The "Pingxingguan Victory" made the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army famous all over the world, and this heroic unit and its heroic soldiers were widely respected by the Chinese people.
The main force of this ambush was the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and the main attacking unit was the 685th regiment and the 686th regiment under the jurisdiction of the 343rd Brigade.
However, the careful reader will notice that the list of heroes who publicized the Pingxingguan included division commanders, regimental commanders, and even some soldiers, but there seemed to be something missing.
In many propaganda reports, the superior unit of the 685 regiment and the 686 regiment, the 343 brigade, is rarely mentioned, and the name of the brigade commander Chen Guang is even less known.
Chen Guang
In fact, the Pingxingguan ambush was the first appearance of the Eighth Route Army in the anti-Japanese battlefield, and it must be fought well and won, such a significant task, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army will naturally select the best and most sure units to carry out.
This excellent unit is the 343rd Brigade, and its chief military commander is Brigadier Chen Guang.
Because he was the main offensive brigade, Chen Guang participated in the whole process of the Pingxingguan ambush operation, including pre-war reconnaissance, geographical selection, troop allocation, all the way to campaign command, cleaning the battlefield, and so on.
Chen Guang was also extremely attentive and cautious in this battle, and before the battle began, as the commander of a brigade, he actually rushed to the outside of Lingqiu City with a staff officer to act as a "sentry" to monitor the movements of the Japanese army.
Before the battle began, the 343rd Brigade, led by Brigadier Chen Guang, reached Qiaogou, Yang Dezhi's 685th Regiment ambushed at Baiyatai, and Li Tianyou's 686th Regiment lurked in the Laoye Temple.
When the Japanese army entered the ambush site, Chen Guangxian rushed to the 685th Regiment to convey the order of the division headquarters to "start attacking", and Yang Dezhi immediately arranged a battalion of troops, ready to seal Qiaogou with firepower, and used this move to hold the Japanese "snake head", and the other two battalions were directly inserted into the "snake body". Then, Chen Guang rushed to the position of laoye temple hill to supervise the battle of "pressing the front".
The battle of Pingxingguan was only fought for one day, but Chen Guang did not close his eyes for several days and nights, until he won a great victory and cleaned up the battlefield, Chen Guang was relieved.
When the soldiers were happily celebrating the victory, Chen Guang was gone, and Yang Dezhi and Li Tianyou had a hard time finding their brigade commander, but they saw Chen Guang asleep with his back to a big tree, snoring like thunder.
People can't help but ask, what kind of person is Chen Guang, and how can he take on such a big responsibility as the "first battle of the Eighth Route Army"?
Here I briefly introduce the background of this predatory warrior.
Chen Guang joined the revolutionary army when he coincided with the Nanchang Uprising, and he and a dozen rebellious peasants brought more than a dozen guns to join the rebel troops led by Zhu Laozong, and were immediately incorporated into the 29th Regiment of the 10th Division of the Red 4th Army and served as the commander of the special agent company.
During the 10-year Agrarian Revolutionary War, Chen Guang fought bravely, made countless meritorious achievements, and was wounded 10 times, and his position was also promoted all the way to the commander of the Red Army Division, the deputy commander of the Red 1 Army, and the acting commander of the Red 1 Army.
Pingxingguan Campaign Command Post
During the Long March, the Red 2nd Division led by Chen Guang was the vanguard division of the Red 1st Army, and in the Battle of xiangjiang, the red 2nd division blocked the nationalist pursuit for 4 days, covering the central column with huge casualties and crossing the Xiang river.
When the Red Army attacked Zunyi, Chen Guang led his troops to break through the natural dangers of the Wujiang River, outwitly took Zunyi, and attacked and occupied Loushan Pass, "escorting" the smooth convening of the Zunyi Conference.
At the famous Battle of Tucheng Qingbanpo, Chen Guang led the Red 2nd Division to march 90 miles overnight, and together with the cadre regiment, reversed the situation and covered the Central Military Commission from danger.
Crossing the Chishui River four times, Chen Guang led the Red 5th Regiment to pretend to be the main force to lead the enemy army, crossed the Wujiang River in the south, Chen Guang ordered the Red 6th Regiment to cross the Beipan River, and the main force pretended to attack Guiyang, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to urgently dispatch the Dian army to "escort the car," and the Red Army was able to calmly achieve the purpose of "transferring out the Dian army."
