The Japanese army raided, Chen Geng suggested retreating, and ** resolutely did not retreat.
Xiangtangpu, a small village located in the middle of Handan (Dan) Chang (Zhi) Avenue, located in a ravine, has only about 20 families, and they live on the hillside.
In front of the village is a seasonal river that sparkles in the summer when the rain is abundant, but when the river stops flowing in the dry season, the riverbed turns into a gravel road. In March 1938, the Japanese army invaded southern and western Jinjin, and although it suffered many blows, in order to cooperate with the Jinpu operation, it planned to attack Tongguan, Xi'an and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area, and still launched a fierce attack on the crossings of the Yellow River.
As a rear line of communication, Handchang Avenue became the lifeline of the Japanese army, and cars continued day and night, transporting soldiers and supplies to the front line. During this period, the battle of Shentouling had just ended, and the commander of the 129th Division took Liu Zhijian, deputy director of the Political Department of the division, and Wang Xinting, director of the Political Department of the 386th Brigade, to the headquarters to participate in the meeting of generals of the East Route Army.
The victory at Shentouling raised the mood of the troops, but it also exposed their lack of mental preparation for long-term combat and hard war life. The political commissar *** transferred several companies and found that intoxication with victory could easily cause people to feel contempt for the enemy, and at the same time, it would also cause people's confidence to be frustrated.
Therefore, he stressed the importance of doing a good job in ideological work. Despite the difficulties of material life, the soldiers had to march and fight every day, and it was rare for them to sleep in a house for a week, let alone take off their clothes and sleep comfortably.
However, they must persevere, as it is uncertain how long the battle will last.
** Remind the troops to be prepared for long-term combat and hard life, and go deep into all units to carry out ideological work and combat preparations, so as to effectively strike at the enemy and defend the base areas.
He and leaders such as Chen Geng are always looking for new opportunities to strike at the enemy, whether they are discussing together or thinking alone, they are all paying attention to this issue.
During a walk, they went out into the wilderness outside the village and felt the spring, but they were still concerned about the war.
When Chen Geng talked about the beautiful scenery of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, he missed his hometown of Xiangxiang in Hunan Province deeply. He was immersed in the imagination of Jiangnan spring, and said excitedly: "Imagine Jiangnan in March, how beautiful it should be!" ”
**And *** didn't answer, they knew that Chen Geng had endless things to say about this topic. Seeing that no one responded, Chen Geng changed the topic again: After the victory at Shentouling, how to deal another major blow to the Japanese army.
** I have discussed with Chen Geng before that the 129th Division needs to fight another "Shentouling" in order to boost the anti-Japanese morale of the people of Shanxi and break the Kuomintang's slander of the Eighth Route Army for "swimming but not attacking".
However, until then, ** had not fully thought it through, and some situations had not been figured out, so the words came to their lips but did not come out. Immediately after returning to the quarters, ** instructed the people of the command to collect information about the Japanese army by various means.
Intelligence shows that after the defeat in the Battle of Shentouling, the Japanese army strengthened its vigilance along the Hanchang Avenue. Between Licheng and Shexian counties, a stronghold of Dongyangguan was added, with 150 enemy garrisons, and the number of defenders in Shexian County increased to 400, and 1,000 people were stationed outside Licheng.
After the investigation of the plainclothes reconnaissance group, ** has mastered the law of the enemy's actions. He noticed a very important situation, that is, the enemy's car transport convoy on Handchang Avenue passed by dozens, dozens, or even hundreds of vehicles every day, and it became more frequent between Li and Cheng in Shexian County.
This gave him an opportunity and decided to attack the enemy's convoy of cars. He told *** the latter about the idea, agreeing with it, and said that he would cut off the enemy's lines of communication so that his rear could not be at peace.
Ask him how to fight this battle, and he has a detailed plan ready.
** pondered, with a firm smile on his face: "The enemy is afraid of our ambush war, but we can't let them get rid of it." * nodded in approval and said, "You've thought about it, let's do it." ”
This is not *** taking care of the face of the deputy division commander, he completely trusts ***'s ability. **I once heard a sentence about ***: "* * * - with ** success." ”
Although *** didn't fully understand this meaning, he knew that *** told him: "* is cautious in his words, and he will only open his mouth if he is sure of it." ”
**Convinced of this. **In the end, the Xiangtang shop in the southwest of Shexian County was selected as the ambush site.
Starting from Licheng, passing through Dongyangguan, Wanghouling, Shangxiawan, Xiangtangpu, Hetougou, Chunshuling, Henandian, and finally arriving near Xiangtangpu. Located at the bottom of the river, it is an ideal place to ambush.
Setting up an ambush here can not only effectively conceal it, but also make a convenient sortie. Once the enemy is hit, it is in a dilemma, it is impossible to organize firepower, and this place is in the center, which is the closest to the reinforcement of the two enemy strongholds in Dongyang Pass and Shexian County.
After discussions with several brigade and regiment leaders, everyone unanimously agreed to set up an ambush here. They led the division and the 386th Brigade and the 769th Regiment to set off from Xialiang and approach the combat area.
Looking at the sky, it was raining and there was no sunshine. In March in the mountainous area of southeast Shanxi, the spring is too light.
As summer approaches, the rain has fallen from the mountain, but the summit is still covered with snow, the road is slippery, and the night is even more cold. However, the enthusiasm of the commanders and fighters was high, and the desire to kill the enemy allowed them to overcome the bitter cold.
When we reached Dongtianbao, Tuheping and Nansanglu, the rain became more and more intense, and I had no choice but to stay for a while. However, while stopping, there is also much to do.
** Instruct all Party branches to convene meetings of Party activists to further strengthen pre-war ideological preparations. ** and *** personally went to the 769 Regiment to participate in the meeting, carry out combat mobilization, explain the wartime situation and tasks, and emphasize that ideological preparation is the key to victory.
After dinner on the 30th, the rain stopped, and the troops, with a day's dry rations, quietly set out from Qiushuyuan, Majiayu, and Miaoshang Villages, and marched to Xiangtangpu, ready to meet new challenges.
** led the troops on the rugged mountain road, they kept it strictly secret, did a good job of camouflage and air defense measures, the cadres organized observation, and the headquarters ensured smooth communication through ** and foot communications.
After a night of arduous marching, they finally arrived at Fotanggou before dawn. Next, ** led the attacking troops into the ambush area, and in order to ensure the physical strength and energy of the troops, they took a short rest before entering the position and ate some dry food for breakfast.
We are here to fight the enemy, the time of the meal is decided by the enemy, and we cannot wait hungry. Hearing this, the squad leader and the other fighters laughed and untied the bag of dry food.
The troops quickly moved into positions, and the command post of ** began work.
On the slope of Houdi Village, the 769th Regiment was on the Yangjiashan and Jiangjiazhuang lines east of Xiangtangpu, the 771st Regiment was on the Kuanzhang and Houkuanzhang lines in front of Xiangtangpu, and the 772nd Regiment was located on the Majiagui on the right rear of the division command post.
Chen Geng's brigade command post was behind the position of the 771 regiment. On both sides of the road from Dongyangguan to Shexian County, most of them are loess Liangsu, and the valleys and rivers are vertical and horizontal. The terrain on the left and right sides of Xiangtangpu is quite good, but the forest is sparse, especially in March, and there are few shrubs and artemisia.
** once humorously said: "Everyone sings 'the mountains are high and the forests are dense, the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong', I think the Taihang Mountains are high, the forests are not dense, there are many places, and the mountains are bare." ”
This created some difficulties in the ambush. However, the fighters had a way, and soon they all hid, and the positions were "empty".
The fighters, who held their ground in the cold wind, looked forward to victory. However, the sudden turn of events made them nervous. More than 200 enemy troops raided the position of our army in Majiayu, and at the same time, there were also enemy cavalry on the southeast high ground of Changning to attack our flank.
Brigadier Chen Geng judged that the enemy might have discovered an ambush attempt and wanted to attack from the right flank to cut off the rear road, so he requested that the main force be withdrawn to Miaoshang Village and Ya'er Mountain to avoid the danger of being attacked from both sides.
They knew that only in this way could they protect the safety of the fighters and strive for greater victories.
As soon as the earpiece was put down, he picked up his pipe and walked to the map. Previously, the troops had received similar "reports" on the road, and this time the situation came even more suddenly.
** Ponder and start thinking about this question: if the enemy discovers an ambush attempt to outflank our army, it will be very dangerous, and he may need to withdraw from his position, abandon the battle, or seek other strategies.
