| The New Fourth Army(NFA) was a hero army led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which was as famous as the Eighth Route Army(ERA). From its building at the end of 1937 to its redesignation into the East China Field Army, the NFA fought with blood in the battle fields Mid-china and East-china both in the north and south of the Changjiang River, devoting great contribution to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation . The NFA is of important historic status in the history of the people's army development history. Zhou Enlai is a core member of the first central leading generation of the CCP, one of the chief founders and leaders of the people's army. Zhou Enlai devoted significant contribution and played an important historic role to the building and development of the NFA.This article tries to make an overall study over the relationship between Zhou Enlai and the New Fourth Army (NFA) in order to make an object and all-round comment on his historical contribution to the building and development of the NFA by putting emphasis on four historic key points. Part one: Zhou Enlai and the successful building of the NFA. In the early period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, as the leader of the commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ), Zhou Enlai led the commission to negotiate with the Kuoming Tung (KMT) authority, reaching the principle agreement to redesignate the red guerrilla forces in south china into the NFA. Zhou Enlai strongly recommended Ye Ting as the army commander and strove forward to solve a series of important but knotty problems, such as the provision of the cadres, the footing of the army and the funds of equipments, ect. All of these laid a foundation for the successful building of the NFA. Part two: Zhou Enlai and his trip to the headquarter of the NFA in southern Anhui Province . As the deputy secretary of Changjiang Bureau and the leader of the CCP commission, during his working in Wuhan, under the concrete quidance of the central committee of CCP, Zhou Enlai directed the NFA's work in the region of Northern Changjiang River. Especially, in the spring of 1939, Zhou Enlai personally went to Southern Anhui Province with great trust of the Central Committee of CCP to inspect the work in the headquarter of the NFA. He fully transmitted the spirit of the Six Session of the Six Congress of CCP, defined the operational principles and development orientation of the NFA, properly mediated the disagreement between YeTing and Xiang Ying, thus enhanced the unity among the leaders in the headquarter of the NFA and pushed forward the development of the NFA . Part three: Zhou Enlai and the Incident in Southern Anhui . As the Secretary of the Southern Bureau and the representative of the central committee of CCP, before or after the Incident in Southern Anhui taking place, Zhou Enlai spared no efforts to rescue the NFA in Southern Anhui and repulse the KMT's Second Anti-CCP climax , which played an important role in the further development and strengthing of the NFA after the incident. Part four: Zhou Enlai and the NFA's break through HenanProvince. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan , zhou Enlai strongly advocated ceasing fire in Henan Province. He went personally to Henan Province, exposing the real facts of the civil war, mediating the conflicts between the KMT and CCP, co-ordinating the central committee of CCP in commanding 60,000 troops of the Fifth Division of the NFA breaking through Henan Province successfully, which broke Jiang Kaishi's daydream of recurring the Incident in Southern Anhui Province .This article conclusion: General speaking,under the complex situation of the second co-operation between the KMT and CCP but filling with struggling, Zhou Enlai did great many effective jobs with his super-outstanding wisdom, combining the strong principles with his capable struggling strategies, Zhou Enlai played a very important historic role in the building and development of the NFA, made unabolishable great con... |
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