Author: Hu Xianda
After the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, the Japanese army in North China frantically swept through our Taihang Mountain base area. The Yamazaki Brigade, which had more than 500 people, dared to jump to the Guanjiayuan and rampage, arrogant. Under the strict orders of General Peng, the 129th Division, together with friendly and neighboring troops, punished them at any cost.
Compared with the Battle of Guanjia'an, which suffered heavy casualties, the Eighth Route Army Special Forces also fought a battle to defend huangyadong that humiliated the arrogant Japanese army, which annihilated more than 1,000 Japanese kosovars and set a humiliating record of 6:1 casualties in the history of Japan's invasion of China.
Before huangyadong, Chiang Kai-shek once made a big fuss in Chongqing, using his lies to confuse the public and deceive the people, saying that the Eighth Route Army "swims but does not attack", does not dare to face the enemy head-on, fights position warfare, and so on. Not long after, the Eighth Route Army Special Regiment refuted Chiang's untruthful remarks with its tenacious and tenacious defense battle.
Huangya Cave is located in the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains, among the peaks and peaks, the location is hidden, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In July 1939, the Eighth Route Army established an arsenal here. This arsenal can produce firearms, bullets, mines and other weapons and ammunition, effectively alleviating the dilemma of the Eighth Route Army's ammunition supply. Zhu, Zhou, and other chiefs repeatedly sought out Yan Xishan, Wei Lihuang, and others to "change their bonds" and solve the problem of supplying weapons and ammunition to the Eighth Route Army. The 129th Division's Chen Xilian Unit attacked Yangmingbao at night, and Wei Lihuang, in order to thank the Eighth Route Army for its flanking cooperation in the Battle of Xinkou, specially sent arms to the Eighth Route Army in the name of joint resistance.
It is precisely because the Eighth Route Army's demand for ammunition is very urgent, so at the beginning of the preparation of the Huangya Cave Soldiers, it was taken as a "pearl in the palm" by the headquarters for key protection. After all, it is not a way to always "change the fate" of people, and self-sufficiency in production is the long-term solution.
In April 1940, Zhu and Peng instructed the Eighth Route Army Special Regiment to undertake the garrison task of Huangyadong, and explicitly required the regiment to build permanent fortifications according to the terrain and be prepared to fight a hard and vicious battle.
In addition, Zuo Quan, deputy chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army, also transferred the engineer companies of the 385th Brigade, the 386th Brigade and the New Fourth Brigade of the 129th Division to assist the Special Forces Regiment in building fortifications.
After more than 8 months of construction, the garrison project of the first circle of the Huangya Cave Area has built a total of 11 tunnels, 9,000 meters of trenches, shelters and 190 bunkers. These fortifications crisscrossed and supported each other, forming a circular defense system capable of countering the enemy's attacks from different directions. In this defense system, light and dark bunkers are lined up, and the fire pitch is intertwined, forming a three-dimensional intertwined fire network.
In view of the important role of the arsenal in the supply of combat materials to the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army in North China regarded it as a serious problem, cut its teeth and hated it, and plotted to destroy the plan.
In the autumn of 1941, the 222nd Regiment of the 36th Division of the Japanese Army, the Independent 4th Mixed Brigade, the 9th Mixed Brigade, and the 3 mixed infantry brigades and related puppet army units totaled more than 5,000 people, under the command of Wing Commander Katsume Naoyuki Daisa, all the way day and night, preparing to sneak attack huangyadong.
The Japanese invasion of China
(1) The Japanese army sneaked into the Huangya Cave and used the "three-plate axe": first shelling and then demining, and finally the infantry rushed
On November 5, Katsume Naoyuki led his troops from the north of Lêseong. On the way, it was stubbornly blocked by the 385th Brigade of our 129th Division, and had to retreat to Licheng.
On November 10, Katsume Naoyuki bluffed with a small force and attacked Zhaogu Village, Dongyadi, and other places, attracting the troops of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army to divide and fortify, and conceal the main force and wait for an opportunity to sneak attack.
Late that night, the mountains of Huangyadong were covered with dark clouds, and the Japanese army sneaked into the position of the 7th Company of our south entrance several times, but none of them succeeded.
At dawn on the 11th, Katsume Naoyuki had no choice but to order the Japanese army to launch a strong attack.
However, Heaven help me to destroy the enemy! At this time, the Huangyadong area was suddenly full of fierce winds, wind and snow, and muddy mountain roads, and the Japanese army's field of vision was limited, and it was impossible to find out what the specific position of our army was.
Katsume Naoyuki, who failed to sneak in and had to attack, took up his "three-plate axe": first the mountain artillery bombarded, then the sappers cleared the mines, and finally the infantry charged.
The Japanese infantry charged on the mountain road, and under the attack of our army's condescending and dangerous defense, they were one after another living targets. However, they had no other way to go, and they could only risk their lives and rush forward.
One wave of attacks was just frustrated, and another wave of attacks was started. Katsume Naoyuki was furious and anxious, and ordered the Japanese to take out their "Bushido", hold their guns up, and charge upwards at the cost of their lives.
