Author: Lan Yan also fell into the city
After the great victory of Pingxingguan, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army followed the instructions of its superiors and carried out a "separation of families.". The division headquarters and the 343rd Brigade moved south from Wutai Mountain to the Lüliang Mountains west of the Fenhe River; the 344th Brigade was placed under the direct command of the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army; and the independent regiment and cavalry battalion, led by Nie Rongzhen, remained in the Wutaishan area to persist in guerrilla warfare and were responsible for opening up the Jin-Cha-Ji anti-Japanese base area.
【Nie Rongzhen】
After receiving the order, Nie Rongzhen tossed and turned, and it was difficult to sleep. Participating in the revolution for many years, this can be said to be the first time that he was alone in charge of a task in a general direction, and he was still alone behind the enemy. The task is as heavy as a mountain, and it is extraordinary.
In addition, in this "separation of families", Nie Rongzhen received the least amount of "household belongings", in addition to the independent regiment and cavalry battalion, plus a headquarters special service regiment and a small number of local armed forces, less than 3,000 people were full.
Nie Rongzhen knew very well that in this place where the three provinces met and surrounded by strong enemies, if he wanted to gain a foothold, he must develop his strength rapidly in a short period of time. In order to expand the troops, it is necessary to have a certain number of backbone cadres in order to form a trend of burning ground as soon as possible.
Early the next morning, Nie Rongzhen went to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to find Zuo Quan, deputy chief of staff, and proposed to add some cadres to him. Zuo Quan was very cheerful, and immediately agreed, and transferred Tang Yanjie, deputy commander of the headquarters, to Nie Rongzhen as chief of staff.
The chief of staff had it, and Nie Rongzhen said that there was still a shortage of political department directors. Zuo Quan had no choice but to transfer Shu Tong, secretary general of the General Political Department, to him. Nie Rongzhen still felt that it was not enough, the two "bargained" for half a day, could not withstand Nie Rongzhen's soft and hard bubbles, Zuo Quan transferred Wang Zonghuai, head of the Youth Section of the Political Department, to him, and Nie Rongzhen returned satisfied.
【General Zuo Quan】
After the main force of the 115th Division moved south, Nie Rongzhen and the remaining personnel were isolated behind the enemy. At the time of the "separation", the headquarters was very small, and some people joked: "The total number of people in the entire headquarters is not enough for a table of people." ”
Soon after the headquarters went south, Niangziguan and Taiyuan were lost one after another, and the situation in the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region became more and more difficult. In order to rapidly expand the ranks, Nie Rongzhen sent out several generals Zhao Erlu, Yang Chengwu, and Wang Pingping to fully rely on the masses and mobilize the masses. The team snowballed and grew.
Less than two months after the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region, four military sub-districts were established: the First Military Subdistrict, commander Yang Chengwu, and political commissar Deng Hua; the Second Military Subdistrict, commander and political commissar Zhao Erlu; the Third Military Subdistrict commander and political commissar Wang Ping; the Fourth Military Subdistrict, commander Zhou Jianping, and political commissar Liu Daosheng.
【Yang Chengwu】
Soon after, the Yang Chengwu Independent Regiment of the First Division was ordered to expand into the Independent First Division, with 3 regiments under its jurisdiction. Of course, the single division is still just a skeleton, and the soldiers and equipment are far from enough. Nie Rongzhen meant to put up the shelf first, and the soldiers and equipment were slowly replenished.
After the establishment of the Single Division, it actively mobilized the masses in the base areas to join the army, collected miscellaneous armed forces, and collected guns and ammunition. Nie Rongzhen also asked the headquarters for instructions to expand the troops of the Second, Third, and Fourth Military Divisions into divisions. There are 3 regiments per division, for a total of 12 regiments.
The headquarters was very pleased to learn that the troops in the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region had developed so rapidly and agreed in principle. However, considering that 4 divisions appeared at once, the target was too large, and Nie Rongzhen was instructed to rename the division as a detachment, and each detachment had 3 or 4 brigades (regiment-level units). After Nie Rongzhen received a telegram from the headquarters, he immediately reorganized the troops of the military region in accordance with the instructions of the headquarters.
【There are many variegated armed forces during the War of Resistance】
Once so many troops are expanded, it is certainly not enough to mobilize the masses to join the army and capture the weapons and equipment of the Japanese army.
At that time, the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region could be said to be "commanders all over the world, and directors flying all over the world." There are many kinds of miscellaneous armed forces, ranging from as few as a dozen people to hundreds of thousands of people, who gather together to call themselves the "×× Army" and appoint themselves commanders, directors, and brigade leaders. Among these contingents, there are those who sincerely resist Japan, there are also those who both resist Japan and rob the rich and help the poor, and there are also those who, under the banner of "resisting Japan," are traitors behind their backs and harm the common people.
