Chapter 23 The Eighth Route Army Headquarters issued an anti-"mopping up" combat order

The North China Front Army and the Puppet Army of the Japanese Army, after being attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army in two consecutive stages, felt the seriousness of the threat to them. The biggest scourge in terms of public security. They avoided direct combat with the Japanese army, and took advantage of the emptiness of the Japanese army's equipment to search for our team to attack. However, they recently abandoned the previous policy after August 20, and attacked Shanxi, all of Hebei, and Mongolia and Xinjiang. Part of the area, boldly carried out an unprecedented, comprehensive and organized attack. Destroying railways, highways, communication lines and attacking small units of the Japanese army. It is necessary to consider whether such attempts by the Communist Army will be decisive in the long run carry out, or adopt a new method of combat based on the expansion of the force." He also said: "Although the domestic and international situation may not be beneficial to the Communist forces in North China, it goes without saying that using them as the target of suppression is to ensure public security. The central issue. In particular, the relocation of the Communist Army to North China will directly affect the security of North China, so we must pay special attention to its movements.”

In order to stabilize the situation in North China and consolidate its occupied areas, the Japanese North China Front Army launched a frenzied retaliatory "sweep" on Taihang, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, Taiyue, and the anti-Japanese bases behind enemy lines in Northwest Shanxi from October 6.Wherever they went, they killed people when they saw them, robbed food when they saw them, and raped women when they saw them. In response to the "mopping up" retaliation by the Japanese and puppet troops, on October 19, 1940, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army issued an anti-"mopping up" combat order to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the 120th Division, and the 129th Division.Point out: The Japanese and puppet troops gathered troops from all over the country to "sweep" our mountainous areas wantonly. The head of the Katayama Brigade personally commanded five or six thousand people to "sweep" the Taibei, and fought with the main force of our 129th Division for more than a week. back to the original place.Pingxi is in the midst of intense "mopping up" and anti-"mopping up" operations; at the same time, the enemy bandits are also gathering troops around the Jinchaji border area, and it is estimated that the hostile Pingxi is "mopping up".After returning to Zhengtai Road, the three companies of an air brigade of the Taibei enemy may turn to the border area and begin to "sweep" the Jinchaji border area.It is required that Pingxi's anti-"mopping up" operations should be carried out with the principle of resolute guerrilla warfare, exhausting and exhausting the enemy, and achieving partial annihilation of the enemy, but it is not worth (advisable) to engage in a major decisive battle; "The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area should immediately prepare to smash the The party, the government, the army, and the people should cooperate earnestly to carry out in-depth combat mobilization for the enemy's "mopping up" operations, although (the troops) should assemble in appropriate positions, take proper rest, and prepare to resolutely eliminate one or two invading enemies." "In order to cooperate with the anti-'sweeping' operations in the Jinchaji border area, the 129th Division should immediately approach and attack Zhengtai Road with no less than three regiments, and the 120th Division should attack the Yanmen Pass north and south with four regiments. On Tongpu Road, Jizhong District should use powerful troops to attack the Ping-Han line, and Pingxi District should use powerful troops to cooperate with the south. All these districts should pay attention to the closest contact with the intake."

On November 11, Peng Dehuai issued another instruction "Mobilize and Resolutely Counter "Sweeping Up"", pointing out: "The current 'sweeping' of our anti-Japanese base areas by the enemy is more serious than ever before. North China, and actively anti-communist drug tactics to induce Jiang to surrender. We must fully estimate the seriousness and cruelty of this big "sweep". Repeated "sweeps" for a long time, even anti-"sweeps", may also be met Burning and killing. The mobilization has drawn the attention of the party, government, military and civilians, and all mobilized to defend the base area and hometown, and resolutely fight against the enemy's crazy "sweep." The policy of "burning houses immediately, and burning all livestock and food when they see them" requires "careful inspections by working party members who clear out empty houses."Requires "extensive guerrilla warfare, resolutely attack and destroy the enemy, disperse the troops, so that the enemy dare not let go, disperse and burn houses and kill people. Concentrate the main force and annihilate one or two enemy brigades under favorable circumstances." The reserves are constantly replenishing the main force."

