On October 20, 1937, Chen Xilian, 769th Regiment of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, led his troops to attack Yangmingbao at night, and at the cost of more than 30 people, the news of the victory of destroying 22 enemy planes was quickly transmitted to the whole country by radio, and the war report of Liu Bocheng, commander of the 129th Division, was also reported to Chiang Kai-shek, the president of the Kuomintang, and Yan Xishan, commander of the Second Theater. Liu Bochengjing bragged, just with the Eighth Route Army's broken weapons, can he still shoot down the plane? There are also 22 aircraft, impossible! ”
Chiang Kai-shek and Wei Lihuang
Believe it or not, but from this day on, for several days in a row, the enemy planes that had been flaunting their might and indiscriminately bombing over Xinkou and Taiyuan really disappeared. Didn't you really blow up? Yan Xishan said that there should be no more suspicion, and it would be better to send a plane to reconnoiter it. Therefore, the next day, the reconnaissance plane sent by the Second Theater to the Yangmingbao battlefield address provided by the Eighth Route Army really found that there was an airfield, and there was a piece of aircraft wreckage on the airport, which after judging, should be 24 aircraft, but how did the war report only report 22 aircraft?
1. In the Battle of Xinkou, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated in resisting Japan.
In October 1937, in order to realize the strategic attempt of Japanese imperialism to quickly seize North China, the Japanese North China Front mobilized 50,000 to 60,000 heavy troops, 150 tanks, and 250 artillery pieces, and the troops took Taiyuan in three routes.
In order to save the crisis and ensure Taiyuan, the supreme military authorities of the National Government, after careful study with Yan Xishan, commander-in-chief of the Second Theater of Operations, decided to organize a battle in the Xinkou area north of Taiyuan, with Liu Maoen, commander of the 15th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, as the right wing corps, Li Mo'an, commander of the Fourteenth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, as the left wing corps, Hao Mengling, commander of the 9th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, as the commander-in-chief of the Central Army, and Wei Lihuang, commander-in-chief of the Central Army, as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy. The independent 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 61st Army of the National Revolutionary Army also went to the Xinkou area to assist the Central Army in its operations.
Yan Xishan
On October 7, the commander of the Japanese 5th Division, Itagaki Seishiro, led the 5th Division, the 285th Regiment of the Mixed 15th Brigade, the Di Detachment, the Ichishima Detachment, the 163rd Regiment of the 109th Regiment, and the Mechanized Infantry Regiment of the Independent Mixed 1st Brigade regiment, a total of 30,000 people, with the cooperation of aircraft, heavy artillery, and tanks, captured Chengxian County, and the forward quickly arrived at Xinkou.
On the morning of October 13, Itagaki Seishiro concentrated 30,000 Japanese troops, with the cooperation of more than 30 aircraft, more than 50 tanks, and more than 50 heavy artillery, adopted the tactic of intermediate breakthrough, and continuously attacked the strongly defended southern Huaihua position of the Chinese army on the northwest side of Xinkou.
While the Kuomintang Jinsui Army and the Central Army's Xinkou Battlefield were stubbornly resisting head-on, the units of the Eighth Route Army launched a proactive attack on the rear of the enemy flank in accordance with the arrangements of Chairman Mao of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, and Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief, and cooperated with friendly forces.
On the one hand, the Eighth Route Army sent the 115th Division, Commander He Long, and Deputy Division Commander Xiao Ke of the Political Training Department, led by the main force Lin Biao, Deputy Division Commander Nie Rongzhen, Director Luo Ronghuan of the Political Training Department, and the 120th Division led by Director Guan Xiangying of the Political Training Department, deep into the rear flanks and flanks of the enemy army, marching behind the enemy's rear at Lingqiu, Guangling, Dai County, Chengxian County, and Yanmen Pass, launching guerrilla warfare, attacking the enemy's rear, destroying the enemy's transportation, cutting off the enemy's supplies and reinforcements, and cooperating in the campaign, on the one hand, directly attacking the enemy's front-line attack forces with part of the troops. Close tactical coordination with friendly forces.
Due to the active operations of the 115th and 120th Divisions of the Eighth Route Army, the transportation between the Japanese troops attacking Xinkou and Datong and Zhangjiakou was interrupted, and the supply of grain, ammunition, and fuel was cut off, forcing the enemy to borrow aircraft to transport supplies.
To this end, the Military Commission of the National Government sent a telegram to commend chiang kai-shek on October 17, calling Zhu De and Peng Dehuai, saying: "
The Guibu Forest Division and zhang brigade, repeatedly built Qigong, qiang Koudi was severely damaged, and was deeply comforted.
