Chapter 12 Live and die with the battlefield——Record of Martyr Liu Jiaqi

In the initial stage of the great Anti-Japanese War, the Chinese Anti-Japanese Army, under the banner of the united front of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, worked together to carry out tenacious resistance, and carried out the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Taiyuan in North China, the Battle of Taierzhuang, and the Battle of Wuhan. Such a series of famous battles dealt heavy blows to the Japanese invading army, shattered the fallacy of "destroying China within three months" propagated by Japanese imperialism, won the support of the people of the world internationally, and inspired the people of the whole country to fight against Japan. Determination and courage to win.

In these famous battles, the anti-Japanese officers and soldiers of our country cherished the deep-rooted hatred for Japanese imperialism, the determination to defend the territory of the motherland, and the strong belief in fighting for the personality of the Chinese nation. , They defended the sacred territory of the motherland with their own blood and lives, and became an example for all generations of our Chinese nation to learn from.General Liu Jiaqi, the commander of the 54th Division of the Ninth Army of the National Revolutionary Army who died heroically in the famous North China Xinkou Defense Battle, was one of these countless martyrs.

General Liu Jiaqi, courtesy name Zhenglei, also known as Xihou, was born in Wuchang, Hubei Province in 1894. He lost his father in his early years and was raised by his grandfather and uncle.He was smart and eager to learn since he was a child, and he was deeply loved by his teachers in his private school. Later, he was admitted to Shaoting Middle School.At that time, Wuhan was deeply influenced by Mr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary thoughts, and there were literary societies and Gongjinhui organizations in the new army, and revolutionary periodicals spread like wildfire among the students.Affected by the revolutionary situation at that time, Liu Jiaqi hated the corruption and betrayal of the Qing court very much, and gradually set up the ambition of revolution to save the country.

Soon, the Wuchang Uprising broke out. Regardless of the dissuasion of his grandfather and uncle, Liu Jiayan resolutely joined the student army, participated in the revolutionary torrent that overthrew the Qing government, and then stationed in Huangzhou.In 1912, he was admitted to the Hubei Army Primary School, and in 1914 he was transferred to the Second Army Preparatory School. Because of his excellent academic performance, he was highly appreciated by the school.In 1916, he was transferred to the enlistment team of Baoding Military Academy, and then he was promoted to Baoding Military Academy.

In 1919, Liu Jiaqi graduated from Baoding Military Academy and was assigned to the Northeast Frontier First Army as a trainee.Soon, he went to the Northeast Frontier Defense Army Teaching Corps to study heavy artillery. After graduation, he was assigned to the Northeast Frontier Defense Army Teaching Corps as a platoon leader. Because of his excellent skills, good training, and continuous military exploits, he was promoted to company commander and battalion commander. , Mission attached. In 1926, the Northern Expeditionary Army marched northward and occupied Wuhan.At that time, Liu Jiaqi was the head of the First Artillery Regiment of the Fourth Army of the National Army. Under the leadership of General Wei Yisan, he responded to the Northern Expedition at his station in southern Henan and joined the ranks of the Northern Expedition Army.Liu Jiaqi was appointed as the commander of the artillery of the 30th Army of the National Revolutionary Army and the head of the first regiment.He is studious and tireless. He has worked hard to study the performance of new artillery and the strategy and tactics of artillery.

In 1931, he was promoted to the chief of staff of the major general of the 54th division, and later served as the brigade commander of the 162nd brigade of the 54th division. Later, Liu Jiaqi was selected by his superiors and transferred to the Army University for further study.In the final stage of his studies, Japanese imperialism launched a full-scale war of aggression against China. General Liu was filled with righteous indignation, filled with patriotic enthusiasm and hatred for Japanese imperialism, and applied to the school many times to lead his troops to fight against Japan and fight against the enemy.

In September 1936, after graduating from the Army University, Liu Jiaqi was assigned as the commander of the 54th Division Major General. He rushed back to the army and immediately led the army northward to fight against Japan with General Hao Mengling, the commander of the Ninth Army. At this time, after occupying Ping and Tianjin, the rampant Japanese army was marching along Pingsui Road to Zhantianzhen and Yanggao, went south along Pinghan Road to occupy Shijiazhuang, and continued westward to Niangziguan, trying to take down the hinterland of Shanxi in one fell swoop and annihilate our army in Shanxi. The anti-Japanese forces in the country, relieved the threat to their flanks, and invaded the Central Plains in a large scale southward, advancing towards Wuhan.

Our Jinsui anti-Japanese troops bravely resisted the invading Japanese army, but in the end because the enemy was strong and we were weak, we lost Datong and the important town of Yanmenguan. Due to the situation, Yan Xishan sent an urgent telegram to the Nationalist Government for help. The Nationalist Government decided to send General Wei Lihuang and the 14th Group of Soldiers to assist Shanxi, considering the dangerous terrain and considerable military value.The troops led by the Communist Party of China were also reorganized into the Eighteenth Group Army to fight in Shanxi. For a while, reinforcements from all walks of life gathered in Shanxi.

According to the situation of the battle, our military authorities decided to deploy defenses on the front line of Xinkou, Shanxi, and use the terrain to block the Japanese army and fight it decisively.Nearly 300,000 anti-Japanese troops from all walks of life in China were divided into three corps, left, middle, and right, and entered the Xinkou position.The 54th Division led by General Liu Jiaqi is a well-equipped and battle-hardened main force. It was ordered to take charge of the deployment of the main position of the Central Corps in the central area of ​​the Northeast Highland in South Huaihua, and to occupy Xiawangzhuang on the north bank of the Yunzhong River. Field tasks.

