Armed struggle is one of the three magic weapons for our Party to win the victory of the revolution. The Nanchang Uprising, the Autumn Harvest Uprising, the Guangzhou Uprising, and the armed uprisings throughout the country led by proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation created the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and revolutionary base areas. Our Shouguang County party organization carried forward the glorious tradition of our party and, in the process of establishing party organizations, adhered to the idea of leading armed struggle. Since the "July 7" incident, we have risen up to resist the enemy and embarked on the glorious road of armed struggle against Japan. The creation and growth of the eight detachments was born and developed in the context of the era in which the Kuomintang reactionaries disregarded the danger of the country and the nation and retreated in the face of the Japanese-Kosovar siege and the great chaos.
A meeting of bullhead towns, the starting point of the creation of eight detachments
In October 1937, according to the needs of the situation and the instructions of the provincial party committee, the Shouguang County Party Committee held an enlarged county committee meeting in Shouguang Niutou Town. The meeting was held at the home of Comrade Ma Baosan and was attended by Comrades Yang Disheng of the Ludong Work Committee; Comrades Chen Shaoqing, Chen Yaosan, Chen Meiwu, and Wang Dengying of the county party committee; and comrades Ma Baosan, Wang Yunsheng, Li Hanqing, Sun Yuxiu, Wang Wenxuan, Zhang Ziming, Chu Fangtang, Hou Liansan, and Wang Shaobai. At the meeting, it was decided to establish an armed force under the direct leadership of our Party and prepare for armed struggle. In addition to deciding to organize the armed forces, the meeting also elected a new county party committee, and Comrade Chen Shaoqing was re-elected as the secretary of the county party committee. In order to justifiably call on the masses to participate in the armed struggle led by the Party, it was decided to put out the brand of the Eighth Route Army and name it "The Eighth Detachment of the Eighth Route Army of the Eighteenth Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army", which was later referred to as the "Eighth Detachment". The county party committee also decided to organize the team and collect weapons separately. The meeting held that the organization of anti-Japanese contingents is not a problem for personnel, the main problem is to collect weapons, as long as there are weapons, how many personnel there are. At the end of the meeting, Comrade Ma Baosan said happily: There is no problem in the supply of troops, first unveil the wheat hoard in my house, let the comrades eat, and then eat other people's after eating mine.
After the meeting, the comrades returned to several key areas to mobilize the masses and collect weapons. First of all, with Niutou Town as the center, we held high the banner of the Eighth Route Army, created a great momentum, and gave strong pressure to the Kuomintang reactionaries spiritually with the strategy of grabbing people with the first voice, so that we won the initiative in our work and actions, and at the same time, we also inspired the enthusiasm of the broad masses to resist Japan and save the country. The county party committee decided that Comrade Ma Baosan would directly call the Kuomintang Governor of Shouguang County, Song Charter, and tell him that if our Eighth Route Army held high the banner of righteousness, it would go to the anti-Japanese front to fight against the Japanese Kou, and told him all the flags and liaison marks we had stipulated, and asked him not to "misunderstand." In this way, the eighth route army brand was played. At this time, Niutou Town became the base camp of our activities, logistics supplies, gun repairs, were all located here, and young people from all over the world went to Niutou Town to find responsible persons to sign up for the army. At the same time, we take measures to organize all aspects. In the western region, with the north and south taitou and the south and north ocean heads as the center, based on the five or six long and short guns of Comrade Wang Zigu's family in Nanyangtou Village, plus the self-defense guns scattered in various villages, they were collected, and soon a squadron (quite a company) was quickly equipped, led by Comrades Wang Shaobai and Wang Zigu, with the number of the third squadron; in the east, with Wang Gao and Cui Jiazhuang as the center, weapons were collected and organized into a squadron, and Wang Keli and Wang Qijin were assigned as the main and deputy captains, and the number was a squadron; and a squadron was organized in Cui Jiazhuang. As the guard unit of the headquarters, with Li Wenhui and Li Luanjin as the main and deputy captains, it was named the special task force; the north centered on the South River, and then the area east of the Jiami River, was organized into a squadron, with Chen Meiwu and Chang Huaxuan as the main and deputy captains, and the number was the fifth squadron. The above four squadrons are the basic teams for us to build eight detachments, and have laid a good foundation for the establishment of eight detachments.
On December 29, 1937 (the middle of October in the old calendar), the first, third and fifth squadrons and special forces assembled in Niutou Town, formally established the headquarters, elected Comrade Ma Baosan as the commander, then called the main commander, comrade Han Mingzhu, a cadre appointed from Shandong Province, arrived at the headquarters on January 10, 1938, as deputy commander, called deputy commander. Han Mingzhu, also known as Zhang Zheng, was a native of Laowu Village, Hanjiazhuang, Jingfu County, Henan Province, who had been a Member of the Red Army since his teens, participated in the 25,000-mile Long March, and later served as the political commissar of the 685th Regiment of the 15th Division. During his leadership of the eight detachments, he fully embodied the glorious traditions and fighting style of the old Red Army. In daily life, the relations between officers and men are harmonious, and in combat operations, they are very serious and meticulous, he can fight and rush, he is a pioneer, and among the cadres and soldiers of the eight detachments, his prestige is extremely high and he is deeply respected by the people.
At this time, the first, third and fifth squadrons and special forces followed the headquarters, while reorganizing and training and replenishing guns and ammunition. At that time, the sources of guns and ammunition were manifold, one was through social relations, mobilizing people in society to donate the guns they had stored to us, including the method of mobilizing people who could not be mobilized and forcibly firing guns; second, through the comrades we had sent to the local Kuomintang troops in advance to work, they engaged in their guns, such as Comrades Li Tingkui and Li Dengtan, and in January 1938, sixteen people, eighteen guns, and six mules were pulled out of the Kuomintang troops; third, the guns of the small miscellaneous contingent were handed over. For example, the Yangkou Salt Police Force handed over more than twenty guns and a batch of ammunition. In addition, through Comrades Zhang Mingsan and Li Peihuai, some of the short guns of the police on the mouth of the sheep were pulled out. In early February 1938 (the fifth day of the first lunar month of the old calendar), we gathered a rogue bandit contingent in Sanhezhuang, which was part of the puppet North China Autonomous United Army, with a total of fifty-four men and 50 long and short guns. By this time, our basic contingent was almost equipped, and the soldiers who had originally used large knives and earthen guns had gradually been replaced by rifles, and the morale of the troops was extremely high.
