Special visitors to armored units
In 2016, a special visitor was welcomed outside the door of an armored unit in Suzhou.
He was an old man in his 90s, trembling and walking out of the car with his daughter's support, and surprisingly, when the old man heard his daughter say, "We have arrived at our destination," he looked up.
The exposed face has closed eyes, deeply sunken eyelids, and a visible scar on the chin.
This made the old man's face look a little frightening, but the amiable smile on his face diluted the horror of his face and made him look friendly and kind.
In order to greet the old man, the armored unit turned out to be
6 tanks were prepared
He drove to the door in advance and waited quietly, and as soon as the old man came, he fired in unison in front of him. The old man was in the deafening sound of artillery, and under the salute of the soldiers, he was helped by his daughter into the gate of the army.
Who is this old man?
Why can it be treated with such courtesy by armored forces?
The mysterious Japanese Great Seal
The old man's name was
Qian Jianmin
He lives in an inconspicuous village in the countryside of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. Because he was blind in both eyes, he did not often walk around outside, but he would sit in the courtyard door every day to bask in the sun.
Nearby villagers knew the old man who was blind in both eyes and had scars on his face, but who smiled very kindly. They had also asked the old man how the scars on his eyes and chin had come from, but the old man always laughed at it and did not explain.
One day in 2016, when the old man was sitting in the doorway basking in the sun as usual, his daughter, who was cleaning for him in the house, suddenly came out with something wrapped in rags and asked her father:
"This is your thing, right?" What's inside? ”
Elder Qian Jianmin asked his daughter to take the rag package and touch it, and then suddenly said:
"This is the Great Seal of the Japanese Army that I collected back then."
The daughter was taken aback.
As soon as I heard such a thing as the Japanese Army's Great Seal, I knew that the origin was not simple, how could my father have such a thing?
Qian Jianmin and his daughter
The daughter couldn't help but look into her father's blind eyes. When she was young, she had curiously asked her father what blindness was his eyes for, but every time she mentioned him, she would remain silent. When she grew up, she realized that this might be a sad thing that her father was painful to think of, so she never asked again.
But at this time, the daughter looked at the so-called Japanese Army Seal in her hand and had a thought in her heart:
My father couldn't have been a soldier before, right?
It was just that Qian Jianmin obviously did not want to answer, so her daughter did not ask questions, but found a time to take the so-called Japanese army seal and go to the local government to ask the staff to help identify the authenticity.
The appraisers found by the government were shocked to see the big seal, which read on it
"Seal of the Headquarters of the Eighteenth Division"
, involuntarily exclaimed:
"It's true!"
The Great Seal of the Japanese Army
The appraiser explained to Qian Jianmin's daughter,
This Great Seal of the Japanese Army is from the infamous
Japanese 18th Division
It was also the great seal of the division's border defense, which was a very important thing for the Japanese Kou. After that, the appraiser immediately asked where this thing came from, and Qian Jianmin's daughter told the story of the future.
After learning of the existence of the elderly Qian Jianmin, the local government leaders personally visited Qian Jianmin's home and asked the old man about the origin of the Japanese army's big seal.
This time, Qian Jianmin finally stopped being silent and told everyone present about his past experience.
Travel to Burma
As Qian Jianmin's daughter speculated, Qian Jianmin did serve as a soldier when he was young, but his unit, the Chinese Expeditionary Force, was somewhat special.
The main battle positions were not in the anti-Japanese battlefield at home, but in
Myanmar
。
Qian Jianmin was born in 1922, and it can be said that his entire boyhood was spent under the gunfire of The Japanese invasion, witnessing the tragic cases created by countless invaders, and joining the army to serve the country was Qian Jianmin's greatest wish.
Qian Jianmin officially joined the army when he was 18 years old, and this year was already 1940, and he was admitted to the well-known military academies at that time
"Army Mechanization School"
, became the third batch of students at the school.
This military academy is owned by famous anti-Japanese generals
"The Father of China's Armored Forces"
Name of
General Xu Tingyao
Founded, just by looking at the name of the school, this military school is by no means just teaching military knowledge and tactical knowledge.
