January 31, 1938 is the Chinese New Year. This Spring Festival, it was very unusual. The Spring Festival in the jin-Cha-Ji anti-Japanese base area was founded, and there is such a record in the "Biography of Nie Rongzhen": "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to the custom, on this day, everyone wished each other a New Year, and it was also very stubborn at the headquarters of the Jincha Military Region. "This Spring Festival, Nie Rongzhen had a rather pleasant time; his work in the base areas was gradually on the right track; second, he received (US military observer) Carlson's visit and achieved success, and through the admiring eyes of the first foreigners to enter the base areas, he confirmed from another side that the direction of the creation and development of the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines was correct; third, his wife Zhang Ruihua miraculously rushed from Yan'an to Fuping two days before the Chinese New Year's Eve to spend a reunion year with him."
Then, the units of the 120th Division and the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army that entered the War of Resistance Against Enemy Rear In North China, as well as the anti-Japanese guerrilla detachments that had sprung up after the rain, also celebrated the first Spring Festival after the initial establishment of the anti-Japanese base area between the battles between the Japanese and the Kosovars. At the same time, we should also use the Spring Festival to publicize the anti-Japanese national united front, strengthen the unity of friendly forces, and organize group worship and joint celebrations with patriotic figures and democratic parties in various base areas, as well as enlightened gentlemen and mass organizations, to unite in the War of Resistance and greet a new anti-Japanese upsurge.
Previously, the General Political Department of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army had issued circulars calling on all units and guerrilla detachments of the Eighth Route Army to make use of the traditional Festival of the Chinese nation to vigorously develop the anti-Japanese national united front and strengthen the activities of uniting friendly forces. It is required that all units of the Eighth Route Army on the front line of the North China War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression send representatives to the friendly garrison areas to pay homage to Yan Xishan, commander of the Second Theater, and others, to pay homage to the friendly forces, or to hold joint celebrations.
Also in mid-January, after the "Luoyang Conference" convened by Chiang Kai-shek, on the Spring Festival of 1938, that is, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Wei Lihuang, then deputy commander of the Second Theater of Operations, together with Li Mo'an, commander of the Fourteenth Army, and Guo Jiyao, commander of the Ninth Army, went to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to pay their respects to Commander-in-Chief Zhu De. At the welcoming meeting, Zhu De spoke highly of the performance and merits of Wei Lihuang and his subordinates in the Battle of Xinkou. In his speech, Wei Lihuang also expressed great admiration for the bravery and good fighting of the Eighth Route Army. He said: "I know that the Eighth Route Army is indeed anti-Japanese, the most elite unit for reviving the nation, especially the methods and experience of the anti-Japanese resistance are very rich, I hope that in the future, we will not forget our responsibilities, and we will not forget that we are part of China's most elite army and fight against Japan." "
Second, the ambush battle of Xiangtangpu
That's a good point. After two months, Zhu Dedian served as the front-line commander of the Xiangtangpu ambush. In order to deepen the understanding of the friendly generals of the eight-way guerrilla tactics, Zhu De invited the participants of the Xiaodongling Conference to visit the battlefield on the high ground near the battlefield. On the morning of March 31, when two squadrons of cars belonging to the Japanese Fourteenth Division entered the ambush circle, the battle began immediately, and within two hours it was completely resolved. Then, they repelled the Japanese reinforcements. In this battle, about 180 cars of the two Japanese car squadrons were burned down, most of the More than 170 Japanese officers and men escorting the convoy were killed, and 4 mortars and hundreds of guns of various kinds were captured. Through this visit, the generals of the friendly armies have enhanced their understanding of guerrilla warfare and their confidence in the War of Resistance; and organizing such a kind of watching the war is something that cannot be done unless one is confident and commanded.