After General Liu led the 161st Brigade and the 162nd Brigade under his command to enter the position, he immediately constructed fortifications, stockpiled ammunition, and consulted closely with friendly forces to divide the battle area and uniformly stipulate the safeguard measures for the junction of each unit. .Liu Jiaqi also accompanied General Hao Mengling to the front line to inspect the positions, instruct the soldiers to build fortifications, understand the revolutionary principles of the officers and soldiers to resist the Japanese and save the country, and encourage the soldiers to fight the enemy bravely and serve the country faithfully.

Inspired by them, the morale of all officers and soldiers was high, and they were determined to defend every inch of the motherland with blood and life, vowing to live and die with the battlefield. On October 11, after capturing Yuanping Town, the elite Itagaki Division of the Japanese army took advantage of the momentum and went south, entering and exiting the Xinkou line, and came into contact with me.Under the leadership of Brigadier Jiang Yuzhen, the 196th Brigade of the Yuanping Defenders fought bloody battles and held on to Yuanping for ten days, and finally all died heroically for the country.When the news came, my Xinkou garrison was filled with righteous indignation, determined to follow the example of the Yuanping garrison, severely hit the Japanese invading army, and vowed to fight the enemy to the end. The famous Xinkou defense battle began. Under the cover of aircraft, artillery, and tank fire, the rampant Japanese army launched a frenzied attack on our Xinkou position.The Nanhuaihua highland is the main position in the central area, and it must be the first to be among the enemy's offensives. General Liu Jiayi led the 54th Division to stand firm here, and the enemy and us launched a fierce bloody battle. The dense Japanese infantry assault group, under the cover of its dense artillery fire and aircraft, launched wave-like charges to our position again and again. General Liu led the troops to fight calmly. When the enemy planes and artillery bombarded him, he commanded the troops to hide After the artillery fire ceased, they immediately rushed to the position and hit the Japanese army severely with infantry weapons.The enemy is determined to win, and I would rather die than retreat. The two sides have launched hand-to-hand combat many times, throwing grenades at each other at close range.Both the enemy and us suffered heavy losses, and the front of the position was full of enemy corpses. General Liu Jiaqi often went to the front line in person to command the troops to fight in the most intense moments of the battle. He was as calm as usual and vowed to fight the Japanese invaders to the end. Watching them fight against the enemy and sacrifice their lives for the defense of the motherland. Therefore, although I suffered heavy casualties, my morale and fighting spirit remained undiminished. On the twelfth, the main position of Nanhuaihua was broken by the Japanese army. The main infantry and artillery forces of both sides fought fiercely in the northwest of Xinkou and the northeast highlands of Nanhuaihua. General Liu personally commanded the troops to charge repeatedly. Lost and regained, I suffered as many as a thousand casualties every day. Although there were soldiers who fought the enemy bravely, they were still unable to restore the original position.Our military authorities are well aware that the South Huaihua Highland is the key to the main position. In order to restore the position, a large number of reinforcements have arrived, and they are preparing to launch a general offensive on the morning of the 16th to retake the South Huaihua Highland in one fell swoop. In the early morning of the 16th, my counter-offensive army rushed towards the Japanese positions in separate ways. General Hao Mengling, who was in command of the counter-offensive, came to the front line in person, took the lead, marched forward, and counted mountains. At that time, Commander Liu Jiaqi was also commanding the fifth left-wing brigade to advance, and then accompanied Commander Hao to the front to supervise the battle.By 5 o'clock, it was already dawn, and Hao Mengling was afraid that our new position would be threatened by enemy artillery fire after dawn and could not be consolidated, so it was better to catch up with the victory and wipe out the remnants of the enemy immediately.So they marched forward, the enemy line was chaotic, and they retreated under the cover of machine guns and grenades.At that time, Generals Hao and Liu were already in front of the skirmish line, only more than 200 meters away from the enemy.When passing through a narrow road, Commander Hao was hit by an enemy machine gun, and Commander Liu was wounded by a grenadier at the beginning, and then he was hit by enemy machine guns in multiple places. After the soldiers of the special service company rescued the second general, they all died heroically.After the death of Commander Hao and Commander Liu, the morale of the army became even stronger, and the enemy was also very frightened when they heard about it.With vengeful anger, my patriotic soldiers swooped on the enemy and conquered one position after another. In a telegram from Xinkou to Chiang Kai-shek on October 20, Wei Lihuang, the former enemy commander-in-chief of the second war zone, stated that the battle of Nanhuaihua will be attacked the next day.Hao Mengling, commander of our Ninth Army, Liu Jiaqi, commander of the 54th Division, and Zheng Tingzhen, commander of the Fifth Independent Brigade, all took the lead and died in hand-to-hand combat.When he was dying, he still shouted that he belonged to kill the enemy and died.Like this kind of loyalty and bravery, with the footsteps of a group of people, I plan to invite the hook seat to give you a sympathy shirt, give a state funeral, and posthumously present Hao Mengling as an army general, Liu Jiaqi and Zheng Tingzhen as army lieutenants.On November 15th, thousands of people from all walks of life in Wuhan held a memorial meeting for the anti-Japanese heroes Hao Mengling and General Liu Jiaqi. . On December 6, the Nationalist Government issued an order to praise General Liu Jiaqi, who had sacrificed for the country: "... Liu Jiaqi, Commander of the 54th Division... is loyal to the revolution and has made great achievements. After five days and nights of fierce fighting, he still took the lead as the first soldier and fought so hard that he died. The family is heroic, and the mourning is deep, and should be commended by a special order..." He was awarded the posthumous rank of lieutenant general to General Liu Jiaqi . The Chinese Communists also expressed their deep condolences and high respect to the martyrs Liu Jiaqi who died heroically.