On September 25, 1937, the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army annihilated more than 1,000 people of the 21st Brigade of the Itagaki Division of the Japanese Army, laying the foundation for the victory of the War of Resistance, which was the famous Battle of Pingxingguan. The Pingxingguan Victory can be so smooth, but also from the independent regiment of the 115th Division, if Yang Chengwu did not succeed in winning an enemy blockade battle, then the Pingxingguan Campaign may be affected.
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army launched a long-planned war of aggression against China, creating the Lugou Bridge Incident. At a time when the Chinese nation is facing life and death, the Communist Party of China advocates that the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country put aside all differences, stop civil war, and jointly resist foreign invaders. In the end, the Kuomintang and the Communists formed a second comprehensive cooperation, and the main force of the Central Red Army was renamed the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, crossed the Yellow River in the east, drove to North China, and went straight to the anti-Japanese front to block the enemy. The victory at Pingxingguan laid the foundation for defeating the Japanese aggressors, demonstrating the determination of the Communist Party of China to resolutely resist the war and the courage of the people of the whole country to resist foreign aggression together. This battle was not easy to come by, so many people will remember, but it is easy to ignore the obstruction that really launched the "first shot of the Eighth Route Army's War of Resistance" - the Battle of Stagecoach Ridge.
The Qiqi Lugou Bridge Incident caused a large-scale Japanese invasion
In early September, the Chahar Corps from the Japanese 5th Division and the Kwantung Army attacked the northwest of Shanxi, and due to the fierce firepower of the Japanese army, Datong, Northern Jin, and Suidong were successively occupied by the Japanese army. At this time, Yan Xishan was mobilizing a large army to stay in the area from Pingxingguan to Yanmen Pass, and the Japanese army must not be allowed to cross this place. At that time, the Japanese 5th Division launched a fierce attack on Pingxingguan, trying to cross Pingxingguan and merge with the Chahar Corps to form a strong combat force, which could reach Taiyuan in the south and invade shanxi, a strategic place in northern China.
On September 22, the 21st Brigade of the Japanese 5th Division launched a fierce attack on the main position of Pingxingguan, and the Chinese frontal defenders stubbornly held Pingxingguan to prevent the Japanese invaders from taking advantage of it. In order to reduce the pressure of the Pingxingguan Campaign, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army required the 115th Division to be responsible for dragging the enemy on the flank of the reinforcement of Pingxingguan, and this arduous task fell on Yang Chengwu, who led the independent regiment of the 115th Division to successfully block the Japanese reinforcements in the Pingxingguan Campaign, and made the "first contribution" to the Pingxingguan Victory.
Independent Regiment of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army
The Stagecoach Ridge Blockade Battle came earlier than the Pingxingguan Victory, and if it were not for Yang Chengwu's 115th Division Independent Regiment successfully blocking the main reinforcements of the Japanese army, then the Pingxingguan Campaign would never have been so smooth, and even the Eighth Route Army would have to pay a more tragic price. At that time, Yang Wucheng received a "death order", even if he fought until the last soldier, he could not let the Japanese reinforcements reinforce Pingxingguan, unless he stepped on Yang Chengwu's body across stagecoach ridge.
It is reported that the establishment of the 115th Division at that time was not recognized by the National Government, and when publicizing the victory of the PingxingGuan Victory, there was no mention of the Stagecoach Ridge Blockade Battle, so there would be fewer talents to pay attention to. However, for such reasons, Yang Chengwu and the Stagecoach Ridge Blockade Battle were forgotten by the world, and the existence of this obstruction war was of great significance, and it could even be said that it was the battle that really launched the "First Shot of the Eighth Route Army's War of Resistance".
A map of the rugged geography of Stagecoach Ridge
At that time, Stagecoach Ridge was located at the junction of Jin and Hebei, and the Japanese army wanted to support the Battle of Pingxingguan, so this was the only way to go. This place is bounded by Ling, The west of the Ridge is Shanxi, the east of the Ridge is Hebei, the altitude is as high as 1500 meters, the west is only about 20 kilometers away from Lingqiu County, the east is only 25 kilometers away from Luanyuan County, and less than 40 kilometers from the main battlefield of Pingxingguan, so the geographical location of Stagecoach Ridge is very important. In fact, as early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was said that this place was the only way to the Beijing Division in the Yanmen (Yanmen) Dynasty (Daizhou), and it has always been a place of contention for soldiers.
