After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party began to cooperate in the anti-Japanese war, and the main force of the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, with three divisions of 115, 120 and 129 under its jurisdiction. Among them, the 115th Division was reorganized from the 1st and 15th Armies of the Red Army and the 74th Division of the Red Army in Southern Shaanxi, and the whole division had two brigades, four regiments, and 12 battalions, with a total of more than 15,000 people. So who were the commanders of these 12 battalions at that time? What about the subsequent achievements?
Let's start with the 685 Regiment. The 685th Regiment belonged to the 343rd Brigade, with yang Dezhi as its commander and Chen Zhengxiang as its deputy regimental commander, with three battalions under it. The commander of the first battalion, Liu Deming, a native of Liquan, Shaanxi, joined the Red Army after the Ningdu Uprising, and on February 17, 1942, he led his troops to die heroically in the battle with the Japanese army in Jiaocheng Nangou at the age of 32; the commander of the second battalion, Zeng Guohua, was a native of Wuhua County, Guangdong Province, who had served as a soldier in the Guangdong Army in his early years and joined the Red Army in 1931. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the commander of the second battalion of the 685th Regiment, the commander of the 5th Detachment of the Eighth Route Army's Eastward Anti-Japanese Advance Column, and the commander of the 2nd Brigade. After the founding of New China, he successively served as deputy commander of the Guangxi Military Region, deputy commander of the Air Force of the Northeast Military Region, and commander of the Air Force of the Shenyang Military Region, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1955; Liang Xingchu, commander of the third battalion, was a native of Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, joined the Ranks of the Red Army at the age of 17, and went through the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Look at the 686 Regiment. The 686th Regiment also belonged to the 343rd Brigade sequence, with The regimental commander being Li Tianyou and the deputy regimental commander being Yang Yong, with three battalions under it. Zhang Renchu, a battalion commander from Huang'an, Hubei Province, joined the Red Army at the age of 18 and served as the commander of the 5th Regiment of the 2nd Red Division. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the commander of the first battalion of the 686th Regiment of the 115th Division, the regimental commander, the leader of the Lunan detachment, the deputy brigade commander of the 2nd Brigade, and the chief of staff of the Shandong Coastal Military Region. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he participated in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea; after the founding of New China, he served as the deputy commander of the Jinan Military Region and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1955; Yang Shangru of the Second Battalion, a native of Liancheng County, Fujian Province, joined the Red Army at the age of 17 and served as the commander of the 11th Regiment of the Red 4th Division. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he successively served as the commander of the second battalion of the 686th Regiment, the commander of the guerrilla brigade in western Jinxi, and the deputy brigade commander of the 4th Brigade, and after the founding of New China, he served as the political commissar of the Logistics Department of the Air Force and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955; Deng Keming, the commander of the third battalion, was a native of Anhua, Hunan, who served as a soldier in the Nationalist army in his early years and joined the Red Army in 1930. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the commander of the third battalion of the 686th Regiment, the chief of staff of the Anti-Japanese Column of the Eighth Route Army's eastward advance, the commander of the Yellow River Detachment, and the commander of the 4th Brigade. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as deputy commander of the Jiangxi Military Region and deputy commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955.
Next look at the 687 regiment. The 687th Regiment belonged to the 344th Brigade, with Zhang Shaodong as its commander and Tian Shouyao as its deputy commander, with three battalions under it. The commander of the first battalion, Hao Shiying, was a native of Luonan, Shaanxi, and was heroically killed in the battle to liberate Shangnan in February 1949. Yan Dongshan, commander of the Second Battalion, was a native of Dawu, Hubei Province, who joined the Red Army in 1929 and served as the commander of the 232nd Regiment of the Red 78th Division. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the commander of the second battalion of the 687th Regiment, the deputy chief of staff of the New Second Brigade of the Hebei-Luyu Military Region, and the deputy commander of the Southwest Lu military region. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as deputy political commissar of artillery of the Beijing Military Region and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955; Wang Jiadao, the commander of the third battalion, was a native of Huoqiu, Anhui Province, and joined the Red Army at the age of 14. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the commander of the third battalion of the 687th Regiment, the commander of the Independent Guerrilla Brigade of the Taihang Military Region, and the commander of the 19th Regiment of the 7th Brigade. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as deputy commander of the Heilongjiang Provincial Military Region and deputy commander of the Shenyang Military Region, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955.
Finally, let's look at the 688 Regiment. The 688th Regiment also belonged to the 344th Brigade, with Chen Jinxiu as its commander and Han Xianchu as its deputy regimental commander, with three battalions under it. The commander of the first battalion, Liu Guoqing, died heroically on January 22, 1938, during the battle against the Japanese in the Wentang area; Wang Derong, the commander of the second battalion, defected to the enemy in September 1941; and the commander of the third battalion, Xu Tishan, a native of Huoqiu, Anhui, joined the Red Army at the age of 17. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the commander of the third battalion of the 688th Regiment, the captain of the brigade teaching team, the commander of the three major brigades of the Jiluyu Detachment, and the commander of the 25th Regiment of the Ninth Brigade of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the deputy commander of the 31st Army and the commander of the Northern Fujian Command, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955.