preface
In January 1946, Yan Xishan held a huge military parade in Taiyuan, Shanxi.
Tens of thousands of people came to the scene to watch, and at the end of this military parade,
But a very strange thing happened, the last team walking through the square turned out to be a heavily armed Japanese army.
Now it was suddenly in chaos.
You know,
At this time, half a year has passed since Japan's unconditional surrender, but what is going on?
"Fox of the Troubled World" Yan Xishan
On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan announced to the world that Japan would surrender unconditionally.
On September 9, the surrender ceremony of the Japanese army in the Chinese theater was held in Nanjing.
The commander-in-chief of the Japanese invasion of China, Okamura Ninji, formally signed his name on the surrender letter and handed over his saber respectfully.
However, Okamura Ningji, who is respectful and respectful on the surface, is a thief who does not die behind his back.
Unwilling to get out of China completely, he tried to do something more in China to reserve some strength for the next war of aggression launched by Japanese militarism and the rebuilding of the Great Japanese Empire.
Okamura is well aware of the situation in China.
He knew that there would be a war between the Kuomintang and the Communists.
Therefore, late the next night, Okamura Ninji secretly suggested to he Yingqin, commander of the Kuomintang Army:
The Japanese army could help the Kuomintang suppress the Communists, and if Chiang Kai-shek could agree, the 300,000 troops of the Japanese army left in China could all be mobilized by the Kuomintang.
Pictured| Japanese war criminal, Okamura Ninji
Soon, He Yingqin had already reported this news to Chiang Kai-shek, although Chiang Kai-shek was very touched by this suggestion.
However, considering the bad influence at home and abroad, and Chiang Kai-shek's fear of raising tigers, he rejected this proposal.
When Okamura Ningji learned that Chiang Kai-shek refused, he had no choice but to retreat to the second place.
He chose to tell this news to the great warlord known as the "King of Shanxi", Yan Xishan.
Yan Xishan, a man who has always pursued the "way of moderation."
，
Since the beginning of the Xinhai Revolution,
Yan Xishan was at the helm of Shanxi for 38 years.
In the ever-changing Era of the Republic of China, this was extremely rare. However, Yan Xishan's position is not static,
But it's changing with the situation.
And his connection with the Japanese is even more long-standing.
As early as the Central Plains War, Yan Xishan was defeated by Chiang Kai-shek, and the warlord leader who had studied in Japan in the early years had fled to Dalian to seek refuge by the Japanese, that is, in Dalian, Yan Xishan understood one thing, and the war between China and Japan was inevitable.
Pictured| Yan Xishan
Around 1935, the Japanese military began to invade Shanxi.
Yan Xishan, in order to defend his sphere of influence,
Acquiesced to the secret development of the Communists in Shanxi,
The United Communists fought against Japan and completely shattered the Japanese idea of establishing a "Mongol Empire".
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Eighth Route Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China was ordered to return to Yan Xishan's control.
The two sides fought together at Pingxingguan and won the great victory of Pingxingguan and won the first victory of the Chinese army since the anti-Japanese war.
However, soon after, Yan Xishan discovered that the Eighth Route Army did not obey his command.
Blatantly began a conspiracy to purge the Communists,
It was resolutely counterattacked by the Communists, and as a result, stealing chickens did not become erosion of rice,
The thirty-three regiments that had achieved the name of Yan Xishan's "famous anti-Japanese general" in the past resolutely sided with the Eighth Route Army.
Thus, the commander of the Second Theater of Operations was never recovered.
Only a few tens of thousands of soldiers and horses remained. It was at this time that
The Japanese army, which had failed to surrender Chiang Kai-shek, threw an olive branch of armistice to Yan Xishan.
The two sides immediately agreed, and began a secret talk after the armistice.
With the continuous changes in the war situation, Yan Xishan, who did not want to become a traitor, had secret talks with the Japanese for 5 years. In the last secret conversation, after the Japanese representative told Yan Xishan about Okamura Ningji's suggestion, Yan Xishan was excited.
Picture | from left: Feng Yuxiang, Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan understood that although the Japanese had surrendered,
But the war at home is not over,
If you don't hurry to hoard troops now, in the future war, you are likely to be completely reduced to cannon fodder.
He once said this to his cronies:
"We can't do it unless we have a very good way to exist. At present, our troops are insufficient, we cannot cope with the Communists, and in order to replenish our troops, we can only recruit troops, but now it is very difficult to recruit troops, even if we have recruited 100,000 soldiers and horses, it is not as good as these 10,000 Japanese soldiers. ”
As a result, Yan Xishan and the Japanese army once again hit it off.
