Located at the junction of Shanxi and Hebei provinces, the Taihang Mountains are lined with peaks and ravines, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack. After the large-scale retreat of the Kuomintang troops from the frontal battlefield, only a few sporadic troops were left to negotiate with the Japanese army. In the areas occupied by the Japanese army, the Eighth Route Army, relying on its deep-rooted civilian relations and familiar terrain, fought a guerrilla war against the Japanese army in the lofty mountains and mountains. Below: The Japanese Gongteng troops marched to the Taihang Mountains to suppress the Eighth Route Army and the Jin Sui Army, which were active in the mountains.
This way in which the enemy advances and retreats, and the enemy retreats and advances, makes the Japanese army invincible, so the Japanese army occupying Shanxi has to carry out a sweep in the jurisdiction every three to five places. Below: The Japanese Kudo troops rest on the way to the Taihang Mountains to conquer the Eighth Route Army and the Jin Sui Army.
Sweeping in the area east of Taigu, a key and active area of the Eighth Route, was where the Japanese army traveled back and forth once or even several times a week. Below: Sweeping Japanese troops eating on the spot on top of a hill.
Below: Sweeping Japanese resting above cave dwellings in Shanxi.
Below: Sweeping Japanese troops cross a small river, walking from village to village. In this kind of zone, heavy weapons such as tanks and cannons are completely useless, and even machine guns and bullets have to be transported by donkeys or horses.
Below: The Japanese army, which has crossed the mountain after mountain, has reached a place called Gaojiazhuang.
Below: The commander of the Kudo unit who swept through was welcomed by the yoshimin of the village.
Below: The Maintenance Association organizes villagers to kill pigs to welcome the Japanese army.
Kobayashi Kenji, a former lieutenant in the Taiyuan concentration camp of the Japanese army, recorded in 1978 in "My Unknown Years": The Taiyuan area has been occupied for 7 months, the gunfire is still continuous, and attacks by the Eighth Route Army, the Jin Sui Army, and various local armed forces occur almost every day. Below: Photos of the Eighth Route Army's training taken by the Japanese army sending people into the interior of the Eighth Route Army.
The Eighth Route Army and the Jin Sui Army were active among the mountains, so that we could never catch up, so that when we rested at night, we were worried about hanging our galls, worried about their bullets and shells suddenly coming. Below: The Japanese army sent people to break into the interior of the Eighth Route Army to take photos of the sentry of the local personnel of the Eighth Route Army.
Once, we once sent more than two hundred people to surround a hill where the eight roads were found, but after half a day of busy time, no one was caught. Angry, Captain Lin Mu waved his saber and shouted at the valley, Come out, come out of the eighth way, I will fight with you to the death. It seems that their tactics of coming and going without a trace can really kill or exhaust people's popularity. Below: Japanese troops sweeping the mountains call the Air Force to assist in the operation.
Below: The Japanese pretended to retreat, ambushed the woods outside the village of Dongniuzhuang, and captured alive an Eight-Way Scout who was preparing to flee.
Below: In Nanxiujing Village, after being informed, the maintenance chairman and village chief Gao Yongji (69 years old) led the Japanese army to dig up the shells buried by the Chinese side in the river and captured six villagers close to the Eighth Road.