On the fifteenth day of the first month of the old calendar in 1938 (the middle of February in the solar calendar), our troops were stationed in the area of Maijiadianzi and Luoqiao, approaching the county seat of Shouguang County, looking for fighters and preparing to attack. After mastering the law of the enemy's activities, two squadrons, led by Deputy Commander Han, ambushed the enemy passing by sanlizhuang, intercepted the enemy passing through Shouguang City, won the first battle, and completely annihilated a small detachment of Japanese Kou, including Tengtian, the leader of the Japanese telecommunications joint team (Tengtian was the leader of the enemy telecommunications joint team, with the name of the captured gold pen engraved), and the squad leader Tian Ying, killed five enemy people, captured a car, a pistol, five rifles, two combat knives, and all ammunition. Our army suffered no casualties and was victorious. A few days later, there was another ambush attack near Jiangjiazhuang in the west of the city, because this time the intelligence was not accurate, intercepted a mail truck, the driver was killed, all the people on the car were captured, but no weapons were obtained.
After several battles and the improvement of equipment, our team continued to grow and develop. A team originally pulled up by Comrade Wang Wenxuan in the area of Huying and Jitai in the south of Shouguang was also brought to the headquarters, and the nickname was the Seventh Squadron. Because this unit was large in number, it was divided into a part and supplemented, and another squadron was formed, with the number of the ninth squadron, with Meng Zhaorui (who later defected) as the captain and Zhao Fax as the instructor. A unit formed around Wutuo and Zheng Jiayuan, with the nickname of Fifteen Squadrons, led by Zheng Chunwen (who later defected). There was also a squadron (dissatisfied member) composed of Yidu County, led by comrades Qiu Zemin and Chen Shujun, who came to Shouguang and was organized into eight detachments, with the number of twelve squadrons. Comrade Wang Yuejin of Guangrao County led a team of twenty or thirty men (incomplete guns) to the eight detachments, and the headquarters supplemented this team to other squadrons, and there was no separate formation.
Subsequently, when the troops were stationed in the Fujiazhuang area, they carried out another reorganization, established a brigade structure, and organized the first squadron and the seventh squadron into a large team, with Wang Yongzhou as the brigade leader and Wang Xi'an as the deputy brigade leader. The third squadron and the newly built fifteenth squadron were organized into three major teams, with Zheng Deqing (who later defected) as the captain. The fifth squadron and the ninth squadron were organized into five brigades, and Wu Jiting (who later defected) was the captain of the brigade. At this time, the troops consisted of three brigades and a special service squadron. At the same time, the administrative organs were also rectified. There is a staff office under the headquarters, with Ma Jiansheng as chief of staff; a supply department with Comrades Chu Fangtang and Hou Liansan as the chief and deputy directors; comrade Chen Shaoqing as director and chief of the organization section of the political department; and comrades Li Xuefeng, Hao Da, and Li Mengxian in charge of the propaganda section.
2. The seventh and eighth detachments will be divided into Changwei
In late February 1938, the eight detachments began to march east. On our way east, we camped in The Rice Field Village. The next day, starting from the rice fields and just walking near the village of Liuying, a battalion of the stubborn bandit Zhang Jingyue set up an ambush at Liuying in advance in an attempt to intercept us. Occupying favorable terrain near Liu Ying, they suddenly launched an attack in the middle of our ranks. Our army immediately made a decision to give the enemy a head-on blow. Our third and fifth brigades simultaneously threw themselves into battle, encircling and suppressing from the east and west sides of Liuying Village, ready to clamp down on the enemy and annihilate them. However, most of the enemy was cavalry, and seeing that the situation was not good, they did not wait for us to encircle, and fled north in panic. Our army pursued to the north of Liuying Village, gave some casualties to the fleeing enemy and ended the battle. Our team then moved on. When our army arrived in Gudi in Weixian County, Longchi and Wacheng in Changyi, it was warmly welcomed by the comrades of the seven detachments and gave great encouragement to the troops.