Such a charge is simply to send death. In the face of the "live target", the soldiers of the 7th Company harvested back and forth with machine guns and grenades, and the Japanese army was knocked down on the mountain road one after another.
The Japanese army could not attack for a long time, and played a new trick: they pushed several mountain guns straight to more than 2,000 meters away from the pass to close fire, and as a result, they collapsed part of the fortifications of the 7 companies.
Japanese troops dragging artillery up the hill (data photo)
Ou Fufu, commander of the Eighth Route Army Special Service Regiment, saw that the Japanese mountain artillery was too threatening to the 7th Company's position, and quickly ordered the regimental artillery to shoot out all the remaining 12 mortar shells, which resulted in the blowing up of a good piece of Japanese artillery.
The sneak attack failed and the strong attack could not be achieved, but Katsume Naoyuki exterminated humanity and even launched a poison gas attack on the front and depth of the 7 Company's position.
After receiving reports of the Japanese gas attack, Zuo Quan resolutely ordered the special task force to deploy the 6th Company in the direction of Yushupo to support the position of the 7th Company at the south mouth with flank fire. At the same time, the 7th Company was warned to replenish its personnel and weapons and ammunition, quickly repair the destroyed fortifications, and prepare for a new attack by the enemy.
Sure enough, it did not happen to Zuo Quan. At about 17:00 on the same day, Katsume Naoyuki made a final attempt before dying, with the aim of dragging back all the bodies of the fallen Japanese troops. Under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese troops who went to collect the corpses each held several ropes in their hands, and when they saw the Corpses of the Japanese Soldiers, they threw the rope rings to cover them, wrapped their heads and dragged their legs.
After the soldiers of the 7th Company saw clearly the intentions of the Japanese army, they braved the Japanese artillery fire to throw the rolling thunder and grenades in their hands off the cliff at once, and blew up dozens of Japanese troops who came to collect the corpses, causing them to hold their heads and run back lifelessly.
On this day, the 7th Company held the position of nankou, repelled more than 10 Japanese attacks, and killed more than 200 Japanese troops.
(2) The Japanese army turned to attack Taohua village, and the 2nd battalion set up an ambush "first-line sky"
Seeing that it was impossible to attack directly from the south pass, the Japanese army had to change the breakthrough route. This time, Katsume Naoyuki set his sights on Peach Blossom Village.
On the morning of November 12, the position of the south entrance defended by the 7th Company was silent, and the Japanese troops who had been rushing to the front were gone. Attacking the arsenal from the south entrance, the shortest distance, did they give up?
Soon, new news came from the Special Mission Observation Post. It turned out that the Japanese commanders were gathered in the area of Shangchiyu and Zhaogu Village, and may want to choose a new breakthrough there.
Peach Blossom Village is on the left side of the south entrance, in the middle of two steep cliffs, there is a slope inclined by 45 degrees, the Japanese army turned into Peach Blossom Village, but also wanted to detour into the army, unexpectedly.
This new movement of Katsume Naoyuki was detected by the special mission and immediately reported to the regimental commander Ou Fufu. He immediately asked Zuo Quan for instructions on the next step of combat action, and Zuo Quan instructed Ou to get rich and keep a close eye on The Peach Blossom Village, the enemy changed and we changed, and waited with a net to maneuver.
On November 13, the Japanese army concentrated more than 10 mountain guns and fired a fierce bombardment at Taohua village and the 1461 heights of The Paoma Station. As soon as the Japanese artillery fire stopped, the japanese shouts of death were heard at the front of the position of the 2nd Battalion and 4th Company on the large cliff behind the heights.
Left right
The sudden shouting of killing made the soldiers of the 4th Company a little caught off guard. They didn't expect ten Japanese troops to sneak up on them.
It turned out that on the night of the 12th, these Japanese troops used climbing tools such as scratching hooks to quietly climb the stone cliff and lurked down, preparing to strike a sudden blow at the position of the 4th Company at dawn.
At a close distance, whether it was too late to shoot or drop bombs, 4 companies and 1 platoon of fighters had to use white-knife warfare to counter these swarming Japanese troops. The battle at the front of the position soon became fierce, with the sound of guns and bayonets slashing, the roar of soldiers, the screams of the Japanese army... Intertwined, a mess. One by one, the corpses rolled down the hill, and the teams swarmed up, and the desperate charge of the Japanese army and the bloody battle of the 4 companies were fought to the end, so that the corpses in front of the position and in the position were mixed together, and it was impossible to distinguish between the enemy and us. In this battle, while annihilating the Japanese army, our 2nd Battalion also paid a great sacrifice. The so-called killing of a thousand enemies and self-inflicted losses of eight hundred.
The strange actions of the Japanese army must have intentions behind them. Katsume Naoyuki gave up the south entrance and turned to the line of Peach Blossom Village, where did he want to break into the Yellow Cliff Cave?
With this question in mind, regimental commander Ou Fufu came to the garrison area of the 2nd Battalion for on-the-spot observation and saw the fame of it. It turned out that the Japanese army cut in from here, mainly to directly attack the water cellar hole where the arsenal was located.
