"Tunnel Warfare" has created the "screening legend" of nearly half a century (1966-2005) in the history of Chinese cinema – the world's largest number of printed copies, and the number of global moviegoers is as high as 2.8 billion, making it the world's largest number of black-and-white movies.
The reason why this film can create a "projection legend" is, on the one hand, real. "Tunnel Warfare" is a teaching film specifically aimed at the military training of militias, and most of the content of the film is a true reproduction of the actual combat experience of the Jizhong Plain during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. On the one hand, it's wonderful. In the film, the military and civilians shuttle through the "underground Great Wall" skillfully use various terrains and secret passages to kill the Japanese puppet army, although the Japanese puppet army is well-armed and well-trained, but in the "tunnel front", there is no choice, can only be passively beaten, ugly, let people can't help but shout at the same time.
"If it is a peaceful year, who will hide in tibet in the tunnels, we look at the tunnel warfare today and think it is a 'spectacle of the world', in fact, those tunnels are all conspired by the hatred of the country and the enemy..."
The former site of the Ranzhuang Tunnel War in Hebei Province
Tunnel warfare
How cruel was the sweep during the Japanese invasion of China? I'm sure many people have heard about it, and I won't repeat it in this article. The "anti-sweeping" operations of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians were very arduous, especially in areas like the Central Hebei Plain, where there were neither high mountains and dense forests to hide nor special terrain such as rivers and lakes to take advantage of; the combat strength of the Japanese puppet army against the Japanese military and people was crushing, and the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians paid a heavy casualty price for this.
The common people and the Eighth Route Army have no place to hide, they can only hide in the cellars of the common people, but hiding in the cellars is very dangerous, first, the cellar area is very small, can not be accommodated for a long time, and when the people cover the wounded of the Eighth Route Army, it will cause great trouble. Second, the cellars are all in the village, which is easy to be found by the enemy, and once found, there will be no way to escape.
Most cunning enemies will choose to surround the village in the middle of the night or Fo Xiao to sweep up, when people are generally asleep, able to kill and capture anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians to the greatest extent. In desperation, the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians chose to dig holes in the wild to hide, but (in winter) people sleeping in it will have water vapor coming out of the cave entrance, which is very easy to expose on the vast plain. There was no way, the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians could only dig the hole deeper, and gradually connect multiple earthen holes through the underground "tunnel", so that the "tunnel" began to form. The tunnel entrance is very hidden, and it is difficult for enemies to find except for their own people. Kunio Saito, a veteran of the former Japanese 63rd Division, once recalled:
"The Eighth Route Army and the peasants were engaged in digging tunnels, and in order not to be discovered by the Japanese army, they would even use wicker baskets to transport the soil to two or three kilometers outside the tunnels and abandon them. As a result, a huge group of underground fortifications unprecedented in the history of world wars appeared underground in the underground area of Jizhong. The Japanese army once captured a large number of peasants and militiamen for torture, "As far as I know, these Chinese never revealed a word about the tunnel. ...... Jizhong, which has such a huge underground fortification, seems to have become a headache for the Japanese army, which should be a kind of glory for the Eighth Route Army! ”
The tunnels were dug deeper and deeper, and the more they were dug, the more they were dug, and everyone found that the tunnels could not only hide safely, but also effectively kill and injure the enemy who came to sweep up, so the Eighth Route Army began to use the tunnels to fight the war, and on April 17, 1942, the Party Committee of Jizhong District issued instructions:
"Under the principle of basic dispersion, the troops rely on the development of the might of the militia, cooperate with the explosion war and tunnel warfare, fight more small battles, destroy the enemy, and use the tunnels already existing by the masses and dig new tunnels to carry out explosive warfare against the enemy."
In the early days, the tunnels were relatively simple, and the Japanese puppet army could easily destroy the tunnels by sweeping them, and our army paid a heavy price and constantly improved the tunnels. By 1943, there were already "three links" (on the ground, underground), "four energy" (can fight, can walk, can attack, can defend) and "five defenses" (waterproof, anti-poison, smokeproof, fireproof, anti-vandalism) battle fortress. There are conference rooms, bedrooms, toilets, etc. underground, a large amount of food and water is stored, smoke, fire and anti-poison equipment are fully equipped, and even underground arsenals, tunnels and above-ground fortifications, farmers' homes, street entrances and other places are connected, which can be attacked and defended. The militia and villagers used hidden eye-catching attacks on the Japanese puppet army sweeping everywhere, which caused headaches for the Japanese puppet army, and the "sweeping" not only found nothing, but also paid a huge casualty price. Japanese war reports show;
"The area along the Shahe and Mudaogou Rivers (both place names) is known as the model area of the CPC Plain Base Area, and the traffic trenches and tunnel buildings are very common, almost all villages have underground facilities, and even three villages that are seven or eight kilometers apart are connected by land channels. Moreover, the rural people have a strong sense of resistance to Japan and have formed a state of half-peasants and half-soldiers, so it is extremely difficult for the various units to carry out the 'work of rectification' (which is actually a 'sweeping'). ”
Nangao Village in Luancheng County is located in the "model area" described in the Japanese military report, and the inner road of the village is more than 30 kilometers long, and the households and streets are connected, which can be fought and defended. The villagers who suffered from the "sweeping" of the Japanese puppet army all had a blood feud with the devils, and the villagers were "half peasants and half soldiers". In June and July 1945, men, women and children of Nangao Village went into battle together, using tunnels to carry out five battles with more than 2,500 Japanese puppet troops who came to "blood-washed villages", 5 battles and 5 victories, killing the enemy with great pain and pleasure, killing the enemy without mercy, and composing a wonderful chapter of tunnel warfare.
