On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation, declaring unconditional surrender and the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan. After Japan announced its surrender, Chiang Kai-shek, on the one hand, invited Chairman Mao to Chongqing for peace talks, and on the other hand, mobilized a large number of troops to launch an attack on the liberated areas.
In mid-August, when Yan Xishan, commander of the Kuomintang Second Theater of Operations, took advantage of the units of the Eighth Route Army's Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region to launch an all-out counteroffensive against the Japanese and puppet armies, he ordered the army to attack the Shangdang base area of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, taking the lead in waging the first battle of the Kuomintang after the victory of the War of Resistance.
The Shangdang region is located in Shanxi Province and was originally the territory of the warlord Yan Xishan. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, after the bloody struggle of the Eighth Route Army, it was developed into a base area, which was subordinate to the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Anti-Japanese Base Area.
Yan Xishan was an old warlord who was always thinking of retaking his own Shangdang region. When the Eighth Route Army launched a comprehensive counterattack against the Japanese puppet army, Yan Xishan saw the opportunity and ordered the 19th Army and the 61st Army of the Jin Army to invade the Shangdang area with 5 divisions, about 16,000 people, divided into three routes.
On August 19, the 19th Army of the Jin Army, with the cooperation of the Japanese and puppet armies, successively seized Xiangyuan, Lucheng, Changzhi, Tunliu, and other places that the Eighth Route Army had just liberated from the Japanese and puppet armies. Not only that, Chiang Kai-shek also ordered the Kuomintang troops to start approaching the Liberated Areas from all directions, and war was about to break out.
Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping quickly drew up the "Deployment of the Taihang Military Region for the Shangdang Campaign," determined to pull out the knife and eliminate the troubles of his confidants.
On the evening of August 27, the troops of the Taihang Military Region took the lead in encircling Xiangyuan City, and after several days of bloody fighting, they finally reoccupied the city on September 1, annihilating more than 350 enemy and capturing more than 450 enemy, kicking off the prelude to the Shangdang Campaign.
On 7 September, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping issued the "Order No. 1 of the Operations of the Jin-Hebei Luyu Military Region" to the units of the Jin-Hebei Luyu Military Region, determined to launch the Shangdang Campaign with the units of Taihang, Taiyue, and Southern Hebei to completely eliminate the Jin army in YanXishan in the Shangdang region: the Taihang column served as the main offensive force and attacked the Strongholds of Tunliu and Shangcun with all its might; the Taiyue Column, the Ji'nan Column, and some local armed forces took on the task of blocking and blocking the reinforcements of Yan Xishan from all directions and eliminating them as much as possible.
In the early morning of September 10, since the end of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the first battle between the Kuomintang and the Communists finally began.
After a fierce battle, the Taihang column successfully conquered the strongholds of Tunliu and Shangcun, and completely annihilated the defenders. However, other Jin troops in the Shangdang area did not dare to reinforce Tunliu, and the plan to encircle the points for reinforcements failed. Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping immediately ordered the troops to go all out to seize the remaining cities on the outskirts of Changzhi, and by September 19, the troops of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region had successfully conquered all the strongholds and cities on the outskirts of Changzhi, and Changzhi had become an isolated city.
On September 20, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping issued the "Order No. 5 of the Operations of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region" in a timely manner, ordering all units to attack Changzhi City with all their might and quickly resolve the battle.
Changzhi Castle is the seat of the Shangdang regional capital, and before the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, it was the garrison of the Japanese 36th Division. The Japanese army operated in Changzhi for many years, and many bunkers and artillery fortifications were established on the periphery, with a large number of firepower crossover networks, plus the city wall was as high as 3 zhang, at this moment, Yan Xishan laid heavy troops in Changzhi, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Just as our siege troops were attacking the city with all their might, Yan Xishan mobilized about 7,000 people from 3 divisions to reinforce the enemy of Changzhi.
Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping promptly adjusted their operational arrangements; on the one hand, they changed from attacking Changzhi City with all their might to attacking the city for reinforcements, ordering the siege troops to expand their momentum and attract aid to the enemy; on the other hand, they ordered the blocking troops to quickly set up ambush circles, waiting for the arrival of enemy reinforcements and annihilating them in one fell swoop.
When the reinforcements exchanged fire with the reinforcements of the enemy, they found that the original information was wrong, and the reinforcements of the enemy were far more than 7,000 people in 3 divisions, but about 20,000 people in 3 armies, and the weapons and equipment were far better than those of our reinforcements.
Seeing this, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping immediately ordered all the follow-up troops of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region to immediately join the battle, and tried to mobilize the enemy army, give full play to the advantages of our Eighth Route Army's mobile warfare, and completely annihilate the enemy in the movement.
Outside Changzhi City, the Eighth Route Army's reinforcements fought fiercely with Yan Xishan's reinforcements until October 5, and finally conquered the main peak of Laoye Ridge and occupied the commanding heights. The enemy's reinforcements saw that the general trend had gone, had no intention of fighting, and began to break through to the north. Our reinforcements were in hot pursuit, fiercely interspersed, annihilating most of the reinforcements, and the rest of the enemy surrendered.
After learning that the reinforcements were almost completely annihilated, the Changzhi defenders fell into infinite despair, and the army was scattered and had no fighting spirit. On October 8, the Changzhi defenders began to break out aimlessly to the west. On the 12th, the Changzhi defenders were successfully completely annihilated by our siege troops, and Shi Zebo, commander of the 19th Army of the Jin Army of the Changzhi defenders, was captured alive.
From the beginning of late August to October 12, the Shangdang Campaign lasted more than 40 days, and our Eighth Route Army fought more than 90,000 Jin troops with 30,000 people, annihilated more than 35,000 Jin troops, captured 24 mountain guns, more than 2,000 light and heavy machine guns, and countless rifles and pistols.
The Shangdang Campaign was the first campaign of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, which was spearheaded by the Kuomintang reactionaries after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and ended in the comprehensive victory of our Eighth Route Army. The Shangdang Campaign was the first large-scale annihilation war fought by our Eighth Route Army since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which effectively countered the Kuomintang reactionaries' offensives into the liberated areas of our Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and not only defended the fruits of victory in the War of Resistance but also effectively supported the Chongqing negotiations, which was of far-reaching significance.
[Adhere to the original, do not forget the original heart, remember the history, taste life, welcome attention, common progress】