Chapter 31 The Hundred Regiments War is over, keep it secret

Just as the front line of the Yangtze River and the southwest rear were attacked and bombed in a mess by the Japanese army, and the Japanese were planning to end the old nest in Chongqing, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly received a telegram from Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighteenth Army, and Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief.When Chiang Kai-shek saw the telegram, he was surprised, delighted, and suspicious. He saw that the telegram read in black and white: Chairman Jiang Junjian: (1) The commissioner sent repeated telegrams stating that the enemy had concentrated the strength of the two divisions in Taiyuan, gradually strengthened southern Shanxi, and was preparing to attack Tongluo.According to repeated reports from various corps of the Ministry of Staff, the number of enemies outside the pass has increased to the inside of the pass, and the enemies in Jinpu, central Hebei, and southern Hebei have successively moved southward and concentrated in the eastern section of Longhai. line attempt.

(2) In order to combat the enemy's attempts, cooperate with the friendly forces in southern Shanxi and central China to defend the Northwest, and break the enemy's plan to destroy the anti-Japanese base areas in North China to implement this policy, the Ministry of Staff decided to organize a hundred regiments to launch a large-scale attack on the Zhengtai Line war.Cut off the line within a time limit, completely destroy the railway traffic and main highway lines, carry out large-scale destruction, and cut off their traffic, so as to completely smash the enemy's attempt to invade the Northwest and strive for a better situation in the entire war.The Hundred Regiments Campaign has been prepared for a month, but I am afraid that the telegram will not be kept secret, and there may be leaks, so I did not report it early, I hereby declare.

(3) In the Hundred Regiments Campaign, except for the main force of the 15th Division, one of the divisions, and Shandong troops that were not included in the battle order, the 120th Division, the main force of each department of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and the death squad requested to participate in the battle. There are 105 regiments in total. It is an unprecedented active main force attacking the enemy since the North China War of Resistance.I would like to report the deployment of troops in the war as follows: (A) 30 regiments on the Zhengtai Line. (B) 15 regiments on the Ping-Han Line from Lugouqiao to Handan. (C) 12 regiments on the Tongpu line from Datong to Hongdong. (D) 4 regiments on the Jinpu line from Tianjin to Dezhou. (E) 6 regiments on the Fenjun Highway. (Si) 6 regiments on the Baijin Line. (G) 2 regiments on the Beining line, (Xin) 2 regiments on the Pingsui line. (Ni) 4 groups of pumice line. (Gui) 4 regiments on Deshi Road, (sub) Handan Line 3 regiments, (ugly) Daixian to Weiju Line 4 regiments. (Yin) 6 regiments from Beiping to Datong on the Pingda line. (d) 3 regiments in Pingshun, Liaoxian County on the Liaoping Line, 4 regiments in Ningwu, Kelan, and Jingle, a total of 105 regiments, and have been divided into three groups, divided into Nie Rongzhen, He Long, Guan Xiangying, Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping commanded it.

The battle started at 20:00 on August 20th. The prologue of the battle was won, and all traffic cutoffs on Zhengquan Line have been achieved.The war is developing, please refer to the battle report for the battle situation.Please distribute the telegrams to all theaters and friendly forces to suppress the current enemy and facilitate the progress of the war.I would like to inform you by telegram. Post Zhu De, Peng Dehuai.keep. Chiang Kai-shek took the telegram and was suspicious for a long time. He couldn't recover for a long time, and couldn't believe this fact.When did the Eighth Route Army develop and grow to such an extent?Incredible!

Chiang Kai-shek and the gang of high-ranking officers in the Chongqing Command also felt a little relieved that the Communist Party and the Kuomintang were fighting against the same enemy after all. Such a hundred-regiment battle came, stabbing the Japanese severely from the back, and greatly reducing the pressure on the Yangtze River.It can be seen that in order to save the nation from peril, the Communist Party fought bravely against the enemy under the banner of the Anti-Japanese United Front, which is indeed consistent with words and deeds. Chiang Kai-shek immediately distributed telegrams to each theater to pay attention to the actions of the Japanese army in front of them, so as to prevent them from turning their troops northward.He also ordered Wei Lihuang's troops stationed in Zhongtiao Mountain in southern Shanxi to send troops to destroy railways and roads and cooperate with a hundred regiments to fight.

After that, from August 22 to the end of September, Zhu De and Peng Dehuai sent an average of three to four hundred regiment battle reports to Chiang Kai-shek every day.Each battle report stated in detail that the Eighth Route Army, whether large or small, attacked the Japanese army, or achieved major victories or small victories.A few excerpts are as follows: The eighth report, August 24. Chen Geng's brigade, Chen Zhenghong's regiment, cooperated with the death squad Ma Wantu to attack the Nanguan and Qinxian sections of Baijin Road. The battle report is as follows: The source railway was completely destroyed, and more than 800 catties of wires were collected.The results of the sabotage force in the Xiangyuan section of Qin County are to be reported.Etc.I would like to hear.

