History has its own life, it is like a person, both easy-going and self-respecting. ——Yu Qiuyu
In August 1937, the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army. The 10th Division of the 4th Army of the Red Fourth Front was reorganized into the 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. Chen Xilian served as the head of the 769 regiment, Wang Naigui as the deputy regimental commander, Fan Chaoli as the chief of staff, Ding Xianguo as the director of the political training office, Zhang Nansheng as the deputy director of the political training office, and later Huang Zhentang as the political commissar.
The 769th Regiment had 3 battalions. 1st Battalion Commander Kong Qingde, Instructor Wang Changcai; 2nd Battalion Commander Tan Deren and Instructor Li Dingzhuo; Instructor Pan Shoucai, commander of the third battalion, Zhao Chongde. Each infantry battalion had 4 infantry companies and 1 machine gun company. The regimental headquarters has a staff office, a political training office, a supply department, and a health team. The regimental units consisted of mortar companies, special agent companies and communication platoons (1 telephone squad, 1 infantry squad, and 1 cavalry squad). The whole group counted more than 2900 people.
On September 30, Chen Xilian led the 769th Regiment from Zhuangli Town, day and night, and advanced towards Shanxi. The troops crossed the Yellow River from the ferry port of Zhichuan Town, Hancheng County, Shaanxi Province, and reached Houma, Shanxi, two days later. The local people who heard the news helped the old and the young, ate pot paste, and greeted the anti-Japanese teachers.
The troops did not stop, took a train in Houma and headed north along the Tongpu Road. Many of the warriors saw the train for the first time, this one touching the tracks, the one knocking on the front of the train, feeling particularly fresh. Sitting on the train, although walking up and shouting and shouting" slowly, slowly soaring, dangling slowly, but in the end it is much better than walking, and it is driving to the anti-Japanese front, so everyone is very happy in their hearts.
In Shanxi at the beginning of October, the temperature difference between day and night is very large. It's not cold during the day, but it's cold at night. The car arrived in Linfen, replenished some ammunition and clothes from Yan Xishan's warehouse, and everyone changed their clothes full of lice, and the train continued to drive forward, and soon reached Taiyuan.
The task of the 769th Regiment was to advance towards the mountains northeast of Yuanping County, flanking the Japanese troops advancing from Yanmen Pass to Xinkou. Therefore, the troops did not stop in Taiyuan, nor did they rest, and immediately advanced to Dai County and Cheng County, north of Xinkou.
At this time, the battle on the Xinkou side was already fierce. The 5th Division and the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army launched an attack on the defenders of the Nationalist Xinkou position in an attempt to open the passage and capture Taiyuan. The Kuomintang army deployed more than a dozen infantry divisions on the front line, holding xinkou, and the two sides began a fierce competition.
The 769th Regiment led by Chen Xilian entered the area of Sulongkou Village, south of Dadai County, on October 16.
Sulongkou is a small village on the east bank of the Tuotuo River, and the south of the Shun River is Xinkou. It was already behind enemy lines, Japanese cars were transported on the road all day, the sound of "rumbling" artillery was constantly coming from the south, and Japanese planes painted with sun markings roared past our heads one after another, crazy to the extreme. The warriors stomped their feet in anger and scolded, "Don't just be fierce in the sky, there is a kind of down and fight with Lao Tzu!"
Judging from the height and time of the enemy plane's infestation, Chen Xilian keenly judged that there might be an enemy airfield nearby. So I found the local villagers and asked, and learned that there is indeed an airport in Yangmingbao Town, 10 miles across the river.
As soon as the cadres and soldiers of the battalions of the 769th Regiment heard the news, they happily asked the regimental headquarters to fight: "Commander, give the order, kill it!"
Can you play? And how to fight? Chen Xilian did not make a decision immediately. He knew that as the leader of a regiment, he was responsible for these thousands of people. After arriving in northern Jin, because it is a scattered guerrilla, it is necessary to actively seek opportunities to attack the enemy, but we must be more cautious in each battle, we must make the situation clear, the deployment is thoughtful, and the action is suddenly crisp! If you don't fight, you will win!
Chen Xilian also thought that the 769 regiment had only recently come to northern Jin, and he was not familiar with any situation, which could be said to be the first battle of a lone army, so he should "redouble his caution." Therefore, Chen Xilian made up his mind, first thoroughly understand the enemy situation, and then make up his mind.
