It was a thrilling battle that took place during the most difficult period of the war of resistance. Under the arrangement of Okamura Ninji, an "officer observation group" composed of officers of the general academy and cadets of the military academy came to the Taiyue Mountains to observe the so-called "new tactics of the iron-rolling three-tiered position." However, this excellent team of officers was completely annihilated in this battle, and the regiment commander, Naotomi Hattori, had to commit suicide by disembowelment. What is the reason for such heavy losses? What happened to the two surviving trainees who hid in the wolf cave? Let's find out.
The origin of the Officers' Observation Corps
At the beginning of 1942, the Japanese army was losing ground in North China, and Okamura Ninji was sent to the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi Province to preside over the camp. In order to completely destroy the hard bones of the Eighth Route Army, Okamura Ninji devoted all his efforts to research a new tactic of attacking fortified positions - "a new tactic of iron-rolling three-layer position".
The so-called "iron rolling" tactic is to use heavy weapons to concentrate firepower, first completely destroy the target area, and then quickly roll the troops to attack, pressing the enemy position like an iron ball. The three-tier position refers to the continuation of the construction of two stronger positions along the way after conquering the first position, in case the Eighth Route Army counterattacks.
In the spring of 1943, Okamura Ninji implemented this new tactic in the Qinshui area, and some progress was indeed made. He boasted about the tactics as a "surefire strategy." In order to allow more officers to learn the "iron rolling" tactics, Okamura Ninji set out to form an "officer observation group".
This observation group is composed of brigade commanders, wing commanders, junior assistants, and cadets from all over the country, with a total of more than 180 people. The regiment commander was the famous army lieutenant general Naotomi Hattori. Naotomi Hattori was arrogant by nature and was convinced of the "iron rolling" tactics touted by Okamura Ninji.
When forming the battle group, Hattori Naotomi was extremely arrogant and was not allowed to equip any security forces. He believed that Okamura Ninji's "iron rolling" tactics had worked, and the Eighth Route Army was completely suppressed, and there was no need to be on guard at all. What's more, there are devils' camps on both sides of the road along the way, and reinforcements can be sent at any time in the rear. As a result, this group of officers and soldiers drove into the Taiyue Mountains unscrupulously.
In fact, Okamura Ninji's "iron rolling" tactics are not as indestructible as rolling iron. Although the Eighth Route Army was outdated, it had always resisted stubbornly by virtue of its advantages of flexible and mobile combat and familiarity with the environment between us and the enemy. The arrival of Hattori's ministers and officers' viewing group was undoubtedly a great gift to the Eighth Route Army.
Commander Chen Geng's careful deployment
After the Taiyue Military Region Headquarters received the information that the officers' observation group had marched into the Taiyue Mountains, Commander Chen Geng attached great importance to it and immediately deployed to cut off the enemy's "steel chariot."
The source of intelligence is the party and regimental branches and underground intelligence networks scattered throughout the Taiyue Military Region. Under the leadership of Chen Geng, the Taiyue Military Region persisted in mobilizing the broad masses and established a powerful underground front. Party members and the masses were the eyes and ears of each other, and the enemy situation was transmitted to the command headquarters in a timely manner. The source of this abrupt intelligence was a strong underground intelligence station in Linfen.
After receiving the information, Chen Geng quickly ordered Wang Jinshan, commander of the 386th Brigade: immediately lead his troops to set up an ambush at the west end of the Lintun Highway, and annihilate all the officers to observe the battle group. Chen Geng solemnly told that no devil should be let go, and this group of Japanese generals and schools should be completely eliminated.
Wang Jinshan, who was 36 years old at the time, was a capable player under Chen Geng. He has grown step by step from the most grassroots combatant to a brigade commander, and has led the team to fight guerrillas many times, and he has great experience. After receiving Chen Geng's order, Wang Jinshan did not say a word, and immediately summoned the officers and soldiers of the 386th Regiment of the 16th Brigade to the ambush site.
During the mobilization of the 16th Regiment Headquarters, Wang Jinshan pointed out that this mission was of great significance. "Although there are only more than 180 people in this viewing group, they are all Japanese generals and cadets. They are tomorrow's officers, and defeating them is equivalent to eliminating 50,000 ordinary devil soldiers. ＂
Subsequently, Wang Jinshan deployed specific tactics: ambush along both sides of the road, using the terrain to block the enemy's convoy; concentrate fire on parts with important officers; If you find a breakthrough, you can quickly outflank it. Finally, he instructed all the commanders and fighters: "No one is allowed to charge without my orders, and we must completely destroy the enemy with the least losses!" ＂
At the end of the mobilization, all the officers and men checked their weapons and ammunition, carried dry rations on their backs, and secretly marched to the area around Hanluo Village, the ambush site.
