Yang Chengwu is a famous general of our army, who killed the Japanese army's "flower of famous generals" Norihide Abe in one fell swoop in the Battle of Loess Ridge during the Battle of Loess Ridge, and became famous all over the world. But do you know what position Yang Chengwu mainly held during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression? Some people think that they are the commander of the independent regiment of the 115th Division, others think that they are the commander of the First Military Subdistrict of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and others think that they are the commander of the Jizhong Military Region. Almost 6 years!
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Red First Division was reorganized into the Independent Regiment of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, with Yang Chengwu as its regimental commander. Since the independent regiment was not a regular formation, it was also harassed by the Kuomintang defenders when crossing the Yellow River to the anti-Japanese front. The first battle of the 115th Division's anti-Japanese resistance was the Battle of Pingxingguan, in which the Independent Regiment was ordered to fight for help, and the division leader gave Yang Chengwu a death order, asking him not to let a Japanese Kou enter Pingxingguan. After accepting the task, Yang Chengwu led the independent regiment to block the onslaught of two Japanese companies in the waist station area, making an extremely important contribution to the victory of the Battle of Pingxingguan.
After the victory at Pingxingguan, the Independent Regiment was ordered to advance behind enemy lines and open up anti-Japanese base areas. On the way, Yang Chengwu led his troops to ambush the enemy many times, won successive battles, and within two months successively recovered the seven counties of Laiyuan, Guangling, Lingqiu, Yixian, Weixian, Yangyuan and Hunyuan from the hands of the devils, and the independent regiment also grew from the initial 1,700 people to more than 7,000 people, far beyond the size of a regiment. At the end of October 1937, the Independent Regiment was ordered to expand into the Independent First Division of the Eighth Route Army, and Yang Chengwu served as the division commander.
A month later, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was established, with 4 military sub-districts under it, and Yang Chengwu was appointed commander of the 1st Military Sub-district, so was his position as the commander of the independent First Division no longer? Let's see what Yang Chengwu himself said, he wrote on page 460 of his memoirs: "On November 7, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was established, and Comrade Nie Rongzhen served as the commander and political commissar of the military region. The areas of Cha'nan, Yanbei, Pingxi, and western Hebei, which were opened up by our independent First Division, were designated as the first sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and I was appointed commander of the independent First Division and commander of the First Sub-district, and Comrade Deng Hua was appointed as the political commissar of the division and the political commissar of the First Sub-district. ”
From this, we can see that Yang Chengwu's position at that time was that of commander of the independent First Division and commander of the First Division. The commander of the independent first division was the main position, and the commander of the first division was only a part-time position. During this period, within the First Military Subdistrict, people called Yang Chengwu the commander, but outsiders called him "division commander", and even the Japanese Kou who fought against the Eighth Route Army called him "Yang Division Commander". After the Battle of Loess Ridge, The Japanese garrison commander of Laiyuan City, Toshio Koshiba, sent a letter to Yang Chengwu.
The content of this letter, Yang Chengwu, also described in page 569 of his memoirs, is excerpted as follows: "Under the command of Master Yang: The Sino-Japanese war is a matter for the Chinese and Japanese governments, and the subordinates and the contemptible people are part of the human race, there is no personal vendetta, they only participate in the war for dinner, the national controversy has nothing to do with us, and do not affect our friendship because of this." The troops under his command are prosperous and always victorious, and they are extremely admired by the contemptible people. There are two things for the current contemptible people to ask for advice: First, please inform the contemptible people of the number, military positions, names, and recent living conditions of the imperial officers and men who were captured by their subordinates in Loess Ridge and Yansu Cliff; second, whether the officers and men of the imperial army who died in battle are buried? Where is it buried? Is it possible to obtain the ashes? To comfort the spirits? ”
Yang Chengwu wrote a reply to Xiao Chai Junnan, refuting his erroneous words and deeds. After that, Yang Chengwu led his troops to smash the Japanese army many times to "sweep" and repeatedly made battle achievements. In early August 1944, Yang Chengwu was transferred to the commander of the Jizhong Military Region, and by this time he had been serving as the commander of the Independent First Division of the Eighth Route Army and the commander of the first sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region for nearly 6 years! Therefore, Yang Chengwu's most important position during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was the commander of the Independent First Division of the Eighth Route Army. After Japan's surrender, Yang Chengwu participated in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and was awarded the rank of general in 1955.