Author: Forget about the jianghu
At the end of October 1940, the Hundred Regiments War that swept through North China entered a brutal "anti-sweeping" stage.
However, the Shandong base area where Chen Guang and Luo Ronghuan's 115th Division was located was quiet, and although there were also anti-sweeping battles, compared with the 129th Division, the Jin-Cha-Ji Division, and the 120th Division, it could only be regarded as a "small witch seeing a big witch." Why did Shandong, which was also behind the enemy lines in North China, not extensively participate in the "Hundred Regiments War"?
The Eighth Route Army's sabotage
The reason why the Eighth Route Army launched the "Hundred Regiments War" was forced by changes in the international and domestic environment at that time.
Internationally, in 1940, due to the British and French expeditionary forces being beaten by the German Blitzkrieg, although they were lucky to withdraw from Dunkirk, Norway, the Netherlands, and France successively surrendered to Europe. With the closure of the Burma Highway, China's external aid has been cut in half.
The domestic situation was even worse: after the frontal battlefield turned into a stalemate stage, it was gradually defeated and retreated, and capitulationists and pessimism prevailed; the Japanese troops who were freed up implemented a "cage policy" on the North China base areas relying on Zhengtai Road, Pinghan Road, highways, strongholds, and pillboxes.
The purpose of launching the Zhengtai road offensive was mainly to break the "cage policy" of the Japanese army, crack down on the negative arguments of the capitulators, and boost the confidence of the people of the whole country in the protracted war of resistance. The scale of the sabotage operation was not very large, with more than 10 regiments each from the 129th Division and the Jin-Cha-Ji Division.
However, after the start of the raid, many units spontaneously participated, and a total of 105 regiments participated. When Deputy Chief of Staff Zuo Quan reported Wang Zhengzhu's statistics to General Manager Peng, General Manager Peng said: No matter how many hundred regiments he has, it is called the "Hundred Regiments War."
The Japanese stronghold was dismantled in the Battle of the Hundred Regiments
Those who participated in the "Battle of the Hundred Regiments" were mainly the 129th Division and the Jin-Cha-Ji troops, as well as some of the troops of the 120th Division.
At this time, the 129th Division had more than 100,000 troops, the Jin-Cha-Ji had more than 80,000 people, and the Helong 120th Division also had more than 50,000 people. At this time, there were 76,000 people in the 115th Division alone in the Shandong base area, plus 54,000 people in the Shandong column, and 130,000 people in the Eighth Route Army in the Shandong base area.
Why didn't such a major force of the Eighth Route Army in North China participate in the "Hundred Regiments War"?
In Luo Ronghuan's view, although the number of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong is large, the 115th Division, the Shandong Column, and the guerrillas are fighting for each other, coexisting with the Japanese army, the puppet army, the recalcitrant army, the concubine army, and the bandits, and there are still many problems, and it is urgent to integrate and enhance combat effectiveness, but Acting Division Commander Chen Guang has some different views.
On March 2, 1938, the commander of the 115th Division, Lin Zong, was away from the battlefield after being shot by Yan Xishan's sentry in Qianjiazhuang, and the chairman had considered letting Nie Rongzhen, Liu Bocheng, or Zuo Quan take over as the commander of the division, but for various reasons they did not make the trip. The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army considered appointing Chen Guang, brigade commander of the 343rd Brigade, as acting division commander, and seven hours later, Yan'an appointed Luo Ronghuan as acting division commander. Subsequently, the chairman respected the opinions of Zhu and Peng of the Eighth Route Army and withdrew the appointment.
Chen Guang and Luo Ronghuan led the 115th Division into Shandong and developed rapidly, but there were still great differences in development strategy.
Luo Ronghuan (second from left) in Shandong
In fact, the chairman also hesitated in the selection of the 115th Division to succeed the division commander.
Of course, deputy division commander Nie Rongzhen is suitable, but the Jin-Cha-Ji base area has just opened up the situation, and obviously cannot be transferred away; Liu Bochengde, commander of the 129th Division, is highly respected, but he needs deputy division commanders Xu Xiangqian and Yan Laoxi to engage in united front work; Deputy Chief of Staff Zuo Quan has academic qualifications and ability, but Chief of Staff Ye Jianying often travels to and from Chongqing and Xi'an, and his daily work cannot be separated from Zuo Quan.
Since the "foreign aid" of the 115th Division could not come, it was necessary to "dig up potential from within." From the perspective of military command, Zhu and Peng felt that Chen Guang could fight in the red army period, and led the Red 2nd Division to seize the Luding Bridge and break through the Lazikou during the Long March, which made great contributions to the Red Army's crossing out of the dangerous situation. He also served as the commander of the First Red Army, and there was no problem in being a division commander.
However, considering the comprehensive military and political capabilities, the chairman believed that Luo Ronghuan, who had participated in the autumn harvest uprising, had experienced the tempering of the Red Army period and seemed more appropriate. It has to be said that from the later development of the Shandong region, Luo Ronghuan, who was able to write and fight, was the best candidate for the "number one" of the 115th Division.
Chen Guang can fight, but he has a fiery temper and an impatient personality, and Luo Ronghuan, who has a calm personality, has the advantage of not following the crowd:
On the question of whether or not to participate in the great sabotage war, Luo Ronghuan vigorously defied the public opinion, and there was no "cage" dilemma of the Japanese army in the Shandong base area, and it was precisely to take advantage of this condition to "taoguang and cultivate obscurity" and accumulate strength, and at the same time to seize the gap between the large-scale "sweeping" of the Japanese puppet army and carry out large-scale reorganization.