In early March 1938, the troops stayed in the wacheng area for a while. This area is the central area of the activities of the third-class comrades in Ludong Province of the Ludong Working Committee. After comrade Three of Lu Province returned here from Shouguang, he found that the situation of the seven detachments had changed somewhat, and saw that Zhang Hongli, the leader of the seven detachments, had ambitions and tried to dominate the seven detachments alone, posing a potential threat to the seven detachments. In order to eliminate this danger, he envisioned that seven or eight detachments should be merged together, and then find an opportunity to get rid of Zhang Hongli and remove this hidden danger. The three comrades of Lu Province proposed to discuss with Comrade Zhang Wentong from the perspective of the Working Committee, and Comrade Zhang Wentong agreed. The reason is that these two detachments are led by the Ludong Work Committee, and in order to facilitate command and unify their actions, it was decided that the two detachments should be merged. At this time, the eight detachments first expressed their support for the decision of the Working Committee and favored the merger, while the opinions on the merger were very different within the seven detachments. Some comrades actively supported the decision of the Working Committee and advocated the merger; some strongly opposed the decision of the Work Committee and did not agree to the merger; and Zhang Hongli even directly accused the third comrade of Lu Province of using eight detachments to annex him and carry out personal attacks. In addition, there are some comrades who do not express their position and are ambiguous. After fierce debate, it was finally decided that seven or eight detachments would be combined. At that time, the principle of the merger was determined that there would be no changes under the brigade, and only the problem of merging the leading organs above would be solved. On this basis, consultations were held among the seven or eight detachments and the consent of both sides was obtained. In the reorganization, the general name was determined as: "The Eighth Detachment of the Ludong Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Group of the National Revolutionary Army", with seals engraved, symbols, adjusted institutions, and matched personnel. The headquarters was headed by Ma Baosan and Han Mingzhu and Zhang Hongli as deputy commanders. Lu Dong Working Committee Secretary Lu Shengsan, member Zhang Wentong as political commissar. Liu Guanghan (Wen Haifeng) is the chief of staff, and Ma Jiansheng is the deputy chief of staff. The Political Department is headed by Wang Yizhi. Li Wen was the director of the organization department, and Xue Shaogeng and Wang Wenxuan were appointed as the chief and vice ministers of the Propaganda Department. The Communication Department was headed by Li Wenxuan (later defected). The First Squadron of Special Agents (Eighth Branch) and the Second Squadron of Special Agents (Seven Squadrons) were organized into one Special Agent Brigade, with Lu Hadith as the leader. A military and political committee was also established, with Lu Shengsan as chairman of the military and political committee, comrades Ma Baosan, Wang Yunsheng, Zhang Wentong, and Zhao Xiude as vice chairmen, and Zhang Hongli did not join the military and political committee because he was not a party member.
After the merger of the seventh and eighth detachments, it is said that Zhang Hongli secretly instigated some people to propose something to "fight Yanagiso to expand the influence of the Eighth Route Army." At that time, there was a rumor in Changyi that "the Eighth Route Army did not fight the Japanese Kou of Yanagi Town, but beat the recalcitrant army of Longchi" (some people also say that the fight against Longchi was Zhang Hongli's conspiracy to marry the eight detachments). At this time, Zhang Hongli vigorously declared that "Yanagimachi is very good to fight, and there are puppet troops living in the traitor Yang Xinyuan, and there are no Japanese devils", and so on. The command did not conduct a thorough investigation and research, and it credulously believed his plan. On March 30, 1938, the decision to hit Yanagi was taken rashly. The military operation in Liucheng was commanded by Zhang Hongli and Liu Guanghan. A large detachment of eight detachments and a squadron of special agents served as the main attack, and the five brigades of eight detachments were responsible for fighting reinforcements and intercepting the enemy who came to the aid of Changyi City. The main attacking forces surrounded Yanagicho at night and prepared to attack at dawn. But before we could attack, the enemy had already opened fire on us first. This was because when Zhang Hongli deployed his troops to enter the position, he made a lot of movements, as if he was deliberately sending a signal to the enemy. So before we could attack, the enemy opened fire on us first, and the fire was very strong. The first squadron of special agents, which was the main attacker, was attacked by enemy fire as soon as it came into contact with the enemy from the northeast, and suffered heavy casualties, and the squadron leader Comrade Wang Peishan was seriously wounded, and a large group was forced to withdraw from the battle. At this time, the five brigades we were responsible for providing reinforcements caught fire at the Japanese troops who came to the aid of Gouziya and Changyi City, and the battle was also fierce. From dawn to noon, after six or seven hours of fierce fighting, the enemy was stopped at the line south of the ditch cliff, and it was impossible to advance one step. Although we also had some casualties, the task of providing reinforcements was accomplished brilliantly. However, the enemy against Yanagi did not fight well, but was attacked by the Japanese who came to help, and surrounded the headquarters, which was unexpected. At that time, the direct subordinate units and guards of the headquarters were in contact with the enemy's short troops, and they rushed and fought hard to break through. What is particularly strange is that I don't know who closed the four gates of Longchi when, and when the headquarters made an emergency breakthrough, the men and horses could not be withdrawn, and they temporarily opened an opening in the west gate before they pulled the people out. There are many indications that someone is playing a ghost behind the military operation in Yanagi, otherwise, if not victorious, it would not have been so badly lost. Later, it was learned that the town of Yanagiya was a conspiracy of Zhang Hongli. He was dissatisfied with the forcible merger of the seven and eight detachments, and held a grudge in his heart, and tried to use the enemy's and puppet forces to bring down the eight detachments, especially the headquarters, at the opportunity of attacking Yanagi. Ever since the eight detachments had entered Changwei, he had sensed that the situation was not good because of his counter-revolutionary instincts. Because there are many old comrades in the eight detachments who fully know the details of Zhang Hongli, especially Comrades Wang Yunsheng and Wang Yongzhou, they know it in more detail. How he sabotaged the Boxing rebellion, defected to the enemy, how he was loyal to the enemy, and how he undermined the work of our Party, and other counter-revolutionary crimes, can no longer be concealed. Therefore, he was terrified in his heart, and in his actions, he obstructed the merger of the seven and eight detachments in every way, but he could not hinder it, so he engaged in conspiracies and tricks to sabotage.
After our headquarters broke through from Longchi, we turned to the Weibei slope area for a temporary stay. At this time, our troops originally stationed in the Longchi area lost their unified command and were scattered and transferred, and in the midst of this chaos, the Ninth Squadron of our five major teams, led by Meng Zhaorui, fled back to Shouguang and surrendered to Zhang Jingyue. Zhang Fangkun (an old bandit), the second detachment leader of the Fifth Squadron, ran away with a guard and surrendered to the enemy. Shortly thereafter, the seventh squadron of a large group, led by the captain Meng Zhusan, fled and surrendered to Zhang Jingyue. The escape of the above two squadrons, although early and late in time, was a pre-planned operation between them.
