In December 1933, Kazakhstan, the 13th Almaty Regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, suddenly assembled late at night, boarded a train and headed east, finally stopping at a small border station in Baktuka.
After getting out of the car, all documents that can prove personal identification are handed in, and the cavalry brigade replaces the old sabers without Russian markings.
The soldiers were told that in the future, the detachments would uniformly use the name "Altai Volunteer Army" and that their mission was to cross the Sino-Soviet border and enter Xinjiang to assist Sheng Shicai and eliminate Ma Zhongying's troops.
Why did the Soviet Union help Sheng Shicai?
Sheng Shicai
On April 12, 1933, Sheng Shicai expelled Jin Shuren, chairman of Xinjiang Province and border defense inspector, as the provisional governor of Xinjiang, and took charge of the military and political power in Xinjiang with the support of the Northeast Volunteer Army, who was exiled to Xinjiang through the Soviet Union after the September 18 Incident.
The Kuomintang government in Nanjing was too far away to do so, and had to use all kinds of excuses to delay the recognition of Sheng Shicai.
At that time, Xinjiang, as well as the two forces of Ma Zhongying and Zhang Peiyuan, formed a three-legged situation with Sheng Shicai. Ma Zhongying had a military strength of more than 10,000 troops and was active in northern Xinjiang and other places. Zhang Peiyuan had more than 8,000 people and occupied the area around Ili.
After Sheng Shicai came to power, Ma Zhongying and Zhang Peiyuan successively led their troops to attack Dihua, forming a pinch attack on Sheng Shicai.
Sheng Shicai only occupied the small area around Dihua, and his troops were only about 6,000 people, and most of them were old and weak. In addition to the thin manpower, there is not much food storage, which can last for two or three months at most.
It should only be a matter of time before Ma Zhongying and Zhang Peiyuan defeat Sheng Shicai.
Sheng Shicai was cornered and had to ask the Soviet Union for help.
He repeatedly invited the Consul General of the Soviet Union in Dihua to his home, and also invited the other party to visit his study, saying that he believed in communism in his youth, and that the works on the shelves such as "Capital", "The Communist Manifesto", and "The Leninist Question" on the shelves were compulsory courses and classics that could not be tired of reading. In addition to this "spiritual bribery", when the guest leaves, he also has a heavy gift.
Therefore, the Consul General of the Soviet Union suggested to Moscow: support Sheng Shicai.
Subsequently, the Soviet envoy signed a secret agreement with Sheng Shicai, including the Soviet Union providing Sheng Shicai with arms (including 30 aircraft), commercial loans, and direct troop intervention. In return, Sheng Shicai agreed to sell gold, oil and other exploitation rights to the Soviet Union, as well as the right to build cross-border railways.
"Commander Ga" Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying, born in 1908, formerly known as Ma Buying, is a native of Linxia, Gansu.
The Northwest Majia Warlords, known as the "Five Horses of the Northwest", refer to Ma Bufang, Ma Buqing, Ma Hongkui, Ma Hongbin and Ma Zhongying. Ma Zhongying, Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang are cousins, but they turn their faces to each other for turf and have long been at odds.
In the spring of 1928, Feng Yuxiang's department arrested and executed Ma Zhongying's father, Ma Bao, in Hezhou, Gansu Province, under the name of "tong bandit". After hearing the news, Ma Zhongying, who was studying at the military academy, led 6 military friends to rebel, attacked a group of national army transports, and captured a large number of weapons. After arriving in Hezhou, he gathered 20,000 or 30,000 local people to establish the "Black Tiger Absorbing Feng Army" and declared himself commander. Because he was only 19 years old at the time, he was known as "Commander Ga".
After Ma Zhongying's uprising, he swept across the northwest and repeatedly fought with Feng Yuxiang's nationalist army, and was recognized as the fiercest and fiercest general of Ma Jiajun. After that, he was defeated by Ji Hongchangbu and moved to Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places.
On October 9, 1933, Ma Zhongying held a military parade in Turpan and announced that he would eliminate Sheng Shicai.
On January 13, 1934, Ma Zhongying personally led 1 brigade of infantry, 2 regiments of cavalry and more than 7,000 people from each directly subordinate battalion to surround Dihua like an iron barrel, seize the eastern suburbs airport, and capture 2 provincial aircraft. Ma Zhongying sat on the plane, coerced the pilot Zhang Xuzhi to fly the plane, and threw three grenades and a letter of persuasion to Sheng Shicai's Office of The Governor.
At this time, the provincial army in and around the city had less than 5,000 troops, and it was difficult to sustain the grain and firewood.
Ma Zhongying led his troops to besiege the city for 32 days, once attacked the East Gate, and also engaged the Sheng army in the southern Liang area. But he was always reluctant to attack with all his might, only wanted to trap the other side.
At that time, the price of each kilogram of flour in Dihua City was as high as 30 taels of silver; the price of each kilogram of donkey meat was also as high as 50 taels of silver. The defenders on the outskirts of the city often did not eat a full meal for a day or two.
Dihua City was in danger, and Sheng Shicai was anxious like an ant on a hot pot, urging the Soviet consul general 3 times a day, hoping that the Soviet Union would send troops as soon as possible.
Soviet Blood Horse Army
In fact, the 13th Almaty Regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union entered Tacheng in early January, but through the long snow canyon, the marching speed was slow, and many soldiers froze their hands and feet because of camping.
