Dahe Network News (reporter Song Xiangle) On August 24, Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Wugang, called the hotline of Dahe Network to say that 1,068 anti-Japanese fighters in the Battle of Henan during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression were martyred and are now buried in Wugang City, and now he and local volunteers have found the tombstones of martyrs.
Led by local villagers, Mr. Zhang found the tombstone of the revolutionary martyr.
<b>The tombstones of 1,068 martyrs have been recreated</b>
"I knew about this before, and in recent years I have read various literary and historical records and media reports. I spent a long time in the battlefields where I fought at that time to gradually verify and search for these cemeteries of revolutionary martyrs. Mr. Zhang, who works in the Wugang government department, is a native of Wugang, who usually likes to learn about the history and cultural knowledge of his hometown, especially interested in the stories of the War of Resistance that took place in his hometown.
Mr. Zhang said that the Battle of Dashimen in Late January 1941, which broke out in Wugang, was an important battle in the Battle of Wunan. In this battle, 1,068 soldiers under Colonel Chen Qinwen (revolutionary martyr, heroic martyr of the state's announcement of the anti-Japanese resistance) of the Chinese army fought a bloody battle against the Japanese army and were martyred. After the war, 1,068 fallen soldiers were collectively buried in Mai Iron Mountain, known as the "Mass Grave". After the war, the 110th Division erected a monument to the fallen soldiers. Later, various literary and historical records, media publications and folklore have various theories about the location of the cemetery and the address of the battle.
By chance, Mr. Zhang learned the information that the tombstone of the martyr Chen Qinwen was scattered among the people, and after many searches, he finally found the tombstone, which was a monument to the cemetery of 1068 martyrs. After more than two months of cultural and historical data investigation, the visit to more than ten elderly people, parties, insiders, and witnesses in the nearby villages of Zhulan, Wugong, Tianluozhuang, Caopo and other battlefields can determine the accurate location of the cemetery on the northeast slope of Tieshan Mountain.
"Seventy-seven years have passed since the event, it has become history, and it may disappear into the long river of history. As future generations, we have the responsibility to preserve history and remember the deeds of martyrs who sacrificed for our country. Mr. Zhang said.
Suspected to be the burial place of martyrs
Zhao Xichang, a local villager, introduced the relevant situation
<b>Expert of the Local Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Culture and History: Indeed, this tombstone is currently in the custody of villagers' homes</b>
So how did Mr. Zhang determine the location and tombstone of the martyrs buried in the War of Resistance? According to reports, on July 8, 2018, Mr. Zhang got important clues when he visited Zhao Xichang, a 74-year-old man in Tiangang Village, Wugong Township.
Zhao Xichang's father was named Zhao Wa, and after the Battle of Dashimen, Zhao Wa participated in the task of carrying the bodies of sacrificed soldiers. "At that time, because many of the corpses were blurred with flesh and blood, and even their limbs were mutilated, the soldier's special explanation: Pay attention to looking for a person with six fingers in his hand, who is the regimental commander."
"Later, I really found the bodies with 6 fingers, which were located in the cypress forest northwest of Wugong Street." On the evening of July 11, Mr. Zhang asked xinyu daily and Pingxiang daily, where the martyrs were born, for help to find Chen Qinwen's descendants. On July 12, Chen Qinwen's eldest granddaughter Chen Fangmei was found, and on July 13, Chen Qinwen's nephew Chen Zhiyuan and his cousin Chen Guohua were found. The six finger clues described by Zhao Xichang as commander Chen were verified. Chen Qinwen's family said that Chen Qinwen did have six fingers in one hand and was his left hand.
On the morning of July 14, Mr. Zhang visited Elder Zhao Xi for the third time and verified it again. According to Zhao Xichang, at that time, there was no danger in that place in the cypress forest, and it was the troops who met with the Japanese army there during the emergency transfer from south to north. Based on this, it can be basically concluded that Chen Qinwen should have led the remaining sniper troops to retreat in the direction of Wuyang after losing the sniper battle at Liu Shan and Tieshan mountain, covering the retreat of the large troops, and then marched to the cypress forest to engage in a battle with the Japanese army, rushed to the battle, and died heroically.
On August 27, a reporter from Dahe Network got in touch with Xiao Chen, director of the Cultural and Historical Committee of the Wugang Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, according to his introduction, the Battle of Dashimen was a blockade battle carried out in Wugang at the Battle of Southern Henan that year, and the Cultural and Historical Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference organized personnel to check it according to the information provided by Mr. Zhang. "Now this tombstone does have, in the home of a common man. We have now consulted with the cultural department, and the cultural department has also come to see the tombstone, although the handwriting is very vague, but it can be determined that it is the tombstone of that year. Xiao Chen said that this battle and related situations have been confirmed by relevant materials in the Wugang Party History Office and local history, and there is indeed such a thing.