After three or four days, the headquarters returned to Changyi and temporarily stationed in Wacheng. Gather the scattered troops and personnel in this area to deal with the aftermath of the casualties of the comrades in this battle, and then move to the Tide Sea. At the time of the transfer of the headquarters, the three comrades of Lu Province did not follow him, but remained in Wacheng, where it was said that local work was arranged. When the headquarters arrived at Chaohai, Comrades Ma Baosan and Han Mingzhu were worried that there would be problems for the three comrades of Lu Province to stay there personally, so they immediately sent cavalry to pick him up. When the cavalry arrived at Wacheng, the three comrades of Lu Province had been stabbed to death by Jin Yan. The murderer was arrested on the spot and escorted to the headquarters. In the process of interrogating Jin Yan, it was revealed that the three comrades of Thorn Deer Province were the main envoys of Zhang Hongli. In this way, the command immediately arrested Zhang Hongli. At this time, the headquarters had been driven to the east of the Weihe River, stationed in the area of the chessboard, and a provisional military tribunal composed of Wang Yunsheng, Zhang Wentong, Wang Yizhi, and other three people, interrogated Zhang Hongli. Zhang Hongli knew that the evidence of the crime was like a mountain, and he could not deny it, so he confessed that the thorn deer was the gun he gave to Jin Yan and instigated Jin to do it. The military court immediately sentenced Zhang Hongli to death and executed him on a chessboard that night.
Three went east to Huang County to support the Jiaodong brothers' troops
In early April 1938, after the headquarters had assembled and reorganized its troops in the Chaohai area, it immediately raised the issue of the next step of the troops' actions. Because the three comrades of Lu Province had died, only Zhang Wentong was still alive in the Ludong Working Committee, and some issues were difficult for the Working Committee to decide. Therefore, instead, the Ludong Working Committee decided on the method of action of the troops, but the headquarters met to discuss and decide. During the meeting, Wang Yunsheng, Ma Baosan, and other comrades believed that the economic conditions in Jiaodong were relatively good, and advocated going east to Jiaodong, where they raised military expenses, changed their military uniforms, and then returned. The comrades of the original seven detachments also believed that there was no enemy in the Area of Huang County, which was convenient for rest, and also advocated going east. In this way, our troops left the Chaohai Sea, moved eastward across the Weihe and Jiaohe rivers, and were stationed in the Xinhe area on the border of YeXian County. At this time, the three detachments of Ye County sent Comrade Zhang Jiale, director of the Political Department, to contact them, and the three armed forces stationed in Huang County also sent Comrade Lu Zhiheng to ask the eight detachments to go east to Huang County to assist them in their work. Subsequently, the second detachment stationed in Huangxian County also sent Comrade Chen Maiqian to YeXian to greet us. Based on the above factors, the course of action of the eight detachments to Jiaodong was completely determined.
In early April 1938, the troops set out from the New River to the east, and came closer to the three detachments in Ye County, establishing contact between fraternal troops. With great revolutionary friendship, the three detachments in Yexian County gave each of the seven and eight detachments a single set of military uniforms and a part of the cash, and allowed some guns hidden by the people to be extracted in the territory of Yexian County. In mid-April, the headquarters went to the Huangshan Pavilion for a period of time and carried out work on Longkou. At this time, the old military police in Longkou were the Longkou Security Brigade, armed with more than two hundred people, and its captain Li Meisheng was a student of Shouguang Middle School, and there were many of his classmates in the eight detachments. In addition, there was also a customs coastal defense brigade in Longkou, which was very tightly guarded at that time and could not be solved for a while. This customs is under british jurisdiction, all the weapons are British, to solve it, the strong attack is not enough, had to do the work through Li Meisheng's relationship, waiting for the time to mature, together to solve this problem.
After the work arrangements for Longkou were ready, the headquarters left the Huangshan Pavilion and moved to North Malaysia, moved closer to the city of Huang County, and coordinated with the brother troops, the "three armies", to arrange the internal line work in the city of Huang County. Because the huangxian city was inhabited by the armed forces of the old government, there was still a considerable force, and it was subordinate to Zhang Jinming's system, and if it was not good, it would not be able to enter the city. At that time, the second detachment of Li Xikong still lived in the city, which was our internal relationship. It has a united front relationship with the garrison in the city and is a covert armed force belonging to the "three services." They sent Comrade Chen Maiqian to secretly contact us, agreed on a time, drove our troops from the west gate into the city, and immediately took over the defense of the local garrison, controlled the main traffic routes, and stabilized the situation in the city. When our large army arrived (most of them were stationed around chengguan), the original garrison armed forces were compressed within the scope of the old county government, armed surveillance, and then sent people in to negotiate peace with them. At this time, the former county magistrate of Huang County was Wang Jingsong, who was armed with more than 200 long and short guns, refused to accept the negotiated terms of surrender, and tried to resist stubbornly. We immediately mobilized heavy troops to surround the county government, and in coordination with the two detachments in the city, launched an offensive against the defending enemy and talked while fighting. Later, feeling hopeless to escape, they were forced to lay down their weapons and hand over their guns. We have dismissed all personnel. At that time, we believed that Wang Jingsong belonged to the middle position and was not very reactionary, so we made appropriate arrangements for him.
