Chapter 3 Chapter 2 The first battle against Shangdang, opening the prelude to the War of Liberation

On August 25, 1945, outside Changning Village, Licheng County, in the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains, an American-made transport plane landed on the temporary airport here with a huge roar. The hatch opened, and a tall and burly soldier appeared. He was Liu Bocheng.He was wearing a brand-new military uniform that day, with a military cap on his head, a buffoon hanging from a wide belt around his waist, and he was still wearing leggings.He stood on the gangway, watching the happy crowd at the airport motionless, with tears in his eyes. The crowd below was boiling: "Commander Liu!" "Mr. Liu!" People were jumping and cheering, full of joy.

Liu Bocheng waved his hands and got off the plane.Deng Xiaoping's political commissar, Teng Daiyuan's deputy commander, Bo Yibo's deputy political commissar, and Li Jichun's deputy political commissar and director of the political department also got off the plane with him.And their subordinates Chen Geng, Chen Xilian, Chen Zaidao, and Wang Jinshan.There are also Chen Yi, Lin Biao, Xiao Jinguang, etc. who are preparing to divert to other strategic areas. At this time, it is the season of golden wind and good weather.The towering mountains and the rushing river are shining with waves.People flocked to the airport, singing and dancing to celebrate the victory while welcoming the arrival of the heroes of the Anti-Japanese War.

People hugged, cheered, sang and danced, as if no matter what they did, they couldn't express the joy in their hearts at this moment, and everyone was so excited that they burst into tears. The art troupe of the military region did their part even more, dancing flower basket dances, dragon lantern dances, big yangko dances, lion dances, and even stepped on stilts in the field of the airport. Brilliant colors, moving singing, exquisite performances, accompanied by burning passion, make people dizzying.Many ordinary people also came, carrying wine, boiled eggs in baskets, dried persimmons and apples, and kept yelling: "Comrade, drink a bowl of sorghum, my own." "Comrade, eat a red wine." Preserved eggs, it’s hot!”

Among the crowd was an honorary soldier on crutches, surrounded by people, who had lost a leg in battle.He shed tears excitedly, and said emotionally, "It has been eight years, and my blood has not been shed in vain." Someone yelled, "Commander Liu and Political Commissar Deng are here!" Immediately, a crowd of people flocked towards them.Liu Bocheng felt hot in his heart. Seeing the familiar faces and the friendly smiles, tears welled up all at once. He stretched out those big thick hands, and tightly held hands that trembled with victory. . Dozens of sea bowls of different colors filled with fragrant wine stretched out in front of the chiefs.Liu Bocheng closed his lips tightly, usually he didn't drink at all.

Liu Bocheng said apologetically: "Comrades, I cannot accept this bowl of wine. I am the same as you. I just did a little work that should be done. Thank you comrades..." "Commander Liu, you are a meritorious minister, you must drink this bowl of wine!" Everyone shouted together, the face closest to him flushed with excitement. "No, no!" Liu Bocheng waved his hands repeatedly. But no matter how he explained or declined, dozens of bowls were still held high, and no one wanted to put them down. "Political Commissar Deng and the others have drunk it, you have to drink our bar no matter what!" People still shouted loudly.

Deng Xiaoping whispered in Liu Bocheng's ear: "If you don't drink this bowl of wine today, I'm afraid you won't be able to walk." Liu Bocheng bowed deeply to the crowd and said loudly: "I drink, I will definitely drink." As he spoke, he took a wine bowl and raised it above his head.The crowd suddenly fell silent, they were waiting for Liu Bocheng to drink up the bowl of victory wine. Liu Bocheng said gratefully: "I thank you all for thinking highly of me, Liu Bocheng. If I want to say what credit I have, it is that the Party Central Committee gave me leadership and led the troops to fight against the Japanese invaders. In fact, the real heroes are you, our heroic and unyielding people. Anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians, you are the real heroes. Taking this opportunity today, I would like to present this bowl of wine to our comrades who died on the battlefield on behalf of everyone.”