Wang Jinshan chose a place with a wide view and surrounded by mountains to set up an ambush. He ordered the 16th Company of the 6th Regiment to take the lead in taking position, leaving the company commander Zhao Jintang and the combat hero squad leader Zhao Zhenyu by his side. Several other companies were outflanked on the left and right, ready to quickly encircle the enemy in the middle of the battle.
At this moment, an underground soldier rushed desperately to report to Wang Jinshan about the equipment of the officer observation group and the formation of the convoy along the way. It turned out that the arrogant guys of Hattori Naotomi only brought three cars and 10 large trucks, and they didn't even have a reserve team.
Wang Jinshan secretly rejoiced, thinking: These devils are too arrogant, it seems that the impact of the "iron rolling" tactics is really quite big. In the face of such an enemy, as long as the fire is concentrated on the breakthrough, the encirclement can be quickly closed. He immediately instructed the commanders and fighters of each company again: "Be sure to concentrate your fire on the vehicles carrying important people, and to defeat them is to cut off the enemy's command system!" ＂
The ambush was all ready, just waiting for the sun to set and the night to engulf the road, Wang Jinshan personally took the lead in the ambush. The Eighth Route Army wants to let this arrogant officer watch the battle group and be crushed to pieces on the land of Taiyue!
An ambush began
On the night of October 17, 1943, the moonlight was faint and everything was quiet.
Wang Jinshan lay behind a big tree and looked out at the Lintun Highway in the distance. He had already led the officers and men of the 386th Brigade and the 16th Regiment to set up an ambush in the vicinity of Hanluo Village, ready to deal a fatal blow to this arrogant and domineering officer observation group.
At this moment, several car horns were heard in the distance, and then trucks and cars slowly drove up. There were about more than a dozen cars in front and behind, and there was no warning in the vast air.
"They're coming! Wang Jinshan stared at the convoy tightly, calm and calm.
The convoy was getting closer and closer, and the first few cars could already see that the passengers were wearing the uniforms of the Japanese generals, and it was Hattori Naomi and his party. Wang Jinshan ordered: "The sixth company will release its guns and focus on the vehicles carrying the officers!" ＂
Suddenly, dozens of rifles were fired at the same time, and the sound of gunfire exploded through the night sky. The enemy was caught off guard and fled helplessly, and soon several corpses fell on the road.
"The other companies quickly outflanked, don't let them escape! ＂
Wang Jinshan gave an order, and the Eighth Route Army, which was originally ambushed, quickly formed an encirclement. Zhao Jintang and Zhao Zhenyu led the way, and the other companies followed in formation, gradually compressing the scope of the encirclement.
In the hail of bullets, several cars were smashed through the body, unable to move in the smoke. Dozens of devil officers protected their wounded companions and hid in the bushes on the side of the road, while firing fiercely in all directions.
Wang Jinshan personally took the lead in rushing out of the bushes, holding a pistol in his left hand and a steel knife in his right hand, commanding the soldiers to continue to oppress and surround.
Suddenly, gunshots erupted from a half-covered compartment, knocking Wang Jinshan's hat flying. It turned out that Naotomi Hattori was hiding inside, holding a heavy machine gun and shooting at Wang Jinshan. Seeing this, several soldiers of the Eighth Route Army immediately climbed behind the car, and surrounded the carriage with grenades and firepower.
At this moment, several soldiers of the Eighth Route Army rushed to another truck, bravely pounced on several devil officers, and started a hearty white-knuckle fight. One of them, a big soldier of the Eighth Route Army, brandished a heavy machine gun snatched from a corpse, and swept at the devil officer, and several devils fell to the ground in the smoke of gunpowder.
Just over an hour after the ambush began, the guns and artillery of the Eighth Route Army completely surrounded the officers' observation group. The outnumbered devil officer had no power to fight back, so he could only beg Wang Jinshan for mercy.
The whole devil officer watched the battle group
The light dawned and the ambush battle came to an end. The encirclement of the Eighth Route Army is getting tighter and tighter, and the devil officers are retreating one after another, and they have no power to fight back.
Wang Jinshan personally inspected the battlefield and inspected the casualties of the enemy and the enemy. He saw a devil officer wearing a helmet, his face covered in blood, and his left arm was bleeding profusely. The officer was clearly a high-ranking general, and his tattered uniform showed that he was personally charging forward. Wang Jinshan shouted and asked, "Who are you?" Say your name and rank! ＂
The officer raised his head, glared angrily at Wang Jinshan, and suddenly quickly pulled out the Japanese Army saber at his waist and stabbed him in the abdomen!
Wang Jinshan was shocked and immediately ordered someone to stop him, but it was too late. The officer collapsed in a pool of blood, coughed up a mouthful of red blood, and then stopped breathing. An underground soldier rushed to report that the devil officer was Lieutenant General Naomi Hattori, who led the officers' viewing group.
