In April 1938, the successive victories of the Eighth Route Army on the Handan-Chang Highway, the opening up of anti-Japanese base areas, and the extensive guerrilla warfare made the Japanese and Kou panic. In order to relieve the threat from the rear, the enemy, mainly the 108th Division, mobilized more than 10,000 people and launched a nine-way siege of southeastern Jin. The Japanese commander Terauchi Shouichi drew nine arrows of the march on the map, to compress the main force of the Eighth Route Army to the end of the arrow, gather and annihilate, thinking of the end of this victory, his heart was beautiful.
In response to the enemy's siege, the Eighth Route Army carried out an urgent mobilization of counter-siege. Around April 10, the Japanese army attacking from the east, west, and north successively entered the anti-Japanese base area. The Japanese invaded and occupied Liaoxian all the way to the east of Liaoxian County, and all roads were blocked by the Eighth Route Army.
On April 13, more than 1,000 Japanese troops with four mortars drove from Wuxiang to Yushe. There was no one, no food, no chickens, no sheep, and no water along the way. The road was damaged, and the big car could not cross it, so it had to return to Wuxiang.
The 2,500 men of the 105th Wing of the Japanese Army marched on a desolate land without man. The soldiers were silent, and several people ate in a can. On the high slopes of the loess soil, the crowd was sandwiched between mules and horses, lifeless. This place has become a world of no one, and there is no food or drink to be found, so the enemy has to abandon the city and run along the Zhangzhang River.
When Liu Bocheng heard the news, he was excited and said: "Great, the devils are heavy mules and horses, and they are not used to marching at night, chase!" Liu Bocheng immediately grabbed the phone and said to Chen Geng: "The 689th Regiment of the 344th Brigade is also under your command, and the 772nd Regiment is the left column, pursuing the enemy along the north bank of the Zhanghe River, and the 771st Regiment is the right column, pursuing along the south bank." The 769th Regiment was a follow-up unit, advancing along Wuxiang to Xiangyuan Avenue! ”
"Division Commander!" Chen Geng asked, "Do we chase after the devil and fight, or do we rush to the front of the devil to fight?" ”
"Now the devil is in a hurry to find us, as long as you catch up with us, he will definitely come back to fight with you!" Liu Bocheng said on the phone.
The Japanese army only knew that the Eighth Route Army was good at ambushing, and it had never thought that the Eighth Route Army would come to the door to fight. In the early morning of the 16th, more than 400 people from the enemy's flank vigilance troops came, and the commander of the 772nd Regiment Ye Chenghuan asked: "Brigade commander, do you want to fight?" ”
Chen Geng said, "Don't fight! The enemy's heavy squad is still behind. ”
The vanguard of the Japanese army had already passed through changle village, and the heavy troops were still far behind. The opportunity could not be missed, and Ye Chenghuan, the leader of the 772nd Regiment, quickly arranged everything.
After everyone set up the ambush circle, it didn't take long for the Japanese Kou's people, horses, vehicles and weights to slowly come along the avenue. Without any suspense, the team of devils walked into the encirclement.
With a crisp starter's gunshot, the 772nd Regiment suddenly opened fire. Suddenly, the enemy soldiers turned over on their horses and made a mess. As soon as the 772nd Regiment charged the trumpet, the warriors came out of the cage like ten thousand tigers, fell from the sky, and beat the enemy into a daze.
Just as the 772nd Regiment was fighting fiercely with the Japanese army, an accident occurred. It turned out that there was a Japanese army of about a thousand people, and they happened to be passing by Changle Village, when they suddenly heard the sound of gunfire and did not know what the situation was. Looking over, we saw that our troops were ambushing the Japanese. They rushed back to join the rescue.
This Japanese force rushed to the Dai Jia'an position on the left flank of the 772nd Regiment. This position was originally intended to be occupied by the 689th Regiment, but the 689th Regiment was still on the way. At this critical moment, Chen Geng immediately ordered the Tenth Company of the 772nd Regiment to rush up and block the enemy.
The Tenth Company immediately entered the position and instantly caught fire with the Japanese. There were more than a thousand enemies, basically ten times as many as ten companies! The commanders and fighters of the Tenth Company were not afraid, and fought bloodily for more than four hours, all of which were heroically sacrificed. The position fell into the hands of the enemy again.
At this critical moment, Chief of Staff Zhou Xihan ran over and reported: "The 689th Regiment of the 115th Division has arrived!" Chen Geng's tightly locked brow stretched out again. Sure enough, Xu Haidong, known as "Xu Tiger", led the 689th Regiment to arrive. Chen Geng patted his thigh, "Xu Laohu, with your flutter, I can cook the devils with peace of mind!" ”
The 689th Regiment led by Xu Haidong, after the rushed march, did not have time to rest, and immediately went to the battlefield. At this time, the Japanese army had just snatched the position from the hands of the Tenth Company, and its foothold was not yet stable, so under the fierce attack of the 689th Regiment, it collapsed into an army, and the Japanese army died and fled. The warriors were busy clearing the battlefield.
