Chapter 56 Hundred Regiments Battle of the Eighth Route Army

From August 20 to December 5, 1940, the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign in North China, one of the purposes of which was to break Japan's intensified implementation of the law and order plan in North China and the railway-based, road-based chains, and bunkers as locks. cage policy.In addition, the rumors that the Japanese army would attack Xi'an in August at that time also increased the CCP's worries and worries about the KMT's compromise under the pressure of the Japanese army. The Kuomintang said that "the Eighth Route Army swims and does not fight", "specializes in attacking friendly troops and does not attack Japanese troops". The conflicts with the CCP's armed forces behind enemy lines are increasing day by day, while the Japanese army relies on strongholds to loot everywhere and implements the cruel "three alls" of burning, killing and looting The policy turned a large anti-Japanese base area into a guerrilla zone. After the people were plundered by the Japanese army, they had to support the Eighth Route Army financially, which was too heavy a burden.

In July 1940, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to overcome the unprecedented crisis of surrender and the difficulties it faced. On July 22, the Headquarters of the Eighth Route Army formulated a plan to launch a large-scale traffic raid in North China, and issued an action order on August 8.The specific deployment is: the troops of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region destroyed the Shijiazhuang-Yangquan section of the eastern section of the Zhengtai Railway, the 129th Division destroyed the Yuci-Yangquan section, and the 120th Division attacked the Tongpu Railway and Fenyang north of Xinxian County. Lishi Highway.

This battle was originally called the Zhengtai Railway Destroyer.The Zhengtai Railway is the focus of the attack. This road passes through the Taihang Mountains, with a total length of more than 230 kilometers. Most of the road sections are between two mountains or canyons. There are many bridges and culverts. It connects the Pinghan Railway and the Tongpu Railway. strategic transport lines. After the battle was launched, the Eighth Route Army invested a total of 105 regiments with more than 270,000 troops, so it was renamed the Hundred Regiments War.There are also more than 200,000 Japanese troops in the combat area, and there are also more than 150,000 puppet troops.

At 8:00 pm on August 20, the Eighth Route Army launched a general offensive under the command of Deputy Commander Peng Dehuai.First, focus on the Zhengtai Railway, as well as the Pinghan Railway, the northern section of Tongpu Road and Baijin Road.Then began to attack the Japanese army's communication lines. The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region dispatched nearly 20 regiments to form three columns of left, middle, and right. They crossed the mountain road in the rain and concealed themselves in the attacking position.Due to the sufficient preparations before the war and the strong green gauze tents for easy concealment, the Japanese army was completely unaware of the actions of the Eighth Route Army.

After the attack began, the entire Zhengtai Railway was under fire from the military and civilians.The main target of the two regiments of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Right Column is Niangziguan, which is the junction of the Shanxi-Hebei provinces and the throat of the Zhengtai Railway.They first sneaked into the village under Niangziguan and wiped out the puppet army, and then attacked the Japanese stronghold closed by Niangziguan with all their strength. The attacking troops went forward one after another and attacked Niangziguan. The ladder erected was interrupted by artillery fire and they climbed up the ladder. However, under the superior firepower of the Japanese army, they caused heavy casualties and failed to make progress.After the front of Niangziguan was blocked, another regiment of the Eighth Route Army approached the Japanese bunkers from the back of Niangziguan and launched a fierce attack. The Japanese army suffered a sudden blow and hurriedly counterattacked.The offensive troops took the opportunity to blow up the bunkers one by one with grenades, grenades and blasting tubes. After three hours of fierce fighting, they finally occupied the top of Niangziguan Mountain. At dawn, they planted the red flag of victory on Niangziguan, which had been lost for three years.

The three regiments of the Eighth Route Army focused on attacking the Jingxing Coal Mine. With the assistance of the miners, they cut off the power line of the mining area and wiped out all the Japanese troops in the mining area. . In this battle, soldiers of the Eighth Route Army rescued two little Japanese girls in the flames of war. Commander Nie Rongzhen ordered them to be taken care of by special personnel, and then sent them to the Japanese stronghold in Jingxing City, with a letter reprimanding them for the damage caused by the Japanese invasion of China. The disaster, the combat effectiveness and humanitarian spirit of the Eighth Route Army caused a shock within the Japanese army.

