History has its own life, it is like a person, both easy-going and self-respecting. ——Yu Qiuyu
Text/Fox Sensen
From 9:00 a.m. to the early morning of September 26, 1937, more than 4,000 people from the 685th and 686th regiments of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army served as the main offensive force. The 685th Regiment mainly eliminated the Japanese steam brigade and Japanese reinforcements around Guangou, Xinzhuang and Laoye Temple, and the 686th Regiment eliminated the Japanese heavy units around Cai Jiayu. However, there are many opinions about the results achieved by these two main corps in the Battle of Pingxingguan.
Pictured: The ruins of Pingxingguan
So, how many supplies did the Eighth Route Army capture after the ping-type Guan's great victory?
01 Seizures recorded in military history
The book "the Chinese People's Liberation Army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" holds that in the Pingxingguan War, "more than 100 cars, more than 200 large vehicles, more than 1,000 rifles, only one coat, and more than one piece were issued to our officers and men." The "Draft History of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China" records that the battle "destroyed more than 80 enemy cars, more than 300 rifles, and military coats alone, which is enough for each person in our division." The "Complete History of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" also records that during the Battle of Pingxingguan, our army "destroyed more than 100 cars, more than 200 horse-drawn carriages, captured more than 1,000 rifles, and a large number of military supplies." ”
The results of the capture recorded in these three books are different and contradictory. First, did the battle destroy 100 Or 80 Japanese cars? Second, were the number of captured rifles more than 1,000 or more than 300? Third, can the captured Japanese coats really be more than 15,000 people in the 115th Division and still have more than one piece per person?
After the battle, how did Lin Biao and other battlefield commanders send the war report to the central authorities at the first time record it?
02 Captures recorded in the war reports
After the battle began at 9:00 a.m. on September 25, 1939, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen sent a telegram to the central authorities in the afternoon, which wrote that "more than 80 cars have been destroyed." "The earliest war report at present, in addition to estimating the number of cars, there is no other battle result statistics. At this time, Lin Biao and other generals did not know much about the results of the battle, so the reported capture situation was naturally not so accurate. On the evening of the 25th, Lin Biao and others sent a telegram for the second time, telling the central authorities that the operation "captured 60 cars, three motorcycles, 1 steel cannon, and many other military supplies." It can be seen that at this time, Lin Biao and others have obtained relatively accurate seizure data.
On September 26, after the end of the battle, Lin Biao and others issued the last war report, in addition to the number of captured cars changed, from "60 to 74", there was no big difference between the second war report, which showed that the two war reports did not have much moisture. But according to military history books, in addition to cars, the trophy of the big head included guns and military coats.
Pictured: Command post in the Battle of Pingxingguan
But why didn't Lin Biao report that he had seized "more than 1,000 guns"?
03 Battle details of the main attack regiment on the front line
During the Battle of Pingxingguan, the 685th Regiment, which was active in the area of Guangou, Xinzhuang and Laoye Temple, mainly ambushed two Japanese steam teams and subsequent Japanese reinforcements. After the battle, the regimental headquarters' detailed report on the battle read: "Captured 111 rifles, 1 pistol, 1 barge gun, 10 light machine guns, and 4 bayonets." "This war report records the capture of a pistol, which shows that it is very true and quite credible. The 686th Regiment, which was ambushed in the Area of Caijiayu, was mainly ambushed by the Heavy Japanese Troops, which not only lacked automatic firearms, but also nearly half of the personnel did not even have rifles. Therefore, the 685th Regiment should have captured the largest number of rifles.
In the war report written by the front-line troops, there is still no mention of the capture of "more than 1,000 rifles". The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army have always paid great attention to reporting the captured guns, even if only one or two guns were captured. It is hard to believe that Lin Biao will conceal more than 1,000 rifles. The biggest possibility is that the number of guns seized is small, and the number of them is about the same as the number captured by the 685 regiment.
Pictured: Heavy troops
Are 200 cars and carriages exact?
The Japanese military's post-incident combat report pointed out that the Yajima Squadron, which had successively entered the encirclement of the 685th Regiment, had 50 vehicles, the reinforcements of the Central and Western Squadrons had a total of 30 vehicles, and the two Japanese car squadrons added up to 80 vehicles; while the number of Japanese heavy troops entering the ambush circle of the 686th Regiment was only 70 carriages. The accounts in military history books are clearly exaggerated.
So, can the captured Japanese coats really make the 115th Division, which has more than 15,000 people, share one piece each?
This may also be false rumors. In this battle of Pingxingguan, the Japanese troops blocked by the 115th Division were full of a company, that is, about 4,000 people, but the 115th Division had more than 14,000 people. Even if this company were completely annihilated, it would only be enough for the soldiers of the 685th and 686th regiments to wear it.
Picture: Oil painting "Flat Guan Dajie"
In the Battle of Pingxingguan, the capture situation of the 115th Division should not be as high as later history books say. However, the results of more than 100 guns, 80 cars, and 70 horse-drawn carriages could not but be said to have been extremely fruitful for the Eighth Route Army, which was extremely poorly equipped at that time!