After the headquarters was stationed in Huangxian County, it cooperated closely with the "three armies" of the Jiaodong army and the three detachments of Yexian County. In order to facilitate unified action and unified dispatch, the anti-Japanese coalition army headquarters was first established, with the commanders of three detachments (eight detachments, the "three armies", and three detachments) as the command of the anti-Japanese coalition army headquarters, thus creating a great momentum and expanding the influence of our anti-Japanese coalition army. The banner of the Anti-Japanese Coalition Army was displayed to the outside world, and the seal of the headquarters of the Anti-Japanese Coalition Army was issued. A communication office was established in the headquarters of the coalition army, with Comrade Sun Ruifu as the head of the communication department, who mastered the external liaison work. At this time, the coalition command first set out to solve the problems of the "three services". The units of the "three armies" were developed by local armed forces scattered in Wen (Deng), Rong (Cheng), Peng (Lai), Huang (County), Milk (Shan), Fu (Shan), and other localities, and operated in various localities. We assisted the "three services" by assembling their scattered contingents and rectifying them, so that the main problems of the "three services" were solved. Regarding the problem of the three detachments in Ye County, it is mainly threatened by Zhang Jinming on the outside, and there is the hidden danger of Zhao Sentang inside. Zhao Sentang was the chief of staff of the three detachments in Yexian County at that time, very reactionary and ambitious, and he pretended that he had a part of the armed forces (mainly the three major teams) in an attempt to collude with Zhang Jinming to eat the three detachments in Yexian County. These two reactionary forces were combined, and the three detachments in Yexian County could not resist themselves. At that time, we sent a large team of Wang Yongzhou and Chen Longfei's thirteenth brigade to Ye County to assist the three teams in solving Zhao Sentang and so on. Zhao Sentang, along with Wang Wenfeng (director of the secretariat), the main figure in his reactionary clique, and three brigade leaders Yang Futing, Wang Chuntang, and Zhang Xianting, as well as the Kuomintang township chief Tao Renji, were summarily executed. Zhang Zijing, deputy commander of the fourth brigade, escaped through the net. At the same time, troops were deployed at Gaowangshan and Xiaqiu Fort in the south of Ye County, and Zhang Jinming's troops were severely beaten, more than 200 of him were eliminated, this reactionary force was driven out of the Yenan Mountainous Area, the threat to the three detachments in Yexian County was lifted, and favorable conditions were created for the development of the three detachments in Yexian County.
During their stay in Huangxian County, the eight detachments helped Jiaodong's brother troops "Three Armies" and three detachments in Yexian On the one hand. On the other hand, the comrades of the "three services" have helped us economically. In the early days of the establishment of our seven or eight detachments, we were very poor, had no economic resources, and had no solution to the clothing of the army. When we arrived in Huangxian County, it was already May, and the officers and men of the unit had not yet changed their cotton clothes. Our soldiers, near their garrisons, mobilized women to unshuffle and wash their cotton clothes, pulled out cotton sleeves, changed them into tunics or single garments, and paid the masses for their rewards. With the assistance of our brother troops, we later raised military expenses, purchased cloth, and made single uniforms, which greatly changed our military appearance, greatly enhanced our military prestige, and raised our morale. During this period, we and the "three services" set up anti-smuggling committees, and dispatched cadres to form anti-smuggling teams to carry out anti-smuggling work in Huangxian and Longkou areas. At the same time, taxation and fund-raising work have been carried out, some fiscal revenue has been generated, and the problem of military expenditure has been solved.
In early June 1938, Comrade Li Meisheng prepared all kinds of work in Longkou and pulled out all the personnel of the security brigade under his command. We reorganized it into a brigade, with Comrade Li Meisheng as the brigade leader.
Through Comrade Li Meisheng's relationship, a great deal of work was carried out on the coastal defense brigade, winning the secret support of Ji Yongfang, the leader of the coastal defense brigade, and at the same time winning over some of his subordinate officers and soldiers as internal responses. On this basis, we sent the Fifth Squadron to Longkou to cooperate with them in their work, and agreed that on the day of the "Dragon Boat Festival" in May, we would take the opportunity of inviting guests to join the Coastal Defense Brigade, suddenly drive the Fifth Squadron in, cooperate with the inner line, shoot a small number of people who refused to surrender their weapons, and get out all the personnel, weapons, and ammunition of the Coastal Defense Brigade. There were two British light machine guns, thirty-six British rifles, and more than forty boxes of short guns and machine gun bullets. At that time, our troops were equipped with these advanced weapons and sufficient ammunition, which further strengthened the military prestige and enhanced the combat effectiveness.
Ye County and Huang County used to be a place with some industrial base. In May 1938, "Dragon Boat Festival" began to organize an arsenal in Zhengjia Village (the hometown of Commander Zheng Yaonan of the three detachments) in Ye County, mainly to manufacture "82" mortars and artillery shells and grenades. After a period of work, two mortars were quickly made, plus two machine guns obtained from Longkou Customs, and a machine gun brigade was formed, with Ji Yongfang as the captain of the machine gun brigade.
4. He was ordered to return to the division and march west to Zouping and Changshan
In mid-June 1938, Chen Hongdian (nicknamed Chen Baldzi), a traffic officer of the Qinghe Special Committee, sent a letter to the eight detachments, and the name of the letter was given to the eight detachments rather than to which person in charge. The content is: There is a problem with the leaders of your unit, Ma Baosan is a bandit, Zhang Zheng (Han Mingzhu) is a madman, Zhang Wentong's political face is unclear, and the troops quickly break away from them and pull back to the west. ...... When the comrades of the headquarters saw this letter, they were stunned and confused. It was decided that Comrade Zhang Wentong would immediately go to the provincial party committee for instructions. At this time, it happened that Comrade Lu Zhiheng of the "three armed forces" was going to the provincial party committee to send money, and Comrade Zhang Wentong went with him. When he arrived in Linzi, he found the secretary of the Qinghe Special Committee and asked him the question of the letter received by the eight detachments, and he explained that it was a misunderstanding, and there was no need to talk about it, but mainly to ask you to come back and support the four detachments in establishing mountain base areas, and it was not possible to fight guerrillas in the plains. Comrade Zhang Wentong raised the issues that were criticized in the letter and asked to go to the provincial party committee for instructions. At that time, the responsible person insisted that Comrade Zhang Wentong should not go to the provincial party committee, and said: The two cadres sent by the existing province, Gao Jinchun and Wang Wen, go to Jiaodong, and you can accompany them. He also said: Calling you back is the opinion of the provincial party committee. On the way back, you choose your own place to cross the railway, from Weixian to the east and from Yidu to the west. Hurry up and cross the railway, don't fight with Zhang Jingyue, if you fight, it will drag out the time, this is the opinion of the provincial party committee.