In order to be able to reach this cooperation as soon as possible, Yan Xishan quickly formulated a copy
"The Japanese army deposited force in Shanxi"
And Yan Xishan in his reply to Okamura Ninji also specifically mentioned:
"If the Japanese army is willing to stay in Shanxi and cooperate with me, I will not only ensure the safety of your lives and property, but also provide rich monetary rewards."
In this way, Shanxi became the last "happy land" of the Japanese army in China.
After the continuous operation of Yan Xishan, more than 13,000 Japanese troops were eventually left, including even a number of senior Japanese officers such as the Japanese Army's Daisaku Imabamura Fang ce and Army Major General Motozumi Shin.
Figure | remnants of the Japanese army in Shanxi, Yuan Quanxin
Yan Xishan always regarded this Japanese army unit as his trump card, and was later reorganized into the Army's Independent Tenth Teaching Corps, which could not be easily used.
Under the connivance of Yan Xishan, these Japanese people were extremely arrogant in Shanxi,
It openly put up the banner of "reviving the imperial kingdom and magnificent heavenly undertakings"
Even at the military parade ceremony at Yan Xishan,
He even shouted the slogan "Long live the Empire of Japan",
People dare to be angry and dare not speak.
In the autumn of 1946, the Japanese unit held a baseball game in the Taiyuan Gymnasium, and the audience was full of Japanese plaster flags, and when a Nationalist officer saw it, he was furious and led the troops to confiscate all the Japanese flags. As a result, after the Japanese told Yan Xishan about this,
Yan Xishan directly removed the officer from his post and drove him out of Shanxi Province.
It was also Yan Xishan's perverse behavior and blatant collusion with the Japanese that aroused the anger of everyone, and his end xishan was not far away.
Xu Xiangqian: I have a way to fight Yan Laoxi
Long before the war of liberation broke out in full swing, our army had a fierce confrontation with this Japanese unit.
In December 1945, Yan Xishan openly tore up the peace agreement with our army, sent 20,000 troops to launch a brazen attack on the liberated area of southeastern Jindong of our army, and under the fierce resistance of our army, Yan Xishan's 20,000 troops were completely annihilated by our army.
In this battle, Yan Xishan sent this Japanese army out to attack Qin County.
The enemy was very red when he saw him, especially when he saw the Japanese who had surrendered.
From the very beginning, the battle entered a white-hot phase, and many white-knife battles broke out between the two sides, and finally after we paid a considerable price, we repelled this Japanese force.
This is the first time since the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan that our army has engaged the Japanese army, and it has not been able to annihilate all of this Japanese army, and the generals of our army are very unhappy.
In June 1946, the War of Liberation broke out in full swing, chiang kai-shek ordered his troops to launch a large-scale attack on the liberated areas of our army.
Yan Xishan also followed suit, took advantage of the fire and looting, and launched an attack on the liberated areas of our army.
Pictured| Chiang Kai-shek inspects the troops
As the war continues,
Shanxi, which is located in the throat of the Central Plains, is becoming more and more important,
As long as Shanxi can be taken, the entire Central Plains battlefield, and even the entire North China battlefield is just around the corner, the liberation of Shanxi has been put on the agenda by Chairman Mao.
However, the difficult problem of the shortage of major generals was placed before Chairman Mao.
Liu Deng's army was thousands of miles close to Dabie Mountain, and Chen Xie's army was close to the Central Plains, taking away all the main forces of Jinji and Lu Yu.
The military region only had a small number of local troops left, and it was only by cobbling together 60,000 troops from the east to the west.
The Chen Su Corps in Shandong needed to play a role in containing the Kuomintang and could no longer move; Lin Biao was far away in the northeast and seized the territory in the northeast, which was even more important.
After the lack of soldiers and major generals, Chairman Mao repeatedly deliberated for a long time,
It was finally decided to send Xu Xiangqian, a veteran red army general who was recuperating in Yan'an and was able to fight a good battle, to Shanxi to fully command the campaign to liberate Shanxi.
After receiving Chairman Mao's order, Xu Xiangqian ignored the doctor's persuasion and immediately went through the discharge procedures.
After 7 years of recuperation, Xu Xiangqian and others have been waiting for this day to focus on the battlefield, and they have waited too long.
Figure | Xu's period of resistance against Japanese Aggression
When he left Yan'an, Chairman Mao personally sent Xu Forward off, and Chairman Mao smiled and said:
"Yan Xishan, this old warlord is not easy to deal with!"
Xu Xiangqian also smiled, he said:
"Yan Xishan is really not easy to deal with, but I have a way."
Marshal Xu Qianqian was the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front during the Long March
In the face of the Kuomintang's encirclement, pursuit, and interception, it has created countless miracles in the history of war.
He is recognized by the whole army as a handsome man.
