Chapter 20 14. The largest battle in the Occupation of Northeast China - the Battle of Harbin

Harbin, when we mention it today, our first impression is that it is the capital of Heilongjiang Province. In the 1930s, this place had nothing to do with Heilongjiang. It belonged to the special area of ​​Eastern Province, and it could be regarded as a buffer between Jilin and Heilongjiang. After the "September 18th" incident, the Japanese side quickly created many incidents in Harbin, thieves shouted to catch thieves, trying to find a reason to occupy Harbin.However, due to the strategic decision of the Japanese army to attack the Ma Zhanshan Department in Qiqihar first, until the end of January 1932, there was still no war in Harbin. Only the puppet that the Japanese found, Zhang Jinghui, the governor of the Eastern Province Special Administrative Region, was active in Harbin, trying to win over the garrison and politicians to join Japan. .

Since most of the Chinese military and government officials in Kazakhstan were unwilling to submit to rebellion, the Japanese army attacked Harbin from January to February 1932, and fierce battles broke out between the Chinese and Japanese armies here.The photo on the title picture was taken during the battle in early February 1932. Both sides used tens of thousands of troops and heavy weapons to launch artillery battles around the urban area. It was the largest battle for the Japanese army to capture the three eastern provinces. Generally, we have the impression that the fall of the Middle East and Northeast "hasn't fired a shot", which is of course a bit exaggerated, but if it is said that both sides dispatched tens of thousands of people in a battle, it seems a bit inappropriate if it was almost the scale of a war of annihilation in the Middle Ages in Europe. possible.

We can look at the numbers of the two parties involved in the war—— The troops guarding Harbin on the Chinese side are mainly the Jilin Garrison of the Northeast Army, including the 22nd Infantry Brigade (Brigade Commander Zhao Yi), the 24th Infantry Brigade (Brigade Commander Li Du), and the 26th Infantry Brigade (Brigade Commander Li Du). Chang Xing Zhanqing), the 28th Infantry Brigade (Brigade Commander Ding Chao), the Feng Zhanhai Department of the Self-Defense Force composed of the Jilin Provincial Government Guard Corps and some Green Forest Armed Forces, and the Ma Zhanshan Department of Heilongjiang Province also arrived near the battlefield to provide solidarity.

The main force of the Japanese army attacking Harbin was the 2nd Sendai Division, the 3rd Brigade of Major General Hasebe Terasaku was the right wing, the 15th Brigade of Amano Rokuro was the left wing, and there were also six puppet brigades incorporated.The Suzuki Meitong Mixed Fourth Brigade stationed in Qiqihar was also ordered to participate in the battle, but because the anti-Japanese troops blocked its communication line, the train was blocked many times and could not pass and failed to arrive on time. In fact, it did not participate in the Harbin battle. During the "September 18th" incident, there were seven brigades in the local garrison in Jilin. Except for two brigades who surrendered to the enemy, Zhang Zuozhou's 25th brigade was defeated in the previous battle. The rest of the troops were almost here. Therefore, the Harbin defense battle can It is said to be a desperate battle of the Jilin Northeast Army Anti-Japanese Forces.

After the Northeast Army entered the customs, when the national government reorganized it, a brigade of the Northeast Army was organized into a division intact.Therefore, the Chinese army concentrated in Harbin, even if Feng Zhanhai's department is only counted as the official designation of the Jilin Provincial Government Guard Regiment, during the period of the all-out war of resistance, there would still be four divisions and one regiment to face off against one division of the Japanese army and six puppet troops. Traveling is still a struggle. However, because the main force of the Northeast Army abandoned Jinzhou, Zhang Xueliang canceled the regular army designation of the former Northeast Army troops in the three provinces of Liaoji, Jilin and Heilongjiang to show that there was no regular Chinese army in the Northeast to fight the Japanese army, which was convenient for the League of Nations to intervene. Therefore, these troops can be said to be members of the Northeast Army. Foundling.They have lost their weapons and ammunition, and they have no backup to look forward to, and the reinforcements of the Japanese army are constantly being transferred from the mainland and North Korea to the three eastern provinces. Therefore, there is not much suspense about the victory or defeat of this battle.

Then why did the defenders still fight? The commanders of these troops resisted Japan, some out of patriotism to defend their homeland, and some were determined to protect their own interests because of the pressure of the enemy and puppet forces.But in any case, these generals can be called heroes if they chose to fight against Japan instead of surrendering to the enemy and rebelling under the circumstances that they have been abandoned.The common problem they face is that the troops have been cut off from the enemy's rear, and it is impossible to withdraw to the pass. In the north, the Soviet Union has just fought a war with the Northeast Army. bandit".

It is difficult to win a war, but surrender without a fight. Under difficulties, these old Chinese soldiers resolutely chose to defend the city and fight against the enemy. This is why Sa called them heroes. The defense of Harbin began on January 25 and was abandoned on February 5. It lasted for 11 days, and there were three major battles: The first stage was from January 25th to January 28th. Just like the attack on Qiqihar, the Japanese army still used the puppet army as the vanguard when attacking Harbin. On January 25, Xiqia's "Jilin Provincial Bandit Suppression Commander-in-Chief" Yu Chencheng led the puppet army to invade Harbin on a large scale and arrived in the southern suburbs. Because there were a large number of officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army in the puppet army, they were unwilling to fight against their own people. As a result of the battle, Yu Chencheng was defeated. Although the Japanese army sent artillery to assist in the battle, it was of no avail. Captain Shimizu on it was killed.

In the second stage, from January 29 to January 30, the Hasebe Brigade of the Japanese Army invaded the Shuangcheng of Harbin.Zhao Yi, commander of the 22nd brigade of the guard, took the lead and attacked Liu Baolin's mixed brigade left behind by Yu Chencheng to monitor Harbin.Due to the complicated situation at the time, Liu Baolin mistook that the Harbin defenders were about to compromise, and was caught off guard, and a brigade of 4,000 people was beaten to pieces. On the night of the 29th, Zhao Yi repeated the scene of the night attack, raiding the Hasebe brigade that had captured Shuangcheng and was resting.Although the Japanese recorded less than 100 casualties, it also said that Hasebe's brigade commander was almost captured. It seems that the loss was not small.However, after dawn on the 30th, Japanese aircraft covered reinforcements to attack Zhao Yi's troops. Zhao Yi couldn't resist and was defeated back to Harbin.

The defeat of Zhao Yi's solitary army exposed the problem of the lack of a leader in Harbin. On January 31, various ministries in Kazakhstan publicly elected General Li Du, the garrison envoy of Yilan and commander of the 24th brigade, as the commander-in-chief of the Jilin Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Army, and deployed to defend Harbin. It's too late.The defenders were not first-class troops in the Northeast Army, so they did not enter the customs with the provincial chairman Zhang Zuoxiang to participate in the civil war. They do not belong to each other, lack mutual support, and integration is not a one-day effort.

At the same time, after several battles in the periphery, Zhao Yi's 22nd Brigade suffered heavy casualties. Li Du only brought one regiment, and suffered heavy losses just like Feng Zhanhai's. During the battle, Xing Zhanqing's brigade collapsed due to the unstable morale of the army. Finally, Harbin City abandoned its defense on January 5. Li Du, Ding Chao, Zhao Yi and others led the army to retreat to Yilan, and the defense of Harbin ended. Although the scale of this battle is not small, there is no video material of this battle in the Chinese records. These photos found in Japan may show the style of this battle from another aspect.