I. An Overview of the People's Anti-Japanese Armed Struggle in the "Triangle Resistance Zone" in southeastern Liaoning
On September 27, 1931, after the "September 18" incident, patriots from all walks of life in the northeast established the "Northeast People's Anti-Japanese Salvation Association" in Beiping, and General Huang Xiansheng, a patriotic general from Xiuyan, as one of the executive committee members of the association, actively mobilized and deployed the establishment of a people's anti-Japanese armed force in various places - the "Northeast Volunteer Army". From September 1931 to April 1932, 93 of the 154 counties in the three northeastern provinces established anti-Japanese organizations, with a total number of about 500,000 anti-Japanese volunteers, and the anti-Japanese activity areas of each volunteer army formed various "anti-resistance areas" of different sizes. There are about 300,000 volunteer troops in Liaoning, and there are 58 route army and 27 independent detachments with official names. In the eight years from 1931 to 1939, a number of anti-Japanese detachments spontaneously organized by the masses of the people emerged in the Xiuyan area, which was one of the earliest and longest lasting areas in Liaoning Province at that time. Because Xiuyan County is located in the center of the triangle east of the South Manchuria (Shenda) Railway, south of the Anfeng (Shendan) Railway, and west of the Dandong to Dalian coastline, and because the mountains are densely forested, the terrain is complex, and the enthusiasm of the rural masses to resist Japan is conducive to carrying out guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, the anti-Japanese volunteer forces of all units have taken the Xiuyan Mountains as their base, between the South Manchuria and Anfeng Railways, and in Xiuyan and the surrounding counties of Benxi, Fengcheng, Andong (present-day Dandong), Zhuanghe and other counties, they have launched frequent attacks on the Japanese puppet army, seriously interfering with the lifeline of the Japanese army's transportation At one time, the "triangle resistance zone" in southeast liaoning centered on Xiuyan was formed. The "triangle resistance zone" was like a steel knife inserted in the hinterland of the enemy's rule, posing a huge threat to the Japanese and puppet rule in southern Manchuria and dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese and puppet regimes.
Second, the rise and development of the three main anti-Japanese armed forces in the "Triangle Resistance Zone."
1. Deng Tiemei and his "Northeast People's Self-Defense Army"
Deng Tiemei
Deng Tiemei, formerly known as Deng Guru, is a native of Benxi County, Liaoning Province. In 1916, he graduated from the Fengtian Higher Police Academy in Liaoning Province and entered the police circles, and in 1928, he was appointed as the director of the Public Security Bureau of Fengcheng County, Liaoning Province. In 1929, he was appointed police inspector of Liaoning Province. In 1931, he became the police chief of Mudanjiang City, and was later dismissed from his post and went to Jinzhou to live idly. After the "9.18" incident, under the influence and support of General Huang Xiansheng, Deng Tiemei went to Xiuyan to form an anti-Japanese team. In October 1931, at the inaugural meeting of the "Northeast People's Self-Defense Army" (hereinafter referred to as the "Self-Defense Army") held in the Gujiabaozi Gujia compound of Xiaotanggou Village, Chaoyang Township, Xiuyan County, Deng Tiemei proposed: "Armed resistance to Japan and defense of the hometown." He also put forward: 'Resist Japan and save the country, protect the people first; do not compromise, do not surrender to the enemy; do not disturb the people, do not flirt with women' chapters of the law and 'do not love money, do not fear death, the unity of the army and the people; resist Japan and save the country, recover the lost land, kill all the slaves' discipline and action plan of the troops." Due to the establishment of the "Self-Defense Army", in line with the will of the broad masses of the people to resist Japan, by the end of 1931, the team was expanded to more than 1500 people, and the structure was divided into 3 brigades and 1 elite knife team. The "Self-Defense Army" took Jianshan Yao Township (present-day Dayingzi Town, Xiuyan County) as its base and operated between andang, Xiuyan, and Fengcheng counties. On the night of December 26, 1931, the "Self-Defense Army" severely damaged the Japanese and puppet garrisons in Fengcheng, killing more than 50 Japanese puppet troops, and seizing more than 300 guns of various types, 2 mortars and a large amount of ammunition. The Battle of Fengcheng Raid was the first large-scale armed resistance of the people of Liaoning against the Japanese Kou since the "9.18" incident, which caused great shock and repercussions in Liaoning and the whole country at that time, and greatly inspired the determination of the Chinese people to resist Japan and save the country. After this battle, the "Self-Defense Army" army was initially shaken, and then it fought more than a hundred battles in the area of Fengcheng, Xiuyan, and Zhuanghe, and the team continued to grow and develop. At the beginning of 1932, the "Self-Defense Army" was expanded into 9 regiments. In March of the same year, the "Northeast People's Anti-Japanese Salvation Congress" sent Miao Kexiu and others to the "Self-Defense Army" to investigate, and then unified the "Self-Defense Army" into the "28th Route Army of the Northeast People's Anti-Japanese Salvation Army" Deng Tiemei as commander. In its heyday, Deng Tiemei's "Self-Defense Army" had a strength of more than 30,000 troops, and it was an early and influential anti-Japanese armed force established in northeast China after the "September 18" incident, and it was also a strong force of the Northeast Volunteer Army.