And
Marshal Xu Qianqian is an authentic Shanxi native,
For Shanxi and the Jin Sui Army in Yan Xishan, Xu Shuai knew very well.
Jinzhong Decisive Battle: One does not stay
After arriving at the Jin-Hebei Luyu Theater, Xu Xiangqian immediately rectified the troops, and the appearance and morale of the army immediately changed dramatically.
Soon, the battle to liberate Shanxi began from Yuncheng,
Yuncheng is the southern gate of Shanxi, and it is impossible to defeat Yuncheng, and the liberation of Shanxi is an empty talk.
Yan Xishan also attached great importance to the defense of Yuncheng, and our army failed to take down two consecutive attacks, and the morale of the troops was seriously frustrated, and on the night after the defeat of the second battle, Xu Xiangqian issued instructions:
"It must be borne in mind that when you are the most difficult, the enemy is also the most difficult, and often when you shake your resolve because of the difficulty, it is precisely the enemy who is despairing of victory. The more this critical moment, the more we insist, which side can survive the last five minutes, which side can win, so we have to grit our teeth and insist on the last five minutes. ”
Pictured| Wang Zhen at the Battle of Yuncheng
In combat command, the determination of commanders and fighters often affects the determination of the troops, and it is Precisely Xu Xiangqian's determination to "persist in the last five minutes" that has greatly improved the morale and confidence of the troops.
Finally, under the command of Xu Xiangqian, our army re-launched an attack on Yuncheng a day later, and the 23rd Brigade carried out tunnel excavation operations, dug out a tunnel about 5.5 meters long and 1.5 meters high, and a cellar capable of filling more than 3,000 kilograms of explosives.
After that, Xu Qianqian dispatched troops and organized troops to engage in a movement war with Yan Xishan, and turned Yan Xishan's dizziness.
In the battles of Linfen, Yangquan, and so on, Xu Xiangqian won consecutive battles, and the Jin Sui army was not an opponent at all, suffering heavy losses, and the southern Jin region was completely liberated.
After the liberation of Linfen, Xu Xiangqian and Chairman Mao's eyes invariably turned to Jinzhong, the granary of Yan Xishan.
For Yan Xishan, other places can be lost, but Jinzhong must not be lost.
Topographic map of the Jinzhong Basin |
Although Taiyuan is the old nest of Yan Xishan, the military industry is very developed.
But there is a fatal flaw, a very lack of food,
Yan Xishan had 130,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and the amount of grain he needed to consume every month was a very large number.
Once Jinzhong was lost, the defenders of Taiyuan could only go hungry.
It was June, the season of wheat harvest, and the land of Jinzhong was full of golden wheat, and Yan Xishan could not give up on these grains no matter what.
For this situation, Xu Xiangqian is also very clear,
He decided to take advantage of this inevitable Battle of Jinzhong to lure Yan Xishan's main forces out of Taiyuan and then gradually eliminate the enemy army.
In order to compete for grain in Jinzhong, Yan Xishan not only dispatched one of his main forces, the 34th Army, the 43rd Army, and the 61st Army, to form a "blitzkrieg regiment" in conjunction with the pro-training division and the pro-training artillery, but even sent out his own "baby knot" Japanese Tenth Teaching Corps.
Before the Japanese army was mobilized, the commander of the Japanese army, Yuan Quanxin, did not pay attention to the People's Liberation Army led by Xu Xiangqian, and before leaving, as a warrior, he even wrote a poem in a false way:
"Talking about laughter and calming the wind and dust" means that between talking and laughing, our army will be wiped out.
When laying out the battle plan, Yan Xishan ordered the "Blitzkrieg Regiment" to engage the PLA first.
First, let's take a look at the strength of their own troops, and second, they are also to be able to preserve the strength of this Japanese army, after all, the Japanese army died one less, and there is no way to replenish.
However, what Yan Xishan did not expect was that in just two weeks, the "Blitzkrieg Regiment" had been defeated by the PLA, and a large number of weapons and equipment had all been captured by the PLA.
Among them, there are more than a hundred cannons and a large number of artillery shells, and many artillerymen have surrendered to join the ranks of the People's Liberation Army.
Yan Xishan, who was waiting for the "good news" from the "Blitzkrieg Regiment" in Taiyuan, fell ill directly on the bed after hearing the news of the call for help.
Therefore, he could only pin all his last hopes on the Japanese army.
Pictured| the Japanese army flaunting its might
When Zhao Chengshou was ordered to command the Tenth Teaching Corps from Taiyuan, the intelligence department of our army had already reported this news to the command headquarters. Although the Jin Sui army at that time suffered heavy losses, the main force was still resolutely resisting, and it was difficult to annihilate them all in a short period of time.
