Chapter 30 7. Inventory

In this campaign, the 120th Division killed and wounded more than 1,500 Japanese soldiers, surrendered more than 200 guns, 14 vehicles, and more than 100 mules and horses, and recovered Ningwu, Shenchi, Wuzhai, Kelan, Baode, Hequ, Pianguan, etc. The seven counties defeated the large-scale siege of the Japanese army and consolidated the anti-Japanese base areas in Northwest Shanxi, which is of great significance to the defense of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border area. The number of casualties of the 120th Division in this battle was: 580 people from the 358th Brigade, 897 people from the 359th Brigade, 47 people from the Song Detachment, and 39 people from the 6th Police Regiment. 6 cadres above the battalion, including the political commissar of the 717 regiment, died heroically...

The army and civilians in Northwest Shanxi lasted 38 days to fight against the enemy's 5-way siege. The 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army drove the enemy out of the Northwest Shanxi base area, recovered 7 cities, and ended with a complete victory.This battle was carried out independently by the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army in the face of the Japanese attack and the Kuomintang army retreating steadily. This battle was fought cleanly, showing the prestige of the Eighth Route Army and weakening the spirit of the Japanese invaders.This battle not only recovered seven counties and a large area of ​​land, and cleared out the internal enemies in Northwest Shanxi, but also the masses of the people really saw clearly who was really fighting against Japan and who was pretending to be fighting against Japan. The prestige of the Communist Party of China has increased unprecedentedly, and the base areas in Northwest Shanxi have become more consolidated since then.

Therefore, this battle is a battle of decisive significance for further implementing the party's various principles and policies on the anti-Japanese war and for establishing the anti-Japanese base areas in Northwest Shanxi.The victory of this battle also proves once again that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, as long as all the soldiers and civilians unite to fight against the enemy and give full play to the power of our people's war, any powerful enemy can defeat it. After the war, Mao Zedong, on behalf of the Party Central Committee, congratulated He Long and other leading comrades on April 10.The telegram pointed out: "Fight hard, break the enemy's entire offensive, and achieve a great victory. The comrades in the Central Committee are extremely excited... Hope to consolidate internal unity, step up training, and strive for new victories. Complete your own strategic missions in the middle of the war.” The experience of victorious battles mainly includes:

1. In terms of campaign guidance, we resolutely implemented Chairman Mao's strategic policy of "mainly guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare under favorable conditions without relaxation" and the operational principle of "concentrating the main force to break the enemy's way".It ensures the correct use of troops and the implementation of correct organization and command in the battle.At the same time, in terms of campaign deployment, correctly choose the campaign direction.Judging from the enemy's situation at that time, the enemy on the three roads in the north was the main attack, and the enemy on the Fenli Highway in the south was the auxiliary attack. Therefore, I chose the direction of the campaign in the direction of Kelan and Wuzhai.Because the enemies of Kelan and Wuzhai have penetrated deep into our interior and are far away from the rear, it is difficult to supply, the front line is extended, the troops are dispersed, and the lone army assaults, and the flanks are exposed, which is conducive to our concentration of troops to annihilate them one by one; guerrilla warfare.The direction of Kelan and Wuzhai is not only the enemy's weakness, but also its key point, and it is also the route that poses the greatest threat to me.I chose the direction of the campaign here, not only grasping its weakness, but also hitting the key point, which can achieve the effect of breaking through and opening up the overall situation.

2. In terms of tactics, concentrate forces, form fists, seize favorable opportunities, and annihilate the enemy one by one during the movement.During the battle, I used a force to besiege the towns and strongholds occupied by the enemy, forcing the enemy to retreat, or luring the enemy for reinforcements.I have always grasped the main force of the two brigades and the maneuvering position. With the cooperation of the guerrillas, I have successively used siege and reinforcements and raids between Kelan and Wuzhai, between Wuzhai and Shenchi; between Ningwu and Yangfangkou. , Ambush warfare and other tactics, annihilating the enemy in large numbers.At the same time, I used a force to disperse activities on the outer lines, clamped down on a large number of enemies, and closely cooperated with the operations of my main force on the inner lines to ensure the smooth development of the campaign.

3. Adhere to the principle of our military's independence.During the anti-"siege" campaign, although there were four Kuomintang armies in Northwest Shanxi, they avoided the battle and fled.With the support of the broad masses of the people, our 120th Division fought independently. In the cold winter season, we fought continuously for more than 40 days and paid a heavy price of more than 1,500 casualties. The excellent fighting style of being brave and tenacious, fighting one after another, and fighting continuously won major victories in the battle, and at the same time expanded the reputation of our army.

4. During the battle, under the leadership of the Shanxi Northwest Party, the mobilization committees, sacrifice alliances and the masses of the people in various places vigorously supported the front, participated in various combat work, passed information to our army, blocked news, cooperated in operations, He gave our army strong support both physically and mentally, and made positive contributions to our army's victory in the war.