After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the main force of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, with three divisions, six brigades and 15 main regiments under its jurisdiction, with a total strength of more than 46,000 troops. After the reorganization was completed, the Eighth Route Army marched to the anti-Japanese front and launched a bloody battle with the Japanese. Relying on flexible tactics and heroic and tenacious spirit, the Eighth Route Army repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the Battlefield and soon became the backbone of the War of Resistance behind enemy lines. However, due to the poor weaponry and equipment, the Eighth Route Army also paid a great price of casualties on the anti-Japanese battlefield. Among them, the most tragic was the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division, and the regimental commander and three battalion commanders died heroically on the anti-Japanese battlefield.
The regimental commander, Ye Sung-hwan, was only 24 years old when he died. Ye Chenghuan, a native of Guangshan, Henan, joined the revolution at the age of 15 and officially joined the Red Army a year later. In the revolutionary base area of Eyu-Anhui and the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Region, Ye Chenghuan led his troops in bloody battles with the enemy many times, and accumulated battle merits and was promoted to commander of the Red 93rd Division. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Red 93rd Division was reorganized into the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade, with Ye Chenghuan as the regimental commander. On the night of October 21, 1937, Ye Chenghuan commanded the third battalion to set up an ambush at Changshengkou, and after an hour of fierce fighting, killed more than 50 Japanese troops and fired the first shot of the 772nd Regiment against Japan.
Later, Ye Chenghuan led the 772nd Regiment to participate in the ambush battle of Qiqi Village, the ambush battle at the bottom of the Yellow Cliff, the ambush battle of Shentouling, and the pursuit of Changle Village, killing and wounding more than 2,000 Japanese puppet troops, and making important contributions to the creation of the anti-Japanese base area in southeastern Jin. On April 17, 1938, Ye Chenghuan fell ill and participated in the battle in the valley of the Huzhang River, unfortunately and heroically died at the age of 24. At Ye Chenghuan's memorial service, Liu Bocheng, commander of the 129th Division, gave Ye Chenghuan a high evaluation, saying that his death was heavier than Mount Tai.
Ding Silin, the commander of the first battalion, was only 26 years old when he died. Ding Silin, a native of Huang'an, Hubei Province, joined the revolution very early and served as the commander of the 271st Regiment of the Red 93rd Division, and the division commander at that time was Ye Chenghuan. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Ding Silin served as the commander of the first battalion of the 772nd Regiment and continued to fight under the command of Ye Chenghuan. Shortly after Ye Chenghuan's death, Ding Silin served as the commander of the new regiment of the 386th Brigade, and performed very well in the ambush battle of Xiangchenggu, and was praised by Zhu De by name. On July 5, 1939, Ding Silin led his troops to die in the bloody war between Yunzu Town and The Japanese Kou, at the age of 26.
Guo Guoyan, the commander of the second battalion, was only 29 years old when he died. Guo Guoyan, a native of Huangpi, Hubei Province, joined the Red Army at the age of 15 and participated in the Long March. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as the commander of the second battalion of the 772nd Regiment and fought many hard battles under the command of Ye Chenghuan. After Ye Chenghuan's death, Guo Guoyan was first promoted to deputy regimental commander and soon after became the commander of the 772nd Regiment. In 1941, Guo Guoyan was transferred to the commander of the Third Military Subdistrict of the Taihang Military Region. On February 9, 1942, Guo Guoyan was unfortunately hit by enemy artillery fire during the bloody war between Dayou Town and the Japanese Kou, and died heroically at the age of 29.
Yi Liangpin, the commander of the third battalion, was only 33 years old when he died. Yi Liangpin, a native of Macheng, Hubei Province, studied at the Chengmagang Elementary School where Wang Shusheng was the principal, and later joined our party under the introduction of Wang Shusheng. After the Jute Uprising, Yi Liangpin officially joined the ranks of the Red Army and was promoted to political commissar of the Red 91st Division with accumulated battle merits. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yi Liangpin served as the commander of the third battalion of the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade, fighting under the command of Ye Chenghuan. In 1940, Yi Liangpin was transferred to the Ji'nan Military Region as the brigade commander of the new 7th Brigade. On March 25, 1943, Yi Liangpin died heroically in the bloody war between Zaoqiang County and Rikou in Hebei Province, at the age of 33.
The regimental commander and three battalion commanders of the 772nd Regiment died heroically on the anti-Japanese battlefield, which can be called the most tragic main regiment of the Eighth Route Army. So who was the deputy head of the regiment at the time? He was Li Yunlong's prototype Wang Jinshan. Wang Jinshan, a native of Hong'an, Hubei Province, joined the Red Army at the age of 15 and served as the commander of the Red 93rd Division. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as Ye Chenghuan's deputy, assisting Ye Chenghuan in commanding the 772nd Regiment to repeatedly attack the Japanese army on the battlefield. Because of his bravery and good fighting, Wang Jinshan was successively promoted to commander of the Second Military Subdistrict of the Taiyue Military Region and brigade commander of the newly organized Fourth Brigade of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Jinsui Joint Defense Army of the Eighth Route Army.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Jinshan participated in the War of Liberation. In Nakano, he fought the hard and vicious battles the most, and the Bloody Battle of Dayang Lake established his position as Nakano's number one fierce general. In the subsequent Battles of Xiangfan, Huaihai, River Crossing and Great Southwest, Wang Jinshan performed well. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. If his old superior Ye Chenghuan had not sacrificed, his later achievements would certainly have been very great.