2. Anti-Japanese armed forces led by Liu Jingwen
Liu Jingwen, also spelled Huaixi, was originally the commander of the joint defense police brigade in nine counties, including Andong, Huanren, Benxi, Zhuanghe, and Xiuyan. After the "9.18" incident, he was appointed as the chairman of the public security maintenance committee of Xiuyan County. On March 1, 1932, after the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo, he served as the county magistrate and public security bureau chief of the puppet Xiuyan County, and in order to strengthen his control, the guidance officer of the puppet Xiuyan County Office sent Ri rengang village to co-opt and monitor Liu Jingwen. After the establishment of Deng Tiemei's "Northeast People's Self-Defense Army," Liu was deeply touched and ashamed. In May 1932, Liu Jingwen led more than 3,000 people from the pseudo-Xiuyan County Public Security Brigade and the newly built Self-Defense Brigade to revolt against Japan, and accepted the "Northeast People's Anti-Japanese Salvation Congress" as the "Northeast People's Anti-Japanese Salvation Army 56th Route Army" Liu Jingwen was appointed as the commander of the Seventh Front Army and the commander of the 56th Route Army. In the heyday of Liu Jingwen's ministry, he had nine brigades under his jurisdiction, with more than 10,000 troops, and was an important force in the anti-Japanese resistance in southern Liaoning. Based on xiuyan county, Liu Bu fought more than a hundred battles in the "triangle resistance zone" and the surrounding areas of Dagushan, Bee Ridge, Humen Mountain, Guanmen Mountain, Qingduizi, and Dongpozi, and dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese puppet army.
3. The "Young Iron Blooded Army" led by Miao Kexiu, Zhao Tong and others
Mother of Zhao Dong (Old Lady with Two Guns)
In mid-March 1933, after the Japanese puppet army carried out the first major "crusade" against the "triangle anti-resistance zone" (detailed below), in view of the grim anti-Japanese struggle situation, Miao Kexiu, who was then the general counselor of Deng Tiemei's department, held a secret meeting with Zhao Dong, Zhao Wei, Liu Zhuangfei, Bai Chengrun, Liu Tianfu and others at the Hongqigou of xiuyan whistle river. Through the analysis of the situation of the anti-Japanese struggle in the "triangle anti-japanese zone," it was unanimously held that in the face of a strong enemy, to persist in the protracted struggle, it is necessary to build a backbone contingent with firm thinking, discipline, and combat effectiveness. It was decided to form an "anti-Japanese Einsatzgruppen." Liu Zhuangfei and Bai Chengrun are the main and vice captains. Due to the ability of the personnel, strict discipline, and bravery in combat, this team, which at first had only a dozen people, grew to more than 100 people by the end of the year, and was called a "model team" by the people of Xiuyan. Based on this team, on February 1, 1934, Miao Kexiu invited Zhao Tong, Zhao Wei, Liu Zhuangfei, Bai Chengrun, Wang Yue, Tang Guangxue, Shi Shaoqian, Zhao Enze, Sheng Meiwu and others to hold a meeting at Sandaohuling in the territory of xiuyan whistle river, and decided to form a "young iron-blooded army" (hereinafter referred to as the "iron-blooded army"), with the intention of resisting Japan and saving the country with the intention of "black iron and red blood". The "Predator Army" is an anti-Japanese contingent with patriotic youth as the main force. Among them were teachers and students from primary and secondary schools in Xiuyan, Fengcheng, Benxi, and Zhuanghe areas, as well as young cadet fighters from the former Deng Tiemei's "Self-Defense Army," as well as many young intellectuals and young peasants. For example, among the captains and deputy captains of the brigade, there are Liang Daguang, Bai Futian, Cao Dayuan, Shi Shaoqian, Tang Guangxue, Wang Jingguo, and others who have all graduated or graduated from universities and junior colleges.