The Japanese army, from the Central Command to the Japanese invaders, was shocked by the surprise attack launched by the Eighth Route Army.The Central Army Department of the Japanese Army exclaimed strangely: "...the Chinese Communist Army resolutely launched a major counterattack in North China on the night of August 20, which was called the 'Hundred Regiment War'," and "dealed a huge blow to the North China Front Army." It is recorded in the combat records of the Japanese North China Front Army: The Communist Army entrenched in the North China area, according to the so-called "Hundred Regiment War" deployed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Eighteenth Army Zhu De, on the night of August 20, 1940, they all attacked our communication lines and production areas (mainly for mines).Especially in Shanxi, it was even more violent. When attacking the guards on Shitai Road and the northern section of Tongpu Road, they also blew up and destroyed railways, bridges, and communication facilities, completely destroying wells and coal mines.This attack was completely unexpected by our army, and the losses were huge, requiring a long period of time and huge sums of money to recover.

Since the Anti-Japanese War, the arrogant Japanese army has never paid attention to the people's anti-Japanese strength, thinking that North China is already their occupied area, it is their world, and it is their safe "backyard".As of October 1940, the deployment of Japanese troops was as follows: "If the density of troops in North China at that time was 1, then it would be 3.5 in Wuhan and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Delta, and 3.9 in South China." The launch of the Hundred Regiments War caught the Japanese army in North China by surprise, and they exclaimed that "the Japanese army never thought that the CCP's power could expand to such an extent" and "it was completely unexpected by the Japanese army."The headquarters of the China Expeditionary Army hurriedly transferred the 33rd Division from the 11th Army in Wuhan, and the 17th Division from the 13th Army in Shanghai, and transferred them to the North China Front Army to counterattack the "Eighth Route Army that has been lurking underground in the past".

This was a completely successful surprise attack by the large corps, and the secret of its success far exceeded the results of the battle itself. At the end of the war, Chiang Kai-shek immediately sent a telegram to "reward" Zhu De, Peng Dehuai and all the soldiers who participated in the war: "Your Ministry saw this good opportunity and attacked resolutely, which dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. I hereby commend you." People from all walks of life in Chongqing and other places launched activities to condolences to the troops participating in the war, which lasted for a week.

In this way, from August 20th to December 5th, the Hundred Regiments Campaign, which lasted 3 months and 15 days, ended with a great victory for our army and civilians behind the enemy and a heavy defeat for the enemy.The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to stop the battle, but in order to confuse the enemy, it was kept secret. On December 22, 1940, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Wang Jiaxiang, who were in Yan'an, called Peng Dehuai: "Don't announce the end of the Hundred Regiments War." The Hundred Regiments Campaign was a full-scale offensive campaign independently launched by the Chinese Communist Party under very difficult conditions during the War of Resistance Against Japan, with the largest number of troops participating in the war, the longest duration, and the most brilliant results.During the nearly three-and-a-half-month campaign, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians fought bloody battles against the Japanese invaders on the battlefield behind enemy lines in North China, demonstrating the indomitable heroism of the Chinese nation and the greatest contribution of the Communist Party of China to the final victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression one.

The Hundred Regiments War dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army. Even the Japanese army had to admit that "the Japanese army who suffered from the "Hundred Regiments Offensive" of the Communist Army, from the corps in various places to the armies and front armies, gained valuable lessons from painful experience. The lesson has changed the understanding of the Communist Party.” The news of the victory of the Hundred Regiments War shook the skies of our troubled country for a long time, and the hearts of the people in the country were lifted. On September 25, 1940, Zhu De published an article in the "Military and Political Magazine of the Eighth Route Army" discussing the significance of the Hundred Regiments War, pointing out that it contained the enemy's attempt to attack our northwest rear and southwest, and broke the enemy's "prisoner" against our anti-Japanese base areas. The cage policy" dealt a severe blow to the enemy's plot of "supporting war with war". "Ta Kung Pao" reported on September 6, 1940: Since the 20th of last month, our army has launched a large-scale mobile warfare in the north. Pinghan, Zhengtai, and Tongpu three roads launched counterattacks at the same time, and the railway was destroyed everywhere... This offensive has just been launched, and it has been unprecedentedly fierce, and it has reaped good results; but the three armies have used their lives, everyone is brave, and the offensive is fierce, and the results of the battle will continue to expand.The victory of the north is at the beginning, and the significance in the overall situation is particularly great. The victory of the Hundred Regiments War also caused a shock in the world.The Soviet "Red Star" commented: "The Chinese army in North China is currently conducting active operations in Shanxi Province. The Eighth Route Army is launching a large-scale offensive. The guerrilla warfare is also intensifying near Shandong Province and Beiping. The Chinese... He has always shown a high degree of popular support and faith in his own strength. The Chinese people are fighting for freedom and independence and for the final victory, and they still show the greatest determination and cannot be shaken." The famous American journalist Smedley wrote: "After a long period of planning , Zhu De and Peng Dehuai issued the final order in early August 1940 to launch the Hundred Regiments Campaign against the Japanese army.... The entire North China region, from the mountains of northern Shanxi to the east coast, from the Yellow River in the south to the Great Wall in the north, has become a battlefield. Fighting day and night , fought continuously for five months. One hundred regiments hit the enemy's entire economy, lines of communication and blockade. The fighting was fierce and merciless. All the enemy's coal mines, power plants, railways, bridges, road vehicles and telecommunications were destroyed .”