After Returning to Huang County, Comrade Zhang Wentong reported the opinions of the Qinghe Special Committee and the Provincial PARTY Committee to the comrades at the headquarters, studied them, and decided to reorganize the troops and return to the division to advance westward. At this time, the entire unit had reached more than 4,000 people, including the machine gun brigade and the special service brigade, a total of ten brigades, which were organized into three district teams. Wang Fuze, the leader of the first district team, And Zhang Ziming, the political commissar; He Fengchi, the leader of the third district team, and Zhai Ruifu, the political commissar; Wei Peide, the leader of the fifth district team, and Wang Yongzhou, the political commissar. In addition to the three district teams under the command, there are also machine gun brigades and special service brigades.
In late June 1938, the troops left Huang County and returned to the west, at this time the troops were very different from when they came to the east. At that time, it was very easy to travel and camp, and it was very flexible to walk and go, and to fight when it was said. At this time, the number of arms increased, some institutions were established accordingly, and the logistics force was also expanded, especially the ordnance and materiel, and it was quite cumbersome to move. The military machinery and equipment collected in Jiaodong this time were equipped with a number of large vehicles, and there were also many mules for the cannons and ammunition of the machine artillery brigade. A large truck and a captured small sleeping car were also brought out of Longkou. In this way, the troops were less agile in their actions, and as a result, they attracted the attention of the enemy and provoked a conflict with the Red Gun Society in Yexian County, which became a major regret in history. The process goes like this:
At that time, the Red Gun Society in the western part of Ye County was very powerful, and almost all villages had it. A landlord's armed force named Du Guangqian was entrenched in Shahe Town, and it was extremely reactionary. They are inextricably linked to the local Red Gun Society, and use this part of the Red Gun Society to oppose the eight detachments in an attempt to reap the benefits of the fishermen. When our eight detachments were heading west, Du Guangqian took advantage of every opportunity to secretly dispatch a large number of spies to spread something in the Red Gun Society: "The Eighth Route Army has made a fortune in HuangXian County, and everyone carries a large amount of existing oceans and belongings, especially more for the supply personnel." Politically, it slandered "the Eighth Route Army went around raising guns and asking for food and searching for ordinary people." In a vain attempt to stir up hatred and hostility toward the Eighth Route Army. In the name of supporting the Red Gun Society, they also sent armed agents to mix among the masses, provoke the masses to oppose us, and intercept our army's westward advance.
On June 28, 1938, our troops set out from Zhujia Village (Zhang Zongchang's hometown) and marched to Jiang's house in Haizhen, where they began to make contact with the Red Gun Society. At first, it was just a demonstration in the middle of the road, and we have not yet started, and we can still pass peacefully. When passing by Xue Village, they stopped the road and prevented us from passing through the village, so we had to take a detour and walk outside the village. But they deliberately provoked, stabbed our logistics staff Comrade Zhai Yuanjing with a long gun, and took a motorcycle, so there would be a small armed conflict with the red gun. At that time, we sent a special task force to the village to contact their responsible persons, and vigorously publicized the eighth route army's policy of resisting Japan and saving the country and not disturbing the people. But as soon as our comrades arrived at the courtyard where the "altar house" (the headquarters of the Red Gun Society) of the village was located, they opened fire on us. Our comrades were forced to fight back in self-defence. At the same time, another group of armed members of the Red Gun Society, charging at our marching team from the south of the village, was also repelled by us. At this time, our headquarters issued an order to try our best to persuade the Red Gun Society to deal with the problem, and resolutely not to fight, but it was really impossible to go, so we took a detour. Tushan is the base camp of the Red Gun Society, and it is also a "pass" for them to concentrate their efforts on blocking us. In order to avoid a clash with the Red Gun, the headquarters decided to change the route of the march, turning north from the east of Tushan Mountain, along the Loujia area, through the coastal area of Yebei without villages, and advancing towards the lower camp area of Changbei. When our vanguard arrived at Lou's house, the oncoming Red Gun Society opened fire on us. Our follow-up troops arrived, counterattacked, and repelled their attack. At this time our troops were ordered to stop advancing and rest on the spot. The command issued an absolute order to the whole army, and could only explain to the Red Gun Society propaganda and resolutely not allowed to return fire. At this moment, two appalling things happened.
One is that we have two comrades who were near Tushan Mountain, were arrested by the Red Gun Society, tied to Tushan Mountain without torture, and had to be opened and cut. Another was that in a moment between battles, in a village near Lou's house, one of our squadrons was sitting in line on the street, resting on the spot, when the Red Gun Society broke in. Our squadron leader mechanically carried out the command's order not to return fire, and he also ordered the soldiers not to move when the tip of the enemy's gun was already pointed at the chest of our soldiers. In this way, one of our platoons, including more than thirty company squadron leaders, was stabbed to death by the Red Gun Society with a spear. After such a tragic incident, our troops really couldn't bear it any longer, and the headquarters was forced to issue an order to return fire on Tushan, and the troops poured out toward Tushan with the fire of a storm, especially the fire of small machine guns and cannons. Because we didn't want to chase, the battle ended quickly.
After the battle, we considered that the area could not stay long, and the command ordered the troops to enter the large salt flats on the coast immediately from the north of Tushan. In the great wasteland, the red land is thousands of miles, and there is no one to live. Just after two o'clock in the afternoon, the scorching sun was scorching, the heat was scorching, there was no water to drink here, and all the soldiers and horses were in a hot and thirsty predicament, and suddenly the weather changed suddenly, the rainstorm was pouring, and between the pouring moments, the flat water was full of depth. The heat and thirst have disappeared invisibly, but all the people and horses are deeply in the quagmire, the vehicles cannot move, all are discarded in the big depression, and even the two cars are thrown away together. Our party struggled through the mud and ran late at night to the sea barn. This is the only village in this area, and our troops have been camping in this desolate village for the night. Because supplies could not be raised here, the large troops continued to advance, leaving only a few troops and cadres to search for lost vehicles and supplies.