After the Japanese puppet army carried out many "crusades" against the "triangle resistance zone", the two volunteer armies of Deng and Liu were forced to disperse. In February 1935, Miao Kexiu incorporated the remnants of the Deng and Liu armies. In January 1936, Zhao Tong, Yan Shengtang, Bai Chengrun, Cao Guoshi and other leaders of the "Iron Blooded Army" held a meeting in Erdaogou Village, Hongqiyingzi Town, Xiuyan County, and announced the establishment of China's first anti-Japanese regime behind enemy lines, the "Provisional Government of Southern Liaoning", and elected Zhao Dong as the president of the government and the commander-in-chief of the "Iron-Blooded Army". Wang Fengge, Liang Xifu, Sun Shoushan, Zhu Haishan, and Huang Xishan were the commanders-in-chief of the various road armies. The above troops, together with the headquarters of the "Iron Blooded Army", have developed the "Iron Blooded Army" from more than 100 people at the time of its founding to more than 12,000 soldiers. At the same time, the "Iron Blooded Army" also actively contacted the Korean anti-Japanese armed forces to form the "Sino-DPRK Anti-Japanese Allied Army", which set a precedent for the two occupied countries to jointly resist the war during World War II. The "Predatory Army" fought more than 300 battles in succession, killing and wounding more than 4,000 Japanese puppet military and policemen and capturing more than 2,000 prisoners. At a difficult time for the volunteer army, the climax of the people's anti-Japanese struggle in the "triangle anti-japanese zone" was once again set off.
III. The five "crusades" of the Japanese puppet army against the "triangle resistance zone" and the continued fighting of the remnants of the anti-Japanese armed forces
Due to the existence of the "Triangle Resistance Zone", it seriously threatened the rear transportation line of the Japanese army in southern Manchuria. In order to eliminate the volunteer army in the "Triangle Resistance Zone", the Japanese Dongguan Army carried out several large-scale military "crusades" against the "Triangle Resistance Zone" of Xiuyan from 1932 to 1935. On December 13, 1932, the Japanese and puppet authorities, with the 2nd Division of the Kwantung Army and the 3rd and 4th Brigades of the Independent Garrison as the main force, coerced several brigades of the puppet Manchu army with a total of more than 10,000 people, and launched a two-way attack on the "Triangle Resistance Zone" from Benxi and Andong. Due to the menacing force of the Japanese puppet army and the lack of experience in dealing with large-scale "crusades" in the "triangle resistance zone", in the early stage, they adopted the method of fortifying everywhere and attacking separately, dispersing the troops, so that the Strongholds of the Volunteer Army such as the Dragon King Temple and the Jianshan Kiln were lost one after another. The various volunteer armies were forced to move to the vicinity of Madaogou. By the end of December, after resting the troops and reformulating their combat strategies, Deng Tiemei and Miao Kexiu commanded more than a thousand members of the volunteer army to launch a counterattack against the Japanese puppet army stationed in Wenjia Street with the cooperation of the Zhuanghe Knife Team, the Japanese army retreated to Honghualing, the volunteer army took advantage of the victory to pursue, killed more than 10 Japanese troops, and recovered the Jianshan kiln with a single blow, this battle is known as the Battle of Honghualing. At the same time, Liu Jingwen led his troops to kill more than 30 Japanese officers and men in the Battle of GuanmenShan, more than 50 Japanese soldiers under the long post of shaosa, more than 100 puppet troops, 12 Japanese pseudo-Liaoyang counselors Chengze Zhiliang and 12 Japanese troops, and more than 500 puppet soldiers surrendered their weapons. After the volunteer army defeated the first major "crusade" of the Japanese puppet army, the Japanese puppet army implemented the inhumane "three lights" policy in the "triangle resistance zone", and also implemented the consolidation of cantonments and households in the areas where the volunteer army was often active, and created no man's land. At this time, more than 20,000 volunteer troops from all walks of life continued to fight under difficult conditions.
In April 1933, the Japanese puppet army, which was not willing to be defeated, concentrated its superior forces to carry out a second major "crusade" against the "triangle resistance area", and after the end of the "crusade", the Japanese army added a Japanese puppet army stronghold and a pseudo-police branch office in Xiuyan County, established a "armor protection system", and implemented the "joint sitting method". The link between the volunteer army and the masses of the people was cut off, and the various volunteer armies were restricted to the area north of the Dragon King Temple and south of the White Flag Fort. Subsequently, the strength of the troops was gradually reduced, and under the attack of the dense firepower of the Japanese puppet army, the various volunteer armies were constantly killed and injured, and they were forced to move and carry out guerrilla activities in small units.