Crossing the Yuexue Mountain, Chen Guang led the Red 4th Regiment, as the vanguard of the whole army, first crossed the Jiajin Mountain, where the air was thin and the climate was uncertain, and was the first to meet the Red 4th Front troops who came to meet.
In order to cross the meadow, Chen Guang led the 4th Regiment of the Red 2nd Division as the left wing vanguard of the Right Route Army, entering the meadow from Maoergai and exploring the way north for the Red Army.
In the Battle of Lazikou, Chen Guang led 17 commandos to climb up from the cliff, detoured back to the enemy's rear, blew up the nationalist fire point from top to bottom, and cooperated with the frontal troops to capture Lazikou.
During the Yan'an period, the central authorities commented on Chen Guang as follows: Chen Guang's "attack on the Lazikou pass during the Long March made an extremely great contribution to the Central Red Army's march north and crossing out of dangerous terrain." ”
After the main force of the Central Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, the Red 1st Army resumed its title, and Chen Guang took up the post of deputy commander of the Red 1st Army and commander of the Red 4th Division, leading his troops to participate in the Battle of Zhiluo Town and the Battle of the Eastern Crusade.
Flat type Guan Dajie old photo
In September 1937, the Red 1st Army was reorganized into the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and Chen Guang served as the brigade commander of this brigade as the deputy commander of the Red 1st Army.
Five days after the victory at Pingxingguan, in order to cover the retreat of friendly troops from Niangziguan, Chen Guang led the 343rd Brigade, which had just fought the Battle of Pingxingguan and suffered heavy casualties, and set up an ambush in Guangyang, Xiyang County, annihilating more than 1,000 Japanese heavy troops and obtaining a large amount of booty, known in history as the "Battle of Guangyang".
After the fall of Taiyuan, the 115th Division was ordered to march southwestern Jin.
At the end of February 1938, a Japanese army occupied the important town of Linfen in Shanxi, directly threatening our Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and the central authorities demanded that the 115th Division eliminate this Japanese army.
At this critical moment, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was faced with a major problem: the division commander was accidentally wounded by friendly troops and had to leave the team to heal his wounds.
As a result, Chen Guang, the commander of the 343rd Brigade, who was brave and good at war, became the best candidate for the commander of the 115th Division. The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army issued an order that Chen Guang act as the commander of the 115th Division.
Since then, Chen Guang, the new commander of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, has begun to enter the public eye, and whether the acting division commander can continue the glory of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army is concerned by the central authorities, the commanders and fighters are looking forward to it, and even the Japanese army is also waiting.
Chen Guanglin's dangerous appointment can be described as a heavy responsibility, and the pressure is really not small.
However, Chen Guang soon responded to all walks of life with a beautiful annihilation battle, this time, his eyes were on the first part of the Japanese 20th Division, and the combat task still fell on the 343rd Brigade.
Chen Guang skillfully applied tactics such as ambush, night combat, and division and encirclement, first violently attacking the Heavy Troops of the Japanese Army, and then concentrating on encircling and annihilating its main force, more than 1,000 Japanese troops were completely annihilated, and 79 cars were burned by the soldiers of the 343rd Brigade.
Where the Japanese army suffered such a loss, soon the Japanese 108th Division once again sent troops to retaliate, and the spearhead was directed at the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
Chen Guang once again lived up to the expectations of the public, and led his troops to create the "Battle of Jinggou in wucheng" and "three battles and three victories in Fenli Highway", annihilating more than 1,200 people below the commander of the Japanese brigade.
Old photo of the Eighth Route Army rushing to the front line by the Yellow River
After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered a stalemate, the main force of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was ordered to divide its troops and advance behind the enemy in Shandong. Chen Guang and Luo Ronghuan led the division, the 686th Regiment, the First Branch of kang da and other departments, and entered Taixi in March 1939.
One day two months later, under the personal command of the commander-in-chief in Shandong, Ogaka Guizang, the Japanese army suddenly formed a siege of the 115th Division in the Lufang area of Feicheng.
The intention of the Japanese army is very obvious, they want to take advantage of the fact that the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army is unstable, "the first attack is strong", and the political commissar Luo just went out, Chen Guang can only preside over the overall situation alone, and he feels a heavy responsibility.
"The vicissitudes of the sea, the true colors of the heroes", Chen Guang was not in a hurry, he did not stick to the same place according to common sense, but unexpectedly shrunk the troops to the mountain basin within a radius of ten miles of the land house, relying on danger to defend and wait for the opportunity to break through.
