According to the People's Daily, in the Battle of Gaoyou, the New Fourth Army annihilated more than 1,100 Japanese troops and captured nearly 900 people in Gaoyou alone; Annihilated more than 5,000 puppet troops and captured more than 3,500 prisoners; More than 60 guns, 4,308 guns, and countless military supplies were seized, ranking the highest in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in central China. This campaign uprooted the Japanese puppet army strongholds that remained in the Liberated Areas of Central China and connected the Liberated Areas of Suwan province.
In the final battle, an absolute victory was won
On August 15, 1945, Japan officially announced its unconditional surrender to our country, and then the enemy-occupied areas of central China also returned to the motherland.
However, the Nationalist army vainly tried to seize the fruits of the victory of the War of Resistance, and for this reason they colluded with the Japanese puppet army entrenched in Gaoyou, Jiangsu, and the Shaobo area to induce them to refuse to surrender to the New Fourth Army.
Therefore, from December 19 to 26, China's Central China Field Army mobilized a total of 15 regiments of troops, launched a comprehensive attack on the Japanese puppet army stationed in Gaoyou, successfully uprooted the remaining Japanese puppet strongholds, and annihilated more than 1,100 Japanese troops and more than 5,000 puppet troops.
This is the record of the largest number of Japanese troops annihilated in one battle in history, and it is also known as the last battle of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
There is no fear, and war is on the verge of breaking out
Gaoyou, located in the central part of Jiangsu Province, bordering Yangzhou and Taizhou to the south, and Huai'an and Huaiyin to the north, is an important town on the ancient canal road. Because when Qin Shi Huang was in the first emperor, people were sent to build a high platform here, and there was a postal kiosk, because it was named Gaoyou, and since ancient times, this place has been a place of contention for soldiers.
After the Japanese government announced its surrender, the Japanese puppet army entrenched in this area urgently built a city wall more than 10 kilometers long outside Gaoyou City, and also built a large number of artillery towers and bunkers.
When the New Fourth Army ordered the Japanese puppet army in the Soviet and Zhejiang regions and all the puppet organizations to surrender, the Japanese puppet army in Gaoyou City had no fear and repeatedly refused the new fourth army's persuasion to surrender.
In early December 1945, the Kuomintang troops stationed in Yangzhou sent 25 armies, 108 divisions and 1 regiment, from Jiangdu to attack the Shaobo area of the Central Soviet Liberated Area, in an attempt to reinforce Gaoyou and divide the Central China Liberated Area.
Therefore, in order to defend the liberated areas of central Jiangsu and avoid the rampant Japanese puppet army, on December 15, Su Yu and Chen Yi analyzed the impact of Gaoyou on the war situation in central Jiangsu, northern Jiangsu, and Shandong, and believed that the Gaoyou Campaign must be carried out first.
The crowd is excited and scrappy
On December 15, the Central China Military Region issued the "Political Order on the Battle of Gaoyou," which put forward political demands: Stressing that the commanders and fighters of the whole army should carry forward the spirit of 'fierce attack,' 'onslaught,' and 'fierce pursuit,' and simply and completely annihilate the invading enemy.
After the order was conveyed, the units participating in the battle were full of enthusiasm and fighting spirit.
In order to quickly drive out the Japanese army and liberate Gaoyou, our army carried out a meticulous combat deployment.
The Eighth Column of the Minghua Central Field Army attacked the city in three directions at the same time, the 64th Regiment was responsible for attacking the North Gate, the 66th Regiment was responsible for suppressing the fire at the East Gate, and the 68th Regiment directly attacked at the South Gate.
The battle was in full swing, and by noon on December 20, the outer strongholds of Gaoyou City had all been swept away, leaving only a Japanese puppet army stronghold at the Pure Land Temple Pagoda.
Because this stronghold was more difficult to remove, commander Su Yu personally observed it before deciding to send in artillery to carry out artillery bombardment.
In order to get close to the tower, the warriors spliced two tables, spread a wet quilt on the table, and approached the tower step by step, successfully burning the supply inside and outside the tower. In the end, after starving on the tower for three days and three nights, the enemy had to climb down and surrender.
Finally, the general offensive liberated Gaoyou
After successfully pulling out all the strongholds in the periphery, the soldiers of the New Fourth Army, under the command of Commander Su Yu, began to prepare for the final attack, which was the siege battle.
It was the night of the 25th of December, when it was dark and rainy, the road was slippery and difficult to march.
Although the weather was very unfavorable at this time, after the three green signal flares bloomed, the Eighth Column of the New Fourth Army and the independent regiment of Gaoyou, a total of 6 regiments of fighters, launched a final fierce attack on GaoyouCheng from the northwest, east and south.
The warriors braved the fire of the artillery in the spirit of not being afraid of sacrifice. In the night, gunshots and shouts of death echoed through the sky. Finally, in the early morning of December 26, Gaoyou, which had been occupied by the Japanese army for six years, finally returned to the embrace of the Chinese people.
brief summary
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was an important battle in the process of China's rise, and it was precisely the national spirit of unity and unity of the whole people in the war that was able to successfully win the victory in this war.
Today, our happy life is also the result of countless revolutionary martyrs who have exchanged their lives for it, so we must salute every soldier in the War of Resistance Against Japan and thank these soldiers who sacrificed their lives and did their best to defend our territory!
References: People's Daily, Political Orders of the Battle of Gaoyou