The Jidong, Beiyue and Jizhong District troops in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region attacked the surrounding Japanese strongholds, mobilized more than 100,000 people to destroy the Pinghan, Jinpu, Deshi, Beining and other railways and nearby roads, and destroyed the north of Zhengding. iron bridge.It took a month for the Japanese army to restore and open to traffic. The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region quickly transferred the main force from the Zhengtai Railway to the north to attack the Laiyuan and Lingqiu areas.There are more than 1,500 Japanese troops and more than 1,000 puppet troops stationed here.The military region attacked Laiyuan with the main force, and blocked the Japanese reinforcements from Lingqiu and other directions with a part. On September 22, the Eighth Route Army launched an offensive, but the Japanese army in the area was already alert, and the strongholds increased their troops and reinforced their fortifications.After a night of fierce fighting, the Eighth Route Army only captured the east, west, and south gates.

The Eighth Route Army decided to monitor the Japanese army in Laiyuan with a part of it, and wipe out the Japanese strongholds around Laiyuan with the main force.They first wiped out more than 80 Japanese soldiers in Sanjia Village, and then concentrated their forces to attack the important Japanese stronghold of Dongtuanbao, which was the Japanese logistics supply station and a strategic stronghold for dividing the Jinchaji border area.The upper and lower three-story blockhouses, bunkers, walls, outer trenches, barbed wire, etc. constitute a solid circular fortification, which is guarded by hundreds of squad leaders from the non-commissioned officer school of the Second Brigade of the Japanese Army and more than 170 Japanese troops.The Eighth Route Army began to attack at night and broke through the periphery of the Japanese stronghold. The Japanese army illuminated the surrounding area with searchlights, organized blockades with firepower, and continued to organize counterattacks. The two sides launched hand-to-hand combat, and most of the Japanese troops were wiped out.The remnants of the Japanese army entered the last fortress and were in a desperate situation.Ida Nakasa, who was in charge of the command, saw that the general situation was over, and ordered weapons, ammunition, materials, etc. to be piled up and burned with gasoline. He and the remaining 27 people jumped into the fire and set themselves on fire.The battle between Laiyuan and Lingqiu lasted for 18 days, and more than 1,000 Japanese and puppet troops were killed or injured.

During the Hundred Regiments War, the Eighth Route Army once regained more than 40 counties, and finally consolidated more than 20 counties.The Hundred Regiments War eased the pressure on the frontal battlefield, enabling the various departments of the Eighth Route Army to act in unison in the divided areas and densely packed with bunkers, showing amazing combat effectiveness.Although the Japanese army did not underestimate the Eighth Route Army, they did not expect the Eighth Route Army to be so powerful.The Japanese army's new understanding of the power of the Eighth Route Army made them feel uneasy about the CCP's special ability to mobilize the people to participate in the anti-Japanese war, and immediately transferred troops from Central China to North China to strengthen the sweep.

The Hundred Regiments War inspired Chinese soldiers and civilians in difficulties, and newspapers and periodicals across the country rushed to publish news of the Hundred Regiments War. "Li Bao" wrote: "The day when our army attacked in North China, it was the time when 170 enemy planes bombarded our capital, the city was on fire, and all the essence was burned. Our army responded to the Japanese invaders' cruelty with a victorious attack. , for being hated by the compatriots in distress. It strengthened the will of the whole country to resist the war, and made it impossible for the general wavering and compromising elements to succeed.” In 1941, Japanese Army Minister Hideki Tojo commented on the Sino-Japanese War in 1940, saying that in 1940, “the Chongqing enemy The characteristic of the Army’s Anti-Japanese War was that it fought very passively, so far it has not carried out a main counter-offensive. Only the Communist army carried out a large-scale counter-offensive in North China in August last year. In comparison, Chiang Kai-shek’s direct and collateral troops have always been on the defensive.”This proves the huge impact of the Hundred Regiments War from the negative side.

During the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army mobilized almost all of its main forces and fought fiercely with more than 200,000 Japanese troops in the vast North China region for more than 100 days.The 129th Division suffered particularly heavy losses in the later stages of the war, which made it difficult to respond effectively to the subsequent larger-scale raids by the Japanese army, causing heavy losses and serious difficulties in the North China base area.