The staff officers of the front-line command were very worried, if the Japanese army participated in the war at this time, it would inevitably have a very significant impact on the war situation, but Xu Xiangqian was not worried, on the contrary, he still had a trace of excitement.
It would be better for the Japanese devils to come, and if they had been hiding in Taiyuan City and held on to it, it would have been even more difficult to deal with.
Xu Xiangqian said excitedly, "It's good to be here!" Yuanquan Xin was proud and arrogant, and the commander Zhao Chengshou simply did not have the ability to subdue him, nor could he be his master. We can use their weaknesses, coupled with our own efforts, to find opportunities to eat them all. ”
It is worth mentioning that Zhao Chengshou, the commander of the Jin Sui Army, was also an old classmate of Marshal Xu Qianqian.
Picture | Zhao Chengshou
After careful study,
Xu Xiangqian concluded that Zhao Chengshou and Yuan Quanxin would definitely make defensive arrangements for the troops in the area of Qi County and Pingyao.
So he decided on the spot,
Leave a part of the troops to hold their positions on the front line,
Dealing with the enemy,
The main force made a detour from the flank
, interspersed between the enemy's rear Yuci and Taigu, quickly control the enemy's passage back to Taiyuan,
Cut off their rear road directly and carry out encirclement and annihilation
。
At that time, it was the middle of summer, the heat was unbearable, continuous long-distance marching, every soldier was sweating, the physical exertion was very large, the commander in charge of cutting off the back road Wang Xinting asked Xu Qianqian for instructions, hoping to rest. However, Xu Xiangqian said sternly:
"No way! You can't rest, even if you climb to the designated position, now is not the time to rest. In mobile warfare, it is a flexible battle, requiring fast movements and waiting until the enemy is annihilated before resting. ”
Tu | Xu Xiangqian commanding the Battle of Jinzhong
The arrogant Yuan Quanxin was bent on fighting a decisive battle with our army,
He naively believed that as long as there was a frontal battle, our army would undoubtedly lose.
However, when tens of thousands of PLA soldiers suddenly appeared behind them, Yuan Quanxin and Zhao Chengshou immediately panicked and quickly gathered their forces to break through in the direction of Taiyuan.
However, the encirclement circle of our army has been formed, where can they easily break out, under the constant obstruction and harassment, the Japanese army was compressed by our army into a village house, to carry out the final battle of the trapped beasts.
However, how could Xu Xiangqian give the enemy a chance to breathe and wait for rescue!
Xu Xiangqian ordered that all the more than a hundred artillery pieces captured in the previous battle be pulled out.
After the general offensive began, more than a hundred artillery pieces concentrated their fire and indiscriminately bombarded the enemy, and the enemy's flesh and blood flew everywhere. After a round of shelling, the charge of our army has already sounded,
The soldiers of the People's Liberation Army immediately rushed into the village and engaged the Japanese soldiers who rushed out.
A fierce white-knife battle ensued.
Until this time,
The soldiers realized that this team turned out to be Japanese.
When the enemies see each other, their eyes are extremely red,
The cruel deeds of the Japanese Kou to his father and fellow countrymen suddenly came to mind. At this moment, there is no need to mobilize at all,
One by one, the warriors held bayonets in their hands and fought fiercely with the Japanese, and even the wounded in the rear, hearing that there were actually little devils in the front, rushed to the front line with bayonets, this was the last chance to kill the devils, and everyone was eager to kill a few devils with their own hands and take revenge.
For this group of Japanese troops, Xu Xiangqian hated it even more,
Xu Xiangqian personally ordered:
This Japanese army is very stubborn, if necessary, do not take prisoners, as long as they do not lay down their weapons, then resolutely destroy!
Soon, this stubborn Japanese army was already scared out of the guts of the crazy PLA soldiers, who had never seen such a crazy and deadly team.
Everyone has only one goal, and that is to kill themselves.
The Japanese were frightened, and the rupture spread in an instant.
In the end, the Tenth Teaching Corps of the Japanese Army was completely annihilated by our army, and the deputy commander-in-chief Yuan Quanxin shot himself.
The Japanese troops who refused to surrender were all stabbed to death, and only more than 200 Japanese troops were captured, including a regimental commander.
After the First World War of Jinzhong, the japanese army units formed in China completely disappeared.
And this battle also became the real final battle between China and Japan.
Pictured| Japanese prisoners
epilogue
After the great victory in the Battle of Jinzhong, Xu sent his troops to Taiyuan,
Yan Xishan fled by plane the day before the city of Taiyuan was destroyed.
After the liberation of Taiyuan, the more than 400 Japanese troops left in Taiyuan City all surrendered, and at this point,
Only when the Japanese army is armed in our country can it be completely disarmed.