The Battle of the Hundred Regiments was one of the most famous classic battles of the people's army under the leadership of our party during the all-out war of resistance against Japanese aggression, which annihilated more than 50,000 Japanese puppet troops, and has been praised in textbooks and various historical materials so far. However, from the point of view of military tactics and army building, the campaign was more than positive. Even shortly after the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, the "Yan'an Rectification"** criticized and summarized it.
As the commander of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, the founding general Chen Geng had reservations about the initiation of the campaign, and even openly questioned: Will the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops reach the final decisive battle against the Japanese invaders?He believed that the excessive military force invested in the Battle of the Hundred Regiments exposed the strength that the Eighth Route Army had worked hard to develop over the past few years, and that there were drawbacks from both internal and external perspectives. Even if this battle is won, it will not fundamentally solve the problem of Japanese invaders, but may lead to follow-up problems.
Chen Geng further explained: If this is the last battle, I fully support it, even if I have to fight to the death, I have no worries. But if it's not the last battle, it shouldn't be so risky. In fact, the second stage of the Hundred Regiments Battle has deviated from the original method of breaking attacks and has become a positional war with huge consumption. From the point of view of heavy equipment, there is a huge gap between our side and the Japanese army, which also aggravates the ** of the Eighth Route Army. Especially in the battle of Guanjiayuan, our side suffered serious losses, and there was a fierce conflict of opinions between the senior commanders and Mr. Peng.
In anger, Mr. Peng even proposed to "revoke the number of the 129th Division". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Shuai was wrongly criticized and was in a very bad situation, which was related to this battle. The battle of Guanjiayuan was later summarized by *** as one of the "four worst examples of negative combat" in his commanding career. Although Chen Geng did not support the launch of the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, he resolutely carried out the orders of his superiors, and the 386 Brigade performed well, becoming one of the most hated units of the Eighth Route Army by the Japanese army, and was even considered to be the target of "fighting the 386 Brigade".
However, Chen Geng's hunch was accurate, and although the Japanese invaders suffered losses, they did not have a substantial impact on their foundation. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese army implemented the cruel three-light policy, which not only dealt a blow to the squadron, but also suffered a tragic disaster for ordinary people. This kind of extremely vindictive behavior made Chen Geng feel distressed. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek was surprised by the military strength of our side, and in the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, the Kuomintang troops did not give real assistance and support.
After the victory in the early stage of the campaign, the Yan'an side began to realize the follow-up problems, and Chen Geng's foresight and overall awareness were admirable. The Battle of the Hundred Regiments became a key issue during the rectification, and it was also criticized. Despite this, Chen Geng's personal relationship with *** is very good, and he just has a different opinion on this operation. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, because of the erroneous criticism of the events at the Lushan Conference, some people with ulterior motives actually dug up the military problems in the early years to attack, focusing on the Battle of the Hundred Regiments.
Chen Geng bluntly pointed out that the positive significance of the Battle of the Hundred Regiments still exists, and it cannot be blindly denied. In this case, there are very few generals who can respect history and speak for the boss, and the quality of General Chen Geng is very rare. As one of the founding generals, his forward-looking and overall awareness is admirable. In the end, ** put forward the plan of "the last battle against the Japanese invaders", ending the war of resistance against Japan.