On January 18, the Soviet army met majiajun on the Narrow Road at the Toutun River in Changji. Ma Zhongying's brother-in-law, Ma Hushan, led 6,000 cavalry to deploy on the east bank of the Toutun River.
The Soviets were a mixture of infantry and motorized troops, with machine guns on sleds, infantry feet on skis, horseshoes in their hands, and speeding over the snowfields, while cars were full of infantry and dragging artillery.
But this battle, although the equipment of the two sides is very different, but it was fought for 26 days.
The Majia military first chiseled the ice on the river surface, but did not break it, the Soviet cavalry rushed forward, and after stepping on the river surface, the ice layer shattered, and the people and horses fell into the water, and they were killed and wounded by intensive fire, suffering heavy casualties.
In the re-fighting, the two sides exchanged fire across the river. At dusk, the gunfire suddenly intensified, the Majia Army cavalry crossed the river, from the flank to encircle the Soviet machine gun and artillery positions, three consecutive times in a wave formation charged, the Soviet army did not support, and then defeated, back to Changji City.
At noon the next day, Soviet scouts reported that the Ma family army had retreated to its positions on the east bank.
The Soviet army went out of the city to search for the advance, and in yesterday's artillery position, they saw a tragic scene...
The cannons were still neatly arranged on the positions, but the bolts were gone. It turned out that at the moment when the Majia army rushed up, the Soviet artillery desperately removed the bolt and threw it far into the snow to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy.
These Soviet artillerymen could no longer recognize their true colors. Ma Jiajun stripped them of their clothes, wentuged out their eyes, cut off their noses, tongues, and ears, cut off their genitals and stuffed them into their mouths, cut open their stomachs, and hung the bodies on tree trunks. After the body froze, it became a mummy...
The convoy transporting the wounded soldiers was also ravaged by ma jiajun.
After witnessing this tragic situation, the Soviet army collectively vowed that it would never let the enemy be taken prisoner alive, and that a spare grenade must be kept at its side, and when it was a last resort, it would only die with the Ma family army!
A few days later, the Soviet reconnaissance group was surrounded by several times the number of Ma jia army, 9 fighters quickly escaped, one person failed to keep up, he did not forget the oath not to be captured by the enemy, unfortunately there was not a single grenade left, thinking that he had to kill himself with a rifle. But his frozen fingers could not hook the bolt, and he quickly threw off his felt boots and hooked the bolt with his big toe. A gunshot rang out, and the bloody warriors collapsed in the smoke.
At dawn on February 13, the Soviets added troops to two brigades, and tanks, armored vehicles, and bombers roared in, along with 12 heavy artillery pieces on the ground, blowing up the mahushan position into a sea of fire. In the nearby city of Changji, the window glass was shattered.
Immediately afterwards, infantry and tanks launched a frontal attack in tandem, and cavalry attacked the village along the flanks, forming a pinch attack.
In some areas, the two sides engaged in fierce white-knife warfare.
In the evening, the Battle of the Toutun River was over. Ma Jiajun suffered more than 3,000 casualties, Ma Hushan was injured in the thigh, and led the remnants to Retreat to Dihua.
In Dihua, Ma Zhongying was also in trouble.
On February 8, four Soviet planes flew low over Dihua and indiscriminately bombarded Ma Zhongying's troops who were besieging the city. Caught off guard, ma jiajun was blown up and turned over on horseback, and corpses were strewn across the field.
After that, as long as the weather was good, Soviet aircraft came to bomb, making it difficult for the Majia Army to organize an effective attack.
On February 14, upon learning that the Defense Line of the Toutun River had been breached by the Soviets, Ma Zhongying cremated more than 2,000 corpses of Ma Jiajun under the city and led his troops to withdraw along the mountain.
On this day, it is the Lunar New Year, Di dissolves the siege.
The Red Army mounted machine guns on the top of the cab of the Gas car and strafed Ma Zhong's defeated army along the way, and the Soviet planes in the sky also continued to bomb, and the Ma family army fought and retreated, and fled to the Kashgar area. During the retreat, a large number of guns were discarded, and more than 200 people were captured and executed by the Soviet army on the spot.
Prosperous to eradicate dissidents
With the help of the Soviet Red Army, Sheng Shicai defeated Zhang Peiyuan and Ma Zhongying successively. Zhang Peiyuan was forced to commit suicide, and Ma Zhongying also retreated to a corner of Kashgar.
In the name of convening a military conference, Sheng Shicai also arrested Dozens of people, including Zheng Runcheng, the leader of the Northeast Volunteer Army, who had supported him to come to power, and Bapinggut, commander of the Naturalized Army, and executed them in secret.
In mid-July 1934, Ma Zhongying and about 280 young officers under him, accompanied by the secretary of the Soviet consulate, entered the Territory of the Soviet Union under the name of learning to fly an airplane.
In September 1937, the remnants of Ma Joong's Inkashgar were besieged by soviet troops and completely disintegrated.
After that, Ma Zhongying had no news in the Soviet Union and his whereabouts are still unknown.
At this point, With the help of the Soviet Union, Sheng Shicai eliminated all dissident forces and firmly controlled the situation in Xinjiang.
In September 1944, due to the rebellion of the people, Sheng Shicai slipped away from Xinjiang, ending the warlord rule that had been painstakingly operating in Xinjiang for 11 years and 5 months. When he left, his property was filled with more than 50 trucks, and the gold and silver treasure was tens of tons.
On September 25, 1949, Xinjiang was peacefully liberated.