But if this is not the case, a blind withdrawal may lose the chance of victory, and for the commander it will be a "defeat of the undefeated battle". * frowned, and wisps of green smoke came out of the pipe in his hand, which seemed to be synchronized with his train of thought.
He was struggling to think, judge, and find the best answer.
He built a pipe again, the original one he carried on the Long March, when he heard the Japanese army's brutality to Songta Town, he angrily broke it, and regretted it, although he tried to repair it many times, but he could not restore it to its original state, so he carved another one, this time using jujube wood.
Chen Geng asked again: "Deputy division commander, do you want to withdraw or not?" And he had already transferred the two companies that were ambushed in Lunan to Lubei according to his own judgment, just in case, he felt that it was more prudent to do so.
Inside the command, ** and several other staff officers watched nervously without saying anything superfluous. "Deputy Division Commander, how about thinking about our back road? ”
**Cautioned against. Without answering, he put his pipe in his mouth, took two hard puffs, and spat out a thick cloud of smoke.
** Keep your eyes glued to the map, and the atmosphere in the room is tense and quiet. His mind was racing, thinking about how to respond to information from the outside world. In his opinion, there may be problems with the intelligence of the 772 regiment.
On the one hand, if the enemy senses the intention of setting an ambush, he will never send such a small force to test it. On the other hand, there is no movement of the enemy in other directions, and with such a large-scale operation, will the Japanese army let a small force go deep alone?
He flicked the cigarette ash on the ground, picked up the ** and said to Chen Geng: "Without an order, the original plan must not be changed." The troops must not retreat, they must be vigilant and not exposed. Don't convey the situation downwards first, Chen Geng seems to have something to say, but *** didn't have the patience to listen, so he hung up**.
Putting down the **, he said to the staff officer solemnly: "Don't panic, be sure to pay attention, don't report to Political Commissar Deng until the enemy situation is clear." We are in front and cannot report ambiguous situations and cause him trouble. ”
** and operations staff officer Deng Shijun and others decided to go to Dongyang Pass and Sujiajiao to find out the truth, ** repeatedly stressed that the situation must be confirmed, go back quickly.
After the staff member departed, ** smoked in front of the map and waited. About two hours later, the staff officer returned with the good news that everyone had hoped for: the enemy in the direction of Dongyang Pass did not make any unusual movements, but only carried out fire reconnaissance according to the daily routine.
After hearing this, he happily said, "Okay, great! And immediately reported the situation to ***, **also agreed, and looked forward to the news of the victory.
**passed**corrected the false alarm of the 772nd regiment about the enemy situation, and agreed with Chen Geng to wait as originally planned and enjoy the joy of victory together. After taking care of everything, he walked out of the room confidently for a new battle.
The morning sun rose and the breeze swept away his exhaustion, but the warriors were a little impatient with hunger and waiting. However, they remained vigilant, intently observing the road below.
The Japanese cars lined up in a long line, coming from the direction of Dongyang Pass towards the Xiangtangpu section, which was from Licheng. **In** told Chen Geng: "It's up to you this time!" ”
Then, he gave the 769th regiment a **, and then took the pipe to a tree and waited for the battle to begin. Chen Geng confidently assured ***, stuffed a piece of dry food in his mouth, and instructed the heads of each regiment with **: "You must beat hard, and no one can let them escape!" ”
The news excited the fighters, sleepiness and hunger no longer mattered, and everyone was full of enthusiasm for fighting. They stopped insulting the devils and began to praise them, "I still have some backbone, and I took the initiative to send them to the door." ”
The positions were lively, the fighters checked their guns and grenades, chose firing positions and charging routes, and waited for orders to fight.
Xu Shenji's skillful command put the enemy in a situation of being flanked from both sides. He first let more than 100 enemy vehicles pass through the ambush zone of the 769th Regiment, and then suddenly cut off the enemy and surrounded them.
This strategy caught the enemy by surprise, and suddenly the sound of guns and cannons in the valley was earth-shattering. The enemy troops were in a panic, and cars scurried around the ravine like headless flies.
Some Japanese tried to resist, but their machine guns and mortars were knocked out before they could be secured. At this moment, the warriors, who had been in ambush all night, rushed forward like tigers descending from the mountain, and used their grenades and bayonets to defeat the recalcitrant enemy.