Wang Jinshan was furious, spat fiercely, and scolded at the corpse of Hattori Naoto: "You guy who kills people without blinking, you are so disdainful of your own humanity that you don't even leave a whole corpse in the end!" It's stupid! ＂
He immediately ordered all the officers and soldiers: "Capture all the remaining devils alive, and remember not to let them commit suicide!" ＂
The officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route obeyed the order and quickly surrounded the remaining devils. Many devil officers have already lost their armor, and some have begun to beg for surrender.
Wang Jinshan found a young translator who could speak Japanese and gave an ultimatum to the devil officer: "You have nowhere to run now, surrender to the Eighth Route Army, and you can save your life." Otherwise, we will burn them and show no mercy! ＂
Before the words fell, a devil officer suddenly raised his hands and began to roar wildly, and even pulled out his saber in public and cut his throat. Another officer also killed himself at the same time, and the two fell to the ground in an instant.
Seeing such absurd acts, Wang Jinshan was furious and immediately ordered: "If these fanatics are unwilling to surrender, then they will not be left behind, and they will all be burned to death!" ＂
The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army obeyed the order and hurriedly surrounded the remaining devil officers with hay and dead wood. Wang Jinshan personally lit the first tuft of hay, and the raging fire soon surrounded this group of stubborn guys.
The howling of wolves echoed in the empty night, and the devil officers desperately tried to escape, but none of them were spared. In this way, this arrogant and domineering officer observation group was completely annihilated in the Taiyue Mountains, and more than 180 devils were killed on the spot.
Only two young cadets escaped into a nearby wolf cave in the hail of bullets. They hid trembling all night, and it was not until dawn that the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army pulled them out of the hole.
In this way, this military observation group, which claimed to have come to the Taiyue Mountains to visit the "iron rolling" tactics, suffered an unprecedented heavy blow. The arrogance of the devil officers brought them the price of death.
The two students in the wolf cave recounted their rescue
After this battle, the 386th Regiment of the 16th Brigade captured two surviving members of the Devil Officer Observation Group. They are the two cadets who are strongly protected by Hattori Naotomi and regarded as the pillars of the future. After interrogation, they truthfully confessed the horror experience of being trapped in the wolf's cave for a night.
The interrogation took place in a simple civilian house, and two trainees were tied hand and foot, facing more than a dozen soldiers of the Eighth Route Army. Led by Wang Shaoxian, a capable general under Brigade Commander Wang Jinshan and Chief of Staff.
Wang Shaoxian stared at the two sternly, and first reprimanded them for their names and ranks. One of them stumbled and said that his name was Kunihiko Kawado, and that he was a student at the Second Noncommissioned Officer School of the Army; The other is Takeshi Kuruma, a student of the Army Flying Preparation School.
Then Wang Shao first asked: "Why do you want to follow that madman from Hattori Naotomi to the Taihang Mountains?" Do you just listen to their boastful 'iron rolling' tactics? ＂
The two students were ashamed when they heard this, so they had to explain truthfully. It turned out that Okamura Ninji vigorously touted the so-called "new tactics of the iron-rolling three-tiered position" with remarkable results, and Hattori Naotomi was also convinced. They were blinded, thinking that the Eighth Route Army was completely suppressed and there was no need to guard against it at all.
"Ridiculous! Those guys are so arrogant! Wang Shaoxian spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm with disdain, and said viciously, "Because of your arrogance, you gave a big gift to the Eighth Route Army, which affected innocent people!" ＂
As Wang Shao spoke, he suddenly took out an object from his arms and shook it in front of the two of them. It was the corpse of a skinny girl, shot in the abdomen and covered in blood.
"This poor boy is only four years old! Just because you shot at the side of this road, you lost your life in vain! ＂
When the two students saw the small corpse, they were terrified and embarrassed.
Seeing this, Wang Shao threw another thing in front of the two of them. It was a photograph of a house that had been burned down.
"Look! That's the result of your stupid decisions! Our Eighth Route Army dispatched this time to protect these innocent people, so we have to punish you severely. ＂
After hearing this, the warrior lowered his head for a long time, as if he felt guilty. But Kunihiko Kawado suddenly blurted out: "However, we are just following the orders of our superiors!" What qualifications do you have to accuse us? ＂
Wang Shaoxian was furious when he heard this, and gave Kawado a heavy slap in the face. "What a wicked fellow! With your arrogance, you don't want to be an officer in the future! ＂
After some interrogation, the two trainees truthfully explained how they were trapped in the wolf cave overnight. It turned out that after being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army, they fled into a nearby cave and escaped. After that, he wandered all night until dawn when he was pulled out of the hole by the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army.
At the end of the interrogation, the whereabouts of the two after they were rescued could not be verified. News came that they had been repatriated to Japan, where they had been humiliated at home and died in disgrace.
end
This fiasco gave the Japanese upper echelons a cause for thought, and completely dispelled their superstition about the "iron rolling" tactic. Since then, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army in the Taiyue Mountains have also been more cautious and cautious to prevent any devils from taking the lead. The Lintun Highway, which witnessed the loss of countless blood and lives, has also returned to its former tranquility.