According to the spirit of the orders and instructions of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, the 129th Division, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and the 120th Division, with the strong support of the people in Taihang, Taiyue, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, Shanxi Northwest and other anti-Japanese base areas , Carrying forward the style of continuous combat and not afraid of sacrifice, from October 6, 1940 to January 24, 1941, launched a heroic anti-"mopping up" operation. On October 6, more than 800 Japanese troops from Wu'an invaded Yangyi and Huangzeguan. On the 11th, part of the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army set off from near Liao County, and part of the 36th Division set off from near Lucheng, with a total of more than 3,000 people. In the area between Wuxiang and Wuxiang, the area south of Suqing-Yuliao-Liao Highway and the area north of Wuxiang and Panlong shall be surrounded by pictures.Facing the Japanese offensive, the 129th Division was caught off guard. Except for the New 10th Brigade, which moved to the outer line in time, the 385th Brigade, 386th Brigade, and the First Deathly Brigade were surrounded by the Japanese army in the attack circle.The division headquarters was forced to use the 385th Brigade, 386th Brigade, and the Desperate 1st Column to resist on the inside, while the New 10th Brigade looked for opportunities to wipe out the enemy on the outside. On the 11th, more than 1,000 people from the 36th Division of the Japanese Army defeated the No. 1 Column, captured Shanglian Town in the west of Licheng, crossed the Zhang River in the east, and fell into Langzhuang. On the 12th, more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers from Wuxiang repelled the blocking forces of the 385th Brigade and 386th Brigade, and captured Panlong. On the 14th, the Japanese army invaded Dongtian and Zuohui from the front lines of Hongshui, Panlong, and Xiying, and fought fiercely with the 385th and 386th Brigades. Our army suffered heavy casualties. On the morning of the 15th, two regiments of the New 10th Brigade ambushed the Japanese transport convoy in Gongjiagou on the Heliao Highway, destroying more than 40 vehicles and killing more than 100 enemies. On the 16th, our 385th Brigade and 386th Brigade split up to flank the enemy who invaded Dongtian and Zuohui, and the enemy retreated to Hongshui, Xiangyuan, and Lucheng separately. On the 17th, the enemy retreated to the starting point.

From November 17th, the 37th Division, the 16th Independent Mixed Brigade, and the 41st Division of the Japanese Army set off from Qinxian, Pingyao, Jiexiu, Huoxian, Hongdong and other places, about 7,000 People "mopped up" Taiyue District.The Taiyue Military Region of the 129th Division organized the main force into Qin (Yuan) East and Qin (Yuan) West detachments. With the cooperation of guerrillas and militias, they moved on both sides of the Qin River, looking for opportunities to attack the Japanese army. Until the 27th , Annihilating nearly 300 Japanese troops, forcing them to retreat on December 5.

Starting from October 13, the Japanese and puppet troops "mopped up" the anti-Japanese base area in Pingxi (west of today's Beijing) with more than 10,000 people. "Sweep".The Japanese and puppet troops in Baoding and Mancheng went from east to west, and the enemies of Yixian, Dalonghua, Wang'anzhen, Laiyuan, and Chijianling went from north to south, cooperating with each other in an attempt to force our army to fight a decisive battle in a small area. On the 10th, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region issued an anti-"mopping-up" operational policy, requiring all units to avoid the enemy's edge in the first stage of the enemy's attack, fortify the wall and clear the field, and use active guerrilla warfare to exhaust and consume the enemy to the maximum extent. Prepare to attack the enemy at the right time, annihilate one or two enemy lines, so as to reverse the battle situation and crush the enemy's "mopping up"; all rear agencies must be properly organized and independently scattered in appropriate areas to rotate and hide. On the 12th, in response to the burning and sabotage actions of the Japanese army, he also instructed: the main force can still be dispersed (no more than one-third of the troops) to resolutely attack the burning enemy.

On November 9th, more than 6,000 Japanese and puppet troops set off from Laiyuan, Baoding, and Yixian County, and successively attacked Guantou, Yinfang, Huangtuling, Shentou and other places, and fought fiercely with the troops of our first army division. On the 12th, the divisions of the First Army withdrew from the battle one after another, and the Japanese army also retreated in separate ways after burning and killing. On the 14th, more than 800 people on the enemy's road were intercepted by the first regiment of the first military division and the twenty-fifth regiment on the way to retreat from Wujiazhuang to Yuangang.

On the 12th, more than 2,700 Japanese troops dispatched from Wanxian, Tangxian, Dingxian, Zhengding, and Xingtang to invade the areas belonging to the three military divisions. On the 14th, about 2,600 Japanese and puppet troops from Dingxiang, Dongye, and Wutai invaded Fuping and its southwest region in two ways.The Japanese army responded on the east and west lines, and after breaking through the blockade of our third and fifth army divisions, they jointly attacked Taiyu to the north of Fuping on the 16th.Prior to this, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Command, the command organs of the Third and Fifth Army Divisions, and the Second, Third, and Sixth Regiments had jumped out of the enemy's encirclement and transferred to the outside line in due course.However, the guerrilla army responsible for the cover mission suffered heavy losses. More than 100 people including Commander Wang Pu and Deputy Director of the Political Department Hao Yumin died heroically. On the evening of the 18th, the enemy entered and occupied Fuping after repelling the resistance of the troops of the three divisions. On the 19th, 1,200 enemies from Zupei Fort captured Wu Wangji on the 20th.

