Historical artifacts are the link between history and the present, which can not only prove history, but also bring the audience into history and let them perceive history. The Exhibition Hall of the History of the Communist Party of China exhibits a mortar with special merits, which was used by heroic soldiers of the Eighth Route Army to kill Lieutenant General Norihide Abe, commander of the Japanese Brigade, the highest-ranking commander of the Japanese army killed by the Eighth Route Army in the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. This mortar was made by the Taiyuan Arsenal, and the barrel, gun mount, steering machine, base and other parts are well preserved, and the barrel points high to the sky, as if proudly boasting to the audience about its miraculous feats.
At the end of October 1939, the Japanese army carried out a winter "sweep" of the Beiyue District in Jin-Cha-Ji. On November 3, the 1st and 4th Brigades of the 2nd Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army attacked Yinfang and Zoumayi from Laiyuan in three ways. The Eighth Route Army had an excellent intelligence network in Laiyuan and accurately grasped the movements of the Japanese army. Yang Chengwu, commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji 1st Military Subdistrict, ambushed the 1st Japanese Brigade that invaded Yinfang at Yansu Cliff, and with the exception of a few people including the brigade commander Kenyoshi Tsujimura, all the more than 500 Japanese troops on the road were annihilated. Yang Chengwu, who was experienced in fighting against Japan, was well aware of the law that the Japanese army would retaliate after being hit, and quickly moved after the battle.
When the Japanese brigade commander Norihide Abe learned that the 1st Brigade was surrounded, he rushed 1500 people from Laiyuan to Yansu Cliff to rescue him, and when he arrived at Yansu Cliff on November 4, the 1st Brigade had been annihilated. Norihide Abe, who had just been promoted to lieutenant general a month earlier and had been appointed military attaché to the Japanese Emperor's attendant, wanted to take up his military service in Tokyo with his military exploits on the battlefield, but was slapped loudly. Abe became angry and decided to continue to the east to seek revenge on the main force of our army.
Yang Chengwu suggested to Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, to ambush the Japanese army again, and Nie Rongzhen instructed to lure the Japanese army to the Loess Ridge and use the favorable terrain to ambush the Japanese army. He Long also transferred the special task force regiment of the 120th Division to Yang Chengwu's command. Before November 7, the 1st Regiment, 2nd Regiment, 3rd Regiment, 25th Regiment, and 120th Division Special Service Regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region completed an ambush around the valley along the Loess Ridge-Shangzhuangzi-Zhaituo line.
Under the lure of our small unit, the Japanese army entered the Loess Ridge at dusk on the 6th and camped there. On the morning of the 7th, Abe Norihide led his troops from the Loess Ridge to the direction of Zhuangzi while reconnaissance and alternately covering the advance. At about 3 p.m., all the Japanese troops entered the encirclement of our army. The various units of our ambush launched a fierce attack from all sides, compressing the Japanese army into a valley about 1500 meters long and about 100 meters wide. Caught off guard, the Japanese army hurriedly seized the nearby high ground and counterattacked our positions, and the two sides launched a fierce mountain battle.
Four mortars from the Jin-Cha-Ji 1st Military Subdistrict and three mortars from the Special Task Force Regiment of the 120th Division took part in the Battle of Loess Ridge, with positions located at positions 803 on the north side of the valley and 100 meters northeast of Hill 3 east of Loess Ridge on the south side of the valley. The mortar has a simple structure, is light and flexible, and is easy to manufacture, and is a sharp weapon for our army to kill the enemy on the anti-Japanese battlefield. Chen Zhengxiang, commander of the 1st Regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, praised : "In the past two days, the artillery has hit hundreds of shots, but unfortunately there are too few shells, otherwise it can greatly kill and injure the enemy." Chen Zhengxiang found that on a hill in the middle of a hill south of an independent courtyard in the middle of the valley, there were several Japanese officers with combat knives observing us with binoculars, and immediately ordered mortar bombardment. The mortar company, led by company commander Yang Jiuping, maneuvered 4 mortars to fire and accurately hit the target. The famous writer Wei Wei, who was then an education officer of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, witnessed the shelling with his own eyes: "Everyone was cheering for our mortar gunners, and saw a few people coming out of an independent house near Shangzhuangzi, pointing and pointing, much like a group of commanders. A comrade said, 'Our mortar, if only we could wedge a few shots at it!' In between words, several shells exploded there one after another. After the smoke passed, several bodies fell, and the rest ran to the house. "At that time, our army did not know that among the Japanese officers who were killed by the bombing was lieutenant general Norihide Abe, the commander of the brigade. The people who were locked up by the Japanese army in the hut on the east side of the independent courtyard also saw the shell explode in front of the independent courtyard house, and the Japanese commander was blown down. More than 3 hours later, Norihide Abe was seriously injured and died.
After Abe Washu was killed, the Japanese lost their supreme commander and fell into panic. The Japanese in the rear urgently sent aircraft to drop officers and supplies, barely stabilizing their positions. The next day, under the unfavorable situation that the Japanese rescue forces were about to arrive and form a counter-encirclement against our army, our army withdrew from the battle. In the two ambush battles at Yansu Cliff and Loess Ridge, our army annihilated more than 1,500 enemy troops and killed Lieutenant General Norihide Abe, the commander of the Japanese brigade, which greatly boosted the fighting spirit of the soldiers and civilians of the War of Resistance throughout the country.
On November 21, a Japanese broadcaster announced the death of Norihide Abe. On the 22nd, Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" reported that "Captain Norihide Abe died in battle", saying that in the previous Sino-Japanese war, "I have never seen a case of a lieutenant general-level soldier dying in battle" and lamented that "the flowers of famous generals withered on the Taihang Mountain". Mao Zedong learned the news from various broadcasts in Yan'an and sent a telegram to Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, to investigate the matter and instruct the meritorious troops to be commended. Chiang Kai-shek also sent a commendation telegram to Commander-in-Chief Zhu De.
The battles of Yansu Cliff and Loess Ridge are also closely associated with the name of the great international communist fighter Bethune. On the eve of the Battle of Yansu Cliff, Bethune was infected by surgery on a wounded man, but he still actively participated in the battlefield rescue of the battles of Yansu Cliff and Loess Ridge. Later, Bethune's condition worsened and he died on November 12 in Tang County, Hebei Province. Mao Zedong wrote "In Memory of Bethune" article, which highly praised his internationalism and communist spirit.
The smoke of history has dissipated, but this meritorious mortar has survived, telling us about the great deeds and great sacrifices made by the revolutionary martyrs for the cause of national independence and the liberation of the people. An era has an era theme, and a generation has a generation mission. In the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we must learn from revolutionary martyrs, dare to struggle, dare to win, immerse ourselves in hard work, move forward with courage and determination, and make unremitting efforts to achieve the second centenary goal and realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The content of the article is from the Learning Times, the pictures are from the Internet, and the infringing contact is deleted.