The troops returned to changyi chaohai and the area around the lower camp for a temporary rest. In order to prepare for the next step through the area ruled by Zhang Jingyue, the troops made preparations for a light advance, and loaded the machines and equipment brought by the logistics department into ships and transported them from the sea to Shouguang via Yangkou. In order to avoid conflict with Zhang Jingyue, the headquarters sent liaison personnel to negotiate with Zhang Jingyue, agreed on our marching route, and prepared to continue west through Shouguang.
When our troops were resting in the Chaohai and xia camps, many comrades bathed in the Huai River (that is, the Weihe River, known to the local people as the Huai River), and several unfortunate incidents of drowning people occurred. It was sad to drown Wang Yizhi, director of the political department, in the Chaohai Sea, and To drown Li Wenguang, the leader of the brigade, and several soldiers in the lower camp.
In mid-July 1938, the troops left Chaohai and went to Wacheng. This was the first step in the march west. After a short stay in Wacheng, a memorial meeting was held to mourn comrades San and Wang Yizhi of Lu Province, as well as comrades who had gloriously sacrificed their lives in successive battles and work. After the memorial service, the troops immediately embarked on the journey to the west. On the way to the west, he stayed at the Reed River for a long time, and in contact with Comrade Li Renfeng's ten regiments here, because he assisted them in expanding their territory, he also fought two small battles, one was to fight Fu Xiangkun, the stubborn Fu Xiangkun of Fu Yuanzi, and the other was to fight the big and small Han Zhou Shengfang's troops, both because the enemy was firmly holding the siege, and the results of our strong attack were not great.
At the end of July 1938, we set out from the Reed River, passed weigu in Huantai County, and fought an encounter with the enemy troops from Zhangdian, and the fight was quite fierce. As a result, we killed and wounded some of the enemy, and we also had some casualties, and then withdrew from the battle and got rid of the enemy.
When our headquarters was stationed in Weigu, Comrade Yang Guofu, deputy commander of the three detachments of Zou (Ping) and Chang (Shan), came here to contact comrade Han Mingzhu and studied the activities of the eight detachments stationed in Zou and during the long period. After the meeting, our troops continued to advance westward, reaching a pause near Changshan City, and the headquarters was stationed in Yuancheng. At this time, the headquarters of the three detachments were stationed in the Area of Sijiazhuang west of Yuancheng, and the comrades of the headquarters of the eight detachments went to Sijiazhuang to study military operations with the three detachments. According to the information obtained by the reconnaissance at that time, the leaders of the stubborn enemies of Zou (Ping), Chang (Shan), and Huan (Taiwan) held an emergency meeting at Jiaoqiao to plan a conspiracy against us. The eight so-called commanders were: Song Yutian, Li Xiaowen, Gao Zhujun, Zhang Jingnan, Zhang Jinglu, Wang Shangzhi, Yang Xiangnan, and Hu Fenglin. At that time, it was decided to seize this opportunity and immediately rush to Jiaoqiao to try to wipe out these stubborn enemies. However, the cunning enemy pre-fortified the Xiazhai Bridge and the Peijia Bridge on the Xiaonu River, especially the Peijia Bridge, which set up a bridgehead, equipped with a machine gun, and guarded it with heavy troops to prevent our army from advancing. After the brave and fierce attack of our vanguard troops, this bridgehead was quickly broken through, and the remnants of the enemy fled, while the enemy who was guarding the Xiazhai Bridge was unable to defend itself, and most of them surrendered their weapons and were captured. The enemy of Jiaoqiao, hearing the gunshots of Peijiaqiao, fled in a panic. Our army took advantage of the situation to chase after the enemy and drove the enemy north of the Xiaoqing River. Since then, the whole territory of Xiaoqing Henan, Zou (Ping), and Chang (Shan) has been invincible, opening up an extremely favorable environment for the development of the three detachments.
In early August 1938, our headquarters was stationed in Jiaoqiao. The troops were deployed south of the Xiaoqing River, with five brigades stationed in Liutao, Han, and three brigades stationed in Huangxiaodian. The Forward Command, led by Deputy Commander Han Mingzhu, was a highly mobile command structure, often active in the vast areas south of Zouping and Changshan. At that time, the headquarters of the three detachments were stationed in Zouping City. The activities of our forward command, in addition to cooperating with the work of the three detachments, are mainly to grasp the changes in the enemy situation in Zhoucun and along the railway, and to monitor the dynamics of the enemy in Zhoucun to ensure the rear of our three and eight detachments.
When our headquarters was stationed in Jiaoqiao, Comrade Zhang Wentong got in touch with the Qinghe Special Committee and met the person in charge of the Qinghe Special Committee, who asked eight detachments to help the three detachments carry out their work here. He said: "The situation here is very good. The eight detachments were originally led by the Ludong Working Committee, but now the Ludong Working Committee no longer exists, and the Qinghe Special Committee was established on the basis of the Ludong Working Committee, and the eight detachments are in a leadership relationship. The three detachments here are led by the Qinghe Special Committee, and the two detachments are under the unified command of the Qinghe Special Committee. We sent Comrade Jin Ming to the eight detachments as the director of the political department, and he was the organization director of the special committee and led the eight detachments on behalf of the special committee." In this way, he was stationed in Zou and Chang to help the three detachments to carry out their work.
