On April 16, 1944, the Japanese troops trapped in Gaogou and Yangkou had signs of retreating to Lianshui City, and they retreated to Lianshui City on the 18th, leaving Gao and Yang with the puppet army in the trap. At the same time, the headquarters of the 3rd Division transferred to the headquarters of the army to report on the enemy situation, and the Japanese army in Lianyungang was in four columns, loaded with equipment and personnel, and drove west along the Longhai Railway, and on 18 April, the Japanese army began to attack Zhengzhou. At that time, the armies of Hitler, the allies of Japanese imperialism, were losing ground on the Soviet-German battlefield, and the armies of Japanese imperialism were also suffering crushing defeats in the Pacific War.
On 15 November 1942, the Japanese puppet army dispatched more than 7,000 men to carry out a large-scale "sweep" in the Huaihai base area; after more than a year of arduous struggles between "sweeping" and counter-"sweeping," "encroachment" and "encroachment," and between counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting, the situation in the base areas underwent major changes, and by the winter of 1943, the Japanese puppet army had uprooted dozens of strongholds in the base areas and annihilated more than 5,000 Japanese puppet troops, so that the Huaihai base areas had basically returned to the situation before the Japanese puppet "sweeps." Our main forces and local armed forces in Huaihai have also developed and grown stronger through this struggle. The main force has grown from more than 3,200 to more than 8,000, and the local armed forces (counties, districts, and townships) include about 9,000 people who have been separated from production. In the struggle against "sweeping," because we have conscientiously implemented the policy of unifying leadership, streamlining the administration of the army, and localizing the main force, we have also launched a campaign to create model corps, model party branches, and model party members in the subordinate units. Under the impetus of this movement, the fighting quality of our main forces and local armed forces has been markedly enhanced, and the political consciousness, ideological level, and tactical and technical level have also been greatly improved, and in particular, there has been a fundamental change in the fighting style. The troops will fight not only guerrilla warfare, but also movement warfare and storming fortifications.
The Gao and Yang strongholds, established on November 15, 1942 after the Japanese puppet army's large-scale "sweep", are the largest strongholds inserted into the eastern part of the Huaihai base area, and are also the largest market towns in the east, and are the key places connecting the two major base areas of Huaihai District and Yanfu District. Gaogou is located in the southeast of Yangkou, on the south bank of the South Liutang River. Yangkou is located in the northwest of Gaogou, the north bank of the Liutang River, in the middle of the north and south Liutang River, there is a small island (lake dangdi) about 30 miles long from east to west, the widest section is about five or six miles, in the spring, autumn and winter can be waded in vain, and can not be waded in summer.
Since the Japanese retreated from Gao and Yang, Gaogou was guarded by more than 1,200 people from the 144th Regiment of Li Shifu's Department of the 72nd Brigade of the 36th Division of the Puppet Army, the Security Regiment, the 72nd Brigade Office, and the Police Department. More than 1,300 people from the 143rd Regiment and the 5th Security Brigade led by the Brigade Headquarters of the 72nd Brigade of the 36th Puppet Division were stationed at Yangkou, with Yangkou as the core, and there were eight interconnected strongholds, each of which also built fortifications such as bunkers, turrets, outer trenches, and barbed wire. The enemies of Gao and Yang, since the withdrawal of the Japanese army, are like lost dogs, panicking all day long, losing confidence in holding on, wanting to withdraw, but the Japanese invaders do not allow it, and are in a dilemma of defending and retreating, and their morale is very low.
In the spring of 1944, major changes took place in the situation of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression behind enemy lines. The Japanese puppet army has changed from taking the initiative to "sweep", "encroach", and falsify our base areas to passively trapping and guarding the dotted line. Our army, on the other hand, has shifted from opposing "sweeping," "encroachment," and anti-counterfeiting to launching a local counteroffensive. Since most of the enemy's puppet strongholds were uprooted by us, the Gao and Yang strongholds became isolated strongholds, and the Gaoyang Campaign was launched under this favorable situation.
