Chapter 99 7. Flames soar on Zhengtai Road

At about 20 o'clock on August 20, guns and guns burst out along the Zhengtai Railway, and the flames shot into the sky. The Eighth Route Army launched a general attack on the "steel blockade" of the Japanese invaders, and the "Hundred Regiments War" that shocked China and abroad kicked off. According to the campaign deployment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region consists of 18 infantry regiments, 1 cavalry regiment, 2 cavalry battalions, 3 artillery companies, 1 engineering company, and 5 guerrilla detachments, respectively forming the left, middle, and right The column, containment force, and general reserve force, under the organization and command of Commander Nie Rongzhen and political commissar, launched a fierce attack on the Japanese station and stronghold on the eastern section of the Zhengtai Railway.

At 22:00, the 5th and 19th regiments of the right column attacked the Japanese stronghold between Niangziguan and Luanliu.Niangziguan is an important pass at the junction of Shanxi and Hebei provinces and the throat area of ​​Zhengtai Railway.Relying on the favorable terrain of cliffs and cliffs, easy to defend and difficult to attack, the Japanese army built 4 more large fortresses on the basis of the original fortifications, surrounded by light and dark firepower points.In addition, there are also puppet troops stationed in the village under Niangziguan.The 5th Regiment, which I was responsible for the main offensive task, first sneaked into Niangziguan Village, annihilated the puppet army in the village, and then relied on the village to launch a strong attack on the Niangziguan Japanese army.

Under the heavy firepower blockade of the Japanese army, the attacking troops followed suit and attacked Niangziguan.The cloud ladder erected was interrupted by artillery fire, so they took a human ladder and connected it with leggings to climb the cliff.However, relying on favorable terrain and superior equipment, the Japanese army desperately resisted. The attacking troops suffered heavy casualties, and the frontal attack failed for a while. At this critical juncture, fierce gunshots and explosions suddenly sounded from the side of the Japanese fortress group. It turned out that this was the troops of the 5th Regiment who moved back from the side of Niangziguan, and launched an attack on the Japanese army from the flank.The Japanese army was thrown into chaos by this sudden attack, and organized a counterattack hastily. After fierce hand-to-hand combat, all the Japanese invaders were wiped out.

The frontal attack troops took advantage of the momentum to blast the enemy's bunkers with grenades, grenades and captured blasting tubes. With a few bangs, the enemy bunkers were blown into ruins one by one.After 3 hours of repeated fighting, the anti-Japanese warriors of my 5th regiment finally captured the enemy's fortress group and attacked Niangziguan Mountain.At dawn, most of the Japanese army at Niangziguan was annihilated by our army, and the red flag of the Eighth Route Army's victory was planted on the Tianxian Niangziguan, which had been occupied by the Japanese invaders for three years.

The compatriots in the Niangziguan area who were ravaged by the Japanese invaders were so excited that they shed tears, beating gongs and drums to send eggs, pork and other condolences to the troops of the Eighth Route Army. After capturing Niangziguan, the warriors of the 5th regiment took advantage of the victory to destroy the railway bridge east of Niangziguan and harvested a large number of enemy wires.At the same time, the 19th Regiment of the right column launched a fierce attack on Japanese strongholds such as Yiliang, Jucheng, Turbulent Flow, and Shangpanshi, annihilating a large number of enemies.

On this day, according to the deployment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, the 129th Division was responsible for destroying the western section of the Zhengtai Railway. As soon as it got dark, under the cover of darkness, the Zhengtai Road assault troops sneaked under the nose of the enemy. At 20 o'clock, the total attack time is up.In an instant, several red signal flares pierced the surrounding night sky, and the bright red flames dyed the night sky colorfully.As soon as the general attack order was issued, all the assault troops rushed towards the Japanese station and stronghold on Zhengtai Road with lightning speed...

The left wing of the 129th Division attacked the Lujiazhuang Station by 5 companies of the 16th Regiment.Lujiazhuang is located about 15 kilometers east of Yuci. It is a village with more than 50 households. There is a small river flowing from east to west in the south of the village. The river is turbulent during the rainy season.To the east of the village is the railway station, and the Japanese army built 4 bunkers around it, without outer trenches and barbed wire fences.The Japanese army stationed here is a squadron of the Harada Brigade, with a total of more than 40 people and more than 20 puppet troops.After the general attack was launched, the 16th Regiment crossed the small river with two companies, quickly occupied Lujiazhuang, captured the enemy bunker north of the station, and immediately attacked the station from west to east; the other three companies also captured the south of the station. The two bunkers within one mile were attacking the station from east to west.The two troops flanked and attacked the station, grenades rained down.The Japanese army at the station was defeated, abandoned the station and fled westward, and was beaten head-on by the troops attacking Lujiazhuang;The Japanese army lost their minds and retreated to several dilapidated bungalows to resist in the chaos.The attacking force quickly launched a fire attack on it.Amid the tumbling fireworks, the Japanese army hastily retreated to the gunpowder depot.The attacking troops bombarded with multiple artillery fires, and the warehouse was shot and caught fire. The Japanese army flew around like headless chickens, and finally rushed into an independent classroom of the school to hold on, but only persisted for more than an hour, and was finally wiped out.

When the 16th Regiment was fighting fiercely in Lujiagou, the 1st Battalion of the 25th Regiment of the Left Column was fighting fiercely with the enemy at Mashou Station.The 1st and 3rd companies that attacked the bunkers on both sides took more than an hour of fierce fighting, and captured the 4 bunkers on the two wings respectively, but the 2nd company that attacked the station encountered fierce firepower. A machine gun blocked the open area in front of the house and confronted the 2nd company until dawn.Under such circumstances, the 1st and 3rd companies joined the battle at the same time. With strong fire support, a soldier from the 2nd company rushed up holding the explosive package, blowing up a corner of the house.Taking advantage of this opportunity, three companies launched a charge at the same time, captured the fortress, and killed 24 enemies.The remnants of the Japanese army fled towards Shouyang.

Similarly, the 38th Regiment also captured Shanghu Station and captured the stationmaster of the Japanese Army Station. At dawn, the left-wing column basically wiped out the enemy's strongholds and stations in the attack section.At this point, Zhou Xihan immediately ordered to turn to the broken road. Except for some troops to be guarded, the rest of the troops joined the guerrillas, local armed forces, militia, migrant workers, local people, and railway employees to fight against the railway.This is a spectacle: tens of thousands of people bombed bridges, destroyed tunnels, demolished railroad tracks, burned sleepers, flattened roadbeds, chopped electric poles, and received wires.However, the dismantled rails have to be carried to a remote place and buried, which is quite annoying.Later, someone discovered that setting the sleepers into a well-shaped shape and burning the rails on them could not only burn the sleepers, but also burn the rails.Therefore, this experience has been widely promoted, and the flames are flying on the Zhengtai Road, looking from a distance, like a flying fire dragon...