In 1939, the Mixed 8th Brigade (Brigade Commander: Mizuhara Yoshishige), the 31st Brigade, and the puppet army of about 1,500 people stationed in Shijiazhuang and zhengtai railways marched westward to attack Chenzhuang, the location of the rear organs of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region of the Eighth Route Army. In this regard, after receiving this news, the commander of the 120th Division decided to let Zhang Zongxun, commander of the 358th Brigade, fight him in an ambush on the way to the west of the Japanese army.
Zhang Zongxun deployed the main force between the East-West Poor Pass and the North-South Tanzhuang, and then let the Jinnan Self-Defense Army resist step by step, luring the Japanese army to the ambush site. Who knows, the Japanese army is very cunning, you deliberately let him in, he did not advance again, the main force reached the north and south of the five rivers, then stopped advancing. In response, the Self-Defense Forces attacked several times with firepower to lure them into battle. However, the Japanese army only returned fire with fire, but did not move.
Zhang Zongxun had no choice but to stop the attack and continue to think of ways. The next morning, the Japanese army remained stationary, and in the afternoon, the Japanese army not only did not attack, but suddenly all of them retreated to Ciyu. Zhang Zongxun was a little puzzled: "What are the devils doing?" In the evening, Zhang Zongxun received news again: "The Japanese troops in ciyu town are retreating towards Lingshou, and the cannons have gone far!" Zhang Zongxun was even more puzzled, and said with a confused face: "What tricks are these ghost soldiers playing?" ”
Zhang Zongxun
On the third day, it wasn't until Master He called that Zhang Zongxun understood what the devil's idea was. Commander He said: "The 31st Detachment of the Japanese Army in Ciyu rushed forward in the early hours of the morning, along the southern foothills of Mount Lubai, and rushed to Attack Chen Zhuang via the small road of Yanchuan and Changyu. ”
It turned out that the retreat was just an illusion created by the Japanese army. The devil's trick is really too cunning, but how to deal with it? Commander He said, "The devil's lone army is deep, and if he can't catch anyone in Chen Zhuang, he will certainly not stay long, so we will ambush him on the way back and kill him!" ”
But the question is, when the Japanese army retreats, there is more than one road to choose, how can we accurately deduce which road the Japanese army retreated from? Commander He said his analysis: "The devils are afraid that we will ambush us, and they will certainly not return the same way." They may use some of their forces to attack in the direction of Zhuangzi, drive out our army on the north bank of the Ci River, and then cover the withdrawal of the main force from the south bank of the Ci River to the east. Therefore, we can set up ambushes in the area of East and West Sijiazhuang and Fenggou on the banks of the Ci River. ”
Zhang Zongxun was relieved and immediately adjusted his deployment, and the cavalry of the 358th Brigade set up a new ambush. After the Japanese army pounced on Chen Zhuang, they set fire to Chen Zhuang and then triumphantly withdrew east along the Ci River. Master He was sure that things were like gods, and when he thought that he could beat the devils, Zhang Zongxun's whole person became excited.
But half an hour later, the Japanese army's move was unexpected. The Japanese troops who had originally retreated eastward at the CiHe River withdrew to the south of the Ci River after leaving the main road. What to do? The devil is going to slip away. Fortunately, Zhang Zongxun was experienced and immediately made a close analysis: the devils did not find that we had set up an ambush, and the possibility of them fleeing south along the "original road" was very small. However, for the sake of prudence, the main force of the 2nd Regiment was ordered to rush to the front line south of Chen Zhuang and coordinate with the independent 1 detachment to prevent the enemy from really escaping from the "original road."
However, after crossing the south bank of the Magnetic River, the Japanese army changed direction again. Originally, the Japanese army saw that the reeds and trees on the south bank were dense and easy to hide, and they were afraid of being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army, so they gave up the road back along the south bank of the Shunci River at the foot of Mount Lubai and instead "sneaked in" east from the small road.
Along the way, the Japanese army was constantly harassed by the Eighth Route Army. Small groups of guerrillas were only left behind, ignored by the Japanese and continued to retreat eastward. However, after walking no more than 5 miles, when the Japanese army withdrew to the broken gate, it was suddenly hit by the 1st Battalion of the 716th Regiment. The nearby Eighth Route Army heard the sound of gunfire and rushed one after another, encircling the Japanese army in three villages of Gaojiazhuang, Fenggouli, and Broken Gate in one fell swoop, completely falling into a desperate situation.
After hearing the news, the Japanese army in Lingshou rushed to reinforcements, but as a result, they were blocked by the Jinnan Self-Defense Army and could not move at all. At dusk, the Eighth Route Army launched a general offensive, fierce fighting overnight, although it failed to completely annihilate the Japanese army, but it also caused the Japanese army to suffer a very heavy blow.
The next morning, the Japanese found the weakest point of the Eighth Route Army's defense: breaking through the southwestern highlands of the gate and launching an attack. In the end, the Japanese army rushed out and climbed desperately toward Mount Lubai, and when they reached the top of the mountain, they thought they had escaped the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army, but unexpectedly, the Eighth Route Army rushed to the Wansi Cliff in the southwest of the mountain, and blocked their retreat in one fell swoop.
In the afternoon, the artillery of the 120th Division was transported to the mountain, and a bombardment hit the Japanese soldiers crying wolf, and the dead bodies were everywhere. The battle ended at dusk. In this battle, the Eighth Route Army completely annihilated the Japanese 31st Brigade (more than 1280 people) and killed the leader of the brigade, Tanaka Province, which can be called a complete victory.