After that, in late July 1933, the Japanese puppet army carried out a third "crusade" against the "triangle resistance zone" to encircle and suppress the volunteer army that dispersed its activities. In January 1934, a fourth "crusade" was carried out, and the means were even more ferocious. Under the brutal crusade of the enemy, the Volunteer Army was in an extremely difficult situation, and many soldiers died of cold and hunger. In order to preserve the anti-Japanese flames of the "Triangle Resistance Zone" from being extinguished, in January 1934, Deng Tiemei held a meeting at Xiuyan Archway And decided to break it into pieces and reorganize the "Self-Defense Army" into a small-scale guerrilla war with the enemy in a detachment. In May 1934, Deng Tiemei was unable to join the army due to illness. On the 27th, he was secretly sent to the home of relatives of Zhangjiabaozi in Xiaocaigou, Fengcheng County (now part of Dayingzi Township, Xiuyan County) to recuperate, but was unexpectedly detected by the Japanese and pseudo "assassination team". On May 30, Deng Tiemei was unfortunately arrested and secretly killed by the Japanese Kou on September 28, 1934, at the age of 43 in the Fengtian Pseudo-Army Prison. On August 1, 1935, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China called Deng Tiemei "a national hero who sacrificed his life for the salvation of the country" in the "Letter to All Compatriots for Resisting Japan and Saving the Country", that is, the famous "August 1st Declaration".
After four "crusades" by the Japanese puppet army, the number of anti-Japanese armed forces in the "Triangle Resistance Zone" was sharply reduced, and the troops scattered. Liu Jingwen's 56th Route Army was reduced from more than 10,000 people at the beginning of its establishment to more than 700 people, and Liu Jingwen left the army in 1934 to enter the customs. The remnants were led by Ren Fuxiang and Cao Guoshi to join the "Iron Blood army". After entering the autumn of 1934, the "Iron-Blooded Army" relied on the area around the Whistle River and Sandaohuling in the Xiuyan Mountains and used flexible guerrilla tactics to maneuver with the Japanese puppet army in the deep mountains and dense forests at the junction of Xiuyan, Fengcheng, and Zhuanghe counties. Miao Kexiu summed up the lessons of past defeats and realized the necessity of uniting other anti-Japanese forces and fighting in coordination. In the autumn of 1934, Zhao Tong and Liu Zhuang were sent to fly over the Anfeng Railway to contact Yang Jingyu's troops. Later, due to the obstruction of Yang Jingyu's troops in the east of Anfeng Road, it failed to achieve joint operations. In the spring of 1935, the Japanese puppet regime once again mobilized a large number of Japanese puppet troops to encircle the "triangle resistance zone", and on June 21, 1935, Miao Kexiu was arrested at the Zhu family compound in Xiaonantai, Erdao Yanghe, and killed on July 25, 1935. Shortly after Miao Kexiu's death, liu zhuangfei and Zhao Wei, the main leaders of the "iron-blooded army," were martyred one after another, and Zhao Dong was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the "iron-blooded army." In the summer of 1936, Zhao Dong entered the pass, with Bai Junshi as the commander-in-chief, and Yan Shengtang as the first commander to continue to fight in the "Triangle Resistance Zone". Zhao Qingji, Bai Junshi, Cao Guoshi, Guan Baoheng, and other remnants of the "Iron Blooded Army" echoed each other and stubbornly persisted in fighting under extremely difficult conditions. In 1937, Zhao Qingji and Yan Shengtang were arrested and sacrificed successively, in 1937 Cao Guoshi was wounded and left the team, in 1938 Guan Baoheng was killed, and the commander-in-chief Bai Junshi's men were finally left with only a few people, living in the cellar during the day and coming out at night to keep the anti-Japanese fire of the "triangle resistance zone" alive. In the spring of 1939, Bai Junshi prepared to sneak to the east of Anfeng Road to find Yang Jingyubu and sacrifice heroically for the enemy. After that, the "Young Predator Army" ceased to exist.
IV. Conclusion
At the critical juncture of the Chinese nation, the people of all nationalities in Xiuyan took the task of resisting Japan and saving the country one after another and spontaneously organized and participated in the anti-Japanese armed struggle. Among the anti-Japanese volunteer army, there were poor peasants, young students with boiling blood, patriotic intellectuals, retired veteran military and policemen, enlightened gentry, former officers and men of the Northeast Army who rushed out of the camp, green forest troops who automatically changed course, and patriots from other provinces and counties who came to join the volunteer army. They stepped forward at the critical juncture of the destruction of the country and the death of their families, sacrificed their lives and forgot their deaths for the same goal - the expulsion of the Japanese aggressors, fought in bloody battles, united with the anti-Japanese armed forces everywhere, condensed into a rolling torrent against the Japanese Kou, and made immortal contributions to the cause of national liberation. It has also made the people's anti-Japanese armed struggle in the "triangle anti-resistance zone" in the southeast of Liaodong, centered on Xiuyan, a part of the magnificent Chinese people's War of Resistance Against Japan, who have forged the immortal soul of the nation with their blood and lives; their efforts will always be worthy of being remembered by future generations.
Author: Wang Liwei
(The original work was published at the "918 Incident and the Awakening of the Chinese Nation" Academic Symposium")