This is the soldiers of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army ambushing the Japanese army on both sides of Pingxingguan Highway (file photo). Xinhua news agency
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 6th Title: The First Great Victory of the Eighth Route Army in Anti-Japanese War-Pingxingguan Great Victory: Breaking the Myth of Invincible Japanese Army
Xinhua News Agency reporter Mei Shixiong and Liberation Army Daily reporter Yang Zurong
After the outbreak of the National Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the Kuomintang army retreated one after another, and the pessimistic atmosphere enveloped the whole country.
"At the critical moment of national subjugation and extinction, Chairman Mao led our Eighth Route Army to the anti-Japanese battlefield." Liu Xiyuan, the founding lieutenant general and witness of Pingxingguan Victory, said in an interview before his death that with the hope of the people, their 115th Division went to the forefront of Shanxi’s anti-Japanese war.
Jiahua Yang, then the instructor of the 4th Company of the 685th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division, said in an interview before his death that Pingxingguan Victory was the first great victory of the Eighth Route Army in the front line of North China, and it was also the first great victory since the Anti-Japanese War, which broke the myth that the Japanese army was invincible, inspired people’s hearts and stabilized morale.
Pan Zeqing, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said in an interview that the news of Ping Xing Guan’s victory soon spread throughout China, and Chiang Kai-shek immediately sent a congratulatory message when he heard the news.
After World War II, Japan also admitted in its war history: "The Eighth Route Army surrounded the Japanese army in a five-kilometer canyon and kept attacking. After less than a day of fierce fighting, the Japanese army was wiped out!"
In mid-September, 1937, the main force of the 5th Division of the Japanese Army attempted to seize Pingxing Pass and break through the defense line of the Inner Great Wall.
Pingxingguan, with Hengshan Mountain in the north, Wutai Mountain in the south, North Hebei in the east and Yanmen in the west, has been an important pass in Shanxi and Hebei provinces since ancient times.
The 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, led by its commander Lin Biao and deputy commander Nie Rongzhen, was ordered to stand by west of Pingxingguan.
On September 23rd, the 115th Division held a battle mobilization meeting. The head of the division said, "When the Japanese attack Pingpingguan, we should make use of the favorable terrain in this area to punch from the side and win a great victory!" "Liu Xiyuan, who was only 21 years old, served as the instructor of the 3rd Battalion of the 686th Regiment of the 115th Division.
From Pingxingguan Pass to Donghe South Town, Lingqiu County, it is a 10-kilometer-long highway extending from southwest to northeast, with deep ditches and narrow roads.
"On the way, there is only a gap leading to the mountain in front of the old temple. This is an excellent terrain for ambush. " After the founding of New China, Liu Xiyuan served as the former deputy political commissar of the Nanjing Military Region and the former deputy director of the General Political Department.
At midnight on the 24th, various troops of the 115th Division marched to the designated ambush area. "In order to hide, we chose the most difficult Mao Mao Road." After the founding of New China, Jiahua Yang once served as the former deputy political commissar of the Logistics Department of Fuzhou Military Region.
There was a sudden gust of wind and a torrential rain. Liu Xiyuan and his comrades, dressed in light clothes and sandals, crossed the rushing, chest-deep mountain torrents, and everyone was soaked to the skin.
After a difficult March in the middle of the night, officers and men of the 115th Division entered the scheduled attack position in the early morning of 25th.
"On the morning of the 25th, the 5th Division of the Japanese Army marched into our ambush circle in a 3-way column." Liu Xiyuan’s memory before his death.
"Just after 7 o’clock that morning, I heard the motor sound of the car coming from the ravine." Liu Xiyuan recalled before his death, "Boy, more than 100 cars carrying ghost soldiers and military supplies opened the way in front, and more than 200 large trucks and mule artillery teams followed."
The first shot of the Eighth Route Army against Japan officially started!
