Tao Yuhe
Fighting near Taierzhuang
On March 20, the Japanese Isogu Division took advantage of the power of conquering Tengxian County, and under the cover of aircraft, concentrated 40,000 people, equipped with tanks and artillery, and launched a fierce attack on Taierzhuang, in an attempt to capture Xuzhou in one fell swoop.
Li Zongren led his troops to hold Taierzhuang with Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Group Army, and Feng Yizhong, chief of staff of Tang Enbo, commander of the 20th Army Corps, led his troops to open the front of the Jinpu Railway, and turned into Lanling and its northwest Yungu mountainous area, luring the enemy deep and waiting for the opportunity to break the enemy.
The intention and deployment of the Military Committee of the Nationalist Government regarding the Taierzhuang Campaign was to defend the front line of the Taierzhuang Canal with the former Northwest Army's Sun Lianzhong Division, which was good at holding on, on the one hand, to prevent the Japanese army from penetrating Xuzhou, and on the other hand, to attract the arrogant and reckless Isogu Division to the southern area of Yixian County, and then to use the 20th Army Corps of Tang Enbo, which was hidden in the northeastern mountains of Yixian, to flank the enemy and gather and annihilate it. The Japanese army's operational intention was: "To secure the line of Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang, and to guard Lincheng and Yixian, and at the same time use as many troops as possible to surprise the Yizhou side and assist the 5th Division in the battle." ”
On March 23, the Japanese army moved south from Zaozhuang and engaged the defenders' alert troops in the Kangzhuang and Nigou areas on the north side of Taierzhuang. In order to lure the enemy deeper, Liu Lanzhai Company Commander of the 31st Division led the cavalry company to set off from Taierzhuang and search and advance in the direction of Yixian County, and the commander of the 91st Brigade led the 183rd Regiment to follow up and encountered the Japanese army in Kangzhuang, 20 miles south of Yixian County. On 24 March, the Japanese army approached Taierzhuang and began a large-scale attack on the Taierzhuang area.
The Japanese army set up an artillery position in Liujiahu Village, five miles north of Taierzhuang, lined up 10 cannons, and bombarded Taierzhuang. Gao Hongli, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 183rd Regiment of the 91st Brigade, led the soldiers, each with a big knife and 8 grenades, to enter the enemy's artillery position, cut the enemy unable to parry, abandoned the artillery and fled. At that time, there was a good story on the battlefield of Taierzhuang that "Zhang Fei made trouble in Liujiahu"
On March 24, more than 2,000 Japanese troops, with the cooperation of aircraft, artillery and tanks, began a large-scale attack on Taierzhuang. The 1st Battalion of the 186th Regiment, which held the north gate of Taierzhuang, resisted stubbornly under the command of Commander Wang Zhen and Battalion Commander Jiang Changtai, and engaged the Japanese army in a white-knuckle battle outside the north gate of the city. Repelled multiple attacks by the Japanese. The 1st Battalion was a recruit, and almost all of them died at the north gate of Taierzhuang. Commander Wang Zhen also personally set up a machine gun to shoot at the Japanese army outside the city, that night, 200 Japanese soldiers broke through the small north gate, hid in the Taishan Temple near the small north gate, Wang Zhen personally led the soldiers to besiege the enemy of the Taishan Temple, and finally eliminated it. On the 24th, the Japanese army repeatedly attacked Taierzhuang and repeatedly attacked the village. The defending 2nd Army stubbornly resisted and engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese army. The Japanese attacked for 3 days and 3 nights before rushing into the city.
