At the end of the famous domestic high-scoring anti-Japanese drama "My Regiment Leader, My Regiment", a tragic battle of Nantianmen was depicted, and the tenacious Chinese Expeditionary Force Yu Xiaoqing's division lasted 38 days, and finally annihilated the Japanese after paying a heavy price.
But the realistic version of the Battle of Nantianmen-Songshan Battle, whether it is its duration or the casualties paid by our army, is far greater than the plot in the TV series.
There were thousands of "baby soldiers" in this battle, with an average age of less than 15 years old, and the youngest was killed by the enemy at the age of 9.
Why did these children, who were supposed to go to school next to their parents, some of whom were not as tall as the barrel of a gun, choose to fight a bloody battle against an adult enemy on the battlefield? Would you rather die than surrender?
The vital Yunnan-Burma Railway
The Battle of Songshan was an important battle that took place in northern Burma during the second operation of the Mainland Expeditionary Force, and if we want to understand the beginning and end of the Songshan Campaign, we must first figure out why the Nationalist Government sent the expeditionary force to fight abroad in the middle and late stages of the Anti-Japanese War.
After the establishment of the Republic of China, due to the endless warlord scuffle, China ended the feudal era, but it never embarked on the road of enriching the country and strengthening the army.
On the contrary, we must face the unfavorable situation of extreme backwardness of heavy industry in the situation of being surrounded by strong enemies.
Due to the lack of heavy industry, China is extremely dependent on imports for many weapons and important strategic materials.
Especially after the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance against Japan, arms and material aid from overseas became a key factor in maintaining China's war of resistance.
However, with the fall of the southeastern coastal areas one after another, the mainland's access to international aid from the eastern sea was completely cut off by the Japanese invaders, especially after the fall of Guangzhou, the mainland's maritime lifeline was completely cut off.
At this time, the only channel for the mainland to receive external aid was transshipment from Southeast Asia to the southwest of the mainland.
Naturally, the Japanese understood this, and soon after the capture of Guangzhou, the Japanese army marched south to attack French-controlled Vietnam, in an attempt to cut off China's last access to international aid.
In the face of the strong Japanese army, the Vietnamese and French troops who were isolated overseas did not resist for long before they were completely defeated, and the Yunnan-Vietnam Highway was completely controlled by the Japanese invaders.
At this point, the only way for the mainland to obtain external assistance was the Yunnan-Burma Railway.
If the Yunnan-Burma Railway is cut off again, it will be difficult for the Nationalist Government, which has lost foreign aid, to continue to contend with the Japanese invaders, and the anti-Japanese cause of the whole of China will also be in jeopardy.
In this context, in order to protect the last lifeline, the Chiang Kai-shek clique reached a cooperation agreement with Britain and the United States, under which the United States provided ordnance and materials to train an expeditionary force to fight against Japan on the Indochina Peninsula to protect the safety of the Yunnan-Burma Highway.
In fact, the Yunnan-Burma Highway became the last lifeline of the mainland, and it was foreseen by Wang Longyun of Yunnan Province long before the Japanese invaders completely cut off other supply routes.
Shortly after the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937, Long Yun wrote to Chiang Kai-shek with great foresight, pointing out the vital importance of building a railway line from Yunnan to Burma.
Chiang Kai-shek also agreed with Long Yun's suggestion, so he personally approved the appropriation to help the local government of Yunnan build this lifeline, which would play a huge role in the future.
Construction began at the end of 1937 and was completed in August 1938.
It took the people of Yunnan just over nine months to dig through the countless lofty mountains and mountains in the area.
After countless sweats and sacrifices, they finally completed this important railway trunk line ahead of schedule.
In 1942, the Japanese invaders marched westward, conquered many important towns in Burma, and once controlled many commanding heights on the Yunnan-Burma Railway, cutting off the last lifeline of the mainland.
In order to save the situation, the mainland sent an expeditionary force to fight abroad to regain control of the Yunnan-Burma Railway, and the Battle of Songshan took place during the second expeditionary force's overseas operation.
Akira Matsuyama
In October 1943, the Chinese Expeditionary Force went down the river and launched the Nu River Campaign.
