Speaking of martyrs' cemeteries, I think everyone will not feel strange, but in Tengchong, Yunnan, China, there is a "special" martyrs' cemetery, which is not only the earliest anti-war martyrs' cemetery established in China, but also the largest, most completely preserved, and most representative anti-war martyrs' cemetery in the Yunnan Burma Theater, which has a far-reaching impact at home and abroad. The most important point is that it is also the only martyrs' cemetery in China where the Nationalist Army is buried, where more than 8,000 soldiers of the 20th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force are buried.
Of course, if this is the only point, it is not enough to call it "special", but its special feature is that there is also a "womb" built next to this martyrs' cemetery. You may ask, why are the Japanese aggressors who once invaded our Chinese territory and the Chinese heroes who defended our country placed in the same martyrs' cemetery?
Before we solve this problem, let's review this history!
Blood rushes
On the night of May 11, 1944, in order to prepare for the Chinese army in India and the Allied forces in northern Burma and to recover the lost land in western Yunnan, under the cover of night, the 20th Group Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, assembled on the east bank of the Nu River, under the command of commander-in-chief Huo Yuzhang, began a large-scale river crossing operation, officially opening the prelude to the counteroffensive campaign in western Yunnan! At this time, the main task of the Twentieth Army was to attack Tengchong.
The tengchong ancient city wall is more than 8 meters high, and it is made of huge strips of stone, which is very strong. In addition, the Japanese army has been entrenched in the county for more than two years, and a number of reinforced concrete fortifications have been constructed successively, and the streets of the city are full of trenches and bunkers. At that time, the Japanese troops defending the city were the 148th Wing of the 56th Division and the 114th Regiment of the 18th Division, with a total of 3800 people.
At the beginning of the siege, our expeditionary force destroyed the city wall with artillery and explosives in an attempt to destroy the Japanese defense system, and used the smoke screen as a cover to rely on bamboo ladders to climb the city wall. However, the Tengchong city wall was extremely strong, difficult to blast, and the Japanese fire was fierce, resulting in a slow attack by the expeditionary force. Later, the Allies were asked to send bombers to bombard the city wall in turn, blowing up the city wall and many Japanese fortifications.
Subsequently, the officers of the expeditionary force took advantage of the gaps in the city wall, attacked the city from south to north, from west to east, and launched a fierce street battle, tunnel battle and hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army defending the city. In the fierce battle, the people of Tengchong, under the active organization and arrangement of the county government, gave great material support and spiritual encouragement to the expeditionary force.
With the support and encouragement of the people, the officers of the expeditionary force became braver and more tenacious. After 44 days and nights of fierce fighting, at 10 o'clock on September 14, all but 52 japanese troops were captured, and Tengchong was able to recover.
The Tengchong Campaign experienced more than 80 battles, large and small, lasting more than 4 months from crossing the Nu River to Guangfu Tengchong County, capturing four Japanese officers and more than 60 soldiers, killing more than 100 enemy major general commanders and officers under the command of Zangzhong Kangmei Daisa, and more than 6,000 Japanese soldiers. Of course, the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the Allies also paid a heavy price in this battle. According to statistics, the number of officers killed in the expeditionary force was 493, the number of soldiers was 8178, and the number of local troops was 497, for a total of 9168. The Tengchong people fought with the army to fight and died 6400 people, and 19 US soldiers.
Establishment of a martyrs' cemetery
In order to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the 20th Group Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force who died in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Western Yunnan, after the restoration of Tengchong in the winter of 1944, the Tengchong Yiren, who was then the inspector of Yungui, and Li Gengen, a member of the Old League, advocated the preparation of the "Tengchong National Martyrs Cemetery", and handed over the planning and design of the garden to Wu Zheng, an architectural design engineer who graduated from Jinling University.
However, after the war, Tengchong was in ruins, and the government and the army could not afford to fund the construction of the cemetery. At this difficult moment, on January 2, 1945, Huo Yunzhang presided over the "Special Meeting of commemorative construction committees" and decided to raise funds for the construction of the cemetery through social fundraising and other means. After some efforts, 75 million yuan was finally raised. On February 14 of the same year, Mr. Li Gen was ordered to return from Chongqing to Western Yunnan to handle the aftermath of the war, and proposed that September 14 be designated as Tengchong Guangfu Day as the "Chongguang Festival".
On July 7, 1945, all walks of life in Tengchong held a ceremony to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the "Seventh Seventh" and the completion of the National Martyrs Cemetery and the public festival. The cemetery covers a total area of 53,300 square meters, from the outside to the inside is the gate of the cemetery, the shrine of the martyrs, the tomb of 3346 square soldiers and the memorial tower.
"Wozuka" in the cemetery
On the left side of the wall opposite the memorial tower, the martyrs' tomb, and the shrine of the martyrs, there is also a "wo mound" with the significance of accompanying sacrifices and symbolizing the fiasco of the invaders, and inside are the bodies of the 148th Wing Commander of the 56th Division of the Japanese Army, Yasumi Zoshige, Acting Wing Commander Ota Masanomi, and Captain Sanghiro. And the way they are handled seems to have a deeper meaning: they are pulled into a kneeling position tied behind their backs, and the burial posture is also the kneeling posture of the martyrs, facing the mountains of Chinese soldiers' tombs.
Its original intention was to make them apologize to the heroes and martyrs of the mountains and to the people of Tengchong, who had suffered from aggression, so as to show the defeat of the invaders.
Of course, later, there were also Japanese who wanted to pay a lot of money to move it back to Japan and demolish the "Wozuka", but the people of Tengchong resolutely refused. Later, Japanese companies continued to use investment as "bait" in an attempt to exchange for Japanese buried here, but they were also rejected. Tengchong people said: "We would rather be poor for a hundred years, a thousand years, than do such a thing that is sorry for the heroes!" ”
However, it is not difficult to dismantle the "Wozuka Tomb", but it must be agreed to three conditions; First, China can dismantle the "Wazuka", but Japan must also demolish the Yasukuni Shrine dedicated to war criminals. Second, to change the falsified history of Japan, we must face up to history and do not deliberately conceal it. Finally, an official apology must be made to the martyrs buried in this martyrs' cemetery.
Of course, the results are clear at a glance, and Japan will not agree at all. And we will definitely not dismantle it, but we will keep it well and tell future generations to "not forget the national shame"!
brief summary
In summary, it is a simple account of the history before and after the establishment of the Tengchong National Cemetery. Now, although more than 70 years have passed since the Battle of Tengchong, and China has undergone earth-shaking changes, the years have not erased the many atrocities committed by the invaders on the soil of our country, let alone erased the tragedy of all the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians who went to the country together and regarded death as a homecoming!
Finally, let us pay high tribute to those heroes and martyrs who heroically sacrificed themselves in the Battle of Defending the Homeland and Defending the Country!