Chapter 121 3. Advance to the enemy base camp

Beginning in 1941, the Japanese army began to brutally implement the "Public Security Strengthening Movement" in North China.They divided North China into "law and order areas" (the areas occupied by the Japanese puppet), "quasi law and order areas" (that is, anti-Japanese guerrilla areas), and "non-law and order areas" (that is, anti-Japanese base areas), in an attempt to gradually transform "quasi law and order areas" into "Public security area" and "non-public security area" are the targets of "quasi public security area".In March and April, the Japanese army in Shandong carried out the first "Security Strengthening Movement". First, they strengthened the puppet organizations in the Japanese-occupied areas. mopping up".In autumn, the Japanese and puppet troops shifted the focus of their "mopping up" to the Yimeng mountainous area.

In this harsh environment of struggle, in order to solve the problem of unifying Shandong's military and political leadership and combat command, on August 19, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission decided: "(A) Branch, the 115th Division Division, and the Shanzong Command should move closer together. , in order to hold regular meetings, and use the branch meetings as the leading body to unify the party, government, military and civilians in Shandong. The Shandong branch is temporarily composed of Comrades Zhu Rui, Luo Ronghuan, Li Yu, and Chen Guang, with Zhu Rui as the secretary. (B) The Shandong column belongs to the head of the 115th Division Command and cooperate in operations. (C) The military and political committees of Shanzong and the 115th Division were combined into the Shandong Military and Political Committee. Luo Ronghuan, Li Yu, Chen Guang, Xiao Hua, Chen Shiju, Luo Shunchu, and Jiang Hua were decided to be members, and Luo Ronghuan was the secretary. According to the decision of the central government, the Shandong branch immediately determined the division of labor among the members of the branch: Zhu Rui presided over the party organization work, Luo Ronghuan presided over the military work, Li Yu presided over the government work, and Chen Guang presided over the work of the finance committee.

On October 2, Luo Ronghuan led the division to Qingtuo Temple in Linyi, presided over the first meeting of the Shandong Military and Political Committee, studied the issue of establishing a unified command for the 115th Division and the Shandong Column, and carried out an anti-"sweep" in autumn. deploy.After the meeting, the Shandong Branch of the Communist Party of China, the Shandong Military and Political Committee, the 115th Division and the Shandong Column respectively issued instructions to crush the "mopping up" of the Japanese and puppet troops. The instructions of the 115th Division pointed out that when the enemy is "mopping up", mass guerrilla warfare must be carried out extensively, and small units must establish the spirit of independent warfare. They should not be passive after encountering the enemy's first joint attack, and should jump out of the joint attack circle in due course.Before the situation is ascertained, first turn around the enemy as the axis, and it is not advisable to jump too far to avoid new joint attacks.It is necessary to effectively cover the masses to prevent the enemy from killing the masses and taking away the strong men.Company platoon cadres must be familiar with the terrain, and do not need to hire a guide within 60 miles.

Afterwards, Chen Guang and Luo Ronghuan organized staff officers to check the terrain and roads in various key places, set up an intelligence communication network, organize guerrilla teams, and make specific preparations for countering the "mopping up". In the early morning of November 5th, in the area of ​​Qingtuo Temple in Yishui, bursts of guns and rumbling tanks suddenly sounded.The "big sweep" of the Japanese and puppet troops officially began.They still use the usual multi-channel, multi-echelon "iron wall encirclement" method to narrow the encirclement bit by bit.Gradually, they set the core of the encirclement at the Liutian area northeast of Qingtuo Temple.

This is where the headquarters of the 115th Division just moved here. There are more than 2,000 people from the 115th Division, the Shandong Branch Bureau, and the Shandong Wartime Work Implementation Committee. They are gathering in a small village called Niujiagou in the southeast of Liutian.However, only one special agent battalion of the 115th Division and one special agent company of the Shandong Branch were able to participate in the battle. Huang Guozhong, the deputy battalion commander of the 115th Division's Special Service Battalion, who was in charge of the security mission, had assigned several companies to guard the hills and passes around Liutian.

