and 30th Regiments of the 10th Division also attacked the defending troops at dawn, while the 28th Regiment maneuvered northward to Zhujiawan and Shanwo Liao to cut off the Wu army’s retreat. Surrounded front and back, the Wu army retreated along the railway toward Xianning. Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment pursued the retreating forces and occupied Xianning County (now downtown Xianning’s Yong’an area) at 11:00 AM that day. On the morning of August 28, the entire Fourth Army arrived in Xianning (now Xian’an). The army commander, Chen Keyu, praised Ye Ting for having “military genius and the ability to seize opportunities.” This battle resulted in over 3,400 enemy casualties, with 4 cannons and more than 1,500 rifles captured. The Northern Expeditionary forces also suffered more than 200 casualties, including 134 killed. The Fourth Army was thus honored with the title “Iron Army.”

In October 1929, the Nationalist Government built the Martyrs' Cemetery of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition on the site of that battlefield. The cemetery includes graves of fallen martyrs, a memorial monument, and a memorial pavilion.

In November 2006, Xian’an District invested in the construction of the Memorial Hall of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition. The hall was officially opened on November 4, 2009.

The Site of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition was designated as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council in January 1988. The Memorial Hall of the Battle of Ting Siqiao during the Northern Expedition was announced as a National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee in May 2009.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Third Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level