At this time, the fellow said that there was a regimental commander of the Kuomintang Jin Sui Army nearby, and it was said that he had fought with the Japanese army and had only retreated from datong with a small number of troops two days ago.
As soon as Chen Xilian heard this, he decided to visit him first, first, to listen to the experience of fighting the Japanese army, and second, to understand the enemy situation at and around the airfield. After searching through the large and small villages near Sulongkou, it was not easy to find the commander of the Jin Sui Army at the foot of a remote mountain. Unexpectedly, when Chen Xilian had just explained his intentions, the regimental commander talked about the tiger and said, "Oops! The Japanese army is really powerful! There are planes in the sky, cannons in the ground, their bombs and shells are like eyes, and as soon as our radio is on board, it is bombed!"
Chen Xilian continued to ask him, "Then what method did you use to fight the enemy?"
Who would have thought that this dignified Kuomintang regimental commander would actually reply: "Before we could see the Japanese army, the contingent collapsed, and now there is only 1 company left in our unit."
There is no need to ask any more. It seems that from the mouth of this regimental commander who feared the enemy like a tiger, he could not ask what the situation was, and the Japanese army had already scared him out of his guts.
Chen Xilian did not get any information from the Kuomintang regimental commander, and on the 2nd day he took 3 battalion commanders to conduct on-the-spot reconnaissance. Everyone approached the Tuotuo River along a ravine and climbed a mountain peak by the river. Looking at the distance, everyone was immediately attracted by the scenery in front of them: to the east is the Wutai Mountain with overlapping peaks, to the north is the majestic Yanmen Pass on the inner Great Wall line, and to the west is the Guanzhuo Mountain, which appears in the fog. On both sides of the Tuotuo River, the land is fertile and the country and mountains are magnificent, but unfortunately, they are now being ravaged by the Japanese army.
Suddenly, the commander of the 2nd Battalion shouted, "Plane!" Everyone invariably raised their telescopes and looked in the direction of his fingers, and sure enough, they found that in the southeast of Yangmingbao on the opposite bank, there was a group of gray and white enemy planes neatly arranged in the open space, and the body shone brightly in the sunlight.
Chen Xilian and others were carefully observing the situation inside and outside the airport, when they found a person coming from the river. I could see through the telescope that the man was disheveled, ragged, and barefoot. He looked like a farmer, but he looked nervous. When he got closer, everyone greeted him and shouted, "Fellow! Fellow!"
When the man heard the shout, his body shook, and he immediately stopped and looked around with his eyes closed. Seeing that it was a few strange soldiers, they were even more panicked, and their eyes looked up and down suspiciously at the crowd, and it took half a day before they spat out two words: "Old one always one one one."
"Fellow, don't be afraid, we are the Eighth Route Army!" It's here to fight the devils!" Chen Xilian said gently. As soon as the fellow villager heard Chen Xilian say that they were the Eighth Route Army, he immediately made an "ah" sound and grabbed Chen Xilian's hand at once. It turned out that he lived near the airport, was caught by the devils into the airport as a coolie, every day from morning to night, not only did not give food, but also often beaten and scolded, he could not stand the torture of the devils, before secretly escaping from inside. Under everyone's inquiry, the villagers gave a detailed introduction to the situation at the airport. After on-the-spot reconnaissance and the introduction of fellow villagers, the situation inside and outside the airport was clearly understood by Chen Xilian and his battalion commanders.
The japanese airfield is located 5 miles south of Yangmingbao Town between the four villages of Xiaoru Xie, Xia Xia Zheng, Xiao Cha and Bo Shui. There are 24 aircraft in the airport, parked in 3 trains of 8 each. During the day, they took off to bomb Xinkou and Taiyuan, and returned to the airport at night. The guard unit was a wing of the Japanese Xiangyue Division, most of which lived in the town of Yangmingbao, and there was only a small group of guard troops and ground staff in the airport, about 200 people, gathered at the northern end of the airport. The aircraft were concentrated on the southeast side of the guard force, with rough fortifications and only a few simple bunkers and shelters. The Japanese were very tightly guarded against the road fortresses entering the airfield, and the coils were very thin, but they were unguarded around the airfield.
