In December 1938, with the fall of Guangzhou and Wuhan, the frontal battlefield of the War of Resistance Against Japan began to enter a phase of stalemate. In order to further strike at the invading Japanese army and expand the base area behind enemy lines, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was ordered to advance into Shandong, and on March 2, 1939, it arrived in the Yuncheng area of Shandong, and after meeting with the local anti-Japanese armed forces, it quickly consolidated and expanded the anti-Japanese base area in Shandong. In order to strengthen the control of the occupied areas, the Japanese army began to transfer a large number of troops from home to China, and the main force of the newly formed 32nd Division arrived in Shandong in May 1939 to take over the 114th Division as a garrison mission in the western part of Shandong.
On July 31, 1939, the 1st Brigade of the 212th Wing of the 32nd Division, under the leadership of Captain Toshie Nagata, was ordered to escort the 1st squad of the 32nd Regiment of Field Artillery (2 Italian field guns) to the Japanese troops on the front line, and the Japanese army could have taken the avenue to avoid our base area, but Nagata Toshie was arrogant and arrogant, thinking that he was a member of the imperial family, and could not insult the face of the "Imperial Army", so he was determined to go closer. His men included 229 Japanese troops, 50 puppet troops, 50 captured migrant workers, and in addition to 2 75 mm field guns, the Japanese army also brought 1 92 infantry gun and 2 heavy machine guns.
The Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun was firing at our army
Our 115th Division, after sensing that this Japanese army had invaded the base area, was determined to take advantage of the favorable terrain to completely annihilate it, and our army then began to line up and deploy troops, successively transferring 3 battalions of the 1st Regiment of the Independent Brigade, 3 companies of the Division's Special Service Battalion and 1 cavalry company to fight.
The commanders of our army are observing the enemy situation
Theoretically, although our army has 3 times the strength of the Japanese puppet army, it is extremely short of ammunition, and the heavy weapons are only 2 heavy machine guns. Therefore, the 115th Division was determined not to fight hard against the Japanese army, but to focus on wisdom.
Heavy machine gun positions of our army
At 9:00 a.m. on August 2, the Japanese army reached the vicinity of Qianjizhuang at the southern foot of Liangshan, and our army sent a crack detachment to carry out a surprise attack on it, and then quickly withdrew from the battle. After losing their target, the Japanese opened fire indiscriminately in all directions, and when they saw no one fighting back, they continued to advance. At this favorable time, the cavalry company of our army once again launched a second round of surprise attacks on the Japanese puppet army. Without waiting for the Japanese puppet army to figure out what was going on, our army quickly disappeared according to the deployment. After the enemy pursued Liangshan, he saw no sign of me, and immediately ordered his artillery to bombard Dushan. After more than half an hour of bombardment, and without seeing a return, the enemy sent cavalry and puppet troops to search the vicinity, but found nothing. Subsequently, the Japanese army entered the Camp in Dushan Village.
The Japanese Italian field guns captured by our army, it is said that the Japanese army in Jinan has a total of 2 such guns, all of which were captured by our army
At night, the commanders and fighters of various units of our army used the night light and the green gauze tent as a cover and quietly pushed into the Japanese camp. By 8 p.m., the forces had entered their intended attack positions. At 8 p.m. the whole of our army attacked. First of all, the Japanese army was suppressed with fierce machine gun and grenadier fire, which greatly shocked the enemy. Then our cavalry and some infantry broke into the village, first forcing the puppet army to surrender, and then the main force besieged the Japanese army. The Japanese army quickly calmed down after the initial panic, and concentrated its forces to counterattack our army, because the commanding heights around it were doubled by our army's control, and in close combat and night combat, the Japanese artillery was completely unable to exert its power, and the Japanese counterattack was repulsed by our army one after another. By midnight, the Japanese army was unable to break through and could only retreat to the village in an attempt to hold on to help.
Militias that cooperate with our army in combat
After midnight, our army readjusted its troop deployment and launched a general attack on the Japanese troops trapped in several compounds. The Japanese defense line was gradually broken by our army, and the two sides engaged in a melee, and Nagata Toshie, who commanded the battle, was also wounded in the arm of the battle and could only retreat into the house.
Japanese soldiers captured in the Battle of Liangshan
Our army then climbed the roof and engaged in a scramble with the enemy, attacking the enemy inside the house with grenades, and the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties and gradually lost its strength. By dawn, the remaining Japanese troops took advantage of the darkness to make a final breakthrough, and some of the fleeing were killed by our army, and some of those who escaped were also pursued by our cavalry, and finally the whole army was destroyed. After the battle, our army found that Nagata Toshie Shosa had committed suicide by caesarean section in the house, and this member of the Japanese imperial family, a relative of the so-called emperor, finally ended up dying. In this battle, more than 300 enemy soldiers were annihilated, including 24 Japanese soldiers, 2 field guns, 1 Type 92 infantry gun, 2 grenadiers, 15 light and heavy machine guns, more than 150 rifles, more than 50 horses, and countless other booty.
Resources
History of Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area