Statement: Wu Xuehua rewrote it based on relevant real historical materials and refused to reprint it for profit
One day in early November 1939, on that day when the water was dripping into ice, a small unit of our Eighth Route Army, in the process of counter-sweeping, moved to a mountain beam in Laiyuan Loess Ridge, Hebei Province, and when they saw that there were Japanese troops moving next to an earthen house in the ravine, and it looked like it was the headquarters of the Japanese army, regardless of the three seven twenty-one, took out the mortar they carried with them, and a shell hit it...
The above is the shot in the movie, which is the history of art.
Of course, history is true, and Abe Norihide, the "flower of famous generals," was indeed blown up by the Eighth Route Army, but the question arises, which unit of the Eighth Route Army fought so accurately?
Let's flip through the real history.
According to the situation at that time, the area around Loess Ridge was under the jurisdiction of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and the Eighth Route Army participating in the battle was the Jin-Cha-Ji 1st and 3rd Sub-districts and the 120th Division Special Service Regiment.
On the side of the Eighth Route Army, it is only known that the Japanese lieutenant general was killed, but each said its own thing about the specific time and place. These three units were all engaged in the Japanese army at Loess Ridge, and all of them fired mortars, but it is really uncertain which one, for the sake of the unity of the troops, this matter has been delayed.
Below, I will carefully examine it according to the information from all sides, and while restoring history, I also pay tribute to the heroic commanders and fighters of the Eighth Route Army, who defended the motherland with their blood.
According to the war reports provided by the Japanese army later, in early November 1939, Abe Norihide led the Japanese North China Front garrison in Mongolia into an independent mixed second brigade to carry out the so-called "third phase of the security and rectification plan" to encircle and suppress the anti-Japanese base areas in the south of Laiyuan, Hebei.
On November 3, the first brigade under Abe Norihide was severely damaged by the Eighth Route Army at Yansu Cliff, and Abe Norihide, a "famous general flower" who was good at mountain warfare, came to retaliate with his troops.
In the process of turning in, the Second Brigade and Regiment only encountered the attack and harassment of a small group of troops of the Eighth Route Army, and there was no large-scale battle, which further increased the arrogance of Abe Norihide, believing that the Eighth Route Army had fled in the wind, so it marched without anyone around, arrived at Loess Ridge at dusk on the 6th, and camped on the spot, and caused it on the 7th, Abe Norihide issued a new battle plan to the troops along the "Loess Ridge - Shangzhuangzi - Zhaituo - Qiaojia River Channel", and it was the first largest brigade that was severely damaged by the Eighth Route Army as the forward. When the first brigade of the Japanese army reached the area of Jiaochang Village and Shangzhuangzi, it engaged in a fierce battle with the 1st Regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji 1st Sub-district of the Eighth Route Army, which had long been ambushed, and the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the 3rd Sub-district, while the Special Task Force Regiment of the 120th Division sneaked behind the Japanese army and waited for an opportunity.
Faced with the blockade of the Eighth Route Army, Abe Norihide ordered the troops to break through the west through the Loess Ridge (Japanese Army", "Detailed Report on the Battle Near Shangzhuangzi"). After being blocked by the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army was trapped in the beast and frantically attacked in an attempt to open a gap.
Fan Zhongxiang, political commissar of the 120th Division's special task force, recalled:
At 1 p.m., the enemy concentrated its forces and repeatedly charged the position of the second battalion of our special task force on the highlands east of the Loess Ridge in an attempt to break through the road. Relying on the favorable terrain of the high ground, the second battalion, supported by the fire of the regimental mortar and machine gun company, fought fiercely with the enemy for about two hours, repelling five consecutive enemy attacks...
("The Journey of General Fan Zhongxiang")
Chen Zhengxiang, the leader of the 1st regiment, recalled:
At noon on the 7th, the enemy concentrated nearly 300 commandos in a vain attempt to retake the Loess Ridge under the cover of ground and air fire and open a breakthrough. But the enemy did not succeed. Afternoon...... The enemy to the west of the teaching grounds used the corners of the walls on the hills on both sides and several independent courtyards along the village to form a blockade of fire from the westward Loess Ridge, and once again organized a commando force of about 300 people to attack the Loess Ridge in an attempt to open the escape route.
According to some historical data, when the two sides fought fiercely, Abe Norihide was blown up by the mortars of the Eighth Route Army about 1,000 meters south of Shangzhuangzi, and then died.
So, where are the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army?
According to the "Diary of General Chen Zhengxiang in the Battle", the mortars of the first division were in the 803 highland northeast of Shangzhuangzi, known locally as the White Face Slope, which was more than 700 meters away from the place where Abe Norihide was killed. Within range of a mortar attack?