On March 24, when the fierce battle of Taierzhuang began, Chiang Kai-shek immediately went to Xuzhou to inspect and supervise, and when he returned, he left behind Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff, Lin Wei, deputy director of the Ministry of Military Affairs, Liu Fei, director of the First Department of the Military Command Department, and Wang Hongzhao, senior staff officer, to form a staff group in Xuzhou to assist Li Zongren in commanding the operation. On March 27, when the Japanese army increased its troops in Lunan and the battle became fierce, Chiang Kai-shek personally went to the front line Chehuishan Station and went to Taierzhuang South Station to watch the battle. Li Zongren dissuaded, saying that the safety of the chairman of the NPC National Committee was the success or failure of the country's long-term war of resistance against Japanese aggression, and he absolutely should not stay here for a long time. Chiang Kai-shek said: Before the heroic martyrdom of Division Commander Wang Mingzhang and the whole division in Teng County, I regret that I have not met him. Jiang finally went to Taierzhuang South Station to meet Chi Fengcheng accompanied by Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi and others, which made Chi surprised. Jiang took Chi's hand and said: Your commander said that you are a loyal, brave and capable person, and it seems that this is true today. Chi said: Our division will absolutely fight to the end, live and die with the position, in order to repay the country and the grace of the committee. Jiang praised and encouraged Chi and waved goodbye
On March 27, the Japanese army, which had received reinforcements, launched its third attack on Taierzhuang City. The Japanese army bombarded the Taierzhuang wall, the north city wall was blown down, the small north gate was also destroyed, the officers and soldiers of the 3rd battalion of the 181st regiment guarding the small north gate were sacrificed, more than 300 Japanese troops broke into the city, the tragic street battle began, and the Chinese defenders in the city launched a fierce street battle with the Japanese invaders. Although the Japanese army occupied two-thirds of the whole village, the Chinese defenders who held on to the Nanguan area did not retreat to the death and held their positions to the death, in order to complete the counter-encirclement of the Japanese army by the troops on the outer line. This is the battle plan that Li Zongren has already formulated, let the chief of staff Feng Yizhong defend Taierzhuang with part of his troops, and the defenders try to drag the enemy as much as possible, so that the army outside the village can surround the Japanese invaders and catch turtles in an urn.
On the 28th, the Japanese army attacked the northwest corner of Taierzhuang, sought to capture the west gate, and cut off the connection between the headquarters of the 31st Division of the Chinese defenders and Zhuangnei. The commander of the division, Chi Fengcheng, commanded the enemy with powerful artillery fire, and organized dozens of daredevils to fight the enemy hand-to-hand. Tang Enbo's 52nd Army and Wang Zhonglian's 85th Army attacked the Japanese army in Zaozhuang and Yixian on the outer line.
On March 29, the Japanese Seya detachment was again supported by troops and occupied the eastern half of Taierzhuang. On the 29th, Lin Wei relayed Chiang Kai-shek's telegram: Taierzhuang barrier Xu Hai is related to the second phase of the operation, so the Second Group Army is fully guarded, even if there is a soldier and a soldier, it must also be sacrificed and work hard, if it is lost, all officers and soldiers should be severely punished, that is, Chief Li, Deputy Chief Bai, and Vice Chief Lin will also be punished.
On the 31st, the defenders of the Nationalist Army completely surrounded the Seya detachment, which had entered the Taierzhuang area. At that time, the Sakamoto detachment turned from Linyi to Taierzhuang to help, arrived at Xiangcheng and Aiqu areas, and flanked the 20th Army Corps. The corps immediately ordered the 52nd Army and the newly arrived 75th Army to besiege the Sakamoto detachment. After several days of fierce fighting, the Japanese inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army, and their plan to rescue the Seya detachment was frustrated.
Seeing that the rescue was hopeless, the Isoya Division decided to fight to the death, and killed them one by one. Although the Kuomintang army besieged with five times the strength of the army and paid a heavy price in casualties, it was difficult to destroy the enemy, and the war was in a stalemate for a while.
The national army counterattacked
On April 3, Li Zongren issued a general attack order. The 52nd, 85th, and 75th armies of the 20th Army of Tang Enbo's division launched a fierce offensive against the enemy near Taierzhuang. The Japanese fought hard and occupied most of the markets. The Nationalist army launched barricade battles, counterattacking one after another, clearing out the enemy and recapturing the market occupied by the Japanese army.
On the 4th, the Chinese Air Force bombed the Japanese positions in the northeast and northwest of Taierzhuang with 27 aircraft. That night, the Japanese Seya detachment was overwhelmed, blew up the materials that were not easy to move, and fled to Yixian.
