In April 1942, a remarkable event occurred in the history of American affairs. At that time, U.S. Commander Doolittle led a special flying squadron of 16 B-25 bombers in a daring air raid aimed at the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. However, the intent behind the attack was not just to hit Japanese military installations, but more importantly to provoke the Japanese military and provoke retaliation against the United States. After the air raid, the U.S. fleet decided to fly to Quzhou Airport in Zhejiang, China, a move that angered the Japanese army and led to the subsequent Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi.
In May 1942, the Japanese army launched the Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi in an attempt to destroy the airport in Quzhou in order to weaken the influence of the American army in China. Their goal is clear, that is, to weaken the position and strength of the US military in China. The Japanese captured the city of Quzhou on June 7, forcing the squadron to retreat. In order to protect the security of the rear headquarters and at the same time prevent the Japanese army from moving south, the Chinese Third Theater Command adopted the strategy of concentrating its forces, concentrating its forces in Jiangshan Xiakou, Guangfeng, Shangrao and other areas. However, the Japanese offensive momentum was very fierce, and soon the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line was opened and Shangrao was occupied, which directly threatened the security of the Third Theater Command in the rear of Fujian.
In order to prevent the Japanese army from continuing to move south and defend China's command center, the commander-in-chief Gu Zhutong issued a strict order, requiring all units to block the roads leading to Leadshan, Chong'an, and Twenty-eight Capitals and Pucheng. In mid-July, the 49th Army stationed in Pucheng, Fujian, was ordered to rush to Jiangshan Gorge to take over the defense of the 74th Army. Among them, the 105th Division became the main force, responsible for holding the position between Jiangshan Gorge, Baoan Street, and Guangfeng Shidu, and the strategic key was to hold the choke point from the Zhejiang-Fujian border into Fujian - Xianxialing. Xianxialing is located at the junction of Fujian, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, and is a military important place with a long history. At that time, Wang Tiehan served as the commander of the 49th Army, and the 26th and 105th Divisions were under the jurisdiction of the whole army.
The 105th Division was expanded from the guard units of the 3rd and 4th Front Armies of the Northeast Army and Zhang Zuolin's Guard Regiment, with Ying Hongxun as the division commander and Liu Hanyu as the deputy division commander. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the Northeast Army was under great pressure after the 918 Incident. Every soldier was filled with shame and anger at this troop input, because they were well aware of their responsibilities and did not dare to flinch in the slightest. Every soldier in this army has the belief of death and is willing to fight to the end for the dignity of the country. The Japanese army began to assemble on July 28, and on the 29th, small groups of Japanese troops began to attack the area around Guangfeng.
The 105th Division reacted quickly and clearly assigned the combat tasks of the three regiments: the 314th Regiment was responsible for the main force on the right and was responsible for the garrison between the gorge and Shijingjian;The 313th Regiment was the main force on the left and was responsible for the garrison of the position between Shijingjian and Lianhua MountainThe 315th Regiment, as a reserve, was responsible for controlling the Longjing and Shangjie areas, and the regimental headquarters was stationed in Longxi to deal with the constant challenges of the enemy. On August 3, a squad of 80 Japanese troops carried a mountain gun to the gorge. The 105th Division adopted an ambush strategy, so the Japanese army proudly rushed to the foot of Dabei Mountain, but was fiercely ambushed by the 314th Regiment. In this battle, the devils suffered heavy casualties, only a few escaped, and most of them were annihilated at the foot of the Great Compassion Mountain.
On August 5, the Japanese launched a full-scale offensive against all units of the 49th Army, with the focus of the offensive concentrated on Xianxialing. The 314th Regiment resolutely resisted the attack in the gorge mouth area, but because the Japanese army deployed more than 10 mountain guns of various types on the mountain and continued to bomb in turns, the resistance of the 314th Regiment became difficult. In the face of the powerful Japanese offensive, the 314th Regiment had to retreat to the line of Lianhuashan, Chaicun, and Sheephorn Mountain, while a battalion of the 315th Regiment advanced to the vicinity of Baoan Street. At 1 a.m. on August 7, the Japanese launched a large-scale attack, they tried to capture Lianhua Mountain, but with the 314th Regiment holding on, every night attack was successfully repulsed.
