In many anti-Japanese war dramas, there is often an emphasis on bandits fighting against Japan, feudal gangs fighting against Japan, etc.; In the actual War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, although there were many anti-Japanese bandits and gangs, more often than not, these organizations all defected to the Japanese puppeteers.
Even if they are independent of the Japanese puppet, bandits are bandits after all, and they still have to kill the people.
Therefore, in the course of the Eighth Route Army's operations, the elimination of bandits and feudal sects and other armed forces was an important part of the enemy's war; Especially in the early stage of the all-out war of resistance, this situation was very common.
For example, the bandit Li Junlan's department, which was entrenched in the plains, Xiajin, Gaotang, and Enxian areas of Shandong Province, had six brigades (known as six battalions) with a total of more than 1,000 guns. After colluding with the Japanese puppet plain county magistrate, Li Junlan also claimed to be the commander of an independent mixed brigade.
The bandits in this unit have set up a "dragon and tiger leader" with special commanders, who brazenly kill people and set fires, commit rape and plunder, and do all kinds of evil, and the masses are extremely angry.
In May 1938, Chen Zaidao, deputy commander of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, Xu Xiangqian, commander of the eastward column, ordered to solve Li Junlan's department.
The strength of the so-called six brigades (battalions) under Li Junlan's command was uneven, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battalions being stronger, and the 4th, 5th, and 6th battalions being weaker.
Among them, the 2nd Battalion was its main force, stationed in Liuzhuang.
Liuzhuang is a village of more than 100 families, surrounded by a wall and a ditch outside the wall, and a total of more than 400 bandits are stationed.
This group of bandits had 3 infantry companies, 1 cavalry platoon, and were equipped with 2 light machine guns and 1 heavy machine gun, and even two earthen cannons.
At that time, when the Jinpu detachment of our army eliminated the 3rd battalion of Huangzhuang, Zheng himself led the remnants to flee to Liuzhuang, and said how powerful the Eighth Route Army was.
However, the bandit leader here, that is, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, Li Jifa (nicknamed Er Niuzi), thinks that he is strong and strong, and he also wants to touch the Eighth Route Army.
The Jinpu Detachment of the 129th Division was an expanded unit based on one formed company and one engineer platoon, and the strength at that time had grown to five companies, but the combat backbone was not very large.
When the Jinpu detachment attacked Liuzhuang, it did hit a nail.
On the night of June 7, the Jinpu detachment launched a night attack after the shouting was ineffective, but failed to succeed due to the trenches, walls, and excessive fire of the other side.
During the day on the 8th, the offensive continued, and attempts were made to break through from the southwest corner by setting up a ladder under the cover of machine guns; However, because the target was too obvious during the day and it was difficult to maneuver and approach, it suffered a lot of casualties.
It seems that with a small advantage in troops, it is still not easy to storm the bandit armament with a complex defense system and strong firepower.
At this time, Commander Chen Zaidao led the 769th Regiment, the 689th Regiment, and the Fifth Detachment of the Eighth Route Army to Liuzhuang.
If the Jinpu detachment is only a small main force of the Eighth Route Army, then these new units are very famous.
The 769th Regiment was one of the three main regiments of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army at that time;
The 689th Regiment is a regular regiment formed after the 687th Regiment and the 688th Regiment of the Eighth Route Army each drew out the troops of the Red 78th Division (Red 26th Army) in northern Shaanxi;
The fifth detachment was formed on the basis of the 2nd Battalion of the 685th Regiment and the local armed forces of Pingshan County, which was also a regimental unit at that time.
The arrival of these regular main forces of the Eighth Route Army made it possible to concentrate four main forces, large and small, around Liuzhuang.
To say that these 4 main forces are specially for the bandits in Liuzhuang, of course, it is not enough, but the Liuzhuang bandits happened to bump into the main force of the Eighth Route Army, so it deserved to be unlucky.
Because the main force we came this time had mortars, we fired a few shots directly at Shonai to deter the enemy.
At the same time, the 769th Regiment was deployed from the west and southwest to be responsible for the main attack; The 689th Regiment was responsible for feints and reinforcements to the east and southeast; The Jinpu detachment made a feint in the north and prevented the enemy from fleeing north.
In the northeast, there was a gap, and the fifth detachment was on standby by the avenue leading to the plain county town to destroy the enemy who broke through.
When this formation was set up, the bandits in Liuzhuang must have been frightened, and they panicked as early as the beginning of the shelling; Therefore, after the official battle began, the bandits in the village soon lost the ability to organize the battle, and our army rushed into the village.
Seeing this, Li Erniuzi could only break through and escape, and the direction of running was the gap we reserved for it, and as a result, his breakthrough brigade ran into our fifth detachment and was beaten down.
After Li Erniuzi's leg was broken, he lay in the pile of dead people and pretended to be dead, and was found by the local people the next day.
Therefore, this person did a lot of evil, and did not harm the local people, at this time, although it knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but it was still solved by the people with a dung fork.
In the Battle of Liuzhuang, a total of more than 200 bandits were killed and wounded, more than 160 people were captured, more than 400 guns of various types were seized, and tens of thousands of bullets and dozens of mules and horses were seized.
Seeing that his main force was solved, Li Junlan of course did not dare to resist stubbornly, and ran away directly with his cronies, and the local situation was opened, removing obstacles for a better war of resistance.