At 1 a.m. on 7 April, the Chinese army sounded the horn of a counteroffensive, and the left wing corps composed of Sun Lianzhong's 2nd Group Army and the right wing corps composed mainly of Tang Enbo's 20th Army launched a large-scale counteroffensive in Taierzhuang and its vicinity. Sun Lianzhong, who had been defending and being attacked, heard that the counterattack was uplifted, and gave an order, and the sound of killing shook the sky. The two sides launched street battles and hand-to-hand combat, and for a time, the guns and bullets in Taierzhuang City rained down, and blood flowed like a river. For the first time, the Japanese army was so stubbornly attacked by the Kuomintang army that it was quickly crushed. To the north of Taierzhuang, the sound of gunfire was getting thicker, and the Tang Enbo regiment had opened fire on the enemy. Isoya had fallen into a counter-encirclement and began to waver, ordering the troops to retreat on all fronts. At this time, the enemy army had become the end of the crossbow, the ammunition and gasoline had run out, many motor vehicles had been destroyed, and the whole army was devastated and fled in confusion. Li Zongren ordered the troops to chase fiercely, the corpses of the enemy soldiers were all over the field, all kinds of baggage were everywhere, and Isoya himself led the remnants to desperately break through.
After 4 days of fierce fighting, the Nationalist army inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese Seya detachment and Sakamoto detachment, and the rest of the Japanese remnants retreated to Yicheng and Zaozhuang on the 7th. So far, the Battle of Taierzhuang has been won.
The Battle of Taierzhuang, under the personal command of Li Zongren, defeated the main forces of the 5th and 10th elite divisions of the Japanese army, annihilated more than 20,000 Japanese troops, captured a large number of weapons and ammunition, and seriously dampened the arrogance of the Japanese army, which was a great victory for the Kuomintang in the early stage of the Anti-Japanese War. It has invigorated the spirit of the whole nation in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and strengthened the belief of the Chinese people in the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
In the Battle of Taierzhuang, after more than a month, the Chinese army killed and wounded 11,984 Japanese soldiers, captured 719 prisoners, captured 31 cannons, 11 armored vehicles, 8 large and small combat vehicles, more than 1,000 light and heavy machine guns, and more than 10,000 rifles. On April 7 and 8, 1938, the Xinhua Daily of the Communist Party of China reported that more than 10,000 enemies were annihilated, more than 30 tanks were destroyed, more than 70 artillery pieces, more than 40 combat vehicles, more than 70 armored vehicles, and more than 100 automobiles were captured. According to Japanese data, the 5th and 10th Divisions suffered a total of 11,984 casualties, of which the 5th Division suffered 1,281 killed and 5,478 wounded from February 20 to May 10, and the 10th Division suffered 1,088 killed and 4,137 wounded from March 14 to May 12. This data comes from a statistics on Japanese casualties before and after the Battle of Taierzhuang in June 1938 by the Third Section of the General Staff of the North China Front of Japan.
On May 10, the Nationalist Government awarded Tang Enbo and Sun Lianzhong the Order of the Blue Sky and the White Sun. On May 31, the Executive Yuan of the National Government passed a resolution to award Tian Zhennan, Feng Anbang, Huang Qiaosong, Zhang Jinzhao, Chi Fengcheng, Wu Pengju and others with the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun5.
The significance of the Battle of Taierzhuang:
The Battle of Taierzhuang was an important battle in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which had a far-reaching impact on both China and Japan. The following is a brief summary of the significance of the Battle of Taierzhuang:
Invigorate the national spirit: The Battle of Taierzhuang was a major victory won by the Chinese army in the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the people of the whole country. This battle demonstrated to the whole world the heroic struggle and indomitable spirit of the Chinese people and enhanced the self-confidence and pride of the Chinese nation.
Attacking the prestige of the Japanese army: In the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Chinese army inflicted heavy losses on the elite units of the Japanese army, such as the Seya Detachment and the Sakamoto Detachment, annihilating a large number of Japanese living forces and inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese army. This victory made the Japanese army realize that the Chinese army was not vulnerable, and it also dealt a serious blow to the prestige of the Japanese army.
Promoting International Anti-War: The Battle of Taierzhuang has attracted widespread attention and sympathy from the international community, and many countries and people have expressed support and solidarity for China's anti-war cause. This helped to promote the formation and development of an international anti-fascist united front.
Accelerating the course of the war: The victory in the Battle of Taierzhuang provided favorable conditions for China's all-out war of resistance. It not only improved the morale and combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, but also laid the foundation for later battles such as the Battle of Wuhan.
In short, the Battle of Taierzhuang was one of the important historical events in which the Chinese people resisted foreign aggression and was of great historical and practical significance. It not only aroused the patriotic enthusiasm and unity of the Chinese nation, but also contributed to the victory of the world anti-fascist war.
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