During the activities of our forward headquarters in Zou and Chang, Deputy Commander Han sent a reconnaissance team to approach the enemy in Zhoucun, looking for fighters and preparing to strike at the enemy. On October 8, 1938, the enemy came out to loot the Mengjiazhuang area, and Deputy Commander Han led a team to attack Mengjiazhuang, and the enemy rushed to fight. At first we fought very effectively, using the fire of the machine guns and small guns to inflict great damage on the enemy and mute the enemy's machine guns. When Deputy Commander Han personally led the cavalry to the enemy group and was about to seize the enemy's machine guns, he did not expect that the enemy's reinforcements had arrived and blocked our way forward with intensive fire from the flanks. Deputy Commander Han led his guards to seize the favorable terrain and hide behind the small cemetery, but the enemy blocked our retreat with firepower, pressing Deputy Commander Han and four guards behind several small graves, unable to lift their heads. In the end, the enemy flattened the small grave with machine guns, and Deputy Commander Han and his guards stubbornly resisted until finally the glorious martyrdom. His guard, Comrade Wu Derong, was seriously wounded and stubbornly rolled out. Only Zheng Xiaoxian was not injured, he lay down next to the sacrificial comrade and pretended to be dead, deceived the enemy, and then he took the guns dropped by the sacrificed comrades and ran out with the body of Deputy Commander Han on his back. In this fierce battle, Comrade Ding Shijin, the commander of our machine gun squadron, and one of the gunnery regiments were also honorably sacrificed.
In the battle of Mengjiazhuang, thirty or forty enemies were killed and wounded at that time, and the arrogant enemy was dealt a heavy blow. However, our good commander, Comrade Han Mingzhu, unfortunately died, which is a great loss for our army, and our army is extremely saddened! At this moment, the provincial party committee sent Comrade Lin Hao with a regiment of the four detachments to come north of the railway to express condolences on behalf of the provincial party committee to all the commanders and fighters of the eight detachments. Here, Comrade Lin Hao asked us why we did not go anywhere? At that time, the comrades of our headquarters reported to Comrade Lin Hao on the past situation, told him about the decision of the Qinghe Special Committee not to let us cross the road and left us to assist the three detachments in carrying out their work in Zou and Chang, and he criticized the erroneous decision of the responsible person of the Qinghe Special Committee and the practice of violating the instructions of the provincial party committee, and at the same time determined the task of crossing the eight detachments. Comrade Lin Hao also said: "The eight detachments have changed their names several times, and now on behalf of the provincial party committee, I have changed them to you, which is still called the eight detachments, and in the future, the four detachments and the eight detachments will be directly under the leadership of the provincial party committee."
Comrade Han Mingzhu's funeral was held at Jiaojiaqiao, where the headquarters was stationed. In an atmosphere of great sorrow for the whole army, a very solemn ceremony was held. Comrade Han Mingzhu's coffin was personally carried by cadres above the brigade and buried in a beautiful and secluded place in Jiaojiaqiao. After handling and perfecting the work, the eight detachments bid farewell to the three detachments of the brother troops, left Zou and Chang, and drove to the border areas of Yi (Du), Shou (Guang), lin (Zi), and other three counties, preparing to cross the railway south according to the instructions of the provincial party committee.
Before crossing the railway, the eight detachments carried out another reorganization according to the instructions of the provincial party committee. Several district teams were reorganized into regimental formations, and the five-district teams were organized into five regiments and transferred to the command of four detachments. At this time, the Fifth Regiment fought another hard battle with the Japanese invading army, that is, the "Battle of six days of fog", which was famous at that time. At that time, four detachments, including five regiments, were stationed near the six days fog, and found that the enemy "swept up" the troops approaching the six days fog, and the four detachment headquarters ordered the five regiments to resist the enemy, and they could not retreat without the order of the command. The fifth regiment immediately spread its strength, clamped down on the enemy so that it could not advance, and fought an extremely fierce and tenacious positional battle with the enemy. Because the enemy's strength and firepower were overwhelmingly superior, the five regiments fought extremely hard this battle. Our brigade commander, Comrade Sun Shanqing, was gloriously martyred in this fierce battle.
After the eight detachments crossed the railway, I stayed in the Zou and Chang areas to do local work. Did not go south with the eight detachments. The situation after the eight detachments is unfamiliar.
Chen Jiming (1908-1989), formerly known as Chen Yuan and Chen Meiwu, was a native of Beitaitou Village, Taitou Town, Shouguang City. He joined the Socialist Youth League in 1925 and the Communist Party of China in the spring of 1927.
In 1927, he was appointed as a member of the Shouguang County Committee of the Communist Party of China, and in 1929 and August 1936, he was appointed as a member of the Propaganda Committee of the Shouguang County Committee of the Communist Party of China. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was appointed as the squadron leader of the eighth detachment of the Ludong Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Group in December 1937, the political commissar of the eight detachment brigade in 1938, the head of the Shouguang County Self-Defense Regiment in the spring of 1939, the director of the democratic movement and the director of the Mobilization Committee of the Zouchang Central County Committee of the CPC in 1940, the chief of the civil affairs section and the deputy secretary of the branch of the Gaoyuan County Government in the winter of the same year, the chief of the civil affairs section and the member of the party group of the Qingxi Special Bureau in the autumn of 1941, and the county magistrate of Zouping County in January 1943. During the Liberation War, he was appointed county magistrate of Gaoyuan County in 1947 and mayor of Zhangdian City in May 1948. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in the spring of 1950 he served as the president of the zibo special bureau court and a member of the party group of the special bureau, in January 1953 he was appointed as the vice president of the civil division of the Shandong Provincial High Court, in April 1956 he was appointed as the ministerial committee member and first-level inspector of the Political and Legal Department of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee, in August of the same year he was appointed as the director of the political and legal office of the Shandong Provincial People's Committee, in April 1957 he was appointed as a member of the party group and the chief of the administrative department of the Shandong Provincial Department of Justice and the high court, and in September 1959 he was appointed as the deputy secretary of the party group and the director of the religious affairs department of the Shandong Provincial People's Committee (deputy department level). In the spring of 1961, he was appointed deputy secretary of the Shandong Overseas Chinese Committee and deputy secretary of the party group, and left in May 1972.
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