Let's look at the 120th Division's special task force. At that time, the special regiment of the 120th Division was ordered to carry three mortars to the Loess Ridge to participate in the battle, and their artillery position was located about 100 meters northeast of Hill 3. It is 400 to 500 meters away from the yard where Norihide Abe was killed.
According to later Japanese war reports, the eighth route army had mortars in two positions, one north and one south, which roughly corresponded to the positions of the first regiment and the special service regiment.
But when exactly was Norihide Abe killed? According to the "Diary of General Chen Zhengxiang in the Battle":
On the 7th, there were two shelling attacks, the first in the morning was to hit the small hill in the middle south of the independent house in the teaching field, and at four or five o'clock in the afternoon, there were several rounds in the ravine north of the independent courtyard...
Luo Yuanfa, who served as the political commissar of a sub-district, recalled:
We observed from the telescope that a group of people, several of them dressed in yellow tweed coats, were also holding telescopes to observe our army on the top of a hill on the south bank of the river ditch. Comrade Chen Zhengxiang immediately ordered the mortar company to aim at the target and fire several shells in a row...
The famous writer Wei Wei also has another theory, he was then serving as an education officer of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment, ambushed on the mountain beam, and saw the scene with his own eyes, which he described in the "Battle Diary of Loess Ridge":
...... I saw a few people coming out of a separate house near Shangzhuangzi, pointing and pointing, much like a group of commanders. A comrade said, "Our mortar, if only we could wedge a few shots at it!" "In between words, several shells exploded there one after another. After the smoke passed, several bodies fell, and the rest ran to the house.
Did Norihide Abe die on the hillside or in the ravine?
The battle at that time was so fierce that no one involved could remember clearly, which was understandable. But a figure as big as Abe Norihide, the strict Style of the Japanese Army, must have recorded in detail the place of his death.
According to the "North China Public Security War":
After 16:00 on the 7th, after listening to the situation report of the brigade commander, the brigade commander moved the command post to a nearby single courtyard and immediately summoned the teams to accept orders. When preparing to issue the order to organize the battle line, a mortar shell suddenly flew in, exploded in the courtyard, and the brigade commander died immediately, and the brigade staff officers were all wounded...
"North China Public Security War" is a combat history compiled by the Defense Training Institute of the Japanese Defense Agency, and its contents are mainly taken from the orders, documents, combat documents and other archival materials of the Japanese army that invaded China in that year, which has strong reference value.
There is also evidence that Abe Norihide's superior, commander of the Mongolian Army, Naosaburo Okabe, said that according to the "Diary of General Naosaburo Okabe", after the incident, he went to the hospital to visit Ishikawa Daisaku, a brigade staff officer who was bombed together, and Ishikawa Daisaku told him:
...... At dusk, in order to adjust the battle line, the brigade commander gathered the officers who had received the order in the small village low behind the first line, and as the family was preparing to give the order, the mortar shell flew and exploded...
That is to say, Norihide Abe should have died in the courtyard, not on the hillside and hillside. It is inconsistent with the "mountaintop," "ravine," or "nearby" identified by our army.
(The picture above is the courtyard where Norihide Abe was killed, and the earth pit has been filled in and the Chinese flag has been planted))
According to Chen Zhengxiang's diary, on the day that Abe Norihide was bombed, there were two shelling attacks in the first division, the first time hitting the mountain, the second time hitting the ravine, and it seems that none of them exploded Abe. The Japanese side also said that it was bombed at dusk, which was different from the shelling time recorded by Chen Zhengxiang.
If the shell that killed Abe had not come from the First Division, it could only have come from the Special Forces Regiment. Geographically, the location where Abe Norihide was bombed was closer to the position of the special task force. On the side of the special task force, no one can say for sure how many rounds were fired and how they were fought.
On January 21, 1940, Nie Rongzhen, commander and political commissar of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, issued a commendation to the artillery company of the first sub-district, commending the company for "hitting the enemy chief with accurate shooting" in the Battle of Loess Ridge and making special achievements.
Such a great credit was given to the first division, and the commanders and fighters of the 120th Division's special task force were unconvinced.
Finally, He Long, commander of the 120th Division, spoke: Who killed him is not the same? Everyone is the Eighth Route Army, what is there to fight for?
This is the marshal's arrogance and boldness.
Decades have passed, and it is still doubtful whether the mortar shell that killed Abe Noriko came from the First Division or the Special Service Corps. However, this honor belongs to the Eighth Route Army, and there is no doubt about it!
(Adapted from relevant historical materials)