The military and political party committee of the Huaihai Navy Sub-district analyzed the overall situation and the specific situation of the puppet armies trapped in Gao and Yang, and held that it was a good opportunity to uproot the stronghold of Gao Yang, so it decided to concentrate the troops of our 1st, 4th, and 2nd detachments and the six regiments of our three counties and counties in Lianshui, Shuyang, and Guanyun to launch the Gao and Yang campaigns. Its specific arrangements were: Before 24 o'clock on 21 April, the first and fourth detachments were to divide and encircle the enemy at Gaogou and Yangkou, with one detachment responsible for encircling Yangkou as the core surrounding strongholds, and the fourth detachment with two regiments and a guard company responsible for encircling the strongholds with Gaogou as the core respectively, and one regiment and the Lianshui County headquarters to be deployed at an appropriate position southeast of Gaogou to prepare to snipe the enemy reinforced from Lianshui and Xin'an towns to Gao and Yang. The Shuyang and Guanyun county corps were responsible for the task of monitoring the enemy in Shuyang and Guanyun. The second detachment and six regiments were the general reserve. Although the enemy of Gao and Yang was demoralized and extremely weak in combat effectiveness, their fortifications were very strong, so we still adopted a steady and steady tactics in our fighting methods, and after surrounding the enemy, we carried out close forcing operations, combining flat and curved mortar fire, and built close-range machine gun positions, covering the infantry with machine gun fire to deliver explosives, and destroying the enemy's bunkers and artillery towers. All participating units were limited to complete the division and encirclement of the enemy in Gao and Yang respectively by 24 o'clock in the evening of the 21st.
Originally, the first and fourth detachments that were scheduled to attack Gaogou and Yangkou were acting in unison, but because the squad leader of a squad of the puppet army guarding the south gate of Gaogou led the uprising and received our army into the city, the four detachments acted ahead of schedule on the evening of the 19th, and the 10th regiment of the 4th detachment entered the city after dusk on the 19th, and successfully occupied the three strongholds of the police station, the 72nd Brigade office, and the district office, and successively captured more than 10 enemy artillery towers, and completely annihilated the defending enemy. At dawn on the 20th, the enemy concentrated his forces and carried out several counterattacks in a vain attempt to recapture the lost stronghold, but they were all routed by our 10th regiment. After the 10th Regiment defeated the enemy, it strengthened the fortifications and carried out close operations to several large strongholds in the northeast corner. At the same time, the 11th Regiment of the 4th Detachment attacked the pseudo-stronghold of Zhangzhuang in the southwest of Gaogou with a company, conquered it in one fell swoop, and annihilated all the defending enemies. The main force of the 11th Regiment then conquered the stronghold of Xiaohuangzhuang southeast of Gaogou and completely annihilated the defending enemy. On the evening of the 20th, the 11th Regiment entered the city to join the 10th Regiment, and engaged in street battles with the enemy side by side, conquering the stronghold of the puppet 144th Regiment and destroying the enemy, while the remaining enemy fled into several large strongholds in the northeast corner. On the 21st, more than 500 Japanese puppet troops dispatched from Xin'an Town to reinforce Gaogou, and the four detachments sent the detachment guard company into the town in order to fight the enemy reinforcements, and cooperated with the 10th Regiment to hold the position that had been taken, and transferred the 11th Regiment out of the town, and cooperated with the 12th Regiment and the Lianshui Corps to meet the enemy who came to the aid of Xin'an Town. After the 11th Regiment repelled the enemy, it entered the town and fought side by side with the 10th Regiment. On the 23rd, more than 50 Japanese troops in Xin'an Town, and more than 600 people from the puppet army Zhou Faqian and Pu Yinglong, were divided into two routes along the Nanliutang River to reinforce Gaogou. More than 50 Japanese troops and more than 200 puppet soldiers along the way entered the Wu Erwei reinforcement position, but were annihilated by our 12th Regiment, Lianshui Corps and the 11th Regiment transferred from the