After the Lugou Bridge Incident, the invading Japanese army began to attack Shanxi along the Pingsui Railway. (On October 10, the Japanese Takeda unit crossed the Yanmen Pass)
After the Japanese army first broke through the two lines of defense of the Chinese army at Tianzhen and Yanggao, it occupied Datong on September 13, 1937. In early October, the Japanese army broke through the Great Wall defense line of the Jin Sui Army and began an attack on the hinterland of Shanxi, and the famous Battle of Xinkou in the War of Resistance Against Japan was about to erupt. (On October 10, the Japanese Takeda unit crossed the Yanmen Pass)
Xinkou, about 100 kilometers away from Taiyuan, is an important gateway to Taiyuan in northern Shanxi and the last barrier to defend Taiyuan. Yan Xishan built fortifications and Tibetan soldier caves here as early as 1935, and attached great importance to the defense of this place. (On October 10, the Japanese Takeda unit crossed the Yanmen Pass)
In order to prevent the Japanese Nationalist government from gathering nearly 300,000 troops in 31 divisions here, the Japanese army invested 3 divisions and more than 70,000 people, and under the cover of aircraft, tanks and artillery, they rushed forward with great momentum. (On October 8, after the Japanese army invaded the town of Yuanping, it engaged in street battles with the Chinese troops inside the city))
Throughout the Battle of Xinkou, the Chinese army and the Japanese army fought to the death, and the battle was extremely fierce. (On October 8, after the Japanese army invaded the town of Yuanping, it engaged in street battles with the Chinese troops inside the city))
Hao Mengling, commander of the Ninth Army, personally led his troops to guard the main position of Nanhuaihua. Although the positions changed hands several times during the battle, the Chinese army took the positions back again and again. (On October 10, the county seat of Chengxian County after the Japanese occupation)
On October 16, while commanding the troops to counterattack, Hao Mengling and Liu Jiaqi, commander of the 54th Division, were simultaneously shot and sacrificed their lives for the country. Major General Zheng Tingzhen, commander of the Independent Fifth Brigade, was also brutally martyred by Japanese machine guns during the counter-offensive. (On October 5, Japanese troops marching near Chengxian County used camels to carry them.) From the photos we can see that the height of the Japanese soldiers is roughly equivalent to that of a rifle without a bayonet. So little Japan is really not a waste of time)
On October 10, Major General Jiang Yuzhen, commander of the 196th Brigade of the Jin Sui Army, was shot and killed during the breakout after 10 days of preventing the Japanese from holding Yuanping. (After the fall of Chengxian County, the Japanese convoy stopped outside the city on October 10)
The photos we see today are photographs of the Battle of Xinkou taken by reporters accompanying the Japanese army when they invaded Shanxi. (On October 13, the Japanese began an attack on the town of Xinkou.) The picture shows the Japanese artillery position near the West Nihe River)
The Battle of Xinkou was the fiercest battle in the North China War of Resistance, with the Chinese army suffering more than 100,000 casualties and annihilating more than 20,000 Japanese troops. (On October 13, the Japanese troops in the attack on Xinkou Town)
On October 14, the Japanese troops moved their artillery through the mountain pass.
On October 15, the Japanese dachang forces occupied the positions of the Chinese army in xinkou town
On October 15, in order to reinforce the Dachang force to block the counter-offensive of the Chinese army, the Japanese Kuriihara troops arrived at the front line.