Despite this, the situation of the war gradually developed in favor of the Japanese army, and their strength increased to more than 2,000 people, equipped with more than 10 mountain guns and 8 aircraft, and bombed the Lianhuashan and Chaicun positions in turn. In this fierce battle, the squadron suffered a heavy **. In order to resist the fierce attack of the Japanese army, the army commander Wang Tiehan ordered a retreat at noon on the same day, and adopted the tactic of luring the enemy into the depths. The 314th Regiment took the initiative to abandon the Longjing position and moved to Taipingguan;The 315th Regiment retreated to the position east of Longjing;The 313th Regiment set up a standby position near Shidu. At 15 o'clock in the afternoon, the 314th and 315th regiments converged on Baoan Street, occupied the high ground south of Baoan Street, and deployed part of their forces to guard Baoan Street.
At 16:40, more than 2,000 Japanese troops rushed to Baoan Street, but were thwarted by the stubborn resistance of the 313th Regiment. However, the 313th Regiment was flanked by the Japanese army at Shigongjian, Zeming Lane and other places, and had to retreat to Wushimenjian to confront the Japanese army. At 3 a.m. on August 8, the Japanese launched an all-out assault on the positions of the 314th, 315th and 313th Regiments. At 5 o'clock, more than 800 Japanese troops broke through Baoan Street under the cover of armored vehicles, and the Japanese concentrated 10 planes to bombard the defenders' positions in turn, and sent more than 400 death squads to launch a fierce attack on the northeast highlands of Tianyu'an, which was held by the 314th Regiment.
In response to this challenge, the 314th Regiment adopted a clever ambush strategy, hiding itself in trenches and caves, waiting for the Japanese to enter the ravine and halfway up the mountain and suddenly launch a white-knuckle battle. In this historical battle, the squadron showed tenacious will and excellent combat quality in the face of the Japanese army's attempt to invade the south. The victory in the defense of Xianxialing proved that the squadron successfully repelled the Japanese attack with the combat effectiveness of being outnumbered and defeating the strong with the weak. In this fierce battle, the 105th Division of the squadron suffered a heavy loss, but in the end it was victorious.
According to statistics, the number of ** of the 105th Division in this battle was 8536, 333 were killed and 467 were wounded, while the ** number of the Japanese army was about 1670. As can be seen from these figures, the squadron suffered great sacrifices in this battle, but in the end it was victorious. The hardships of this battle were that the squadron had to deal not only with the powerful offensive of the Japanese army, but also with the poison gas bombs used by the Japanese army. The Japanese army fired gas bombs on the hill held by the regiments, causing the mountain to be filled with poisonous gas, and more than half of the officers and men were poisoned.
However, the squadron was not deterred by these difficulties, they held their positions, and after fierce **, finally succeeded in repelling the Japanese attack, showing tenacious will and excellent fighting qualities. Especially in Baoan Street, Xiyang Lane, Shuangxikou and other places, the squadron successfully drove the Japanese troops out of Baoan Street, and the Japanese army broke and fled all the way, and was surrounded and killed by soldiers and civilians along the way. This battle of Xianxialing is a heroic epic in the history of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, reflecting the perseverance and outstanding combat quality of the squadron. This victory had a far-reaching strategic impact on thwarting the Japanese army's plan to invade the south and defending the command center of China.
The squadron showed extraordinary combat effectiveness in this battle, successfully thwarted the Japanese army's attempt to invade the south, and achieved a rare victory. China's armed forces have shown tenacious will on the battlefield, defended their homeland, and made immortal contributions to the defense of the motherland.