Kill the Devil Soldiers
The strong anti-Japanese will of the villagers in Nangao Village, Luancheng County, has always regarded the Japanese puppet army as a "thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh", and on June 18, 1945, the Japanese puppet army stationed in Luancheng gathered more than 200 people to "sweep" Nangao Village. Why did the enemy choose to "sweep" at this time? An important reason was that the main force of the Eighth Route Army at that time was transferred to other places, and the Japanese puppet army learned that Nangao Village hid a large number of wounded members of the Eighth Route Army, so they acted quickly, and the target was: bloodbath Nangao Village, leaving no living creatures behind!
Fighting against the Japanese puppet army for a long time, the militia in the village has already explored a set of experience in fighting against the Japanese puppet army. They first transferred the old, young, old, young, women, children and the wounded into a safe corner of the tunnel, and the militia and young adults were divided into several action groups to take action, taking the initiative to attack and never sit still.
After the Japanese puppet army came to the north of the village, they first shelled and fired, with the intention of giving the villagers a dismount and letting the villagers take the initiative to surrender, but no one appeared. The Japanese army was forced to enter the village from the north of the village to "sweep up", the two devils crept into the village, the result was shot by the militia, bullets shot out of the dark room and the high house fortifications, the two devils could not be defended, they were beaten dizzy, the puppet army squad leader led his subordinates did not love war, panicked and retreated to the east of the village, did not expect to break into the minefield in the village, the villagers hiding in the dark room unceremoniously pulled the mine, the two devils were blown to the ground, the puppet army squad leader was blown to pieces, and the corpses of the remnants of the companions could not be cleaned up, and they withdrew from the village in a hurry.
After hearing about the battle, the squadron leader of the puppet army refused to enter the village again, and the Japanese army borrowed the slope to get off the donkey, agreed to withdraw first, and then come back to take revenge later. On July 16, the puppet army sent more than 380 people from three squadrons to retaliate. This time, the pseudo-military learned cleverly, moved many ladders, tried not to touch the ground, climbed the roof and broke into the village, so that the large number of mines buried by the villagers at the entrance of the village lost their effect.
Fortunately, the villagers made a lot of preparations, they placed grenades in the shelter of the roof, and when the enemy approached, the villagers hiding in the shadows pulled the grenades, and the two devils were killed and injured many people, and many people rolled down the roof and fell to their deaths. When the puppet army saw the situation, the three squadron commanders discussed it, preferring to go back and be scolded rather than die, and carried the dead and wounded companions back to Luancheng.
The newly appointed pseudo-county magistrate of Luancheng, Wang Deshi, was slapped by the Japanese army with a slap in the ear and scolded into a sack of rice. Wang Deshen suppressed the fire in his stomach and personally led more than 520 people from 4 puppet army squadrons to Nangao Village to "breathe". In order to win, Wang Deshi also borrowed a large number of heavy machine guns from the Japanese army and prepared to kill Nangao Village.
Scenic tunnel battle live performance
Overwhelmed by hatred, Wang De ash arrived at Nangao Village and ordered that the exits of the village be sealed with heavy machine guns and not a single fly should be released. However, in the face of the villagers who had penetrated into the tunnels, no matter how many people and machine guns Wang De ash had, it was useless, because the village was always quiet, and the angry and corrupt Wang De Ash drove the puppet army into the village, constantly shouting: "Kill all the people!" No grass left! ”
The militia hiding in the shadows were very angry, they let go of the puppet army walking in front, and when Wang De ash walked into the minefield, the militia resolutely pulled the mine, and Wang De ash was blown to the ground, and the flesh and blood were blurred. He was badly wounded, and the frantic shouting finally stopped. The other puppet armies stopped fighting and hurried away carrying Wang De ash. In order to regain face in front of the imperial army, Li Zhenjiang, a hardcore traitor among the 4 squadron leaders of the puppet army, had to avenge Wang De'an.