After the battle, a war correspondent named Wu Wu wrote a Jindong newsletter entitled "The Battle of Dongyangguan in Licheng," which was about the Japanese army mobilizing more than 30,000 of its troops in an attempt to force the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to the Liaoxian, Yushe, Wuxiang, and Xiangyuan areas in southeastern Jin, and destroying them with a nine-way siege. Moreover, in the Japanese documents captured by the 129th Division, a map of the "Nine-Way Siege" of the Japanese Army was found. Zhu De, who was also the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army and deputy commander-in-chief of Peng Dehuai, took the 129th Division led by Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, and Deng Xiaoping as the main force to crush the Japanese Army's Nine-Route Siege, assembled covertly, and guided the enemy to annihilate the enemy (according to the story of the division's activities in this area, as well as the 344th Brigade of the 115th Division, as well as the 1st and 3rd Columns, and the friendly units belonging to the Eastern Route Army sequence) in the southeastern Jin Region to annihilate the Japanese invaders in an ambush battle. Unbeknownst to them, the anti-Japanese base areas in the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region, which were established earlier, also had more earth-shattering stories in the spring of 1938.
When the cold winter moon is gone, it is the spring of the following year (1938). General Nie Rongzhen, commander and political commissar, received Lü Zhengcao at the headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, which had just been relocated from Wutai to Fuping.
Lü Zhengcao, born in 1905, is a native of Haicheng, Liaoning. He was the founding general of the Republic. Lü Zhengcao joined the Northeast Army in 1922, and after joining the army, he served as a soldier in Zhang Xueliang's Guard Brigade, Three Battalions, and Nine Companies. The following year, Lü Zhengcao was selected by Zhang Xueliang to be sent to the Northeast Martial Arts School for further study. After that, Lü Zhengcao served as Zhang Xueliang's aide-de-camp and secretary. In 1929, Lü Zhengcao became the chief of staff of the 16th Brigade. When the Japanese army entered Rehe, The 28-year-old Lü Zhengcao, who had patriotic anti-Japanese enthusiasm, took over as the commander of the 647th Regiment. During this period, the 647th Regiment was stationed in Yixian, Beiping, Xushui and other places. During the Xi'an Incident, Lü Zhengcao got to know Zhou Enlai, accepted the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, and united in the idea of resisting Japan. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Lü Zhengcao, an underground member of the COMMUNIST Party and former commander of the 69th Regiment of the 53rd Army of the Northeast Army, in accordance with the instructions of the Northern Bureau of the CPC, led his troops to the north on October 11, 1937, after heroically resisting the invading Japanese army in Meihua Town, and held an anti-Japanese oath meeting in Xiaoqiao Town, JinXian County, renamed the People's Self-Defense Army, and actively carried out anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare.
In the early winter of Fuping, it was already cold and frozen, and the first winter after the Japanese occupation of North China in 1937 seemed to have come particularly early. However, nie rongzhen's headquarters had an indescribable steaming heat. Here, Nie Rongzhen summoned Lu Zhengcao, who was wearing a military uniform and the armband of the People's Self-Defense Army. The two also met for the first time. Lü Cao later recalled: "I went to Fuping with Sun Zhiyuan (director of the Political Department of the Self-Defense Army) and met Commander Nie for the first time. His first impression on me was that the military appearance was strict and orderly, and it seemed very serious, but it was very kind to comrades, and it made people feel that they were seeing a loyal elder. "
Lü Zhengcao and Sun Zhiyuan reported in detail to Commander Nie on all aspects of the work in Jizhong District. Commander Nie listened very intently and asked two questions from time to time, and both of them answered one by one.
Lü Zhengcao also told Commander Nie about his experience, the situation in the Northeast Army, and his relationship with Zhang Xueliang. He said particularly earnestly: "I have been in the old army for a long time, and I am very unfamiliar with many things about the revolutionary troops. "
Nie Rongzhen encouraged him: "You led the troops to break away from the Kuomintang army and join the Eighth Route Army, and in a very short period of time, you and the local party comrades created a new situation in Jizhong. Especially if the place in Jizhong is a plain area, this significance is even greater. "
Nie Rongzhen specially arranged for Lü Zhengcao and Sun Zhiyuan to live with him and sleep on the same kang. In this way, they get along day and night, talk casually, and get to know each other more and more. Not only that, whenever night fell, Nie Rongzhen finished handling a busy day of military affairs, and he chatted with Lu Zhengcao, telling jokes and exchanging information.