The 685th Regiment under the command of Yang Dezhi is responsible for taking the lead. Jiahua Yang, the instructor of Company 4, directed the soldiers to throw grenades and then rushed to the enemy on the highway. "Our group’s 3-way ambush suddenly cut the devil into dozens of sections. The soldiers carried bayonets to kill the panicked devils, and the enemies who were stabbed and killed were everywhere. " Jiahua Yang’s memory before his death.
The 5 th division of the Japanese army was beaten. "The devils have jumped down from the car and spread out. On the narrow road, the fire is soaring and the smoke is filled. Coupled with the muddy road after the rain, it is inconvenient to move and the enemy formation is in chaos. " Jiahua Yang’s memory before his death.
San Pu Minshi, commander of the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army, soon discovered the only gap leading to the mountain, the Laoye Temple.
Jiahua Yang recalled that the 5th Division of the Japanese Army, which had committed numerous crimes against the people of China, was well-trained. "After they woke up, they stabilized their position and their arrogant, fierce, diabolical and cruel nature broke out. The commander desperately supervised the war, and the soldiers who got under the car climbed out and moved to the commanding heights around them. "
"Our soldiers don’t know how to burn the Japanese cars and make them lose their shelter. They thought that the Japanese, like the Kuomintang army during the civil war, would surrender their guns if they were beaten." Liu Xiyuan recalled before his death that some "naive" soldiers stopped shooting and shouted "Give up their guns, don’t kill, give preferential treatment to prisoners" to the devils, but they were killed by guizibing who didn’t understand Chinese.
The head of the 115 th Division issued a combat instruction to the troops: "We must seize the commanding height of the old temple!"
At a critical juncture, Li Tianyou and Yong Yang, the commanders of the 686th Regiment, who were responsible for "dressing up the bag" and "closing the door and beating the dog", gave a dead order-they ordered the 3rd Battalion of the 686th Regiment to win the Old Temple at all costs!
The 3rd Battalion, led by Deng Keming, the battalion commander, and Liu Xiyuan, the instructor, courageously rushed to the Laoye Temple and launched a thrilling white-bladed fight with the enemy.
Xinhua News Agency reporters have interviewed Liu Xiyuan many times. Whenever recalling the tragic scene that Pingxingguan battle captured the old temple, the old general’s eyes are always wet: "After fighting hand in hand again and again, although we finally captured the commanding heights of the old temple, we also paid a heavy price-the battalion commander was seriously injured, and only a dozen people were left in the 9 th company …"
However, the fiercest hand-to-hand combat did not take place in the commanding heights of the Laoye Temple, which Liu Xiyuan adhered to, but in the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 685th Regiment where Jiahua Yang was located.
"The company commander sacrificed the platoon leader’s replacement, the platoon leader sacrificed the squad leader’s replacement, and the squad leader sacrificed the soldiers to take over the command." Jiahua Yang recalled that they used bayonets when they didn’t have bullets. When the bayonets were broken, they used gunstocks. When the gunstocks were broken, they scuffled with the enemy.
The fierce fighting continued until the afternoon, and the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, unable to organize a new attack and fled to the north in a panic.
In front of a cave, officers and men of the 115th Division saw more than 10 Japanese officers and men lying on their backs, motionless. "When a soldier approached the devil, a devil suddenly jumped up and stabbed the soldier at once." Jiahua Yang recalled that the soldiers were so angry that they immediately fired bombs and finally wiped out all those guizibing.
At dusk on the 25th, the fighting at Pingxingguan was all over.
Liu Xiyuan recalled before his death that in the more than 10-mile long ditch, there were devils’ cars and carts everywhere, and the cars were still burning, braving rolling black smoke. On the car and beside the wheels, the bodies of devils were everywhere, and some were still hanging on the fender of the car. "From the posture, it is obvious that they were killed before getting off the bus."
Liu Xiyuan recalled before his death that under the influence of the spirit of Bushido, Guizibing would not disarm until he died. "Therefore, Pingxingguan won a great victory, but he did not catch a prisoner."
In this campaign, the Eighth Route Army wiped out more than 1,000 Japanese troops, seized more than 1,000 rifles, more than 20 machine guns, destroyed more than 100 cars and more than 200 carriages.
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