In March 1938, under the command of Liu Bocheng, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, under the command of Liu Bocheng, destroyed more than 1,400 Japanese troops in the Shentouling Ambush, which greatly dealt a blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army. However, the Japanese army's consumption in the front was too great and it was extremely necessary to replenish, so although their transport troops had learned the lesson of Shentouling, they had to harden their scalps and start transporting supplies to the front again in the face of the strict orders of their superiors. However, in order to prevent being attacked again by the Eighth Route Army, they stepped up their vigilance along the road.
How is this vigilance along the road strengthened? In fact, it is at the strongholds along the road, increasing the strength of the troops. Among them, the strength of Licheng increased to 2,000 people, and Dongyangguan was still stationed 150 people because it was a small town. The strength of the small county increased to 400 people, and Wu'an increased to 1500 people, so that the strength of the troops along the road reached more than 4000 people, and in the event of a dangerous situation, the troops of the four major strongholds could be quickly dispatched to reinforce.
In view of this, Liu Bocheng, deputy division commander Xu Xiangqian, and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping, after careful study, felt that between Dongyang Pass and Xiangxian County, a location could be selected and the Japanese army would be ambushed again. There are two reasons why they fight between Dongyangguan and Xiangxian. First, the Japanese troops in Licheng and Wu'an came to reinforcements, which took time, and there were not many Japanese troops in Dongyang Pass and Xiangxian County, so there was nothing to be afraid of. Second, between Dongyang Pass and Xiangxian County, there is a place called Xiangtangpu, the road condition is very poor, when the Japanese car drives here, it must be careful and slow, and the terrain on both sides of the road is very suitable for ambushing, and the ambush troops are free to advance and retreat.
After making up his mind, he immediately formulated a battle plan, and after analyzing the transportation laws of the Japanese army, the ambush time was set for March 31, 1938. On March 21, Commander Liu received a notice from the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to leave for a meeting at the headquarters, and before leaving, he handed over the command of the operation to Xu Xiangqian, deputy division commander. On the night of March 30, xu xiangqian quietly moved the three main regiments of the 129th division to the Xiangtangpu area in accordance with the established battle plan, and after everything was ready, Xu Qianqian, deputy division commander, Deng political commissar, and Li Da's chief of staff, sat at the division headquarters and waited for news.
However, at 6 o'clock in the morning of the 31st, the 772nd Regiment suddenly reported that The Japanese troops in Majiayu and Sujiayu suddenly sent out. This news made the atmosphere at the headquarters of the 129th Division immediately become tense. Why? Because, after the ambush, the three main regiments had to retreat from Majiayu and Sujiayu, that is to say, these two places were the retreat routes of the 129th Division, and the discovery of the Japanese troops here meant that the retreat route was intercepted. In this regard, some commanders suggested that the operation should be abandoned, and the troops should immediately retreat.
In this regard, Xu Qianqian's deputy division commander was worthy of being the commander-in-chief of the former Fourth Front, and he did not hesitate to consult with Political Commissar Deng that he should first verify the enemy's situation clearly before making a decision. Political Commissar Deng expressed his support for this. After receiving the support of Political Commissar Deng, Xu Xiangqian ordered the 772nd Regiment to quickly send a battalion to the Majiayu area to monitor the Japanese army, and on the other hand, ordered the deputy section chief of the operations section to Dongyang Pass to find the internal line to understand the situation.
After reconnaissance, it turned out to be a false alarm, the Japanese army did not find the Eighth Route Army at all, and in the end, under the command of Xu Xiangqian, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army won the Battle of Xiangtangpu.