As the first great victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, many people are familiar with it. The 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army resolutely attacked in the absence of ammunition and logistics, annihilated more than 1,000 people of the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Itagaki Division, fought a big victory, and swept away the haze of "the Japanese army is invincible" before. However, behind the victory, there are still many unspeakable regrets. For example, the actual battle plan on that day was that the Kuomintang and the Communists attacked together, and if they acted according to the plan, they would definitely fight a completely victorious battle, but what was strange was the Kuomintang army doing that day?
Flat type Guan Dajie photo
If that comes to this, we have to pull back to September 25, 1937, to see what really happened. In fact, on that day, the troops planned to attack here in China had 4 divisions and two brigades, namely the 71st, 72nd, and 73rd divisions of the 6th Army of the Jin Sui Army and the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. In addition, there were the Third and Eighth Independent Brigades of the 6th Army of the Jin Sui Army. In addition to these attacking forces, the frontal reinforcements included the 21st Division of the Central Army of the 7th Army and the 84th Division of the Northwest Army. The total strength of the army is 40,000 or 50,000 people, and the Japanese army is only more than 7,000 people in the 21st Brigade, and the terrain is also favorable to our army. When the Japanese 21st Brigade attacked the frontal 84th Division, the frontal positions were soon unable to hold on to ask for help. The Eighth Route Army took the initiative to ask Miao to fight, and after the 115th Division requested to directly attack the flank of the 21st Brigade, the Jin Sui Army of the other three divisions and two brigades besieged from both flanks, and if this five-way siege plan could be successfully implemented, then the entire Japanese 21st Brigade would be destroyed without any escape.
As a result, the problem was that the Jin Sui Army modified the time of the attack five times, almost losing the opportunity of the 115th Division. When the ambush at Pingxingguan began on September 25, the 115th Division did not attack until more than 1,000 Japanese troops were completely eliminated, and the 71st and 72nd Divisions of the Jin Sui Army still did not attack and waited. At this time, the Japanese army had captured the position of the 84th Division and was ready to continue the attack. The poor 84th Division of the Northwest Army repeatedly fought fiercely with the Japanese army, but the nearby 21st Division of the Central Army came to the fore and did not send reinforcements, and none of the 100,000 Nationalist troops near the 84th Division came to the rescue. Finally, the force was unable to support and was forced to retreat.
Troops of the Jin Sui Army
What was even more unbearable was that after the great victory at Pingxingguan, the remnants of the enemy who were defeated by the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army actually escaped from the front of the 71st, 72nd, and 73rd divisions of the Jinsui Army, and the Jinsui Army of the three divisions was left unattended and watched these Japanese troops flee. What is even more amazing is that after annihilating more than 1,000 Japanese troops, the Eighth Route Army chased after the Japanese 21st Brigade and fought all the way to the vicinity of the brigade headquarters, and even captured some Japanese maps and orders. As a result, the Japanese army rushed all the way to kill, defeated the Jin Sui Army and reorganized a new defensive line on the Position of the Jin Sui Army. The Eighth Route Army organized troops to chase after the other Japanese troops all the way, and one of the companies actually directly penetrated the front line of the 21st Brigade regiment, rushed to the Japanese artillery position, and captured a 92 mountain gun. This unit is now the honorary company of our army's famous "Pingxingguan Battle Assault Company." As a result, in the later campaign report, the Eighth Route Army was fiercely falsely accused by various Nationalist troops, insisting that the Eighth Route Army did not decisively pursue the Japanese army and led to the defeat of the battle.
The fourth from the left is the flag of the honorary company of the "Pingxingguan Great War Assault Company"
It can be said that the entire Parallel Pass Campaign is simply a microcosm of the entire Chinese War of Resistance. The Eighth Route Army fought desperately behind enemy lines, and the princes of the Nationalist army watched each other and pit each other. But in any case, the Pingshiguan Victory was still an irrefutable victory, and on that dark day, it greatly boosted the morale of the Chinese people and killed the prestige of the Japanese army.
Flat guan dajie oil painting