introduction
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, General Chen Geng was a well-known and victorious general of our army. The 386th Brigade under his command and the Eighth Route Army of the Taiyue Military Region often dealt severe blows to the Japanese army in the Jin-Cha-Ji anti-Japanese base area behind enemy lines, causing very serious losses to the Japanese army.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, General Chen Geng loved to fight ambush battles, and his 771st regiment and 772nd regiments annihilated thousands of enemies in the ambush battles of Niangziguan and Shentouling, successfully disrupting the japanese army's battle plan. These were all beautiful ambush battles fought by General Chen Geng. However, to say that among the many ambush battles that General Chen Geng has fought, the most painful ambush battle is the ambush battle of Xiangtang paving.
The division commander was elected
Just one year after the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Anti-Japanese Base Area, it attracted special attention from the Japanese army. In the Suiyuan area, the southeastern Jin dynasty, and the Handan region, the Japanese army all intensified their sweeping efforts. According to the February 1938 "Monthly Chronicle of Current Affairs", "the Japanese army in the Suiyuan and Yanbei areas swept up the county seats under its jurisdiction as many as four times in one month." "The work of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region Government has encountered great obstacles.
In March 1938, in order to consolidate its rule in the occupied areas, the Japanese army decided to send troops south to completely eliminate the power in the border areas. In only half a month, the Japanese army captured linfen, lishi and other important cities in southern Jin, and occupied the Tongpu railway. Seeing that the Japanese army was about to reach Handan, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army decided to fight an ambush battle on its own road. The deployment plan of the headquarters was very elaborate, and the ambush site was set in the northern mountainous area of xiangtangpu village, which was densely packed with jungles.
According to historical records, "Li Da, chief of staff of the 129th Division, planned to let the 385th Brigade take the main offensive, and let the 386th Brigade, which had just finished the battle and had not rested, cooperate with the ambush of the Japanese army." The opinion of the division commander Liu Bocheng was: "Chen Geng just fought two beautiful battles in Shanxi, and he should strike iron while it is hot, so that the 386th Brigade can break the Japanese army three times in a row!" In this way, Chen Geng received the task of setting up an ambush and ringing the hall shop.
Nice fight
On March 30, Chen Geng led the 386th Brigade to the Area of Majiayu, and after specifically observing the area, Chen Geng made a strategic plan and set up an ambush circle for the troops. But no one expected that the military intelligence would suddenly change. A day later, the Japanese army had a 20-man squad that actually marched towards the command post of the 772nd Regiment, and if the regimental headquarters withdrew at this time, it would definitely alarm the Japanese army, and the soldiers in the ambush circle would be in trouble.
At this time, Chen Geng made a decision: "The 772 regimental headquarters will stand still and do a good job of concealment, if the regimental headquarters is discovered by the enemy, the battle will start in advance, attracting enemy fire, and the company covering the ambush position will quickly withdraw." "There was no danger, the Japanese squad of 20 people came to Sujiaya, where the regimental headquarters was located, stopped for a while, and then walked towards the valley in the west. It was later learned that this was just a drawing squad of 20 people.
At about 9:00 a.m., the Japanese troops slowly arrived, and according to reconnaissance, the Japanese troops were the heavy troops of the Japanese 14th Division, with a strength of about 1 battalion and more than 100 vehicles. After the enemy army entered the ambush circle, the battle began, because this time the enemy troops were in the car, and the enemy army was numerous, so Chen Geng ordered the troops to adopt the tactic of rushing and hitting, not to skimp on the use of grenades and explosive packs, and to concentrate firepower on blowing up the enemy's cars. Do not give the enemy a chance to fight back.
Some Japanese troops were killed before they could get off the bus, and a few Japanese troops just wanted to set up machine gun fire and found that even the machine guns were damaged. According to post-war statistics, the Eighth Route Army consumed "1,000 grenades and 124 explosive packs" in this ambush, killed 400 Japanese troops, blew up 180 trucks, and successfully killed the Japanese Moriki Shosa.
The Battle of Xiangtangpu was one of the few "broad-hearted battles" fought by the Eighth Route Army, and General Chen Geng even blew up in Xiangtangpu.
After the ambush is over
The Battle of Xiangtangpu gave General Chen Geng a lot of management and inspiration. According to General Chen Geng's post-war recollection, "The Battle of Xiangtangpu was fought with surprise and joy. Chen Geng's summary of the Battle of Xiangtangpu:
1. "The fact that the 772 regimental headquarters was almost discovered by the enemy warns us, the commanders, not only rely on intelligence, but analyze the enemy through intelligence, and that we must not be in danger and flexibly adjust our strategy." ”
2. "Most of our fighters came from the countryside, did not know much about Japanese cars, and when they saw them rushing toward their positions, they thought they had been discovered by the enemy. It is necessary to strengthen the quality education of soldiers. ”
3. "Our troops are very cooperative, the tactical application is very flexible, seeing the Japanese army rushing into one position, the soldiers who ambush other positions can quickly come forward and encircle." With the help of fellow villagers, the speed of cleaning up the battlefield is also very fast, which is very good, and it must be maintained. ”
The significance of the Xiangtangpu ambush battle was very far-reaching, and the Eighth Route Army cut off the communication line of the Japanese army in the Handan area and completely annihilated the Japanese transport convoy, so that the Japanese army in the Hebei region was trapped in grain and grass, and did not dare to rush south. At the same time, it attracted the attention of the enemy army, reduced the pressure on the government of the border region, and maintained the security of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area to the greatest extent.
Marshal Liu Bocheng recorded in his recollection that "the Xiangtangpu ambush battle was the most beautiful ambush battle fought by the Eighth Route Army in the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region, and laid a good foundation for our army to carry out work behind enemy lines in the Jin-Ji region."