Therefore, Yang Chengwu led the independent regiment of the 115th Division to ambush here, and was very brave in the fierce battle with the Japanese army, fully demonstrating the revolutionary spirit of the Eighth Route Army without fear of sacrifice. Because Yang Chengwu successfully repelled multiple rounds of attacks by the elite Japanese army and killed more than 300 Japanese troops before and after, he effectively ensured the victory of the Battle of Pingxingguan.
Reconnaissance map of the commander of the Eighth Route Army
Stagecoach Ridge Resistance Was Deployed Before the War
On September 20, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army quickly assembled at Lingqiu Cottage, and after several thoughts, the division commander decided to take advantage of the favorable terrain of Pingxingguan to ambush the Japanese army and block the arrival of reinforcements from the Pingxingguan Campaign. This time, Yang Chengwu brought all cadres at and above the company level to participate in the combat mobilization meeting, in which Lin Biao analyzed the enemy's situation and formulated operational strategic guidelines, and Nie Rongzhen launched the combat mobilization meeting of the 115th Division.
Yang Chengwu led the team to Stagecoach Ridge
At that time, Yang Chengwu received the task of: "Boldly penetrate behind the enemy's back, covertly insert into the area of waist station (the village under the Stagecoach Ridge), cut off the enemy's road transport line from Luanyuan to Lingqiu and from Guangling to Lingqiu, block the enemy reinforcements in the two directions of Luanyuan and Guangling, and ensure that the main force of the division annihilates the Pingxingguan frontal army." In the first battle of the 115th Division, he did not forget to tell Yang Chengwu: "If you cannot block the enemy's reinforcements, the battle of Pingxingguan will be unpredictable." Therefore, you must go all out to resist the enemy and never spare a single soldier. ”
115th Division Independent Regiment Blockade Battle Map
After accepting the task, Yang Chengwu immediately led all the members of the independent regiment to march more than 30 miles to the north, when the number of the independent regiment was only more than 1,800 people. On the afternoon of the 23rd, the independent regiment successfully crossed the Tang River to camp in the upper and lower North Spring Villages, but when it entered the village, it found that the village chief did not even have a personal shadow. Finally, in the corner of the village full of wheat straw, A few frightened old men were found, and after inquiry, they found that this place had been looted by the Japanese army, and the independent regiment of the 115th Division was still late.
According to the old man, "After occupying Luanyuan, the Japanese army burned and looted the area around the villages of Upper and Lower Beiquan, raping women, not only the Japanese army, but even the Nationalist army that was defeated from Wei County also robbed along the village, and did not let go of the beautiful women." Yang Chengwu was very angry after hearing this news, and he did not know that when Yan Xishan was ruling Shanxi, he spread rumors everywhere: "The communist army, the communist wife, the rich and the poor cannot escape", "The Red Army has green teeth and does not blink at people", and other fictitious words spread throughout Shanxi, causing the people in the village to misunderstand the Eighth Route Army and directly flee to the mountains to hide.
The 115th Division's Independent Regiment
However, after Yang Chengwu led the independent regiment to the villages of Shangbeiquan and Xiabeiquan, the people here discovered that the Eighth Route Army was specialized in fighting little devils, and did not rob the people of a needle and a line, and even helped the people carry water, sweep the yard and other chores, and spoke very kindly. Of course, the independent regiment of the 115th Division was very sad to see the villagers being so "abused" by the Japanese army, which directly aroused the enthusiasm of the Eighth Route Army to fight with the enemy.
On September 24, Yang Chengwu's independent regiment advanced northward, and the destination went straight to the direction of Baiyangpu, Waist Station, and Stagecoach Ridge, but there was an accident in the process. When Lü Kuo, a villager in Shangbei Village, was serving as a guide, he misheard baiyangpu as baigou and accidentally brought his troops to Baigou village, thus delaying the best time to occupy stagecoach ridge. When Yang Chengwu found that the situation was not right, he immediately changed his guide, ordered the troops to throw away the relatively heavy materials, and quickly ran to the Aries Shop with light equipment.