”
2. The discovery of Chen Xilian, commander of the 769th Regiment of the 129th Division.
The 769th Regiment of the 358th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, under the leadership of Chen Xilian, set out from Xi'an, walked over the mountains and mountains for several days and nights, crossed the Yellow River with great hardship, and prepared to go from Taiyuan to the area north of Dongye Village in Wutai County to block the Japanese Kou.
As soon as Chen Xi's joint troops arrived in Dongye Village, they received operational orders from Liu Bocheng, commander of the 129th Division, and Deng Xiaoping, political commissar: Intercept the Japanese army between Chengxian and Yangmingbao, north of Xinkou, cut off the enemy's grain and grass, and strike at the enemy to come to the rescue!
On the morning of October 16, Chen Xilian led the 769th Regiment to the sulongkou and Liujiazhuang areas south of Yangmingbao, on the left bank of the Tuotuo River, which were undulating and sparsely populated, and was a hidden place suitable for the tun soldiers, but difficult for the enemy to detect, and the town of Sulongkou was the only way for the enemy to reinforce, and it was a perfect place to set up an ambush and intercept the Japanese army here.
However, although Chen Xilian and his soldiers had fought countless battles so far, they had never fought with japanese devils, and only on the way to Xinkou had heard Commander Liu Bocheng's summary of the battle of Pingxingguan that Commander Lin Biao had specially conveyed. The summary pointed out that "Japanese devils can fight, but they are not good at fighting." This is really fatal, and what this summary is, just like there is no summary, so Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping have repeatedly instructed: After arriving in northern Jin, we must be more cautious, attach importance to understanding the enemy's situation, not fight unprepared battles, and if there is anything that can be reported to the division headquarters immediately, and when the key time comes, we can also respond to the situation on the spot.
Well, then understand the enemy situation, and see what kind of three-headed and six-armed Japanese devil is? Chen Xilian heard that there was a regimental commander of the Kuomintang Jin Sui Army who had retired from the defeat in Datong, and it was said that he had fought with the devils, so he decided to learn from him about the situation of the Japanese army and learn the experience of fighting devils.
In a deep ravine, Chen Xilian took Wang Naigui, deputy regimental commander and commander of the 1st Battalion
WU Rongzheng,
The commander of the 2nd Battalion, Kong Qingde, and the commander of the 3rd Battalion, Zhao Zongde, found him and modestly consulted the experience of fighting the devils, and the regimental commander said: "What bullshit experience, our Chinese army wants to fight with people, the devils have planes in the sky, there are cannons on the ground, their bombs are like eyes, they are chasing your ass, we have not even seen the face of the Japanese army, the team collapsed." Then, he looked at Chen Xilian and said, "Little brother, you are not much older, are you?" Chen Xilian smiled and nodded: "This year is 22 years old." The regimental commander rolled his eyes and said, "With all due respect, just by virtue of your appearance, with the tattered equipment of the Eighth Route Army, fighting the Japanese, is that not a vain death?" "
When Chen Xilian listened, he saw that he had not fired a single shot, and the coward who had run back directly from the battlefield asked, and then asked again, and even he was frightened by his frightened look.
Chen Xilian looked at Deputy Regiment Commander Wang Naigui and several other battalion commanders and said, "Then don't bother, let's get familiar with the terrain first." After saying that, Chen Xilian and Wang Naigui stood up, walked along a ravine, talked all the way, came to the Tuotuo River, and then climbed to the top of the mountain together, raised their telescopes to look around.
In the distance, the rumbling cannon sound continued to come from the direction of Xinkou, but in the sky, there were constantly planes roaring overhead, one would be two, one would be three, and Wu Rongzheng, commander of the 1st Battalion, said: "Little devil, what is in the sky, have the ability to come down!" Chen Xilian looked at him and said to Wang Naigui, "You said that this plane flies around here so frequently and at such a low altitude, is it not that the little devil's airport is near here?" Wang Naigui said, "There is really a possibility." ”
Chen Xilian and his party were carefully searching for the target, when they suddenly found a peasant with a dirty face, ragged clothes, and barefoot hurrying toward them, Chen Xilian and the others hurried up to meet them and asked: "Fellow, where did you come from?" When the man heard the shouting, he seemed to be startled, and immediately stopped, looked around, and when he found that it was a few strange soldiers, he was even more panicked, and spat out two words in a hurry: "Old... Chen Xilian quickly explained: "Fellow countrymen, don't be afraid, we are the Eighth Route Army, to fight the devils." ”
After some patient and meticulous persuasion by Chen Xilian and others, this person's nervousness was eliminated, and he told Chen Xilian and others about his encounter, it turned out that his name was Lai Baosan, and there was really a Japanese airfield not far away from here, and his hometown was near the airport, and he was arrested by the Japanese for hard labor, forcing him to carry gasoline and carry bombs to the airport all day long, because he could not stand the torture of the little devil, and found an opportunity to escape.