Xu Tingyao inspected the armored troops
Qian Jianmin was the best performer in this group of students, and he overpowered the other students and was preferentially selected as one
Tank driver
。 By the time he graduated in 1943, Qian Jianmin had become one of China's first armored units. After graduation, Qian Jianmin did not hesitate and joined
Chinese Expeditionary Force
, went to Burma to fight against the Japanese.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the invasion of China did not satisfy the Japanese, and they also set their sights on Southeast Asia and other regions further afield. The main force of the Japanese army sent to burma was known as the ace of the Japanese Kou
18th Division
He was also involved in the nanjing massacre and was the infamous guì sub-unit.
The unit is well-equipped and very strong in combat. It should be known that myanmar is densely forested, the climate is very humid and hot, and people who have just come here are prone to water and soil and serious diseases. However, the 18th Division, with its equipment and logistics, quickly adapted to the local environment.
At that time, there were also troops sent by the British to fight against the Japanese, as well as burmese troops. However, when facing the Japanese ace 18th Division, the Anglo-Burmese army was beaten very badly, and even 80,000 British troops were captured by 30,000 Japanese troops.
The Japanese 18th Division entered no man's land in Burma, hit the burmese capital in one breath, and quickly occupied it. The division is therefore also known
"King of Jungle Warfare"
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, The main channel for China to receive aid from Western countries to China was from Yunnan to Burma
Burma Highway
This highway can be called an important "blood transfusion line" for China's materials. However, such an important road was soon occupied by the Japanese 18th Division. Such an outcome is not only undesirable Chinese, but also very annoyed by the Western allies who are shipping strategic supplies to China.
To defeat the Japanese who occupied Burma, the first thing to do was to retake this important road.
To this end, the US military proposed that they provide weapons and equipment, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force provide military resources, and the two sides jointly cultivate one
"The First Temporary Tank Group in China and the United States"
。 Qian Jianmin, who had come from afar, joined this unit.
Defeated the 18th Division
Qian Jianmin received a complete education in the domestic military academies and performed very well during his school years, so as soon as he came to the Burmese battlefield, Qian Jianmin was appointed as a candidate
Lieutenant Tactical Group Leader
It is mainly responsible for the tactical command tasks of the 3rd Battalion, while also taking into account the assistance training of the 1st Battalion.
When they first entered the Burmese battlefield, Qian Jianmin and his comrades-in-arms were also very uncomfortable with the local climate environment. The hot and humid climate here also affected their weapons and equipment, Qian Jianmin and his unit tank car observation mirrors were often blurred by sudden fog, and the tank tracks were often entangled with vines on the side of the road, which seriously affected the operation.
However, the war ahead is tight, and there is not much time left for Qian Jianmin to overcome the incompatibility of water and soil. In order to adapt to the ecological environment of Myanmar as soon as possible, Qian Jianmin consulted with his comrades-in-arms for field training.
The place they had chosen was in the primeval forest not far from the station, and when they reached the vicinity, they found many thatched huts of different sizes standing far away at the edge of the forest. At first, Qian Jianmin didn't pay much attention to them, and thought it was the residence of the locals in Myanmar.
But just before they got closer, Qian Jianmin suddenly noticed keenly that there was something wrong with the people who came out of those thatched huts. These people did not have the same dark skin as the local Burmese, and wore uniform clothes that looked like japanese military uniforms.
They were not Burmese, but a Japanese unit.
After thinking about this, Qian Jianmin immediately pulled his comrades-in-arms around him, and they quietly returned along the road, without alarming the Japanese Kou next to the thatched huts. When they come back, they will not be in a state of light training.
The Japanese heard the roar from the ground and poked their heads out of the thatched huts, terrified to see hordes of tanks coming towards them. Their 18th Division had been raging on the Burmese battlefield for a long time, but they had never seen such a position. The Japanese soldiers were still shaken by this scene, but their commanders were already angry and shouting for them to attack.
The tank troops arrived without warning, and the Japanese positions were not even trenches dug, and there was not even a decent muzzle at hand. There were only two armored vehicles, just about to fire back, when they were pierced by the tanks of the expeditionary force that had been prepared for a long time. But the commander's orders did not dare not listen, and they could only raise their guns in their hands and desperately face the oncoming steel torrent tanks.