Old map of the Battle of Pingshiguan
However, just at the foot of a sharp turn at the mouth of Baiyangpu Village, a company of sharp knives of the first battalion of the Independent Regiment encountered a small group of Japanese cavalry, and the platoon leader found that the rear hand was fast and quick, and directly launched an attack on the Japanese cavalry team, hitting the Japanese cavalry with a confused face, directly leaving 7 corpses and many wounded warhorses to escape. At this time, Yang Chengwu found that Stagecoach Ridge had been occupied by the Japanese army and could only passively formulate combat strategies.
Yang Chengwu then ordered his troops to occupy the hills on both sides of the Stagecoach Ridge Road and quickly set up a blocking position. However, the hills on both sides were much shorter than Stagecoach Ridge, making it more difficult to block, but it was still possible to cut off the road and block the Japanese reinforcements to the Battle of Pingxingguan.
Stagecoach Ridge Blockade Battle Map
At more than 4:00 p.m. on September 24, the independent regiment reconnaissance found that the Japanese wing set off from Luanyuan City and quickly rushed towards the direction of Stagecoach Ridge, at this time the main field of the Battle of Pingxingguan did not start, and the Japanese troops in Luanyuan City were obviously engaged in an encounter against a company of sharp knife platoons of the first battalion of the Independent Regiment to ensure the smooth flow of road traffic between Lingqiu and Luanyuan. At this time, Yang Chengwu concluded that the Japanese army would arrive at Stagecoach Ridge in the evening, and the Japanese army was not clear about the strength of the independent regiment, and it was certain that it would not rush into action, and a fierce battle would occur the next morning.
Blocking battle fiercely fights the map
On September 25, the Japanese company from Luanyuan to The stagecoach ridge had more than 3,000 people, and at that time, Yang Chengwu's independent regiment was only about 1,800 people, of which the 2nd battalion of the independent regiment was also sent to the direction of Guangling to block the enemy, and the 3rd battalion served as the reserve of the independent regiment, and the actual number of people fighting against the Japanese joint was less than 600, which was definitely a hard battle for the independent regiment of the 115th Division.
At dawn on September 25, 1937, the weather in Stagecoach Ridge after the rain was thick with fog, and the distance of less than 5 meters could not distinguish between people and things, and the Japanese army occupied the advantage of leading Stagecoach Ridge Pass and launched a fierce attack on the Independent Regiment. The Japanese army began to skillfully fight in formation, two or three people formed a group, using rocks and mounds as cover, probing forward probingly. Yang Chengwu, on the other hand, used the thick fog as a cover and ordered his troops to covertly enter the blocking position, so the enemy and we launched a fierce battle.
Yang Chengwu assigned the independent regiment the task of blocking:
1 Battalion and 1 Company, as the main combat force, launched a frontal blockade against the Japanese army, waiting for the opportunity to attack the Stagecoach Ridge Pass;
2 companies attacked from the right flank and managed to take the pass;
The 3rd Company detoured to capture the southern mountain higher than the pass, directly suppressing the Japanese company with firepower.
When the Japanese army rushed through the pass, the 1st Company took the lead in making a surprise attack on the Japanese army, and the Japanese army did not dare to look up.
Although the battle of Stagecoach Ridge was very fierce and the scene was very cruel, Yang Chengwu led the independent team members to directly block the Japanese reinforcements without fear of sacrifice, creating the most favorable conditions for the victory of the Pingxingguan Campaign. Yang Chengwu fought until 4 p.m., when the 115th Division called: "At present, more than 1,000 people of the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Itagaki Division have been annihilated, and the Independent Regiment has successfully completed the task of fighting and reinforcing." After learning the news, the morale of the independent regiment increased greatly, and the Japanese troops who came to help were directly defeated.
Yang Chengwu reconnoitred the enemy's plot
Yang Chengwu saw that the Japanese army began to flee, and directly ordered the independent regiment to take advantage of the victory to pursue more than 20 kilometers and retake the county seat of Luanyuan. In the Battle of Stagecoach Ridge, Yang Chengwu led the independent regiment to directly annihilate more than 300 japanese main forces, creating the most favorable conditions for the Pingxing Guanda victory. Therefore, it is said that the real "first shot of the Eighth Route Army's War of Resistance" was the independent regiment of the 115th Division blocking the reinforcements and killing more than 300 Japanese troops in the Stagecoach Ridge Blockade Battle.