Lü Zhengcao regarded Commander Nie as his division commander and asked him for instructions when he had something to do. Nie Rongzhen's impression of Lu Zhengcao was also very good. On December 14, 1937, in his report to "Mao Zhou Zhu Pengren", he said that the troops led by Lü Zhengcao to Luxi were "about 2,300 or 400 people." There were about 1,200 rifles," as well as more than 60 light and heavy machine guns, 16 guns of various kinds, and a company of cavalry," "During the conversation, I felt very well about Lü, was politically enlightened, paid great attention to the work of the Party, the transformation of the troops, and the work of the masses, and there were many party members in the department. It was originally organized, and recently a group of party members were introduced by the local party, and the composition and quality of this unit are good. The report finally suggested that hebei cadres trained in Yan'an should be transferred back as soon as possible to help Lü Bu carry out his work. It can be seen from this that Nie Rongzhen regarded Lü Zhengcao as the most important force in opening up The Ji Dynasty.
Lü Zhengcao himself said with deep experience: "I have always admired Commander Nie's moral style, because it reflects the leadership style of the Communist Party from him, so I admire him and thank him." "
Nie Rongzhen was very concerned about the building of the Lü Zhengcao People's Self-Defense Army, and he knew that although this was an active anti-Japanese unit, it still lacked the political work and military training of the Red Army, especially the training in conducting anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare. Therefore, he agreed to the request of Lü Zhengcao and Sun Zhiyuan to "lead the main force to Luxi for probation and training" and transferred to the Pucha-Ji Border Region for rectification. During the reorganization and training of the 3rd Sub-district of Jin-Cha-Ji, the troops sent Wang Zonghuai, director of the organization department of the military region, to the military region's condolence group to the training station to offer condolences. Nie Rongzhen explained to cadres the CPC's united front and guerrilla warfare. Nie Rongzhen said: "Comrades, the People's Self-Defense Army has swung north and fought in Jizhong, and I have already made a report to the Party Central Committee and the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and Chairman Mao Zedong is very happy to know about it. Comrades who have the opportunity to go to Yan'an in the future will definitely see Chairman Mao! "The cadres of the People's Self-Defense Army were greatly encouraged.
In the course of the reorganization, the People's Self-Defense Army learned the traditions and work style of the Eighth Route Army and the experience of mobilizing and organizing the masses and creating an anti-Japanese regime. The organizational structure of the Party and political organs of the People's Self-Defense Army has also been rectified and enriched. Lu Zhengcao recalled: "When we arrived in Fuping, a congress of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region was being held, and Sun Zhiyuan and I attended this meeting. The congress used democratic election methods to produce the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region Provisional Administrative Committee, that is, the Provisional Government of the Border Region, and elected Song Shaowen as the chairman of the committee and Hu Renkui as the vice chairman. The committee members included Nie Rongzhen, Liu Baoji, Zhang Su, Li Jieyong, Lou Ningxian, as well as Lü Zhengcao and Sun Zhiyuan. The Provisional Government of the Border Regions is a form of united front, including all parties, factions, strata and ethnic minorities, and its actual content is unity in resisting Japan and practicing democracy. "
Lü Zhengcao led the People's Self-Defense Army to Luxi for short-term rectification training, and together with Sun Zhiyuan participated in political activities such as the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region Congress, in fact, to prepare for the opening up of anti-Japanese base areas in central Hebei. Lü Zhengcao and Sun Zhiyuan also attended a political work conference held by the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, where they discussed the work of the Jizhong Military Region and listened to nie Rongzhen's instructions on the work of Jizhong. Nie Rongzhen very imposingly drew a large circle on the map with his hand and said to Lü Zhengcao and Sun Zhiyuan: "With the approval of the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army and the party Central Committee, you are right between Pingjin Road, Pinghan Road, and Jinpu Road, and the Fupu River in the south is bounded by the Fupu River. "