Liu Bocheng drank half a bowl of wine, and then gently poured the remaining half bowl of wine on the ground.When the old wine was buried in the soil, a layer of fine silvery white bubbles appeared in an instant. In the crowd, there was no sound, only endless tears flowing silently. Looking at the cheerful crowd, Liu Bocheng suddenly thought: Will there still be flames of war in the jubilant Taihang?On the North China battlefield where the blood is still wet, will there still be battles?The Kuomintang is preparing to invade the liberated area bases on a large scale, and the people who are celebrating peace are excited, are they mentally prepared?

Japan surrendered, what would happen to the Kuomintang?Before returning to the Taihang Mountains from Yan'an, Liu Bocheng had already learned that on August 15, when Japan had just announced its surrender, Chiang Kai-shek immediately appointed a group of traitors to important military posts, and led troops to the front line to fight for the fruits of victory in the Anti-Japanese War.A senior KMT official even made an explicit order to quickly receive the weapons and ammunition left by the Japanese army and use them to deal with the Communist Party.Prior to this, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to the Japanese and puppet troops in North China, Central China, and East China: "Unless the order of the chairman of the general committee, they must not move the station without authorization, and they must not be incorporated without the permission of the chairman of the committee."On August 12, MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the Far East Allied Forces, ordered the Japanese government and the Japanese troops in the Chinese theater: "Surrender only to the Chiang Kai-shek government and its troops, and not to other Chinese armed forces." On the same day, he dispatched transport planes and transport ships, Prepare to transport 80,000 Kuomintang troops to the liberated areas. On August 23, Neiji Okamura, Commander of He Yingqin's Dispatched Army to North China, ordered: "Illegal armed organizations in China that confiscate weapons from the Japanese army without authorization shall be responsible for doing so before the National Army designated by Chairman Jiang or Commander-in-Chief He accepts them." Effective defense." What made people even more angry was that on August 23, under the support of the Japanese and puppet troops, Yan Xishan's five divisions took the Xiangyuan, Xiangyuan, Lucheng and other counties.

The fruits of victory in the Anti-Japanese War cannot be snatched away by Chiang Kai-shek indiscriminately!In order to defend the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and stop the attack of the Kuomintang army, Mao Zedong went to Chongqing to talk with Chiang Kai-shek regardless of his personal safety.At this time, Li Da, who stayed behind in Taihang Mountain, was leading the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu troops to start a fierce battle with the Kuomintang army. After eight years of war, the land of China is once again shrouded in the cloud of war.Thinking of this, Liu Bocheng couldn't help feeling nervous, and his cheerful mood suddenly became heavy.

After Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping got off the plane at Dongyangguan Airport in Licheng, they went straight to Chi'an Village without taking a break. In Chi'an Village, the ecstasy after Japan's surrender has passed.At this time, we are in an atmosphere of tense preparations for war.As soon as Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, and Teng Daiyuan entered the headquarters, they immediately asked the directors of operations and intelligence who were already waiting to report the situation.Then, he hung up the phone of Li Da, who led the Taihang troops to fight on the front line of Xiangyuan, and asked about the enemy's situation.

Li Da gave a brief report on the phone.At this time, the front line is fighting in full swing.Long before Liu Deng returned from Yan'an, the soldiers and civilians of Shanxi, Hebei, Luyu had already started a major counterattack.The troops and militiamen of the various military regions were ordered to attack separately and attack the nearby county towns and Japanese and puppet strongholds.When Liu Deng rushed back to the headquarters in Shexian County, Chief of Staff Li Da was commanding Taihang troops to attack Qin County, Xie Fuzhi was leading Taiyue troops to fight in Jiexiu and Pingyao, and Song Renqiong and Yang Yong were commanding Jinluyu troops to attack Kaifeng. After a day and night of fierce fighting, the Taihang troops had captured the county seat, wiped out the enemies and puppets, and were preparing to take advantage of the victory and send their troops south to attack Xiangyuan City. "Okay!" Liu Bocheng listened to Li Da's brief report, and ordered in a bell-like voice: "Resolutely take down Xiangyuan and use it as a place for the troops of the Taihang Military Region to gather troops from Taiyue and Southern Hebei to launch the Shangdang Campaign! " After all, Liu Bocheng went to the map and pointed to the four railways of Pinghan, Tongpu, Longhai, and Jinpu: "Chiang Kai-shek's army marched along the four railways, and rushed towards us with four claws. We must guard the gate and defend the In the Liberated Areas of North China, we covered the Eighth Route Army in Guannei to advance to the northeast. Pinghan and Tongpu are the main directions of our battle, but the problem now is that Yan Xishan invaded and occupied the six cities of Shangdang, and put a knife in our back. This is what people usually do It’s a thorn in your back! If you don’t pull out this knife, and your heart’s troubles haven’t been cured, how can you calm down and divide your troops to Ping Han and Tong Pu to guard the gate? Therefore, not only must the battle of Shangdang be fought, but victory will be won if it is fought!” Deng Xiaoping continued: "The fundamental problem of the Shangdang Campaign is the question of who will win the victory of the War of Resistance. Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan stretched out their hands to grab it, and he must not let him snatch it away!" Liu Bocheng took off his glasses and said earnestly: "We have dealt with Chiang Kai-shek for many years, and we know him well. Sometimes this person is tough and afraid of softness. The softer you are, the more he bullies you. Sometimes you push him a few times, and he Instead, restrain yourself. The situation before us is just like what Political Commissar Deng said, the fruits of victory of the people must be defended by fighting. It can also be said that the better we fight here, the more powerful Chairman Mao will be when he speaks at the negotiating table !" "Yes." Deng Xiaoping walked to the map, "This battle can be roughly divided into three stages as a prologue. The prologue is the battle to regain Xiangyuan commanded by Comrade Li Da. The first stage is to seize the city and fight for aid. And Lucheng, attracting the enemies of Changzhi to help, and annihilating them in the wild; the second stage is to besiege the city and fight for aid, and the besieged city is of course the heart of Shangdang—Changzhi; the third stage is..." The divisional courtyard is full of cadres directly under the government who are anxiously waiting.It has been two years since Liu Bocheng left Taihang Mountains to study in Yan'an in September 1943.The cadres and soldiers of the directly affiliated agencies have been thinking of their beloved teachers.Now that the Anti-Japanese War has been won and Master Liu is back, they are eager to see him and listen to his voice. After deploying the combat tasks, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping came out of the house and walked to the courtyard.The stormy applause expressed people's mood.Liu Bocheng was very moved.These comrades who get along day and night always touch his heart.He cordially waved to everyone, and after the applause died down, Liu Bocheng said: "The Communist Party of China headed by Comrade Mao Zedong is determined to oppose the counter-revolutionary forces with revolutionary forces. Our policy is to fight tit for tat and fight for every inch of land. We base ourselves on fighting , but did not give up negotiations under favorable conditions. Only by fighting well can we negotiate well. Comrade Mao Zedong said, 'You go back to the front and just fight freely. Don't worry about my safety in Chongqing. The better you fight , the safer I am, the better the talk. There's no other way.'" The battle on the front line is in full swing, and in Chongqing, which is behind, the only highest-level negotiation between the KMT and the Communist Party in modern Chinese history is also in full swing.Mao Zedong flew to Chongqing on August 28, 1945 under the "invitation" of Chiang Kai-shek to generate electricity three times in a row.Chiang Kai-shek didn't expect that Mao Zedong really dared to come, so he was unprepared for the negotiation and couldn't come up with a specific negotiation plan for a while.However, after all, Chiang Kai-shek is an old actor on the political stage, experienced and adaptable. During the first talks on August 29, Chiang Kai-shek appeared in a magnanimous manner.He told Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai: "The reason why the government did not propose a specific plan first is to show that the government has no prejudice against the negotiation and is willing to listen to all opinions of the CCP. I hope that the CCP will speak everything in a spirit of sincerity and candor. There are endless words." Mao Zedong took up Chiang Kai-shek's words and said sincerely: "The CCP hopes that through this negotiation, the civil war will truly end and permanent peace will be realized..." Before Mao Zedong finished speaking, the smile on Chiang Kai-shek's face disappeared.Then he said impatiently: "There is no civil war in China!" Before the chairman's voice fell, everyone was stunned. Since there has never been a civil war in China, why is there any need for negotiations to achieve peace? Mao Zedong knew very well that this was Chiang Kai-shek's old tune.For many years, Chiang Kai-shek never admitted that there was a civil war in China. What he said was that China only had "suppression of bandits" or "suppression of communism."According to this logic, it can only show that Chiang Kai-shek's stubborn position has not changed at all. A resentful and contemptuous smile flashed across Mao Zedong's face, and he retorted: "It is a complete deception to say that there is no civil war in China. It does not conform to the facts at all. Even a three-year-old child would not believe it." The finger counts a large number of facts during the ten-year civil war and the eight-year war of resistance, proving that the civil war not only existed in China, but has never stopped. Mao Zedong's words brought people's thoughts into the bloody 1927.At that time, due to Chiang Kai-shek's rebellion, the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party failed.For a time, the inhumane slogan "I'd rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go" was rampant against the Communists.Since then, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party have met each other in battle, and blood has flowed like rivers... In October 1934, Chiang Kai-shek's fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign was successful. The Kuomintang Central News Agency reported in Chiang Kai-shek's tone as the great news: "After the defeat in Ruijin, the Zhumao bandit chief fled from southern Jiangxi to the border of Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi." A reward was offered. 250,000 Guangyang, to buy Mao Zedong's head. The most proud and unlucky day for Chiang Kai-shek was the winter of 1936.The Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi after "fleeing", and it has dropped from 300,000 before the Kuomintang's "encirclement and suppression" to less than 30,000.Chiang Kai-shek visited the ancient city of Xi'an in person, took Chen Cheng, Wei Lihuang, Jiang Dingwen and a large number of generals, deployed more than 300,000 of his direct descendants and elite troops, and dispatched a large number of combat aircraft to prepare for the sixth "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi.In Chiang Kai-shek's own words, "This is the last battle against the Communist bandits." However, contrary to expectations, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the Xi'an Incident that shocked China and the world, undermining the great cause of "communist suppression" that he was about to complete, and causing the "last battle" that had already been ignited to be aborted. "It's hard for the CCP to be arrogant by borrowing the country!" Chiang Kai-shek sighed.During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, the CCP not only survived, but also achieved great development, so that the Americans, as Chiang Kai-shek's allies, asked Chiang Kai-shek and the CCP to form a coalition government before and after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Ma'am.Yesterday's old enemy became today's guest and negotiating opponent.Facing the ironclad evidence cited by Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek was speechless and had to find another topic.Mao Zedong expounded the CCP's principled opinions on the negotiations between the two parties. After listening to it with a dark face, Chiang Kai-shek sneered: "I haven't seen you for more than ten years. I didn't expect that Mao Runzhi's appetite is getting bigger and bigger. It's a pity that I don't have so many things here. I'm afraid I can't satisfy your appetite!" The first confrontation was a hand-to-hand combat, which undoubtedly cast a shadow over the just-opened negotiations.Mao Zedong thus confirmed his own judgment. Chiang Kai-shek did not even admit the most basic facts. How can he have sincerity in the negotiations?Chiang Kai-shek also understood from the first contest that it seemed difficult to persuade Mao Zedong to compromise. In the future negotiations, although the CCP made various concessions out of the desire for peace, Chiang Kai-shek did not give in at all.He left the CCP with only one road to the trap, that is, to completely abandon the army and the liberated areas, so that the military orders and government orders of the Kuomintang government can be completely unified. By mid-September, negotiations had effectively stalled.Although the CCP tried every means to break the deadlock, the Kuomintang did not move at all.Chiang Kai-shek even personally came forward to put pressure on Mao Zedong. During a meeting, Chiang Kai-shek said to Zhou Enlai: "Pan told Runzhi that if you want to make peace, you can make peace according to this condition. Otherwise, ask him to return to Yan'an and lead troops to fight." At this time, Chiang Kai-shek, self-confident in his strength, arrogant and arrogant, had reached the point where it could not be further improved. Mao Zedong is not soft-boned, he will fall when he is frightened.He was born to dare to meet any challenge and never bowed his head under the threat of anyone.When meeting Chiang Kai-shek the next day, Mao Zedong answered Chiang Kai-shek's provocation face to face: "I can't beat you now, but I can deal with you in the same way as I used to deal with the Japanese. You occupy the point line, I occupy the area, and surround the country with the countryside." What do you think of the city?" Chiang Kai-shek dared to "challenge" Mao Zedong and the CCP because he used more than 20 days of "negotiation" time to secretly prepare for war. On September 4th, Chiang Kai-shek sent a plane to Taiyuan and delivered to Yan Xishan, who was invading Shangdang, the top-secret "Bandit Suppression Handbook" edited by him in 1933, and attached the autograph issued this time as a secret order to supervise the war : Chiang Kai-shek was sharpening his sword, and Liu Deng, who was on the front line, also actively responded. On August 28, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram to Liu Deng to concentrate on attacking the Kuomintang army in Taihang. On August 29, while making military preparations, Liu and Deng jointly called the Central Military Commission to report the combat plan. After Mao Zedong, who was far away in Chongqing, received the forwarded telegram, he immediately replied: Subsequently, the Central Military Commission called back, agreeing to Liu Deng's deployment: The determination of the Shangdang campaign was decided in this way. Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping went to the front together with Zhang Jichun and Li Da to personally command the battle of Shangdang. On September 7, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping jointly issued the No. 1 Combat Order of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region. At 2 a.m. on September 10, the Shangdang Campaign was officially launched. On September 10, the battle broke out. In just over ten days, the Taihang, Taiyue, and Southern Hebei columns had captured five counties including Tunliu, Lucheng, Changzi, and Huguan, cleared the outer strongholds of Changzhi, and cut off the The connection between Changzhi and Taiyuan and Pingyao was broken, and more than 10,000 people from Yan Jun Shi Zebo's department were surrounded in a corner of Changzhi. On September 27, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping issued Order No. 6 of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, and decided to launch a general attack on Changzhi. Changzhi, the capital of the Shangdang area, was originally a key fortified city for the Japanese army. The city wall was about 3 feet high, and the outside of the city was criss-crossed with ditches, bunkers, and fortifications.Since the start of the war, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, who have changed their positions five times in a row and have traveled all over Changzhi, decided to attack the city from the east, south, and west sides, leaving the northern pass empty, luring the enemy to break through, and annihilating them in field battles. Everything went smoothly as expected, and Changzhi's defense of the enemy has become a shackle.Suddenly, things changed.The reinforcements sent by Yan Xishan came over aggressively. The enemy changed and we changed, Liu Deng immediately changed his deployment, changed from attacking the city to besieging the city and fighting for aid. On September 28, he issued the No. 7 command of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region. In the area of ​​Changlong and Shangcun towns, they resolutely wiped out them in field battles, and at the same time wiped out the enemy troops who might come out of Changzhi to meet or break out of the encirclement. On a rainy night, all the Taihang column and the main force of the Taiyue column quietly withdrew from Changzhi and went north to ambush to aid the enemy.The remaining Hebei column, a part of Taiyue column and the local corps pretended to be the main force, and continued to go south to attract reinforcements, and fought the siege of Changzhi in full swing. However, Liu Bocheng, who had moved his command position forward to Huangxian Town, discovered that the original information was incorrect. The enemy's reinforcements were not three divisions with more than 7,000 people, but Peng Yubin, deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang's 7th Army, led the 23rd Army and the 83rd Army. 8 divisions including the Provincial Defense Army and 2 heavy artillery regiments, with a total of more than 20,000 people.Liu Deng once again adjusted his deployment: temporarily abandoning the attack on Changzhi City, and urgently dispatched the main force of the southern Hebei column to go north to fight for reinforcements, and asked them to march during the day.In this way, on the one hand, the Kuomintang defenders in Changzhi can be stabilized, making them think that our army has withdrawn from the siege, so that they will not abandon the city and flee, and on the other hand, they can speed up the