The operational objective of this campaign was to feint the Japanese strongholds of Longling and Songshan on the Yunnan-Burma Railway to attract the attention of the Japanese army, but in fact to gather heavy forces to attack Tengchong in the north.
Tengchong is located at the commanding heights of the strategic position, once Tengchong is taken, the expeditionary force can be condescending, with geographical advantages to easily take the lone army Longling and Songshan.
However, because this set of battle plans of the expeditionary force was betrayed by traitors and leaked, the Japanese invaders set up a blocking position on Gaoligong Mountain near Songshan as early as possible to intercept the main force of our expeditionary force heading for Tengchong.
Relying on their geographical advantages, the Japanese invaders firmly blocked the main force of the expeditionary force in Gaoligong Mountain.
Moreover, due to the existence of the Japanese army in Matsuyama, the supply lines of the expeditionary force were always threatened by the Japanese invaders, so if Matsuyama was not taken first, the expeditionary force would not only have a combat plan in vain.
Even the expeditionary force itself could become a lone army without supplies, and in danger of total annihilation.
Under these circumstances, the capture of the Matsuyama fortress of the Japanese invaders became a top priority.
On June 4, 1944, the Battle of Songshan officially began, but from the beginning of the war, the generals of the expeditionary force found that they had seriously underestimated the Songshan defenders.
First, there was a serious trough in the defensive strength of the Japanese army in Matsuyama.
According to the intelligence of the expeditionary force, the main force of the Japanese army that was originally garrisoning Songshan had been transferred to support Gaoligong Mountain and Longling, and the defenders at this time were only a few hundred people.
In addition, the Japanese were also very weak in firepower, with only a few mountain guns and a small number of mortars.
But in fact, the Japanese defense force at that time was more than 1,400 people, and it was equipped with hundreds of large-caliber howitzers, field mountain guns, armored vehicles and other heavy firepower.
Second, the expeditionary force also lacked awareness of the solidity of the defense line of the Japanese Komatsu Mountain.
The main force of the Japanese "Lameng Garrison" defending Songshan was the 113th Wing of the 56th Division, and many Japanese soldiers who were former miners were in this unit, so they were very good at fortifications.
In order to build Matsuyama into an impregnable fortress, the Japanese commander stationed at the main peak of Matsuyama, Keijiro Kanamitsu, captured thousands of villagers in the villages near Matsuyama before the war.
Bunkers and bunkers made of reinforced concrete were built in various parts of Matsuyama.
These pillboxes were far more fortified than usual, and they were difficult to destroy with the shells of ordinary field guns, and could only be blown up by blasting explosives packs at close range.
In addition to these pillboxes, the Japanese also set up multiple layers of barbed wire and foxholes to hinder the advance of the infantry.
In the bunkers, the Japanese invaders also almost hollowed out Matsuyama and built underground communication trenches connecting the various bunkers, bunkers and foxholes.
These cobweb-like communication trenches covered with pine mountains made the Japanese defense system not only strong and abnormal, but also very convenient and mobile for the Japanese invaders.
Unable to make a correct judgment about the Japanese defenses, the expeditionary force soon paid a heavy price after the start of the war.
The two battalions that carried out the exploratory offensive first were engaged in the battle for less than half an hour, and two-thirds of them suffered casualties, of which the chief and deputy commanders of the battalion with the heaviest casualties were all killed, and only one platoon remained after the downsizing of the entire battalion.
In the face of the Japanese army's strong bunkers and firing points that were horns of each other, the expeditionary force suffered heavy casualties, so it could only slow down the pace of attack and pull out the Japanese pillboxes one by one from the foot of the mountain.
Until the end of June, after the expeditionary force paid more than 3,000 casualties, the 71st Army, which was responsible for the main attack, still did not take the main peak of Songshan, and the deterioration of the battle in Songshan also made the overall situation of the expeditionary force precarious.
A victory that cannot be forgotten
In order to turn the tide of the war, Wei Lihuang, who was in charge of the Songshan War, suggested to Chiang Kai-shek that the 71st Army, which had suffered heavy casualties, be withdrawn as an auxiliary and replaced with Li Mi's 8th Army as the main force to continue the attack on Songshan.