In the cliffs of The Yellow Cliff Cave, there are many hidden places suitable for ambush warfare. How to deal with the Japanese army on the front line of Peach Blossom Village? Ou Fufu thought of a bold operational concept: withdraw all the troops to the mountain, take the initiative to give way to a ditch, put the Japanese troops in, and then lay mines at the bottom of the ditch in the "frontline sky" and use the mines produced by the arsenal to kill and injure the Japanese army in large quantities.
According to Ou Fufu's deployment, the 2nd Battalion abandoned its forward position and opened up a "way of life" for the enemy.
On November 14, the Japanese launched another onslaught on the positions of 2 battalions and 4 companies. This time, they almost effortlessly won a "big victory". After occupying the position of the 4th Company, the Japanese army attempted to capture the arsenal in the water cellar cave along this ditch.
Descending to the bottom of the ditch, the Japanese army sensed the peculiarity of the terrain and was a little afraid. Because the bottom of this water cave ditch is 300 meters long and only 12 meters wide, on both sides are cliffs more than 50 meters high. The bottom of this ditch is indeed a shortcut to enter the arsenal. But behind this shortcut is the death trap laid for them by Ou Zhifu. In this land of projectiles with nowhere to hide, hundreds of mines were densely planted.
Although the commander of the Japanese army knew the danger lurking at the bottom of this ditch, once he entered it, he might be ambushed, but the eagerness to destroy the Eight Road Arsenal made these Japanese troops unable to take care of so much and rushed over madly. As a result, the mines at the bottom of the ditch were stepped on by them one after another, and in the explosion of the mines, some were killed on the spot, some were injured, some were covered in blood and flesh, and some had swollen noses and blue faces.
The Japanese troops, who survived the detonation of the mines, were soon caught in the fire of the two wings of the special service regiment, and as a result, more than 200 Japanese troops who frantically attacked the mouth of the water cellar at the bottom of the ditch were annihilated by the 2nd Battalion in no time.
(3) Attacking the arsenal, the Japanese army found nothing, fearing that the 129th Division would be encircled, and fleeing at night
On the 15th, the Japanese pulled several mountain guns up the hillside and fired close-in at our water cellar pass position in a direct-sighted manner. The Japanese spitfire soldiers took advantage of the cover of artillery fire to quickly rush to our position and spewed out a stream of flames, and 12 soldiers of the 8th Company, including Wang Zhenxi, Han Lihe, and Li Xiaogou, were caught off guard, were swallowed up by the flames, and died heroically.
At the critical moment, Zuo Quan called ou Fufu to tell him that the foreign aid troops of the 386 brigade and the new 4 brigade of the 129th Division were about to arrive, and asked the special service regiment to continue to lure the enemy deeper, withdraw all the troops to the second line one by one for defense, bite the enemy to death, and buy more time for the outer line of the 129th Division to encircle.
On November 16, the special task force held out on the second line for another day, and the Japanese army was blocked at the mouth of the water cellar, that is, it could not enter the factory area.
For some reason, on November 17, the Japanese launched a ferocious attack on the mouth of the water cellar like crazy. After suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese invaded the arsenal.
After entering, the Japanese army was all dumbfounded, and they searched for half a day and did not find half a shadow of the arsenal. Not only did they not find what they were trying to find, but they were blown up by landmines and hid in hiding, trembling.
On the night of November 18, Zuo Quan telephoned Ou Fufu to inform him that the Japanese army had sensed our army's intention to encircle and might flee by night, asking the special service regiment to launch a counterattack on all fronts and drag the enemy as far as possible to cooperate with the encirclement of the outer line of the 129th Division. Unfortunately, the special task force was half a beat slower, and the Japanese army quietly escaped from the same road.
On the morning of the 19th, the Japanese troops who escaped from the Huangya Cave drilled into the 129th Division and laid an ambush circle in the sanmu village and Caozhuang line, 15 kilometers away from Xijing. After the battle began, the tired and depressed Japanese army, without fighting spirit, did not dare to love the battle, and after only half an hour of fighting, they left more than 300 Japanese corpses behind, seized the road and fled to the front line of Licheng. The 129th Division took advantage of the victory to pursue and retake the city of Li.
After this battle, the special task force built a fortified area with more than 1,300 troops, fought for 8 days and nights, and heroically resisted the crazy attack of more than 5,000 well-equipped Japanese troops. This battle was a rare frontal battle between the Eighth Route Army and the enemy who was several times larger than itself, relying on mountain fortifications for defense. Chiang Kai-shek's false words about the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla march without attacking and not daring to use position warfare to confront the Japanese army were also self-defeating in the fight of the special task force regiment.
The victory in the Battle of Huangyadong not only smashed the conspiracy of the Japanese army in North China to sabotage our military industrial production, but also created a brilliant record of 1 to 6 casualties, and at the same time, it effectively refuted Chiang Kai-shek's untrue words and made a good name for the Eighth Route Army's iron-blooded war of resistance. After the war, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army commended the meritorious personnel of the special service regiment and awarded the regiment the title.
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