The fellow said: "The airport is in front, you can see it after walking a few steps, and there are not many ghosts inside." ”
Chen Xilian was overjoyed, followed the guidance of his fellow countrymen, invariably raised his telescope, looked in the direction of his fingers, and sure enough, he found that there was a group of gray and white enemy planes neatly arranged in the open space in the southeast of Yangmingbao on the opposite bank, and the body glowed dazzlingly under the sunlight.
Chen Xilian looked at each other and thought in his heart, "We sent it back this time." ”
3. Night attack on Yangming fort.
At dawn the next day, Zhao Zongde, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 769th Regiment, led by several soldiers, under the leadership of his fellow villagers, disguised themselves as civilian husbands, magically blended into the ranks of the civilians, entered the airport, and thoroughly touched the situation inside and outside the airport.
The airport is located near a village 5 miles south of Yangmingbao Town, with a total of 24 aircraft, parked in 3 columns, 8 of which each, took off during the day to bomb Xinkou and Taiyuan, and returned at night. The guard unit was xiangyue of the first army of the Japanese North China Front
Kiyoshi
A wing of the division, most of which lived in the town of Yangmingbao, had only a small group of guards and ground crews in the airport, about 200 people, gathered at the northern end of the airport.
Since the Japanese army was busy capturing Xinkou, it was not expected that the Eighth Route Army would go around to his "big rear", so the airfield security was quite lax, the fortifications were rough, and it was simply built some bunkers and shelters, and it was neglected to be on guard, and if the 769th Regiment unexpectedly launched a night attack on the airport with sudden and rapid movements, it was completely certain to achieve victory.
Hearing the report of Zhao Zongde's battalion commander, Chen Xilian looked at the cadres of each battalion, and each battalion asked the regimental commander Chen Xilian to fight: "Give the order, resolutely kill it!" ”
Chen Xilian decided: Fight! He turned around and asked the chief of staff to immediately report this decision to The Division Commander Liu Bocheng, ask for approval, and obtain the support of Master Liu Bocheng.
Then he asked, "Who wants to go to the airport?" Zhao Zongde, commander of the third battalion, stood up in response and said, "Let our three battalions undertake the task of attacking the airfield, our soldiers have long been unable to hold their nerves, and they are going to work with little Japan." "
Zhao Zongde, a native of Shangcheng County, Henan, joined the revolution in 1932, was 24 years old at the time, usually silent, loved to use his brain, and had great courage; in the era of the Red Army, the three battalions were a famous night combat unit, known as the "Night Tiger", heroic and tenacious, able to attack and defend well, acting rapidly, and had won the prize banner of "winning a hundred with one victory", and Zhao Zongde's initiative to ask for battle was in line with Chen Xilian's wishes.
The task of attacking the airport was entrusted to the three battalions, and Chen Xilian made arrangements; the first and second battalions led their troops to destroy the roads and bridges between Chengxian and Yangmingbao to block the enemy who might come to the aid of The Enemy in Chengxian and Yangmingbao, and the regimental mortar company and machine gun company occupied positions on the east bank of the Tuotuo River, ready to support the three battalions at any time.
On the afternoon of the 19th, the 769th Regiment began the pre-war general mobilization, from cadres to soldiers, morale was high, and the nearby compatriots heard that the Eighth Route Army was going to fight the devils, and they also ran to help tie stretchers.
At about 20:00 on the night of the 19th, under the leadership of the fellow named Lai Baosan, Zhao Zongde led the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 769th Regiment to quietly sneak across the Tuotuo River and climb through the barbed wire fence... Unknowingly, the god touched the devil's airport.
4. Yangmingbao Airport was completely destroyed, and the commander of the Xiangyue Division covered his face and cried.
On the night of October 19, 1937, under the strategy of the 1st And 2nd Battalion of the 769th Regiment, Zhao Zongde led his troops to rush straight into the airport, and the 10th Company attacked the Japanese airport guard unit, and the commander of the Zhao Zongde Battalion led the 11th Company to quickly pounce on the aircraft group, watching the 24 planes neatly parked there, the soldiers were as excited as wolves, constantly attacking the aircraft with machine guns and grenades, and if the bullets could not penetrate, they would use grenades to explode, igniting gasoline and aircraft fuel tanks, gasoline barrels, etc. Yangmingbao fell into a raging flame, and the night was illuminated red. At this time, the Japanese army could not dream of the existence of the main force of the Eighth Route Army near Yangmingbao, and all of a sudden they were panicked and chaotic.