On July 5, Li Mi led three divisions of the 8th Army to take over the Songshan position, and began to attack the Japanese in the rain from four directions on the main peak position of the Japanese at Songshan.
In this attack, Li Mi brought with him a secret weapon, the American flamethrower, a new weapon that the expeditionary force used to deal with the Japanese invaders.
One of the major advantages of the Japanese defense line is that it is densely covered with underground communication trenches on Songshan, so that the Japanese can transfer and maneuver at any time according to the battlefield situation.
As a result, expeditionary forces often attacked, and the defenders of a pillbox had just been destroyed at the risk of heavy casualties.
Before he could clear the battlefield, he was attacked by Japanese reinforcements who came in through underground communication trenches, and lost the predicament of the battle.
However, with the flamethrowers provided by the U.S. military, our attacking soldiers could not only attack the Japanese troops in the bunkers more easily, but also take the opportunity to burn the bunkers.
The reinforcements who came from the Japanese invaders could not enter the blockhouse to continue the attack because of the fire and high temperature, which also gave our army the opportunity to completely destroy the blockhouse.
Relying on new weapons and tactics, the expeditionary force's offensive became smoother, and the casualties were quickly reduced.
However, because the Japanese defense facilities were too dense and complete, although a way to attack the fortified positions was found, the overall advance of the expeditionary force was still very slow, which made Chiang Kai-shek, who was far away in Chongqing, very anxious.
Because the Battle of Songshan was not an isolated battle, but a part of the entire Nujiang Campaign.
Songshan could not be conquered for a long time, and the expeditionary force's offensive in Gaoligong Mountain, Longling and Tengchong would also be dragged down, and the whole battle situation became precarious.
Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek personally called Li Mi many times, strictly ordering him to take Songshan as soon as possible at all costs and open up the supply channels of all units of the expeditionary force.
Under Chiang Kai-shek's strict orders, Li Mi also became an ant on a hot pot.
At this moment, Wang Boxun, the commander of the 82nd Division, thought of a clever plan, that is, to dig a tunnel in the way of earthwork and go straight to the position of the main peak of Rikosong Mountain to carry out blasting.
Wang Boxun's words woke up Li Mi, so he immediately found the US military adviser and began to calculate and plan this tunnel battle.
From the beginning of August, when he began to dig tunnels, Li Mi began to increase the offensive pressure on the frontal battlefield in order to confuse the Japanese invaders.
And the engineer battalion, under the guidance of American advisers, began to dig the passage to the main peak position.
On 20 August, the passage was dug successfully, and the expeditionary force spent another day transporting a total of 7 tons of TNT to the enemy's main position, which was enough to uproot the main Japanese position.
On August 20, Wei Lihuang, commander of the expeditionary force, took Song Xilian and other senior generals to the Nujiang front, and under Wei Lihuang's order, the TNT explosives buried on the top of the main peak of Songshan were detonated.
The huge explosive force instantly destroyed the defensive fortress of the Japanese invaders, and hundreds of Japanese invaders in the fortress also died on the spot.
epilogue
On September 7, our army completely wiped out all the Japanese invaders on Matsuyama, and all the more than 1,400 Japanese troops stationed here were killed, but our army also paid the price of more than 7,700 casualties, including the aforementioned boy scouts who were only 15 years old a year.
Many people are curious, why do these dolls go to the battlefield to fight? The Yunnan-Burma Highway was occupied by the Japanese army, cutting off the international aid communication line, and the national army had no choice but to recruit nearly 7,000 child soldiers on the spot.
Among them was a doll captured by the Japanese army, and in the face of the Japanese army's cruel torture equipment, the Japanese army asked: Are you scared?
The little soldier's answer: I put on this military uniform, and I am already dead!
The Japanese were shocked and couldn't believe that this was said by a Chinese child. They don't even know that this is the hatred of the family and country engraved in the bones of the Chinese!
With the victory of the Battle of Songshan, our army gradually cleared the remnants of the Japanese enemy near the Yunnan-Burma Highway, so that this only remaining lifeline was firmly in the hands of our army, and made indelible contributions to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan!