Chapter 123 5. Foreigners in the breakout ranks

In the ranks of the breakout, there was a foreigner, wearing the uniform of the Eighth Route Army. At night, no difference could be seen between him and everyone else.But after dawn, because of his deep eyes and high nose, and his different appearance, he became the object of onlookers from the villagers. His name is Hans Heber, and he is a progressive journalist from Germany. He has been to northern Shaanxi, southern Anhui and northern Jiangsu, and interviewed Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Ye Ting, Chen Yi and others. In September 1941, Heber came to the Shandong base from northern Jiangsu via Longhai Road. Luo Ronghuan warmly received him, and the 115th Division held a welcome party for him.Before Liutian broke through, Luo Ronghuan planned to transfer him to a safe place.Heber quit. He said excitedly: "I want to be with the soldiers and report the situation on the Shandong battlefield to the whole world."

Heber was born in Krakow (now part of Poland), went to university in Germany and joined the German Communist Party.Proficient in English, German, Russian, Polish and Chinese languages. Heber was not his original name. After he came to China, Shen Qizhen, Minister of Health of the New Fourth Army, changed his name to Hans Heber. Heber has deep feelings for the Chinese people and the Chinese revolution. He has been to China several times, edited English publications and wrote a large number of political articles. In the autumn of 1932, Heber and his wife Qiudi came to Shanghai from Germany again and initiated the establishment of the International Marxism-Leninism Study Group, with members including Smedley, Madhey, and Rewi Alley.In the following five years, he carried out extensive activities in Shanghai, calling for the establishment of a world anti-fascist united front.He has published a large number of articles on China and the Far East in various newspapers and periodicals such as "Pacific Affairs" in the United States, "Asian Magazine" in Germany, and "World Stage" in Germany, and has become a world-renowned anti-fascist political commentator.

In the spring of 1938, Heber arrived in Yan'an and was cordially met by Mao Zedong. In 1939, as a reporter for the monthly magazine "Pacific Affairs" of the American Pacific Society, he came to Yunling, Jing County, southern Anhui, where the headquarters of the New Fourth Army was stationed, and met Zhou Enlai, Ye Ting, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi and other leaders.In northern Jiangsu, he completed an 80,000-word manuscript - "The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in China's United War of Resistance". In September 1941, in order to report to the people of the world the deeds of the Eighth Route Army and the heroic anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines in Shandong, Heber decided to go to the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base for interviews.The head of the New Fourth Army told him that the enemy's "big raid" on Shandong was about to begin, which was very dangerous, and advised him not to go for the time being.

Heber said: "Because of this, I should go all the more! No foreign reporter has ever been there, and I am needed more! Many questions can only be answered when I go there." After Heber arrived in Shandong Binhai District (now Junan County, Linyi City), he worked tirelessly on interviews and writing.People often see him carrying maps, binoculars, enamel cups, and towels on his shoulders, moving among troops and villagers.He not only interviewed party, government and military leaders, soldiers and farmers, interviewed Japanese prisoners of war, and participated in various rallies, but also participated in night raids and observed how soldiers fought against the enemy on the spot.Soon, he wrote long reports such as "Travel in the Japanese Occupied Area", "The Eighth Route Army in Shandong" and "Struggle to Recover Shandong".

In the article "Travel in the Japanese Occupied Area", Heber wrote: "The Japanese imperialists announced that they had 'occupied' Shandong, but I, an anti-fascist journalist, was free in this 'Japanese Occupied Area'. Traveling freely, yet meeting tens of thousands of armed anti-Japanese fighters and people in this area, yet seeing the tattered armor of the Japanese 'Imperial Army' and the cracked 'Sun Flag' everywhere in this area. I have personally experienced these Things are unimaginable to many foreigners, and if some people don’t believe these facts, they will be surprised when the Chinese people recover all their land one day.”

Heber interviewed during the day and wrote at night, and people often heard his typewriter ringing late into the night, sometimes all night long.Mrs. Qiudi recalled: "Others take medicine (sleeping pills) to sleep, but Heber takes medicine (spiritual medicine) to work day and night." On the eve of the Japanese army's "mopping up" in early November 1941, the Shandong branch decided to let the Hebers return to Shanghai temporarily to escape.But Heber resolutely refused: "I agree to let Qiudi go back, but I will never leave Shandong. An accomplished reporter is never afraid of guns and bullets!"

After spending the thrilling night in Liutian, Hans Heber was as happy as a child, and excitedly said to Gu Mu, the head of the secretariat of the Shandong Branch Bureau who was in charge of receiving him: "This is the most unforgettable night in my life. Any happiest party I have ever attended is more meaningful and memorable. I must write this wonderful experience and tell people all over the world." Write what you say.Heber's article was translated and published in red on the first page of the "Warrior" of the 115th Division, with the title "Silent Battle".The article says:

The command of this breakout is magical!The insidious and vicious Japanese army spread nets on all sides, trying to attack and destroy us in Liutian.But we got out of the enemy's gap freely and leisurely, and lived next door to the enemy.This was a silent battle. We broke through the enemy's 3 lines of defense without firing a single shot!The enemy deployed patrols on the blockade, but the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army were so brave that the enemy's patrols were wiped out with daggers the moment they were about to shout and shoot... Commander Jun Liu must be furious at this time and reprimanded him Those unsatisfied "rice bucket" generals: Where did the main force of the Eighth Route Army go overnight?Where are our illustrious victories?Surrounded by Japanese military officers and pointed at by tens of thousands of guns, it turned out to be piles of black rocks!When these "rice bucket" generals eat today, everyone should give them a delicious dish-big duck eggs!

On the evening of November 29, the snow was violent and the wind was violent.When Heber transferred more than 3,000 people from the rear, he was surrounded by heavy Japanese troops.Heber's interpreter and several guards all died covering him.Heber rose up and fought with the enemy with a gun. After killing several Japanese soldiers in a row near Badgergouzi under Wudaogou in Daqingshan, he was 44 years old at the time. Xu Xiangqian and Marshal Nie Rongzhen respectively wrote inscriptions for Heber: Later, Luo Ronghuan, Li Yu, and Xiao Hua also jointly wrote an inscription for him: