Chapter 15 14. Inventory

In this campaign, the 115th Division annihilated more than 1,000 members of the 21st Brigade of the 5th Division of the Japanese elite with inferior equipment, destroyed more than 100 cars and 200 carriages, and seized 1 infantry gun, more than 20 light and heavy machine guns, and 1,000 rifles. The remaining branches, more than 50 military horses and a large number of other military supplies contained the attack of the 5th Division of the Japanese Army and supported the Kuomintang troops fighting on the Ping-Han Railway and the Tongpu Railway. The Great Victory at Pingxingguan was the first successful ambush by the Eighth Route Army against the Japanese army by concentrating large forces. This battle broke the myth of "the Japanese army is invincible" and dealt a heavy blow to the traitors and pro-Japanese factions that "the war of resistance must be defeated" and "the war of resistance must perish". His absurd argument gave the people who suffered from the "Japanese-phobic disease" a blow, which greatly encouraged the confidence of the military and civilians across the country to win the war of resistance, and made the people of the whole country see the hope of the Chinese nation.

Due to the prudent initial battle of this battle, full preparations were made before the battle, the correct choice of the battlefield and the use of favorable terrain, the use of ambushes, and the correct deployment and use of troops, paying attention to concealed actions, gave full play to the suddenness and close combat of the battle. Special skills made it difficult for Japanese aircraft and artillery to exert their power, so they won the first battle. This victory, first of all, is of great significance politically.Under the situation where the enemy was marching straight in, the Kuomintang army was retreating, and the situation in North China was critical, the Eighth Route Army won the first battle, showing that the Chinese people really had the courage and strength to defeat the enemy, and made the people of the whole country see the hope of the Chinese nation, which greatly inspired the whole country. The morale of the people, enhanced the confidence in the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, improved the prestige of the Communist Party of China and the Eighth Route Army, and won the praise and praise of international public opinion.

Secondly, militarily, it dealt a powerful blow to the enemy's crazy arrogance, dampened the enemy's spirit, broke the myth of the Japanese army's "invincibility", delayed the enemy's attack, disrupted its right-wing detour plan, and effectively clamped down The enemy's elite 5th Division was forced to transfer part of its forces that had advanced to Hunyuan and Baoding to the direction of Pingxingguan, thereby effectively supporting the operations of the friendly forces on the Ping-Han Railway and the Tongpu Railway, and at the same time providing support for the opening up of Jincha The anti-Japanese base areas in the Hebei border area created favorable conditions.

From the perspective of the entire history of the Anti-Japanese War, although it was not a big battle, it shocked the whole country and its significance is far-reaching. First, the Kuomintang army has not achieved good results since the War of Resistance.At that time, the battle of Songhu on the southern front had been in a stalemate, and the Chinese army suffered heavy casualties.Baoding, Shijiazhuang and other big cities, Pinghan, and large tracts of land in the northern section of Jinpu Road fell rapidly, and Yan Xishan's Jin army also lost troops and lost ground one after another.The Pingxingguan battle wiped out more than a thousand Japanese troops cleanly and dealt a heavy blow to the rampant Japanese troops since their invasion of China.

Second, the Battle of Pingxingguan broke the strategic attempt of the Japanese army to break through Pingxingguan and cooperate with the main force of the Japanese army in North China to fight on Pinghan Road from the right wing.It provided an opportunity for the Kuomintang to deploy the Xinkou Battle, and thus strongly supported China's frontal battlefield of the War of Resistance. Third, the Eighth Route Army took the initiative to face the Japanese elite divisions with crude equipment that was far inferior to the Kuomintang army, and won the first battle, which greatly improved the prestige of the Eighth Route Army and the prestige of the Communist Party of China.

Fourth, the Pingxingguan battle enhanced the understanding of the Chinese Communist Party leaders' understanding of the law of the war against Japan.Based on the experience of the Pingxingguan battle, Mao Zedong further proposed the Eighth Route Army's combat policy on September 29, 1937: "The fundamental policy is to win over the masses and organize guerrillas from the masses. Under this general policy, conditional concentrated operations will be carried out." Soon, He summarized it as "independent guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare", thus perfecting the operational guiding ideology of our party leading the War of Resistance Against Japan.

Xu Fanting, director of the Field Mobilization Committee of the Second Theater, also wrote an article that profoundly explained the significance of the Pingxingguan battle to the war situation at that time.He said: "Based on the Battle of Pingxingguan, the evaluation of the Eighth Route Army's great victory lies not only in the heavy deaths of both sides, but also in breaking the myth that the 'imperial army' is invincible and improving our morale. On the enemy's side, since the Battle of Nankou, the Japanese The Japanese invaders drove straight in, as if they had entered a land without people. They were suddenly severely hit and surrounded and wiped out at Pingxing Pass, which made the Japanese invaders know that there were people in China, so they were discouraged and did not dare to drive forward as before. The enemy in the Battle of Xinkou did not dare The morale of our army is soaring after rushing deep, maybe it's not the impact of the annihilation battle at Pingxingguan."