While the main force of the military region was fighting against the invading enemy in the base area, various guerrilla units also continued to attack the enemy on the outside line, disrupting the enemy's rear. On the night of the 21st, the Second Regiment dispatched more than 30 people to sneak into Dangcheng and attacked the Japanese army dormitory with grenades, causing the Japanese army to panic and gunshots continued all night long. On the 25th, the Japanese army began to retreat after destroying the facilities. On the 26th, four plainclothes members of the First Military Division attacked the meeting place where the Japanese army was holding a meeting in Baoding with grenades, causing the Japanese army to panic.As of December 3, except for more than 1,000 Japanese troops stationed in Fuping, Wang Kuai, Dangcheng, and Quyang to continue "sweeping", the rest have withdrawn from the base areas.

From October 25 to early November, the Japanese 16th Independent Mixed Brigade, with 4,000 members, "mopped up" the Eighth Army Division and the Three Army Divisions in Miyu and Loufan areas in Northwest Shanxi. The main force of the 120th Division was not captured, so they withdrew . On December 14, the Japanese army dispatched the 37th Division, the 41st Division, and the 26th Division, and each of the 3rd, 9th, and 16th Independent Mixed Brigades once again "mopped up" Northwest Shanxi.As of the 23rd, the Japanese army successively occupied all the county towns and most of the market towns and the Yellow River ferry in northwest Shanxi Province except Hequ and Baode.Subsequently, the Japanese army repeatedly raided to find and wipe out the main force of the 120th Division, destroying various facilities in the base area, causing huge losses of life and property to the people in the base area.In response to the raids by the Japanese army, the units of the 120th Division avoided the large Japanese troops and moved to the outer line to attack the enemy: the Division of the Fourth Army successively attacked strongholds such as Fangshan, Yukou, and Xinyi, and attacked Linxian County four times; Invaded Dongguan of Xingxian County, and ambushed the Japanese army in the south of Xingxian County; the 385th Brigade and the Gongwei Brigade conducted multiple attacks and blocked the enemies who "swept" Miyu; Northern Japanese stronghold.

By the 27th, the 120th Division had fought a total of more than 100 times, hitting the Japanese army's "clearance and suppression" and cutting off the main lines of communication of the Japanese army such as Taifen, Xinlan, and Shenke.At this time, the enemy found that the main force of the 120th Division had not been captured, so they changed the "clearance and suppression" to building roads, setting up strongholds, and trying to garrison for a long time. In order to smash the conspiracy of the Japanese army, the 120th Division organized the masses to attack the road traffic lines from Xingxian to Lanxian, Fangshan to Dawu, and Sanjiao to Dawu.At the same time, various ministries on the internal and external lines took active actions to attack enemy strongholds and destroy maintenance committees, making it difficult for the enemy to gain a foothold in the base areas.However, these actions failed to shake the enemy's determination to encircle and annihilate our army's command organization. On December 28, a part of the enemy in Xingxian County marched northward, and went straight to Weijiacha, where the Northwest Military Region of Shanxi was located.Our leadership immediately moved to the Baicaogou area south of Xingxian County. After the enemy was overwhelmed, they retreated from Jiehekou to Lanxian County. On the 29th, after the enemy staying in Xingxian County burned the county seat, they retreated to Jiehekou, and on the 30th they retreated to Dashetou.Our teaching group and the Xing County Public Security Bureau each withdrew when they saw the enemy, and immediately followed up to recover the county.But they never expected that the retreat of the Japanese and puppet troops was a fraud. On the night of January 1, the Japanese army retreated to Dashetou suddenly returned to the west, and raided Xingxian County at dawn the next day.Our army was caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. On the 3rd, the enemy "mopped up" the mountains southwest of Xing County.At noon that day, my leading agency was captured near Xiaoshan Bank.Based on the favorable terrain, the four companies of our security forces resisted tenaciously and covered the transfer of the leading organs of our party, government and army with great sacrifices, which made the enemy's joint attack plan come to nothing. On January 6, 1941, due to repeated attacks on the transportation line and increasingly tight supplies, the Japanese and puppet troops could not gain a foothold in the base area and were forced to retreat.Each division of our 120th Division launched a pursuit operation.But the results were not great. Only the fifth and sixth regiments of the Second Desperate Column set up ambushes in Mayukou north of Fenyang and Shishazhuang north of Wenshui, annihilating more than 300 Japanese soldiers below the captain. By January 25, all Japanese and puppet troops returned to their original strongholds, and the battle ended.