The troops were under the command of Chen Guang, and the soldiers broke out with amazing combat effectiveness, which surprised the Japanese army.
After a fierce battle all day, Chen Guang led his troops to successfully break through at night.
In this battle, Chen Guang's troops killed and wounded more than 1,300 Japanese troops at the cost of more than 300 casualties, and the news of the victorious breakthrough reached Yan'an and Chongqing, and Chiang Kai-shek specially sent a telegram to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to commend the 115th Division.
This was the second time that Chiang Kai-shek had issued a commendation order to the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army after the "PingxingGuan Great Victory".
A few months later, Chiang Kai-shek sent a commendation order to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army for the third time, and it was the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army that was commended.
Several times before and after, a commendation order was issued to an anti-Japanese unit led by the Communist Party of China, which was a rare move of the old Chiang Kai-shek, and it can be seen that the old Chiang Kai-shek particularly appreciated this unit.
If the first two occasions were to reward the 115th Division for its bravery and victory over the enemy, then the third commendation had another reason: this battle eliminated one of the Emperor's imperial relatives, which was of great influence and significance.
This battle was an annihilation battle won by Chen Guang's 115th Division - the Battle of Liangshan Annihilation (also known as the Battle of Dushan).
Chen Guang's opponent was an elite brigade of the Japanese Sakagaki Division, and the leading Japanese officer was called Nagata Toshie, who was the emperor of Japan, and this time he personally led the troops, and the purpose and direction were very clear: to find the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army and fight a decisive battle with it.
Chen Guang in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
The emperor's relatives would never have dreamed that his opponents not only did not scare him away, but instead launched attacks and harassment battles three times and twice, coming and going without a shadow, without a trace, and out of nowhere.
Nagata Toshie was overwhelmed by the endless blows of Chen Guang's troops, but he was unable to prevent it and could not do anything about it.
At this moment, Chen Guang issued a general attack order.
The battle was extremely fierce, but the Japanese army was unable to defeat the officers and men of the 115th Division, who were both skilled and scrappy, and the result of the battle was that the Japanese puppet army brought by Nagata Toshie only escaped by chance, and the rest were either killed or captured alive.
After the battle, the officers and men, at the request of Commander Chen Dai, looked around for Nagata Toshie, and they found the body of a Japanese officer in a small farm yard, presumably a senior Japanese commander.
The soldiers took a closer look and saw that the japanese officer's chest had the following line written on it: Captain of the Imperial 32nd Division Shōsa Brigade - Nagata Toshie. ”
The emperor's relatives were not shot and killed, but committed suicide by caesarean section, a large ocean knife passed through his fat body from the front abdomen, and the whole person fell in a pool of blood...
After receiving the battle report, Mr. Zhu and Mr. Peng were excited, and Mr. Zhu said satisfactorily: "The 115th Division has changed its division commander, and its combat effectiveness has not weakened. ”
While nodding his head and saying yes, He took out a telegram: "Chen Guang's battle has alarmed 'Chairman Jiang' again, you see, this is a commendation order, and there is a reward of thirty thousand yuan." ”
The Japanese also stared at Chen Guang and the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army under his leadership, and soon after, the officers and men of the 115th Division annihilated a japanese army, and the soldiers pulled out a leather bag from under the corpse of a Japanese officer, and the cover of a pamphlet in the bag was printed with several large characters, "Chen Guangbu Combat Research."
Chen Guang after liberation
It can be seen from this that the Japanese army attaches great importance to the Eighth Route Army unit led by Chen Guang.
Chen Guang's achievements should indeed not be underestimated; according to statistics, during the entire period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army annihilated more than 1,000 Japanese troops at a time, of which Chen Guang participated in or was in charge of commanding 5 times.
The 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army developed rapidly in Shandong and other areas, and its strength also increased greatly; when Chen Guang led the 115th Division into Shandong, its strength was less than 7,000, and by the autumn of 1940, the troops had grown to nearly 80,000 people.
Chen Guang is such an iron-blooded man who gives the enemy a headache, but he is also straightforward and grumpy, so his experience after the founding of the Country is more tortuous and bumpy.
In April 1988, with the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chen Guang restored his party membership and reputation, and a generation of famous generals was finally affirmed by the party and the state, and the people will never forget his contributions to China's national independence and liberation cause.