march. Marching in a hurry one day on October 4, Chen Zaidao led his troops to the designated location at the foot of Mopannao Mountain.After connecting with the headquarters, Liu Bocheng told Chen Zaidao: "Don't chew on this bone in Changzhi, let's eat the fat in front of us first. Chen Geng in Laoyeling and Chen Xilian in Mopannao have already held down the enemy's two legs Hurry up and lead your troops to move north from the middle avenue and dig out the enemy's eggs." On October 5, our army began its general offensive.The Taiyue column captured Laoyeling at all costs, and the Taihang column also controlled Mopannao as scheduled.Sure enough, the enemy's morale was shaken, and they broke through to the north at night.The troops of our army intersected fiercely from the front, side and rear, and the enemy soon broke into an army, fled in all directions, and surrendered one after another.During the war until the evening of the 6th, the enemy was wiped out except for 2,000 people who fled back to Qin County. Peng Yubin, the deputy commander-in-chief of the enemy who threatened all the way that "the upper party must fight and Changzhi must be protected" was killed, and dozens of senior officers were captured . The reinforcements were wiped out, and the Changzhi defenders were panicked and completely hopeless. On October 8, they abandoned the city to break through.It was only when they left the city that they realized that they had fallen into the vast ocean of the people's war.At the back was the pursuit of the besieging troops, in the front was the brave interception of the Victory Division who had just annihilated the reinforcements, and on the two wings were the local corps and militia armed forces. "Seize the enemy desperately!" Liu Deng gave an order, and the tide of troops from all directions generally surrounded the enemy in the Jiangjunling and Taochuan areas east of Qinhe River and wiped them out. Chiang Kai-shek's first claw stretched out for "picking peaches"— - Shi Zebo, deputy commander-in-chief of the 8th Army of the Kuomintang and commander of the 19th Army, was captured alive. So far, the battle of Shangdang has ended victoriously.The troops of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region wiped out 13 enemy divisions and 1 advancing column with a total of more than 35,000 people, and seized 24 mountain artillery pieces, more than 2,000 light and heavy machine guns, and more than 16,000 long and short guns. The weight of the Shangdang weighed heavily on the negotiating table in Chongqing, which strengthened the position of the CCP in the negotiations in Chongqing.When Chiang Kai-shek heard the news, he was very annoyed as if he had been hit by a sap.In order to deal with the condemnation of the public opinion, he wanted to cover up his misdemeanor and put all the responsibility on Yan Xishan: "This is a matter that Yan Xishan himself took charge of, and the central government does not know about it." After Mao Zedong heard the news of Shangdang's victory, he happily said to the people around him: "Good fight! The bigger the fight, the more victorious we are, and the greater our hope of going back." The victory of the Shangdang Campaign was a strong support for Mao Zedong's negotiations in Chongqing.Although our party went to Chongqing with a desire for peace, Mao Zedong knew very well in his heart: Without a tit-for-tat struggle and without teaching the Kuomintang authorities a lesson, Chiang Kai-shek would not have signed the peace agreement. On October 10, the historic "Double Ten Agreement" was finally signed. Mao Zedong returned to Yan'an safely. On October 17, Mao Zedong waved his powerful hand and made a report "About the Chongqing Negotiations" to the party and government personnel who stayed in Yan'an. He said with great energy: "Why did the Kuomintang mobilize so many troops to attack us? ?Because it has decided a long time ago that it wants to eliminate the power of the people and destroy us. It is best to eliminate it quickly; even if it cannot be eliminated quickly, it will make our situation more unfavorable and its situation more favorable. Peace This article was written in the agreement, but in fact it has not been realized. Now some places are fighting quite a lot, such as in the Shangdang area of ​​Shanxi. There is a foot basin between Taihang Mountain, Taiyue Mountain, and Zhongtiao Mountain, which is the Shangdang District .In that foot basin, there was fish and meat, and Yan Xishan sent 13 divisions to grab it. Our policy was also set long ago, which is tit for tat and every inch of land. This time, we were 'right',' The battle was fought, and the "right" was very good, and the "fight" was very good. That is to say, all 13 of their divisions were wiped out. Their attacking army totaled 38,000 people, and we dispatched 31,000 people. Of their 38,000, 35,000 were wiped out, 2,000 escaped, and 1,000 were scattered. This kind of battle will continue.” More than 40 years later, Bo Yibo, then deputy political commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, said: "The Battle of the Shangdang was a major battle fought by our army against the Kuomintang army, and it was the first battle to defend the victory of the War of Resistance. In fact, this battle It opened the prelude to the great war of liberation. Therefore, it wrote an important page in the glorious history of the Chinese people's war of liberation."