In early November 1943, the main forces of the 3rd, 13th, 68th, 116th, and other four divisions of the Japanese Army and their detachments of Sasaki, Koga, Toda, Tsuda, and Miyagaki, under the command of the commander of the Eleventh Army, Yokoyama, with 100,000 infantry brigades and 104 yamano cannons, under the cover of aircraft artillery fire, launched a fierce attack on the vast front between Yidu and Huarong in 12 routes, and began a campaign aimed at capturing Changde.
On November 4, the Provisional Fifth Division was ordered to accompany the Seventy-third Army into Shimen County and undertake the task of blocking the attack on the outskirts of Changde. Peng Shiliang knew that the responsibility was heavy and the task was arduous, and after he accompanied Wang Zhibin, commander of the Seventy-third Army, to inspect the position, he was surprised that Shimen was such an important strategic place, and the previous garrison troops did not even build the minimum fortifications. The Japanese attack on Shimen was not blocked by river obstacles and mountains, and Shimen had no danger to rely on and no danger to defend. At this time, General Peng Shiliang ordered the whole division to desperately defend! Faith is a lamp, and the heat of the lamp burns the entire Fifth Division and every Miao soldier in the division to ignite the burning faith, setting a benchmark for the national soldiers in the entire Changde defense war.
On November 8, the Japanese army broke through the front-line defenses of the Chinese army and directly entered the positions of the Seventy-third Army. At dawn on the 13th, it blocked the retreat of the Seventy-third Army. In the early morning of the 14th, the seventy-third army headquarters and the divisions were interrupted. At noon, the Japanese army completed the encirclement on all sides, and the Seventy-third Army was in danger.
At 3:00 p.m., Peng Shiliang led the guard company of the Provisional Fifth Division, rushed left and right, found Wang Zhibin, the commander of the Seventy-third Army, who had been scattered, and resolutely requested that the Temporary Fifth Division be left behind and cover the breakthrough of the main force of the Army headquarters and the Seventy-third Army. At this time, the Japanese army was still increasing its troops. After General Peng Shiliang saw that the commander led the 15th and 17th Divisions to break out to the west, he encouraged the subordinates of the Provisional Fifth Division: "The Shimen area is the doorstep of Xiangxi, which is related to the overall war situation in Changde and the safety of the rear areas of Xiangxi and Chongqing. We must coexist and die with Shimen, and we must exchange our flesh and blood for the vitality of the entire campaign, no matter how the officers and men at all levels got along with each other before, at this time, we are at the forefront of the front line, I have shared honor and disgrace with you and other Miao boys, and I live and die with all the officers and men of the Fifth Division such as me! It is better to die than to retreat." In the evening, the Japanese army stepped up its siege. The Provisional Fifth Division suffered 89 out of 10 casualties, and almost all of the fortifications were destroyed. On the 15th, just after dawn, the invading Japanese army attacked the city several times and was repelled by the Provisional Fifth Division. Although the Provisional Fifth Division was in the midst of extreme difficulties, the Shimen was still standing unharmed, the Provisional Fifth Division still had one person surviving, the Shimen was still in The hands of China, by this time on the 15th, the Provisional Fifth Division had been fighting hard for eight consecutive days and nights, the troops suffered more than half of the casualties, the enemy's strength was more than 30,000 and several times the weapons and equipment of the Provisional Fifth Division were several times better than the Provisional Fifth Division of the Nationalist Miscellaneous Army. With the besieging Japanese army to carry out a brutal and bloody hand-to-hand combat, the streets, alleys, and houses have become strongholds, and the dead batch and the previous batch are contested in Shimen City with large knives and bayonets. In the afternoon, when the task of covering the retreat of the 73rd Army was completed, the Provisional Fifth Division received a telegram from the commander of the Sixth Theater Headquarters on the evening of the 15th and was ordered to withdraw from Shimen, but when it was surrounded by the Japanese Kou when crossing the river, Commander Peng Shiliang personally commanded the troops to break through, and unfortunately was hit by enemy machine guns at the Nanyan Gate, and he was seriously injured and shouted to kill, and the loyalty and courage moved the officers and men present to cry endlessly. Before dying, the general shouted with all his might: "The eldest husband is loyal to the country, filial piety to the nation, and he regrets his death!" At the same time, zheng xun, chief of staff of the division, was martyred. The Temporary 5th Division, which lost its command, was even more leaderless. Mission accomplished, ammunition exhausted. There are no reinforcements, the stone gate is guarded alone, the heart has no belonging, and the slaughter of dogs is the greatest wish in the heart.
After the battle, according to the statistics of the Military Commission of the National Government, the Seventy-third Army lost 80% of its troops in the battle from November 12 to 15, of which nearly 10,000 people of the Provisional Fifth Division were almost completely killed, 8,000 Sons of the Miao people in Western Hunan Province, 1,000 Tujia Bizka, and 500 Han men were all martyred. At this time, the fourteenth regiment of the thirteenth regiment of the provisional fifth division division, and the fifteenth regiment were all martyred. The whole division is loyal and the three armies are brave. During the four-year period when the Fifth Division went east to Xiangxi to fight the War of Resistance, it was at the forefront of the line of fire and was known for being able to fight hard and fight hard. After the Battle of Changde, Wang Zhibin, commander of the 73rd Army, was dismissed, Chiang Kai-shek claimed that he would never be hired, and a generation of Generals of the Xiang Army ended their decades of military career and returned to their hometown of Yongshun in western Hunan alone. Peng Shiliang was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general by major generals.
In the Battle of Changde recorded by the Taiwan side, it is written that the 73rd Army was ordered to retreat, lost a heavy town, fell to good generals, and caused heavy losses to the 73rd Army. Only the Provisional Fifth Division of the 73rd Army and Commander Peng fought hard against the Japanese Kou, consuming a large number of Japanese troops, delaying the time for the enemy to attack, and enabling our army to make full preparations and win the final victory for the Battle of Changde. ”。 At that time, Various Chinese and foreign newspapers such as Xinhua Daily, Central Daily, Forward Tribune, and London News Chronicle of the United Kingdom spoke highly of the battle and the Provisional Fifth Division. This is the Provisional Fifth Division in Western Hunan Province, and this is the story of our ancestors, the banner! Thousands of soldiers defended the frontier in obscurity. (Collected and sorted according to the network)