town, and the remaining enemy hurriedly returned. On the other hand, more than 300 puppet troops entered Dingtouzhuang and were repulsed by the second regiment of our detachment, and the remaining enemy fled back to Xin'an Town. On the evening of the 23rd, the 11th Regiment was transferred into the town and attacked the enemy's stronghold in the northeast corner of Gaogou Town side by side with the 10th Regiment, but the enemy's fortifications were strong, and the progress was not great. At dawn on the 24th, nine puppet soldiers surrendered to us with weapons, and from the confessions of the puppet soldiers, they learned that the enemy had run out of ammunition and food, and they were panicked and tried to escape. Therefore, during the day on the 24th, in addition to closely monitoring the enemy, our troops continued to carry out close forcing operations, and our 10th and 11th regiments organized seven companies of troops to prepare for a general attack that night. Our 12th Regiment set up a interception line on the south bank of the Liutang River in the east of Gaogou, and the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Detachment set up a second interception line in the northeast of Gaogou. At dusk, the enemy began to break through, and our army took advantage of the enemy's departure from the fortifications to attack the enemy's last stronghold in one fell swoop, and most of the enemy was annihilated, and a small number of the enemy who broke through the encirclement were completely annihilated by our 12th regiment. The battle of Gaogou ended victoriously for five consecutive days and nights from the night of the 19th to the night of the 24th. The 10th Regiment held out in the town for five days and nights, and the troops were extremely tired, but the fighting spirit of the commanders and fighters was still high, and they were united in their voice, and they would not give up until the enemy was completely annihilated. The 11 th Regiment fought in the town for four nights, and during the three days it was sent out to send reinforcements, three out and three in, and fought continuously day and night, and it had a heroic and tenacious fighting style that was not afraid of fatigue and sacrifice, and all the commanders and fighters were full of confidence in victory in the total annihilation of the enemy in Gaogou.
The detachment was responsible for dividing and encircling the enemy in the strongholds around Yangkou separately, and proceeded exactly according to the original plan. That night, the three regiments of the first detachment were divided into two parts, one to conquer Geji, a stronghold on the outskirts of Yangkou, and annihilate a company of the Fifth Brigade of the Puppet Security Brigade; A detachment and a regiment attacked Wangji, a stronghold on the outskirts of Yangkou, that night, with one regiment as the main attack and three regiments as reinforcements. On the 22nd, a regiment carried out close operations on Wangji from three aspects, and at 11 o'clock the enemy of Yangkou came to the aid of Wangji, but was defeated by our third regiment in the southwest of Taomazhuang, and annihilated one of them, and the remaining enemy fled back to Yangkou. After three days and nights of close work against the enemy, the 1st regiment dug trenches about 30 to 50 meters away from the enemy's bunkers and artillery towers, and built heavy machine-gun positions and mortar flat-firing firing points at the enemy's feet. At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 25th, under the cover of our fierce firepower, a regiment attacked the enemy at Wangji in three directions, and after an hour of fierce fighting, completely annihilated the defending enemy and captured more than 160 of the enemy. After this battle, the outlying strongholds of Yangkou have been cleared. Our offensive troops were readjusted and deployed: the second and third regiments of the first detachment were the first echelon of the main attack on Yangkou, the first regiment was the second echelon, the fourth detachment and the Lianshui corps were deployed on the line of Wu Erwei, Qin Erwei and Wang Xiaowei southeast of Gaogou to snipe the enemy in Xin'an Town and Lianshui west to aid Yangkou, and the second detachment and six regiments were the general reserves. At 11 o'clock on the morning of the 26th, more than 500 enemies in Xin'an Town, along the south bank of the Nanliutang River, came to the west to aid Yangkou, and were defeated by our four detachments and the Lianshui Corps on the line of Wu Erwei and Wang Xiaowei in the southeast of Gaogou.
