Chapter 163 4. Break into the enemy's outer trench in 4 minutes

In 1944, the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and local armed forces actively attacked the Japanese and puppet troops after a series of campaigns and battles, and achieved major victories, expanding some small guerrilla areas into large base areas.In total, over the past year, the region has fought 3,604 times, captured 395 strongholds and bunkers, killed and wounded 16,073 Japanese and puppet troops, captured 27 Japanese soldiers, and captured 32,929 puppet troops (including southern Hebei).The liberated area has more than doubled in size compared to 1943, with a total area of ​​more than 200,000 square miles and liberated more than 5 million compatriots.The seven counties of Qingfeng, Neihuang, Chaocheng, Shenxian, Shouzhang, Qiuxian, and Puyang were newly recovered, together with the existing three counties of Puxian, Fanxian, and Guancheng, a total of 10 complete counties.Except for the Shuidong area, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan anti-Japanese base areas have been basically connected together.

Entering 1945, the international anti-fascist war was in dire straits, Nazi Germany was already facing the fate of total collapse, and Japanese militarism was also on the verge of desperation.On the basis of the continuous consolidation and successful development of the anti-Japanese base areas behind China's enemy lines in 1944, on December 15, Mao Zedong delivered an important speech "Tasks for 1945" at the Senate Council of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. The 15 tasks faced by the anti-Japanese base areas call on the army and civilians in the base areas to "expand the liberated areas and shrink the occupied areas" and "turn all the occupied areas that are weakly defended and may be conquered under our current conditions into liberated areas."According to this instruction, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Branch Bureau and the military region decided to continue to launch offensive operations against the towns and strongholds occupied by the Japanese and puppet troops in the border area in the spring of 1945 to further expand the liberated areas.

Since Qingfeng, Puyang, and Chaocheng were liberated, and the central area of ​​the Hebei-Shandong-Henan border area was connected with the sandy area, Nanle County and its surrounding strongholds protruded from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Anti-Japanese Base Area. Nanle is located in the heart of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan border area, and is an important and strong strategic stronghold of the Japanese and puppet troops in northern Henan.At this time, there were more than 2,000 people stationed in the 3rd Brigade Headquarters of Yang Faxian of the Puppet East Asian Alliance Self-Governing Army, the 2nd Regiment of the brigade and the garrison, and more than 30 people from the Shutian Squadron of the 2965th Troop of the Northern Branch of the Japanese Army.There are more than 400 people from the Guoleting Department of the Puppet Army stationed in Nanqingdian in Nanle City; the Chen Jingzhai Department of the Puppet Army, the 6th Regiment of Cheng Daohui Division, and more than 30 Japanese soldiers are stationed in Chuwang Town in the west of the city; There are more than 200 puppet troops and 10 Japanese troops stationed in Wangmiao in the north of the city.

These Japanese and puppet troops burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil.The masses of the people in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan border area asked our army to take advantage of the victory and march to capture Nanle City as soon as possible, pull out the Japanese and puppet strongholds, and defend the wheat harvest with arms. The land in northern Henan is just before the wheat harvest. There are endless wheat fields, thousands of hectares of blue waves, flowers and ears, and a good harvest is in sight. As the wheat matures, so does the annual scramble for wheat.The Japanese and puppet troops are nervously planning to grab food.

Never let the enemy succeed! Deputy Commander Yang Yong of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region reviewed the situation and issued an order for the Battle of Nanle (No. 3) on April 21.It was decided to use the main forces of the 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 9th military divisions and the local armed forces to launch the Nanle Campaign, capture Nanle City and its surrounding strongholds, and wipe out the vital forces of the Japanese and puppet troops. Command of the military region: The 7th Regiment of the 8th Army Division and the First Division of the Local Armed Forces attacked Nanle City, under the command of the military division commander Zeng Siyu and political commissar Duan Junyi, and the battle started on April 24.The Weihe Detachment of the 9th Army Division, the Gaoling County (now included in the 3 counties of Junxian, Neihuang, and Tangyin in Henan Province) the backbone brigade, and the Huaxian Independent Regiment confuse the enemy in Junxian County. The 16th Regiment, Cavalry Regiment, and Xin 4th Road It is the left column, commanded by Zhang Guohua, the political commissar of the military division, and Zhao Donghuan, the deputy commander. Its task is to destroy the enemy at Nanqingdian with a force, mainly to attack the reinforcements that may come from the direction of Daming.The 23rd Regiment of the 3rd Military Region and a local armed force began operations on the evening of the 24th to eliminate Yang Qiaohai and Guo Dehui's headquarters, attracting the enemies of Daming and Wei County.The front of the military region led 4 infantry companies of the special task force to Wangzhai, about 2 kilometers northeast of Nanle City. The special task force was the reserve force of the military region.