Nie Rongzhen's speech was deeply enlightening to Lu Zhengcao. He believes that with regard to guerrilla warfare in the plains, judging from the history of war, it has not been taken seriously in the past. Because of the limitations of geographical conditions, its scope cannot exceed some of the restricted areas, and it cannot break through the extensive activities in areas such as mountains, lakes and swamp forests. Since the "July 7" incident, the Japanese invading army has annihilated and destroyed our country, enslaved our nation, waged the craziest and most humane war of aggression, and carried out unprecedented havoc against China. One of its most brutal was the massacre of the Japanese army in Dingxian County on November 7 of the lunar calendar to the village of Dayan (45 miles southeast of the city), blocking the people who had not escaped from the house and burning them alive, or tied up and thrown into the Shahe ice cave and drowned, or dissected with a bayonet. More than 200 people were killed and injured in the case, and it is a blood debt that can never be forgotten. How not to stir up the flames and hatred of the Chinese nation's anger! For the sake of their own survival and the liberation of the whole nation, the Chinese people rose up in unison and waged a heroic and indomitable struggle against the Japanese imperialist aggressors Li and the traitorous lackeys. Therefore, all areas occupied by the Japanese army, whether mountainous or plain, were equally engaged in extensive national self-defense wars (from which the name of the People's Self-Defense Army according to Lü Zhengcao was derived). Guerrilla warfare has broken the shackles of historical warfare and geographical conditions, and has also played a great role in the plains, because it is of greater significance to maintain most of the manpower and material resources and not to be used by the enemy. Therefore, in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the development of guerrilla warfare on the plains could not only become a fact, but also the needs of the objective environment, which exceeded the constraints of regional conditions. Later, the Jizhong Plain adhered to the creation of "tunnel warfare" behind enemy lines, and the tactics of guerrilla warfare such as "mine warfare" were inevitable results.
During the conversation, the difficulties of guerrilla warfare on the plains were also discussed. It is true that there are practical difficulties in fighting a strong enemy with mechanized equipment on the plains. In the past, most of the base areas under the leadership of the Communist Party of China were built in mountainous areas, and they thought that only deep mountains and steep mountains could they establish consolidated base areas, and overemphasized the decisive role of terrain. Nie Rongzhen said: To carry out the anti-Japanese guerrilla war behind enemy lines, it is not enough to rely solely on the mountains; first of all, we must rely on the masses of the people; as long as we have the support of the masses of the people, we can firmly stand on our feet in both the mountains and the plains. The masses of the people are more reliable than the mountains, and the broad mass base is more reliable than the terrain. Let's talk about the mountains, if there are no masses on the mountains, the mountain roads are very narrow, and the enemy blocks the mountain roads, we simply cannot insist, needless to say anything else, the problem of eating cannot be solved, and without the masses to provide for us, can we eat stones? With regard to the construction of base areas behind enemy lines, the most important issue is to mobilize the masses and gain the broad support of the masses of the people; the role of the terrain is still relatively secondary, and it can also be changed. Although our base area of Jin-Cha-Ji originated from Mount Wutai, it was not because we had Mount Wutai that we had this base area, but only when the masses behind enemy lines supported us and supported us that we were able to achieve such great development.
In this way, the work arrangements for the central and lower levels of Hebei have been further clarified, that is, to establish the central area of Hebei, to transform the miscellaneous armed forces, to eliminate the reactionary forces, to expand the armed forces in a planned way, to transform the old regime, to extensively mobilize and organize the masses, to stabilize the people's livelihood, and to establish an anti-Japanese order.