<b>Experts recount history: all the soldiers were martyred</b>
Relevant experts told the Reporter of Dahe Network about the situation at that time: In late January 1941, Japan gathered more than 100,000 troops in Guangshui, Xinyang and other places, and brazenly launched the "Henan Campaign" under the cover of aircraft, artillery, and tanks.
At this time, Zhang Xuezhong, commander of the 13th Army, ordered Wu Shaozhou of the 110th Division to block the Japanese army according to the favorable terrain around Dashimen and cover the retreat of the brigade to the northwest.
The 110th Division headquartered near the village of Yangjiaowan in the north of Pigeon Hill. Division commander Wu Shaozhou ordered Chen Qinwen to lead a regiment of troops to build fortifications on the top of Liu Shan and Huang Shan, Receiving Official Hall, Hu Pigeon Lou Mountain, Yang Gu Mountain, Volcano, luo Da Shan and other hills on the east and west sides of Dashimen; let the other two regiments garrison the village north of Li Ge Lou Mountain. In the evening, the first regimental commander of the Japanese 3rd Division led a company to occupy the villages of Paddy Fields, Gangli, Dayu Wang, Pigzuigou and Liu Xianzhuang on the banks of the Rolling River south of Dashimen, and held out across the river from the 110th Division, forming a front of about 5 kilometers from east to west.
At dawn the next day, the Japanese attacked Dashimen in three ways from the villages of Gangli and Dayu Wang at Changtangou (i.e., Longtou Shandong). The defenders on the hill were condescending, repelling the first Japanese attack with intensive firepower. The Japanese then organized another attack under the cover of steel artillery, and sent 13 fighters and bombers to take turns strafing and bombing over Dashimen and nearby villages. The defenders' positions were filled with fireworks, rocks flew and the sound of explosions was deafening. The battle lasted 5 hours, and the defenders on the top of the hill had nowhere to hide, suffered heavy casualties, and were forced to retreat north. The Japanese army sneaked through the large stone gate, chased after it, killed people along the way, and shot and killed 12 people in an air raid shelter in the reception hall alone. When Chen Qinwen led the remnants to retreat to the vicinity of Tieshan Mountain, he found that there were many ordinary people who had taken refuge in the ditch.
At that time, there were planes in the sky and Japanese cavalry and infantry on the ground in pursuit, and in this case, Chen Qinwen still ordered his troops to block the enemy on the spot. He asked his fellow, "What is this place?" The fellow said, "It is the tomb of the general." Hearing this, Chen Qinwen threw off his clothes and shouted: "Brothers, swear to die not to be a slave to the country, we will never take a step back!" "Shout, take the lead and rush to the enemy position, and all the soldiers will be martyred."
According to the "Collection of Anti-Japanese War Documents in Wugang City" and old archival materials, the battle "annihilated three thousand enemies" and 1,068 soldiers of the 110th Division were killed. A few months later, several large tombs were piled up on the southeast slope of the Iron Mountain General's Tomb, one was buried with Chen Qinwen, and the rest were other martyrs who had died, and a monument was erected to commemorate it. Later, the local people called it a "mass grave".
The tombstone found by Mr. Zhang
<b>Let future generations remember these martyrs</b>
Historical records record that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, general Yang Cong, the general of Shaanxi, was ordered to go to Tieshan in the south of Wuyang to mine iron. After repeated trials, he finally refined the best iron. Later, he was framed by eunuchs who supervised the progress of iron smelting, and General Yang was convicted of meritorious service, but he was angry and crashed into the iron furnace. People admired this general Yang, who was loyal to the country and was not afraid of the magnate, buried him on the northern slope of the Iron Mountain, and built a tall tomb, known as the "Tomb of the General".
Mr. Zhang said that after the death of General Yang Zhao, General Yang's wife came to look for a husband, committed suicide by hitting a monument, and martyred herself; the Japanese invaded, and the country was in trouble, and General Chen Qinwen was heroically martyred. General Yang Cong and General Chen Qinwen (posthumously awarded the rank of Major General of the Army after the war), this is called the two generals of Yishan.
Mr. Zhang said that the incident has passed 77 years, has become history, and may disappear into the long river of history. As future generations, we have the responsibility to preserve history and let people remember the martyrs who sacrificed for the country. Mr. Zhang said that at present, some social organizations want to invest in the cemetery of the martyrs.
Chen Qinwen's descendants have come to Wugangshan to find his grave