The Eighth Route Army issued an order to streamline the administration of the army, and the main force was reduced and adjusted. At this time, Li Yunlong's 386 Brigade Independent Regiment became the focus. This article will interpret Li Yunlong's 386 Brigade Independent Regiment in "Bright Sword" in detail from multiple perspectives such as establishment adjustment, military cadre changes to local armed expansion, and restore the real historical scene.
Friends who have watched "Bright Sword" should have an impression of Li Yunlong's 386 Brigade Independent Regiment. In the film, Li Yunlong once proudly said that his independent regiment had eight battalions. So, does this statement correspond to real history?
In August 1937, the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, and according to the standard configuration of the Kuomintang army, a regular regiment should include three infantry battalions, an artillery company, a cavalry company, an engineer company, a transport company, and a special service company, with a total number of 3,000 people. However, due to insufficient equipment, the initial configuration of the Eighth Route Army was similar to that of the Kuomintang army, but the Eighth Route Army still had only 12 regular regiments.
Li Yunlong's 386th Brigade belongs to the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and was initially configured as an infantry brigade. Due to the lack of first-class equipment for the auxiliary arms, the artillery company, cavalry company, engineer company, and transport company only have personnel, and there is no first-class equipment. Therefore, the 771st Regiment and the 772nd Regiment under the 386th Brigade were reorganized from the original auxiliary arms companies into eight infantry companies and configured as independent regiments.
In fact, the 386 Brigade had five regiments: the 771st Regiment, the 772nd Regiment, the New 1st Regiment, the New 2nd Regiment and the Independent Regiment. Among them, the new 1st regiment was formed by the deputy commander of the 771st regiment, and the new 2nd regiment was formed by the deputy commander of the 772nd regiment. At the beginning of the independent regiment, it was organized into a special service company, a cavalry company and three infantry battalions (eight infantry companies) directly under the regiment.
However, due to a series of reasons, the independent regiment originally had a cavalry battalion, but due to Li Yunlong's fraud**, it lost two cavalry companies, and finally only one cavalry company was retained. In addition, the brigade commander also took Li Yunlong's two cavalry companies and allocated them to the main regiments 771 and 772 regiments.
At the beginning of 1942, the Eighth Route Army implemented the order of streamlining the army, the main contents of which included streamlining the main force, tightening the organs, enriching the company, and strengthening the local armed forces. The establishment of the regiment includes three battalions, each battalion has 534 personnel, and the regiment has a total of 456 personnel in the division, political, supply, security, and special service companies, and the whole regiment has 2,053 personnel. The small regiment consists of five infantry companies, one reconnaissance company, and one special service company, with a total of 1,180 personnel.
In the play, the independent regiment belongs to the large regiment of the main army, with a number of about 2,000. Therefore, when Li Yunlong launched an operation in Ping'an County, the military and armed forces that could be mobilized included the main regiments, local armies (guerrillas, etc.), and militias that were not out of production, with a total number of tens of thousands. The core backbone of the local armed guerrillas and militias is mainly from the former main forces.
With the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was expanded in 1945 to incorporate local armed forces and militias into the main force, achieving rapid expansion. The foundation of Li Yunlong's independent regiment was precisely due to the expansion of eight infantry companies, so he said in "Bright Sword" that his independent regiment had eight battalions is in line with real history.
Through the detailed interpretation of Li Yunlong's 386 Brigade Independent Regiment in "Bright Sword", we have a more comprehensive understanding of the historical background of the adjustment of the Eighth Route Army, the development and evolution of the troops at that time. The true interpretation of this period of military history allows us to understand the plot in "Bright Sword" more deeply.
In terms of the establishment of the team and the adjustment of military cadres, the distribution of duties in the initial stage of the independent regiment was quite clear. In the early stage of reorganization, the responsibilities of the "Iron Triangle" should be: Li Yunlong (deputy head of the 771st Regiment), Ding Wei (deputy head of the 772nd Regiment), and Kong Jie (deputy director of the Political Department of the 386th Brigade). Kong Jie initially served as the commander of the 386th Brigade Independent Regiment, while Li Yunlong served as the commander of the new 1st Regiment, and Ding Wei served as the commander of the new 2nd Regiment.
However, with the change of the battle situation, Li Yunlong was transferred to the director of the clothing factory because he made a mistake, and Ding Wei was transferred to the new 1st regiment. In this process, Li Yunlong took over the independent regiment of Kong Jie's 386th Brigade, which lost the battle, and Kong Jie was transferred to Ding Wei's new 2nd regiment. It is worth noting that Li Yunlong and Ding Wei are both military cadres, while Kong Jie is more inclined to political cadres.
As for the actual establishment of the independent regiment, it initially consisted of a special service company, a cavalry company and three infantry battalions (eight infantry companies) directly under the regiment. However, due to the loss of two cavalry companies by Li Yunlong, in the end only one cavalry company remained in the independent regiment. This change also affected the overall team's combat effectiveness to a certain extent.
On the whole, although Li Yunlong's independent regiment in "Bright Sword" does not have an exact eight-battalion structure, this statement reflects the changes in the establishment of the troops and the adjustment of the battle situation at that time to a certain extent. Through this historical interpretation, we have a deeper understanding of the plot behind "Bright Sword" and understand the real historical context contained in it.
In general, there may be some creative exaggerations or adjustments in film and television works when restoring historical scenes, but it is these subtle changes that allow the audience to better understand the historical background and military dynamics at that time. Through the interpretation of Li Yunlong's 386 Brigade Independent Regiment in "Bright Sword", we can have a more comprehensive understanding of the military history of that period, as well as the tests and adjustments experienced by the troops in the process of change.