Chinese Expeditionary Force equipped with American tanks
Even if he had the advantage, Qian Jianmin did not intend to confront the Japanese Kou. You must know that the cost of each tank is very high, and it is very imposing to drive the tank out in a big way, but thinking of the possible losses, Qian Jianmin is very painful, and orders his subordinates to hurry up and make a quick decision.
Under the command of Qian Jianmin, the tanks aimed their guns at the enemy positions and opened fire at a safe distance from the Japanese. After some indiscriminate bombardment, the Japanese position was already full of smoke and dust, and it was a mess. In the undefended positions, they were simply the living targets of tanks, and the Japanese were beaten to the head.
This unexpected discovery by Qian Jianmin brought great gains to the expeditionary force. In this battle, the expeditionary force, under the command of Qian Jianmin, exchanged a huge victory with very small casualties, annihilating more than 500 enemy people and reaping a large amount of loot.
After the victory in the battle, Qian Jianmin came out of the tank and saw the comrades who were cleaning up the booty gathered together, and he was amazed and did not know what had happened. Qian Jianmin looked over curiously and found that they were looking at a boxy seal, that is
The Great Seal of the Japanese 18th Division
The defeat of the Japanese 18th Division was also a very long-faced thing to say, and the soldiers wanted to use this seal as a souvenir. Even Qian Jianmin, who has always been stable, did not hold back and let people help build one. Later, in order to commend Qian Jianmin for his meritorious command, the chief of staff of the US army gave Qian Jianmin the large seal of the Japanese army that had been confiscated, and also gave an armored vehicle with the "first" printed on it to Qian Jianmin's unit.
With such a victory, Qian Jianmin's combat momentum on the Burmese battlefield became more and more unstoppable, and they achieved many outstanding achievements in succession.
Discharged from the army with injuries
In 1945, near the end of the war, Qian Jianmin was transferred to the logistics unit and promoted to liaison officer of the commander of the Automobile Training Regiment. Originally, there was still a great future waiting for him in front, but not long after, when Qian Jianmin went down to Guizhou with his troops to rescue refugees, he was ambushed by local bandits.
Qian Jianmin, who was sitting on the co-pilot, was shot in the jaw.
The shards that splashed after the window panes were shattered hurt his eyes
。 In the case of serious injuries, Qian Jianmin also insisted on sending refugees to safety first, thus delaying the optimal treatment time, and his eyes were forever blinded, so he had to choose to retire.
Qian Jianmin, who returned to his hometown, lived a reclusive life, and hid the Great Seal of the Japanese Army, which represented the honor of the past, without mentioning the experience of joining the army. It wasn't until more than 70 years later that his daughter accidentally turned over the big seal while cleaning him.
The local government learned about Qian Jianmin's story and was very touched, not only sending him various condolences, but also asking him if he had any other places that needed help. Qian Jianmin said that he lacked nothing now, except for one wish that had not been fulfilled.
At that time, the tanks he and his comrades drove were all made by the Americans, and Qian Jianmin always wanted to see the armored vehicles made by the motherland itself. Unfortunately he can't see it now.
I only hope that one day I can touch the tanks that are completely produced in the country.
Qian Jianmin visited the armored unit
After wording and communication from the local government, an armored unit in Suzhou gladly agreed to such a request. At the end of 2016, they invited the elderly Qian Jianmin to come to visit, and transferred 6 tanks to wait at the door in advance, the old man fired a cannon as soon as he came, and many soldiers went out to salute and greet.
Even if the old man can't see it, he will send all the respect and respect to him.
After that, under the guidance of the head of the unit, Qian Jianmin personally touched the tanks produced and manufactured in the motherland. Although he could not see it, he could feel the strength of the motherland with his palm, and tears fell like rain.
Two years later, the elderly Qian Jianmin died of illness, and before he swallowed his breath, he was still worried about the future armor cause of the motherland. He knew that he would not be able to witness the day when the country would become more prosperous, so he told his daughter to pay attention to it at all times, and when China's prosperity reached a higher level, she must go to the grave to inform him.
The elderly Qian Jianmin is a real soldier and a hero of the people. Hats off to all the old heroes!