The enemy was getting closer and closer. By the afternoon, the closest one was three or four kilometers away from Liutian, and the farthest was no more than 5 kilometers away.Huang Guozhong couldn't watch it anymore, so he galloped to Niujiagou. The emergency military meeting was going on in a thatched hut in Niujiagou. When Huang Guozhong rushed in, Luo Ronghuan, Zhu Rui, Chen Guang, Xiao Hua, Chen Shiju, as well as the heads of various departments of the headquarters and political department were there.Everyone is discussing the direction of the breakthrough. Luo Ronghuan, who presided over the meeting, was sitting on the kang, thinking about a military map.

"The situation is urgent!" This is the first sentence Huang Guozhong said when he entered the door. "The enemy is divided into 11 groups and is tightening the encirclement. The troops from all groups are within 5 kilometers from us. Now, the roads, mountain roads, valleys, and fields outside are everywhere. Japanese soldiers, and tanks." "Sit down first, just to discuss together." Luo Ronghuan said calmly, "The situation is indeed very serious. We have been discussing for an hour now. We must make a decision quickly, because the enemy is approaching. To summarize everyone's opinions just now, there are There are three types: one is to go east, cross the Yihe River and Shuhe River, and enter the coastal base area; the other is to go north, to join the Shandong column; and the third is to go west, and enter Mount Meng.”

"Then why don't you advocate going south?" Luo Ronghuan asked, "I know, this is because the south is Linyi, which is the enemy's stronghold. It is reported that Junliu is sitting there and directing the 'big raid' .” He looked at the map again, raised his head, and said firmly, "But my opinion is to go south!" Luo Ronghuan hadn't finished speaking, and immediately aroused controversy. "Everyone be quiet for a moment, let Political Commissar Luo continue." Chen Guang came forward to stop everyone from arguing. "Why did you break out in the direction of Linyi?" Luo Ronghuan said, "Everyone gather a little and look at the map."

Luo Ronghuan picked up a dry willow branch from the ground, pointed to the map and said: "In the east, the Yi River and Shu River are tightly blocked by the enemy. Pocket. To the north, the enemy is frantically pressing south, and the northern part of Yimeng District is controlled by the 51st Army of the Northeast Army. In August 1941, Chiang Kai-shek transferred Shen Honglie away, and after appointing Mou Zhongheng, the commander of the 51st Army, as the chairman of Shandong Province, he The conflict between Xuezhong and Chiang Kai-shek has eased, and the relationship between the Northeast Army and the Eighth Route Army has gradually deteriorated. At this time, the 51st Army is engaged in friction with the Shandong Column in the northern Yimeng area. If we go north, we are likely to be flanked. West, Linyi to Mengyin The highway has become the enemy's heavily guarded blockade line. Even if we can cross this line and enter Mengshan, it will still be the target of the enemy's joint attack. What about the south? Although it is the enemy's base camp, the enemy estimates that we will not dare to advance to its base camp, and its forces And if they all go northward to the Yimeng Mountains, the rear must be empty."

Having said that, some people began to nod their heads.Luo Ronghuan strikes while the iron is hot: "So, I advocate breaking out to the south first, jumping out of the enemy's encirclement, then turning west, and entering the junction of Mengshan and Lunan. This position is more mobile." Explained clearly.Everyone thought about it carefully, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt that this judgment was reasonable.Soon, someone stood up and agreed first, then the second, the third... Finally, everyone agreed. Therefore, Luo Ronghuan specifically arranged the marching route: from Liutian to the south, passing through Zhangzhuang and Gaoli, turning to the southwest, crossing the Yimeng Highway to camp in the Wanggou area.After everyone wrote down the route, Luo Ronghuan explained in detail the precautions for passing through each place.