After the Japanese Xiangyue Division stationed in Yangmingbao Town learned of the news of the attack on the airfield, it hurried to the aircraft in an armored vehicle, and Chen Xilian, who was standing on the top of the hill on the east bank of the Tuotuo River, ordered the fire to be lit and informed the whole regiment to retreat, and when the commander of the Japanese Xiangyue Division climbed out of the armored vehicle, the officers and men of the 769th Regiment participating in the battle had successfully withdrawn from the battle, and Xiangyue Kiyoshi looked at the burning fire on the airport and the wreckage of more than 20 aircraft, covered his face with his hands, cried loudly, and kept shouting: "I want jade fragments, I want to cut my stomach to thank the emperor!" ”
The night attack on Yangmingbao was successful, and all 24 Japanese planes that frequently went to Xinkou and Taiyuan during the day to bomb were all destroyed, and the 769th Regiment won the initial battle, but in the fierce battle, Zhao Zongde, the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 769th Regiment who was the main attacker, was unfortunately shot by the enemy's machine guns and died heroically, at the age of 24.
The Battle of Yangmingbao lasted about 1 hour, destroying 24 enemy planes, killing and wounding more than 100 enemy guards, and inflicting more than 30 casualties on the Eighth Route Army, creating a glorious example of annihilating a large number of enemy aircraft with infantry. When Chen Xilian reported the results of the battle to his superiors, the investigators found that there were 2 planes circling near the airport, and Chen Xilian thought that 2 were missing, so he immediately changed the 24 in the war report to 22 and reported it to the division headquarters. Unexpectedly, because the Kuomintang Second Theater Command did not believe it, it specially dispatched reconnaissance planes to review the scene, and the results of the review confirmed that there were 24 aircraft.
Liu Bocheng, commander of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and Deng Xiaoping, political commissar of the division, were full of praise after seeing the battle report: "After seeing the war report, they were full of praise:"
The first battle was won. The reconnaissance is clear, the deployment is thorough, the action is sudden and crisp, the fight is good, the fight is good!
The news of Yangmingbao's victory spread throughout the country, greatly inspiring the confidence and courage of the military and people of the whole country to resist Japan and save the country; rescue groups, patriots, and young students from all walks of life in Taiyuan went to the Eighth Route Army's office in Jinjin to express their congratulations; letters and telegrams from all over the country flew like snowflakes; women's condolence groups from Beiping, Tianjin, and the whole country gathered in Taiyuan; Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao, Wartime Pictorial," and reporters from various media and foreign journalists throughout the country came to report on it, and therefore the 129th Division was transferred
The 769th Regiment, together with the Jixing WenTuan regiment that resisted the Japanese army at the Lugou Bridge in Beijing during the "July 7 Incident", the Luo Fangju regiment in the Nankou Defense War, and the Xie Jinyuan regiment that guarded the Shanghai Sihang warehouse alone in the Battle of Songhu, were also known as the four famous anti-Japanese regiments.
Chiang Kai-shek, chairman of the Military Commission of the National Government and president of the Kuomintang, issued a commendation order to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in the name of the Military Commission, and rewarded 20,000 yuan to encourage the officers and men of the Eighth Route Army who participated in the Battle of Yangmingbao, which was also the only battle in which the Eighth Route Army received a cash reward from the Military Commission of the National Government in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Wei Lihuang, deputy commander of the Kuomintang Second Theater who had been under the pressure of The Japanese air raids, also called Zhou Enlai: "Yangmingbao burned 24 enemy planes, which is something that has never been done before in the history of the War of Resistance Against Japan. ”
The Eighth Route Army actively cooperated with friendly forces in the Xinkou battlefield, which brought about a profound change in Wei Lihuang's thinking, and since then he has maintained good relations with the Communist Party of China, as long as it is in his defense zone, there is no friction.
In 1938
In the spring, Wei Lihuang took the road to Xi'an via Yan'an, was received by Chairman Mao, and fulfilled a dream he longed for Yan'an.
Chairman Mao and Wei Lihuang were in Yan'an
The Battle of Xinkou was a successful defensive battle in which the Kuomintang government and the Communist Party achieved a frontal defense and mobile operation behind the enemy lines after the Chinese people entered the stage of the all-round War of Resistance, and the frontal defense and the mobile operation behind the enemy lines were achieved under the unified deployment and close cooperation of the Second Theater, and it was also the largest and most fierce battle on the Battlefield in North China in the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The night attack on Yangmingbao by the 769th Regiment of the 769th Regiment of the 129th Division destroying 24 enemy planes, coupled with the "Ping-type Guanda Victory" created by Lin Biao's 115th Division before this, all effectively cooperated with the frontal campaign of the Kuomintang army, dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance and arrogance of the Japanese army, disrupted the Japanese army's arrogant attempt to make a quick decision and destroy China within 6 months, and greatly enhanced the confidence of the Chinese military and people in the victory of the War of Resistance.