The enemy's fortifications in Nanle City are relatively strong.The West Courtyard of Chengnan Avenue occupied by the Japanese army is surrounded by a wall. Outside the wall is a trench more than ten meters deep and several meters wide. There are three blockhouses in the northeast, southwest, and northwest corners. The enemy demolished the houses around the blockhouses and cleared the shot circle.The brigade headquarters of Yang Faxian's brigade of the puppet army and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th companies of the special task force were stationed in the west of the city, and there were 4 towers in the defense area.The secret service regiment headquarters is stationed in the northeast corner of the city.The 6th Company of the 2nd Regiment of the Puppet Army and the 3rd and 7th Companies of the 4th Regiment guarded 4 towers respectively.The police station is stationed in the northwest corner of the city.There are 15 gun towers in the whole city.The gun towers are of different heights, the highest being more than ten meters, and densely covered with dark forts.The city wall is more than ten meters high, and there are watchtowers on both sides of the four gates, and there are horse-proof and barbed wire fences.The moat outside the city wall is equipped with deer villages and wooden fences, and barbed wire fences are set up in important areas.

Outside the city, fortifications were built in Litun, Wutun, Sanlizhuang, Yuanzhuang, Zuoningsi, Chenzhuang and other strongholds of the puppet army.A trench three to four meters wide and four to five meters deep was dug around the stronghold, and suspension bridges, deer villages, and wooden fences were set up.Each stronghold defends the enemy with as many as hundreds of people, and as few as dozens of people. It is not difficult to see that the enemy's fortifications are strong, their defenses are tight, and they support each other, which is quite difficult to fight. The 8th division in charge of the siege held a combat meeting to study the style of play.According to the enemy's city defense fortifications and troop deployment, the meeting decided that the 7th Regiment attached to the main brigade of the military division's artillery company, special agent company, public security company, and Nanle and Kunshang counties (now included in Dongping County and Yanggu County) would be the siege force , commanded by regiment leader Wen Xianxing and political commissar Yang Junsheng.The method of play is that after conquering the city wall, the enemy will be interspersed and divided, first annihilating the puppet army, and then annihilating the Japanese army.The main brigades in Pu County and Qingfeng County surrounded the puppet army strongholds outside the city respectively, and defeated the enemy with a combination of military strikes and political offensives.

On April 24th, the battle broke out. The 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment of the 8th Army Division arrived at the northwest corner of Nanle County. A breakthrough was opened in the southwest corner of Nanle City, and the follow-up troops quickly entered the city, eliminating all the battalion headquarters of the puppet army spy battalion and the puppet police station.At the same time, the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Regiment dealt with more than 170 people including the 3rd Company of the Puppet Army Special Service Battalion in Chenghuang Temple, and controlled the Catholic Church, the commanding height of the city. At dawn on the 25th, the troops that our army entered the city violently charged and wiped out most of Yang Faxian's troops of the 3rd Brigade of the Puppet East Asia Division Autonomous Army. On the 26th, the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Regiment blew up the main artillery building of the puppet brigade headquarters after continuously defeating the counterattacks of the puppet troops. All the puppet troops in the city were annihilated except for a battery stationed by the Japanese army.

At this time, the Puxian County Brigade of the 8th Army Division (Yunxi) captured the Wuhuaying stronghold.The 16th and Xin 4th Road Departments of the Ninth Army Division wiped out most of the puppet troops in the Yuancun stronghold.The Weihe Detachment of the Ninth Army Division (Zhinan, Henan and North) and other units conquered Nanqingdian and Jindegu strongholds.The 23rd Regiment of the 2nd Military Division (Southern Hebei) conquered the Haizi stronghold.Troops from the 7th Army Division (Northwest of Shandong Province) invaded Longwangmiao, an important town between Daming and Nanle, besieged a Japanese squadron in the stronghold, wiped out a puppet squadron, and burned down the Weihe wooden bridge.In addition, local armed forces in other military divisions also surrounded 26 outlying strongholds and bunkers in Nanle, Daming, and Guangping.

At 3 o'clock in the morning on the 27th, the siege troops shelled the only remaining Japanese artillery tower in the city again, and some commanders and fighters then rushed into the artillery tower and started hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army.By 6:30, all the Japanese troops in the blockhouse had been wiped out.The battle of Nanle has ended victoriously. The victory of this battle connected Weixi and Weidong Liberated Areas together, and hundreds of thousands of people were able to see the sun again. On May 5, the military region held a victory celebration with 30,000 soldiers and civilians in Ma Village, Qingfeng County.

Deputy Commander Yang Yong stepped onto the rostrum enthusiastically. He spoke highly of the battle and commended units and individuals with outstanding military exploits.The local government presented the troops with a pennant with the words "Savior of the People".