Back at the station, everyone conducted a serious study. Everyone believes that the Japanese army is busy capturing Xinkou, and it is not expected that there will be troops going around to their backs to make a move, so the rear guard on the flank is quite negligent. The enemy was short of troops in the airfield, the garrison was lax, and the fortifications were rudimentary. If we sneak into the airfield by concealed means, surprise the enemy, and give the enemy a surprise attack, it is absolutely certain that victory will be won. After everyone brainstormed, they finally made up their minds: destroy the Japanese army this airfield!
The plan had been decided, and Chen Xilian ordered the 3rd Battalion as a commando team to attack the airfield and destroy the enemy aircraft; The 1st Battalion was responsible for destroying the roads and bridges between Chengxian and Yangmingbao, and harassing, containing, and blocking possible reinforcements from Chengxian; The 2nd Battalion (owed to the 7th Company) was a reserve, and the regimental command post was located in the area north of Sulongkou Town, and the 8th Company of the 2nd Battalion went out to Wang Dong fort, destroying the traffic southwest of Yangmingbao and ensuring the safety of the 3rd Battalion's rear; The regimental mortar company occupied positions on the east bank of the Tuotuo River and was responsible for supporting the 3rd Battalion in battle. The summer of the department was set, and the battalion companies were divided into pre-war preparations.
Chen Xilian, along with deputy regimental commander Wang Naigui and chief of staff Fan Chaoli, came to the 3rd Battalion, which was on a surprise mission. Why was the main task of attacking the airfield entrusted to the 3rd Battalion? It should be said that the 3 battalions of the 769th Regiment were all well-known Red Legions before the reorganization, and their fighting style was very strong, and any battalion that pulled up could complete the task. However, in comparison, the 3rd Battalion can attack and defend well, especially in night battles, and has won the title of "one victory over one hundred".
Zhao Chongde, commander of the 3rd Battalion, a native of Shangcheng County, Henan Province, joined the Red Army in 1932, joined the Party in the same year, and reorganized the former commander of the Red 31st Regiment. He fought bravely, sympathetically for his subordinates, and had the reputation of "fighting like a tiger and loving soldiers like a mother". At the preparatory meeting before the war, Zhao Yingchang asked several times to be the main attacker. After careful consideration, several regimental leaders decided to hand over the main offensive task to the 3rd Battalion. This is also the glorious mission that Commander Zhao "fought for."
Chen Xilian and they arrived at the 3rd Battalion, and the 3rd Battalion was in full swing to assign combat tasks. Battalion Commander Zhao Chongde ordered the 9th Company to serve as a guard against the Japanese troops in yangmingbao town north of the airfield; 10 companies attacked southwest of the airfield and annihilated enemy guards; The 11th Company attacked from the east of the airfield and was responsible for destroying enemy aircraft; The 12th Company, as a battalion reserve, assembled and stood guard in the northwest of The Village of Xiaocha.
The soldiers outside the battalion headquarters were enthusiastically discussing what to use to kill the plane, and everyone thought of many ways: some said to burn it with firewood, some said to poke with bayonets, smash them with rifle butts, and some said to use machine guns. In the end, it was agreed that mainly grenades should be used, and several grenades should be bundled up and stuffed into the cockpit of the aircraft to explode.
When the movement troops reached the airport, they had to wade across the Tuotuo River. In order to find out the route across the river, Chen Xilian, the battalion commander Zhao Chongde, and the instructor Pan Shoucai led the cadres above the platoon level to the Tuotuo River. At that time, the weather was already very cold, the troops had put on cotton clothes, and despite the guards' persuasion, Chen Xilian stripped down to the river to test the water, and the deep places were flooded to the neck, and the shallow places did not reach the knees.
This afternoon, the whole Village of Sulongkou was in a tense, excited pre-war atmosphere. All battalions and companies held branch meetings and military congresses to mobilize, and cadres and soldiers expressed their determination and oath, and unanimously expressed that they would resolutely fight the first battle of the 129th Division against Japan, fight for the Chinese, and win glory for the Eighth Route Army.
When the fellow villagers in the garrison heard that the Eighth Route Army was going to fight the devils, they were very happy, and they made food and gave them to the troops, and took the initiative to tie dozens of stretchers, and some young people also asked to join the battle with the troops.
In the evening, Chen Xilian came to the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion, and the soldiers saw the regimental commander coming and surrounded them. Chen Xilian asked everyone, "How are you preparing?"
The warriors replied one after another: "No problem, long time, promise to smash the turtle son's plane!"
On the night of October 19, the weather in the northern mountains was already very cold, and against the bitter cold wind, the troops quietly set out. All the combatants were lightly armed, cotton clothes and backpacks were placed in the garrison, bayonets, shovels, grenades, and everything else that was easy to make a sound was tied tightly with ropes, and everyone quietly marched along the dark valley.
Battalions 1 and 2 quickly reached their designated positions and were ready for battle. Led by a guide (still a fellow), the 3rd Battalion, under the cover of night, quietly waded across the Tuotuo River and quickly approached the airport. Zhao Chongde, the commander of the battalion, led 11 companies to sneak into the airfield and quickly carried out the battle.
After the 10th Company entered the airfield, when approaching the enemy guard unit, it was detected by the Japanese army, and immediately engaged in a battle with the enemy army, using brave action to suppress the enemy guard unit in the shelter.
Under the cover of the 10th Company, the 11th Company boldly pounced on the enemy aircraft group, shoving the prepared handballs into the enemy plane's stomach one by one, and one plane after another suddenly exploded and caught fire.
The Japanese guards, after being blocked by the fire of the 10th Company, relied on the fortifications to fight back, while gathering soldiers in a vain attempt to counterattack, and the soldiers and the Japanese army began to fight between the aircraft group. In the fierce battle, Zhao Chongde's battalion commander died gloriously to cover his comrades-in-arms.
At this time, the entire airport was shrouded in smoke and fire. The enemy stationed at Yangmingbao heard the news and rushed to reinforcements. Seeing that the enemy plane had been destroyed and the mission had been completed, Chen Xilian sent a retreat signal according to the predetermined plan. Under the cover and support of the 1st and 2nd Battalions and the regimental mortar companies, the 3rd Battalion quickly withdrew from the battle and waded back across the Tuotuo River.
The Battle of Yangmingbao, from the entry of the airfield to the end of the battle, the entire attack process took less than 1 hour, simply and neatly destroyed all 24 enemy aircraft, and killed and wounded more than 100 Japanese guards. During the battle, our army suffered more than 30 casualties, and Comrade Zhao Chongde, commander of the 3rd Battalion, was unfortunate and cruel, which made the whole regiment mourn endlessly.
After the war, Chen Xilian and deputy regimental commander Wang Naigui used radio to pass the battle to Commander-in-Chief Zhu De and Deputy General Peng Dehuai
Commander Liu Bocheng made a report.
Commander-in-Chief Zhu was very happy after receiving the report. When Commander Liu Bocheng saw the telegram, he even claimed praise: "The 769 regiment fought beautifully."
The officers and men who fought frontally on the Xinkou front line suffered from the bombardment of Japanese aircraft (under the indiscriminate bombardment of Japanese aircraft, 1 regiment of officers and men were killed every day), and they gritted their teeth in hatred for Japanese aircraft. On the morning of the 20th, there was suddenly no trace of Japanese aircraft over the Xinkou position, and they felt very confused, thinking that the Japanese army was going to play some tricks. When they heard that the Eighth Route Army had attacked the Japanese airfield and destroyed all 24 aircraft on the airfield, many officers and men embraced each other excitedly and wept at the position.
Wei Lihuang, deputy commander of the Kuomintang Second Theater of Operations, who was commanding the operations on the Xinkou front at that time, had been under the tremendous pressure of Japanese air raids before the Battle of Yangmingbao. After the battle of Yangmingbao, he called Vice Chairman Zhou Enlai: "Yangmingbao burned 24 enemy planes, which is something that has never been done in the history of war. On behalf of the soldiers who fought head-on in Xinkou, I would like to express my gratitude to the Eighth Route Army!"
The news of the victory of the Battle of Yangmingbao soon spread throughout the Taihang Mountains. The local people also made up a song and sang it:
The Great Wall is a thousand miles long,
The Wild Goose Gate closed the ancient battlefield.
A fire in Yangming Fort,
The devil's plane swept away!