On July 23, Li Zhenjiang ordered his men to seize the commanding heights of the village, and the machine gunners found that the militia was shooting, so they concentrated their fire on strafing. However, the firing points in the village were all connected to each other through hidden passages, and after the militia had been exposed once, they moved elsewhere to continue shooting, and the machine gunners were never able to concentrate their fire. Under the cover of machine gun fire, Li Zhenjiang burst into the village and frantically asked people to burn down the villagers' houses; a brave militiaman took advantage of the chaos to jump out of the shadows and kicked him into the sea of fire. When the puppet soldiers saw that the squadron leader was "killed in battle", they did not continue to search and arrest and withdrew on their own.
The Japanese army saw that the puppet army was beaten up by a group of "peasants" four times, and on July 28, more than 200 Japanese troops gathered and led 5 puppet army squadrons totaling more than 1,000 people to the bloodbathed village of Nangao. The Japanese army, which was determined to win, personally attacked, the militia first used the ground fortifications to carry out the blockade war, how can the Japanese firepower be too fierce, the enemy gradually occupied most of the houses, the militia turned into the tunnel in time, and launched the sparrow warfare and mine warfare in the village.
Sparrow warfare is a form of combat in the anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare. When the sparrows are foraging and flying, they never flock in groups, most of them are one or two, three or five, more than a dozen, suddenly east and west, suddenly gathered and scattered, small targets, fast and fast, flexible action. The guerrilla warfare method created after the sparrow foraging method is called "sparrow warfare". Sparrow warfare is a guerrilla tactic commonly used by Chinese militias to defeat the strong with the weak. The militia formed a combat group, which came and went, gathered and dispersed, and took the initiative and flexibility. Striking the enemy out of nowhere.
During the day, the enemy was shot coldly and stepped on mines everywhere in the village, but the militiamen could not be seen, and at night they were afraid of being attacked and forced to shrink into the outer corners of the village. When the inhuman Japanese army entered the village, civilians from elsewhere walked in front, and they followed closely behind, preventing the militia from pulling the mines in time. In order to drive out the Japanese army as soon as possible, everyone worked together to find a way to finally decide to risk bombing the headquarters of the Japanese puppet army.
It turned out that the arrogant Japanese puppet army believed that it was strong and strong, and its weapons were advanced, and this encirclement and suppression would certainly lead to a quick battle. They set up a command post on a flat area outside the village, where the militiamen found their place in a high watchtower during the day. This location is still a short distance from the tunnels that have been dug, but there is also a certain risk in digging under the "enemy command post", during the excavation process, whether there will be a collapse, found by the enemy and other unexpected situations are unknown, after detonating explosives, how can the detonators safely evacuate?
Everyone was talking and arguing, because everyone knew that any accident could lead to "failure of the operation", and once the Japanese army found the entrance to the tunnel, everyone knew what would happen. In the end, everyone formed a consensus: prepare for the worst, be well prepared, and do it with the little devil!
The tunnel dug deeper into the enemy command post, after the explosives were released, a few people were selected to form a death squad to ignite the explosives. At the same time, militia from outside the village were assembled through a network of tunnels, and the county brigade was ready for reinforcements. Using the sound of explosions as a signal, everyone carried out a counter-offensive together. One day at midnight, the Japanese puppet army camped outside the village to rest, suddenly, a loud noise, the japanese puppet army's temporary command post was blown up, many Japanese puppet army officers died and were wounded, the Japanese puppet army woke up from sleep, heard the sound of gunfire, and immediately made a mess.
Stills from the movie "Raid on the Tunnels" battle
The enemy army was leaderless and plunged into chaos. The puppet army did not want to sell their lives, began to break up and flee for their lives, most of the Japanese soldiers in 1945 were no longer veterans of the battlefield, many were new recruits who lacked actual combat experience, in the face of chaos, they were also afraid, and began to retreat after a little resistance. The militiamen took the opportunity to counterattack and went on a killing spree, and the villagers also took up kitchen knives, machetes and spears to burst into the enemy position, chasing and killing deserters, and everyone hated the country and the family to avenge, killed the red eye, and killed the devils, without mercy, and killed well!
After the war, everyone was still wondering: "Why is the little devil so unkind?" So many people, these days have not laid down our small village! ”
At this point, the villagers of Nangao Village won five battles and five victories, killed the Japanese puppet army on horseback, and won a major victory, which was not easy!
epilogue
Although tunnel warfare has brought tremendous pressure to the enemy, after all, it is a component part of the war of resistance behind enemy lines, and it also has a certain degree of passivity, and the Eighth Route Army once stipulated: "Tunnel warfare is mainly militia, supplemented by scattered squads (usually about 10 people) of district squads or county brigade detachments, and closely combined with it." The large number of main forces is not suitable for tunnel warfare. ”
The great Chinese people, the great War of Resistance Against Japan, and high respects to the great revolutionary martyrs and heroes of the War of Resistance against Japan!
(Editor's note: This article is 4188 words, the 46th original article in 2022)