At this time, several regiments of the Eighth Route Army were already fighting very nervously, and they could not be greedy any more. So Liu Bocheng ordered: "The 769th Regiment and the 689th Regiment each draw out a company, disperse, attack the enemy from the flanks, and confuse the enemy." In order to clean up the battlefield and withdraw the troops! ”
Ye Chenghuan watched as the brother troops withdrew one after another. He climbed up a high slope and observed the reinforcements with his binoculars. He watched intently, completely oblivious to his own safety. "Commander, you are standing on a high ground in danger, so hurry up and evacuate!" He did not move, still watching intently. He wondered: Is there a chance to eat this aid to the enemy? Suddenly, one of the enemy's bullets flew over and hit the head of The Leader of the Leaf Regiment.
"No, company commander, regimental commander is wounded!" The correspondent shouted urgently. The warriors carried Ye Chenghuan back. After a while, Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, Deng Xiaoping, and Chen Geng squatted next to the stretcher. Ye Chenghuan, who was already unconscious, was still muttering simple words: "Team! Take care of the team! ”
Ye Chenghuan was strong, and before this battle, he was suffering from lung disease, unable to eat for several days in a row, and could not sleep well. "Let's take a break!" Before the battle, Chen Geng persuaded him. "No, after this battle, let's go!" Ye Chenghuan insisted on refusing to go to recuperation.
At this moment, Liu Bocheng saw Ye Chenghuan lying on a stretcher, and this division commander who loved soldiers like a son couldn't help but shed tears in his eyes, dripping on Ye Chenghuan's pale and young face, he picked up Ye Chenghuan's head with trembling hands, and called out in succession: "Cheng Huan, Cheng Huan!" ”
Chen Geng came over and whispered to the division commander: "Commander, don't be too sad, Cheng Huan is taken care of by us, rest assured!" "He said and turned his back on his face and quietly wiped his tears." You have to do everything you can to rescue it! Liu Bocheng said, touching Ye Chenghuan's head and face again.
That night, Chen Geng stood by Ye Chenghuan's bedside. Pale yellow lights, swaying the miserable guns all over the house. Chen Geng looked directly at this love general who had not stopped breathing and could no longer speak, and talked to him heart-to-heart: "You are a poor peasant boy in Guangshan County, in 1930 you joined the Red Army, from a correspondent to an instructor, an instructor, a regimental political commissar, and a regimental commander, how many times, at a critical juncture, as long as you Ye Chenghuan is there, I am at ease." ”
Chen Geng looked at the beating oil lamp and silently chanted in his heart: "You can't die, Cheng Huan!" Chen Geng painstakingly guarded his close comrades-in-arms and did not sleep all night. At one o'clock in the morning on April 18, when Ye Chenghuan was carried on a stretcher to Hebi Village, the hero stopped breathing.
The loss of love, Liu Bocheng and Chen Geng were deeply saddened. The next day, the troops held a solemn memorial meeting for Ye Chenghuan and other anti-Japanese fallen soldiers, and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De also came from the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and Liu Bocheng personally delivered a eulogy. At the head of Changle Village, a monument to Ye Chenghuan was erected high.
In the Battle of Changle Village, more than 2,200 Japanese troops were killed and wounded, plus casualties from other enemies, totaling more than 4,000 people. This was the decisive battle to crush the enemy's siege of the Nine Roads. After the enemy was defeated in Changle Village, the other roads saw that the situation was not good and retreated one after another. In less than half a month, the enemy's plan was completely bankrupt.
The Battle of Changle Village provided an example for the Eighth Route Army to carry out a large-scale campaign to annihilate the enemy. Chen Geng's 386th Brigade was famous. Even Chiang Kai-shek sent a commendation order: Commander-in-Chief Zhu Yujie: Liu ShiChen Brigade's efforts to kill the enemy, special praise, that is, hope to pass on the message of praise.
The commander of the 104th Brigade of the Japanese Army, Tomamidi, a Japanese chieftain who had won the Medal of the Japanese Base Camp in the invasion of Changzhi and Linfen, completely lost the vigor of the "medal hanging on his left chest and his right shoulder also raised" that he boasted to others. Ash slipped back. The Japanese army also further realized the power of the Eighth Route Army, and the Japanese army warned each other: "There is an Eighth Route Army in North China that cannot be rested. The Japanese were extremely frightened by the bravery and good fighting of the 386th Brigade.