The generals showed their ingenuity in command, and the soldiers showed their bravery in the charge. In hand-to-hand combat, the courage and perseverance of the fighters are admirable.
The soldiers fought fiercely with the enemy, trying their best, and some even biting the enemy with their teeth, and the scene was very intense. On the position of the 769th regiment, a devil was wounded, and the soldiers went up to surrender their guns, but he returned fire.
The warriors were furious and decisively assassinated, as a result of which he died. When the regiment commander and political commissar saw this scene, they praised again and again: "Well done!" Good job! "The Japanese reinforcements attacking from Dongyang Pass and Shexian were defeated by the 772nd Regiment, which had long been ambushed there.
After more than two hours of fierce fighting, more than 400 enemies were killed and more than 180 vehicles were scrapped. The battle was a clean victory. In order to prevent the enemy from using these cars again, it was ordered to burn all the cars that were not damaged by the bombing.
At that time, the soldiers were not familiar with the construction of automobiles, and faced with the situation of iron plates everywhere, they tried to set the car on fire with firewood, but because the firewood and grass burned too quickly, it only blackened the car and did not solve the problem.
Later, a veteran who had served in the Kuomintang army found the fuel tank, easily solved the problem with an open flame, and became a hero for a while. This method became popular, and the seized cars were driven one after another, and the task of "reimbursing" the cars was quickly completed.
Two automobile squadrons of the Yamada Baggage Brigade of the 14th Division of the Japanese Army suffered a devastating blow, and only more than 30 enemy soldiers escaped from the Lunan Mountains. Although Chen Geng expressed remorse after learning of this situation, the 129th Division still captured a lot of supplies.
Sadly, they all burned along with the car because bulky items could not be taken away.
The soldiers were very sad about the burning of cars and booty, and they were reluctant to destroy what they had in their hands. Some fighters said with regret: "It's a pity that this car is so good, it doesn't use horses and doesn't eat forage." ”
One of the fighters even stood in front of a small car, begging not to burn it, hoping to pull it back for the division commander to use, so that he would not be guilty of riding a horse. But in the end, it didn't work out.
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when the troops of *** took away the booty carried by 400 donkeys, the enemy dispatched planes and went to Xiangtangpu to carry out indiscriminate bombardment. However, it was too late, and ** had already led the troops to the area around Akishugai.
** Waiting at the predetermined place for the return of the victorious troops. When he saw ***, he happily shook hands with him, and said with a smile: "This time, *** is not a *** success, but a ten-degree success." ”
The core idea of the new copy is: the fighters are distressed by the burning of the loot, and they want to protect it as much as possible. At the same time, the troops of ** have successfully transferred their positions, and the enemy's attack has not been successful.
Commissars are witty and humorous on the battlefield and are good at using puns. He humorously said to Chen Geng that their plane was not here to bomb us, but to mourn the dead.
These words hinted at the scene on the battlefield at that time: the Eighth Route Army successfully annihilated the 78th Automobile Squadron of the 5th Military Station Automobile Brigade and the Baggage Squadron directly under the Military Station, and dealt a blow to the reinforcements of the Japanese army.
In this battle, the Eighth Route Army paid the price of 99 casualties and 221 wounded, but killed and wounded 400 Japanese soldiers, captured 340 guns, 12 light and heavy machine guns and 4 guns.
40 years later, ** recalled this battle and wrote the following verses: The majestic Taixing wolf smoke, Li Shilu pass hidden bowstring. The dragon and tiger leaped and killed, and the wolf rushed to the enemy.
The fire dragon devours the remnants, and the earth-moving army sings in triumph.
Although the scale of the battle of Xiangtangpu and the number of enemies annihilated cannot be compared with the large-scale annihilation war commanded by *** in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui and Sichuan-Shaanxi base areas, it can be regarded as a very important victory in the guerrilla warfare in the early stage of the Anti-Japanese War.
Most importantly, ** showed courage and composure in this urgent battle, which is exactly what the war book says, "danger without fear". When *** met ***, ** held his hand tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time, and happily praised him for "still the courage of the year".
In the summary of the battle of Xiangtangpu, the 129th Division specifically pointed out that our senior commander was able to make a calm judgment and successfully win the victory in this battle, which is a fair evaluation of this battle.