Yangkou Town consists of two strongholds to form the new residence of Daxu, and only after the Daxu is defeated can the core stronghold of the new house be attacked. On the 26th, the 2nd Regiment captured the leased land southeast of Yangkou, annihilated the enemy, and the remaining enemy fled back to Dawei, and on the 27th, the enemy at Yangkou counterattacked seven times, all of which were defeated by our 2nd Regiment. The 2nd Regiment and the 3rd Regiment coordinated to attack Daxu that night, and after a fierce battle, they attacked Daxu, occupied four turrets, and then expanded their results to the center of Daxu. The three regiments attacked Daxu from the north at the same time, and most of the Daxu was occupied by our second and third regiments. On the 28th, the 2nd and 3rd regiments fought side by side with the enemy in street battles. The Fifth Pseudo Security Brigade stationed in the northwest stronghold of Beiwei attempted to break through and escape into the core stronghold of the new house under the fierce attack of the three regiments, and was completely annihilated by our three regiments. In Yangkou Town, except for the core stronghold of the new house and more than 30 puppet troops led by a traitor, who were trapped in a bunker by the Xitou River in Daxu, the rest were occupied by our second and third regiments. At 12 o'clock at noon on the 29th, the captain of the Shaolin squadron of the Japanese army led more than 100 Japanese troops and more than 400 puppet soldiers to send reinforcements to the four detachments Wang Xiaowei and Wu Erwei launched a fierce attack, my commander was brave and tenacious, repelled the charge of the Japanese puppet army many times, and the casualties on both sides were large in the repeated charges, the captain of the Shaolin squadron of the Japanese army saw his soldiers fall one by one, he was angry, and urged his soldiers to rush to the position of our 11th regiment with a combat knife, Fan Shudong, the commander of the second company of the 11th regiment, took the lead and led the whole company to counterattack, and launched a white-knuckle battle, Fan Shudong stabbed to death four or five devils in a row, and was seriously wounded but still insisted on fighting with the enemy until he died gloriously. With a vengeful rage, the commander of the company became more and more courageous, and after two hours of bloody fighting, the enemy was routed. Our 11th Regiment pursued the victory, and other troops carried out a roundabout encirclement, surrounded the enemy, and in the encirclement and annihilation, wounded the leader of the Japanese Shaolin squadron, killed more than 70 Japanese soldiers, captured three Japanese soldiers alive, annihilated the remnants of the puppet army and fled back to Xin'an Town, and achieved a brilliant victory in the reinforcement battle.
The battle between Gao and Yang was in the midst of fierce fighting, and division commander and political commissar Huang Kecheng ordered the 20th Regiment of the 7th Brigade to rush from the starry night in Yanfu District to support, and arrived at Jitou on the morning of the 30th. The main force of the 20th Regiment took over from the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the 1st Detachment as the main attack on the stronghold of the new house. The first detachment and one regiment were under the command of the 20th Regiment as a reserve, and the second and third regiments of the first detachment were transferred to the north-south Taomazhuang line northeast of Yangkou to take up the task of sniping the enemy in the direction of Xiangshuikou to the west to aid Yangkou.
On 1 May, the first part of the Japanese army cooperated with more than 500 people of the puppet army Xu Jitai's department, and reinforced Yangkou along the north bank of the Beiliutang River in three routes. Beginning on 1 May, the enemy troops flew nine sorties from Lianyungang for three consecutive days to hover over Yangkou to drop bombs and strafe fires in a vain attempt to redeem their defeat and fate, not so much to embolden the enemy at Yangkou as to mourn the enemy who was about to be destroyed! The 20 th Regiment and the 1st Regiment continued to work in close proximity to build heavy machine-gun positions and mortar positions in preparation for the general attack on the Xinzhai stronghold. At 8 o'clock on 3 May, about 600 people from Xu Jitai's unit of the Xiangshuikou puppet army came to the west along the north bank of the Liutang River to aid Yangkou, and entered the 2nd and 3rd regiments in front of the reinforcement position in Taomazhuang, fought fiercely for an hour, annihilated one of them, and the remaining enemy fled back to Xiangshuikou.