After Luo Ronghuan's suggestion was reported, the chairman was the first to approve that the Shandong base area would not participate in the sabotage war.
In October 1940, the "Hundred Regiments War" in North China had entered the third stage, attacking strong points, pulling points and "anti-sweeping" operations. Luo Ronghuan, Chen Guang, and the commanders of the various detachments of the 115th Division held a crucial meeting at Taoyu.
Of the 42 senior cadres attending the meeting, there was a marshal Luo Ronghuan, four admirals Xiao Hua, Chen Shiyu, Yang Yong, Su Zhenhua, 13 lieutenant generals such as Liu Xingyuan, Liang Xingchu, Zhang Guohua, and Zeng Guohua, and 8 major generals such as Wang Liusheng when they were awarded the title in 1955.
In accordance with the spirit of this meeting, the troops of the Shandong 115th Division were newly organized into 6 "teaching brigades," and the so-called "teaching brigades" were "accelerated schools" used to train troops, and were not nominally the main force. To the outside world, it appeared to be more moderate than the new brigade of the 129th Division.
The newly organized 6 "Teaching Brigades", the 1st Teaching Brigade was formerly known as the Suluyu Detachment (Pengzhu Detachment) of the Eighth Route Army. Brigade Commander Peng Mingzhi was chief of staff of the 1st Red Division, chief of staff of the 685th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade, and lieutenant general in 1955. Political commissar Zhu Dixin, who served as the head of the 115th Division's Hoe rape department, was transferred to the local government after liberation.
Founding Lieutenant General Peng Mingji
After the "Anhui Incident" in February 1942, the 1st Brigade of the Shandong Column was renamed the New 1st Brigade of the Shandong Column, with Brigadier Sun Jixian as a founding lieutenant general, political commissar Wang Lushui died in 1945, and deputy brigade commander Qian Jun was also a founding lieutenant general.
Founding Lieutenant General Zeng Guohua
The predecessor of the 2nd Brigade was the 1st Regiment of the Chen Shiyu Detachment of the 115th Division, the Lunan Detachment, and the Sulu Detachment.
The brigade commander was founding lieutenant general Zeng Guohua, who served as chief of staff of the 13th Corps and deputy commander of the Air Force after liberation. Political commissar Fu Zhuting, who had served as the director of the political department of the 2nd Red Division, was unfortunately killed in a surprise attack by the Japanese puppet army in the Coastal Military Region on November 26, 1943.
The deputy brigade commander was the founding lieutenant general Zhang Renchu, the chief of staff was the founding major general He Yixiang, and the director of the political department, Wang Lushui, was killed in the battle of Tengxian County.
The 3rd Brigade was formerly known as the Canal Detachment and the 2nd Regiment of the Chen Shiyu Detachment of the 115th Division. The brigade commander was the founding general Yang Yong, who participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea; the political commissar was the founding general Su Zhenhua, who served as the political commissar of the Navy after liberation; the deputy brigade commander was the founding lieutenant general Wang Bingzhang, who served as deputy commander of the air force after liberation.
The 4th Brigade was formerly known as the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the Yellow River Detachment of the 343rd Brigade and the Eastward Column. The brigade commander was the founding major general Deng Keming, who served as deputy commander of the Fuzhou Military Region after liberation. The political commissar was Zhang Guohua, a founding lieutenant general who served as commander of the Tibet Military Region and political commissar of the Chengdu Military Region after liberation.
The 5th Brigade was formerly known as the EastWard Detachment (Suluyu 2nd Brigade), and the brigade commander was the famous "Liang Daya" Junior General Liang Xing, and the first commander of the 38th Army of the "Banzai Army". Political commissar Luo Huasheng, after liberation, served as the commander of the Nanning Military Subdistrict and the commander of the Railway Public Security Force, and was awarded the title of Major General in 1955.
The 6th Jiao Brigade was formed by the reorganization of the Jinnan Detachment and the Lubei Detachment, and the brigade commander Xing Renfu was shot in June 1943 after killing Huang Hua and others, and was shot in 1950. Political Commissar Zhou Guanwu, after liberation, served as deputy political commissar of Zhejiang Military Region and deputy political commissar of Nanjing Military Region, and was awarded lieutenant general in 1955.
Liang Xingchu (first from right)
In July 1941, the New 3rd Brigade and the 4th Regiment of the New 2nd Brigade, which remained in Jiluyu, were reorganized into the 7th Brigade.
The brigade commander of the 7th Brigade was the founding general Han Xianchu, who later served as the commander of the 3rd Column of Dongye and the deputy commander of the Volunteer Army, and was praised by the US military as "the best front-line commander". The political commissar and deputy brigade commander was Zhao Jimei, who died of illness on December 17, 1947 in Sanligang, SuiXian County, at the age of 37.
The whole army, which lasted for more than 8 months, has greatly improved the quality of the 115th Division's team and actual combat capability.
At the same time as the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was reorganized and reorganized, the Shandong Column of Li Yu and Lin Hao was also reorganized, and 54,000 people were reorganized into 5 brigades. The brigade commanders were founding general Wang Jian'an, lieutenant general Sun Jixian, lieutenant general Liao Rongbiao, general Xu Shiyou, and lieutenant general Wu Kehua.
Luo Ronghuan's foresight was quickly confirmed, and after the reorganization, the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army soared. After the Anhui Incident, the Teaching Brigade gradually revoked its number and enriched it to various military sub-districts. In March 1943, with the implementation of unified leadership in the Shandong base area, the number of the teaching brigade was completely revoked.
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