Text/Editor: Liuyun
On November 11, 1941, the Japanese army gathered more than 5,000 people and jointly invaded Huangya Cave by land and air in an attempt to destroy the Eighth Route Army Arsenal. At that time, there were only more than 900 soldiers in the Huangyadong Arsenal, and the enemy's artillery and poison gas were all used. As a result, the Eighth Route Army won a great victory, creating a brilliant record of six to one casualties between the enemy and us. How do they do it?
On November 10, 1941, Ou Zhifu, the head of the special service regiment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters defending the Huangyadong Arsenal, received news that the 36th Division of the Japanese army in Jingwu had gathered more than 5,000 people and came in the direction of Huangyadong.
The Huangyadong Arsenal is one of the best arsenals of the Eighth Route Army. Because the geographical location of Huangya Cave is very peculiar, the entrance is halfway up the mountainside. To enter the Yellow Cliff Cave, there is a section of Weng Xuan Corridor in front, the cliff top on both sides wants to be harmonious, looking up at a line of sky, the curve is narrow and deep, winding more than 500 meters long, there is a man who is not open the risk. In addition, the location of Huangya Cave is also very hidden, so the arsenal has been booming all these years. By 1940, the annual output could equip 16 regiments.
Since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang army was competing with the Japanese army on the front, and the Eighth Route Army was attacking and harassing the enemy's rear and fighting guerrillas. However, a battle of 100 regiments directly smashed the enemy's "cage policy" of "using railways as pillars, highways as chains, and pillboxes as locks".
In the past, the Japanese thought that the Eighth Route Army was a petty fight, but this time they deeply felt the seriousness of the threat posed by the Eighth Route Army. Overnight, so many anti-Japanese troops suddenly poured out in their own occupied areas. In order to stabilize the situation and consolidate the occupied areas, the Japanese army began to mobilize heavy troops to carry out large-scale and brutal retaliatory "sweeps" against the anti-Japanese base areas in North China, causing serious damage to our army's base areas.
The arsenal of the Eighth Route Army became the object of the Japanese army's attention.
Commander Ou Zhifu hurriedly gathered more than 900 soldiers of the Special Service Regiment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters to do a good job of mobilization before the war, and then ordered the soldiers to cover all roads with mines and improve the fortifications. A bloody battle is about to begin.
At noon on the 11th, the Japanese army arrived near Huangyadong, immediately formed a formation, and directly bombarded our army's position indiscriminately with 11 heavy guns. Since our army had already built fortifications and had tunnels to help avoid danger, the Japanese bombardment did not cause any casualties. After the bombardment, the Japanese infantry began to attack the south entrance of Huangyadong, but stepped into a mine formation and suffered many casualties.
The minefield along this road was very skillfully arranged, which caused the Japanese army quite a headache, and the speed of mine clearance was like that of a turtle. For two whole days, the Japanese army did not even manage to break through the minefield of our army. In a fit of rage, the Japanese army directly carpet-bombed the minefield with artillery, and the minefield was bombed by force.
The Japanese army, with its sophisticated equipment, advanced to the Weng Lang. It was found that the Weng Corridor was a long and winding path, and it was impossible to launch an attack by a large army. Here, the Eighth Route Army used crossfire to inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese army.
The attacks were repeatedly thwarted, and the Japanese were now enraged beasts, and they began to fire poison gas bombs on the positions of the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army had already taken precautions, covered its mouth and nose with water-soaked towels, and continued to rely on fortifications to fight the enemy.
After a long frontal attack, the Japanese army moved to the direction of Taohuazhai east of Nankou, where Ou Chang'an inserted 1 company. After the Japanese bombarded the position here, they organized another charge, but they were still beaten back.
The enemy is cunning, and for the first time the direction of Taohuazhai was not captured. During the second attack, the enemy's artillery and planes bombed indiscriminately, but they did not charge the position for a long time.
Commander Ou hurriedly mobilized a part of his troops and set up an ambush between the position of the 4th Company and Huangya Cave. Sure enough, a group of Japanese soldiers bypassed the position of our army in Taohuazhai and touched towards Huangya Cave. The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army unceremoniously closed the door and beat the dogs, annihilating all the dozens of Japanese soldiers.
The Eighth Route Army was well prepared, and with its back to the arsenal, there was no shortage of ammunition. 900 soldiers fought the enemy for 8 days and nights with the help of natural dangers. The record of six to one casualties between the enemy and the enemy was recorded, creating the highest ratio of casualties between the enemy and the enemy since the start of the Sino-Japanese war. But it was no accident that the Eighth Route Army was able to win
In fact, as early as 1940, the Japanese Kochen Okazaki Brigade launched an attack on Huangya Cave. It was this attack that gave the Eighth Route Army a wake-up call, and then under the guidance of the Chief of Staff Zuo, the defensive measures of Huangyadong were strengthened.
There are nearly 200 secret posts in Mingbao, and the tunnel is 9,000 meters long, and the entire Huangya Cave has already formed a three-dimensional defense system. The indiscriminate bombardment of the enemy's artillery did not cause any casualties to the Eighth Route Army at all, and the enemy who could be hit by 200 open forts and secret outposts was dizzy.
The fact that such a good record was achieved also had a lot to do with the experience and decisiveness of the commanders. According to the terrain and characteristics of Huangya Cave, Commander Ou has deduced the offensive strategies that the enemy can adopt several times. It is because of this that you can quickly penetrate the enemy's intentions.
The Japanese army's "sweep" was also well prepared, and the goal was obvious, that is, it planned to destroy the Huangyadong Arsenal in one fell swoop.
Although the Japanese army knew that the Huangyadong Arsenal was steep and easy to defend and difficult to attack, they did not know much about it, and they knew almost nothing about the defensive line arranged by the Eighth Route Army. Moreover, the mass foundation of the Eighth Route Army is good, and the Japanese army has a stir, and the news has already reached the ears of the Eighth Route Army. The enemy's attack lost its suddenness, which gave the Eighth Route Army time to prepare. It can also choose tactics more accurately to deal with enemy attacks.