At 12 o'clock on 4 May, before the general attack, our army occupied the starting point of the attack, two battalions of the 20th Regiment were the first echelon, the first regiment was the second echelon, two machine gun companies of the 20th Regiment occupied the original positions, the first team and two mortar companies of the 20th Regiment entered the position on time, and the general attack began at 13 o'clock, and a five-minute fire attack was carried out on the new house. The mortars opened fire in unison, and the commander of a mortar company personally aimed and fired, causing the enemy to be dizzy, and the three shells fired by the company commander himself fell on the roof of the enemy's core artillery tower and blossomed. The first echelon of the 20th Regiment took the opportunity to attack the stronghold of Xinzhai and received the weapons laid down by the enemy, and the stronghold of Xinzhai was successfully occupied for us. But at this time, there was also a traitor who led more than 30 people to be trapped in a bunker by the river in the west of Daxu to resist stubbornly, and then they heard the fierce gunfire in the direction of the new house suddenly disappeared, and it is estimated that they judged that the new house had been occupied by me, and the traitor led the team to break through. At that time, Liu Zhen and I ordered Shen Yuanjun, the chief of the supply department of a detachment, to lead more than 20 cavalry members to pursue the traitors, and more than 30 puppet soldiers were all captured, and the traitors were killed on the spot by Shen Yuanjun. The battle of Yangkou ended in victory at 4 p.m. on the 4th.
At the end of the battle on 4 May, the former commander of our sub-division made the following arrangements for the troops participating in the battle: The first detachment and three regiments remained in Yangkou, coordinated with the local cadres to mobilize the masses to demolish all the fortifications, covered the local cadres to carry out mass work in the new area, and the first and second regiments returned to the garrison to rest and recuperate. Mr. Lian stayed in Gaogou to cooperate with local cadres to mobilize the masses to demolish the fortifications and carry out mass work in the new area. The regiments of the four detachments returned to their original stations for rest. The Shuyang and Guanyun corps returned to Yuan County for activities. The 20th Regiment moved to the area of Wuwei and Nanwan in the southwest of Gaogou to rest for two days, and then returned to Yanfu District for reconstruction. The former commander of the division and the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Detachment returned to the Sishu area for rest. After returning to their stations, all units summed up their operational experiences and lessons and carried out combat appraisal activities. On this basis, a meeting was held to celebrate the success of the regiment.
The Gao and Yang battles, which lasted 16 days and nights, conquered the largest stronghold in the eastern part of the Huaihai base area, and completely annihilated two entire regiments of the 72nd Brigade of the 36th Puppet Division, a security regiment, a fifth security brigade, and more than 2,500 people from the police station and district office. Defeated the six reinforcements of the Japanese puppet army in Lianshui, Xin'an Town, Xiangshuikou and other places, annihilated more than 900 Japanese puppet troops in reinforcement battles, and captured three Japanese devils alive. In the whole campaign, more than 3,400 Japanese puppet troops were annihilated, 50 square kilometers of land were recovered, and more than 80,000 people who were trampled by the Japanese puppet army were liberated. The troops participating in the battle returned triumphantly, and the villagers along the way held small red flags and stood all over the village to warmly welcome the people's soldiers. After the troops were stationed at the garrisons, the common people automatically gave up their houses, boiled water, cooked food, washed and sewed clothes for the soldiers, and the county, district, and township governments led the masses to bring military shoes, eggs, peanuts, pork, and other condolences to the troops, and the soldiers and the people shared the joy of victory. To celebrate this great victory. On 16 May, the Huaihai Provincial Party Committee, the Executive Administration, and the Military Sub-district held a meeting of the military and the people to congratulate the people and the people of the Huaihai Navy. The great victory of Gao Yang was a great encouragement to the people of our Huaihai Navy, and the morale of the army was high, and the sentiment of the local masses was inspired, which further strengthened the belief that the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression would be won.
Time is like an arrow, the sun and the moon are like a shuttle, 42 years have passed, the vast majority of the commanders and fighters who participated in the Gaoyang Campaign have passed away, and the survivors are also close to the age of antiquity, Zhong Wei, the leader of our four detachments, is an excellent commander who is brave and good at fighting, he has made valuable contributions to the victory of the Gaoyang and Yang Campaigns, and has also made immortal contributions in the future war of liberation, and he has now said goodbye to us forever. In order to commemorate the martyrs and cherish the memory of comrades-in-arms, looking back on the 16 days and nights 42 years ago, I still remember it vividly.
16 April 1986