After repeated investigations, Nie Rongzhen found that these scattered miscellaneous weapons added up to about 10,000 people, and most of them could be won and transformed. If we really cannot win it, we can only resolutely ban it and avoid leaving hidden dangers in the base areas.
The first to be incorporated was Wang Tiancun's "Cha'nan Anti-Japanese Einsatzgruppen." This army consisted of more than 400 men, more than 200 long and short guns, and many mules and horses. Captain Wang Tiancun was an upright man, highly skilled in martial arts, and had a certain national integrity and patriotic enthusiasm. He took the initiative to send his aide-de-camp Li Qingchuan to inspect Yang Chengwu's team, and then resolutely led his troops to join the unique division. Yang Chengwu also attached great importance to him, and directly appointed him as the commander of the Second Regiment of the First Division, and Huang Shoufa, the former regimental commander who had participated in the Long March, was reappointed as the deputy regimental commander.
Later, due to Wang Tiancun's unruly personality, many cadres of our army could not get along. This, coupled with the fact that he is not a member of the organization and cannot attend organizational meetings, makes him feel distrusted. The independent division later canceled the number and changed its name to detachment, which further discouraged him. After a big fight with Huang Shoufa, Wang Tiancun left the army with only two personal guards. Given that he did not pull away the team and did not surrender to the enemy, Yang Chengwu did not pursue the matter. His aide-de-camp Li Qingchuan remained in our army, loyal and loyal, and was awarded the rank of colonel in 1955.
In August 1938, Nie Rongzhen instructed the troops of the military region to win over more than 1,600 people from the puppet army Mancheng Shizhensheng Department, the Baoding Li Yunsheng Department, and the Xushui "Police Defense Team". In September, another 1,200 members of the pseudo-Jidong security brigade rebelled. These armed forces were reorganized into the People's Anti-Japanese Army and the Guerrilla Army.
【Eighth Route Army Data Photo】
With the rapid expansion of the troops of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, some hostile armed forces that were intimidated by the prestige of the Eighth Route Army also requested that the Eighth Route Army be reorganized, but in fact they only wanted to pull up the banner as a tiger skin in order to preserve and develop their own forces.
Nie Rongzhen had a clear understanding of this. He warned the cadres of the military sub-districts: "Do not think that if you appoint him as a commander, he will listen to you." For example, Meng Gechen and Zhao Yukun, who turned to our army, only wanted to preserve their own strength. ”
In early 1939, Nie Rongzhen learned that Meng Gechen, commander of the "Seventh Route Army" who flaunted anti-Japanese resistance, had surrendered to the enemy and immediately sent a telegram ordering Yang Chengwu to take urgent measures. Yang Chengwu proposed to take the opportunity of the meeting to detain Meng Gechen.
Nie Rongzhen said, "That can't work, if you detain him, his team will be messed up, and it will be even more difficult to clean up." You have to take advantage of the fact that he is defenseless, mobilize heavy troops to first surround his troops, and then take him down. Yang Chengwu followed the plan, and one night, he suddenly dispatched 3 regiments of the Single Division to surround Meng Gechen's department, Meng Gechen was arrested, and most of his troops became real anti-Japanese fighters after education.
After Meng Gechen was imprisoned, Nie Rongzhen personally talked to him. He ostensibly promised to change his ways, but within a few days, he injured the guards and absconded. However, he was quickly arrested and executed after a public trial.
At the beginning of February 1939, the "Seventh Route Army" and Zhao Yukun's "Tenth Route Army" were merged into the fifth detachment, Zhao Yukun was appointed as the detachment leader, and Wang Daobang, a cadre sent by our side, served as the political commissar of the detachment, and at the same time sent many cadres to transform this team. In March of the following year, Zhao Yukun defected to the enemy and killed many cadres of our army. However, due to our effective work in the five detachments, Zhao Yukun only took away a few cronies. After the founding of New China, Zhao Yukun, who was hiding in Beijing, was arrested by the public security organs and executed.
The troops in the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region have developed and grown rapidly, and the biggest problem, in addition to the lack of cadres, is the lack of ammunition.
In December 1937, Nie Rongzhen established a crash course for military and political cadres in Fuping based on the teaching battalion of the 115th Division. In the three months of the semester, more than 1400 cadres were trained in one year, and the problem of lack of cadres was fundamentally solved.
In April 1939, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region established the Ministry of Military Industry, developed 6 repair factories, and had more than 1,000 workers, who could not only repair firearms, but also manufacture black gunpowder and grenades, which greatly alleviated the shortage of weapons and ammunition in the border areas.
At a time when the development of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region was booming, Nie Rongzhen, who had far-sighted plans, set his sights on the plains of Central Ji and Eastern Ji. The spark of the Taihang Mountains has become a burning trend.
Nie Shuai
【Deeply cultivate the history of war, carry forward positive energy, welcome to submit, private messages will be restored】