Zhongtiao Mountain, with its back facing the Yellow River, spans the southwest of the mountain, connects the vast Taihang Mountain in the east and the majestic Jishan Mountain in the west, with a length of more than 3 miles and a width of more than 1 miles. It is a strategic place to protect Henan and Shaanxi and protect the northwest. In 1938, General Wei Lihuang, Commander-in-Chief of Jicha Theater, led his troops into the mountain and divided it into three sections, the east and the west, which were guarded by three group armies under his command.
He Yingqin, with 26, troops, built a solid position according to the Zhongtiaoshan Mountain, turning Nuoda Zhongtiaoshan into a solid castle. In the four years from 1938 to the beginning of 1941, the Japanese army attacked Zhongtiao Mountain eight times in an attempt to open the defense line on the north bank of the Yellow River and invade south of the Yellow River. The Japanese army's eight attacks were bruised and bruised, and they were defeated. Wei Lihuang once proudly called Zhongtiaoshan the "maginot line" of China.
however, the Japanese army thinks that the China army of about 26 divisions under the command of He Yingqin in Zhongtiaoshan has become the main source of disturbing North China, especially Shanxi, and it is the "cecal inflammation" in the abdomen of the Japanese army in North China.
may 5.
the Japanese army was determined to cut off this "cecum" and attacked Zhongtiaoshan in nine directions from the east, west and north with the strength of seven divisions, which was extremely fierce.
Prior to this, Chiang Kai-shek personally visited the front line of Zhongtiaoshan and called senior generals to lecture at the headquarters in Wei Lihuang. After Chiang Kai-shek's lecture, he asked the generals to make a statement in person and vowed to defend Zhongtiaoshan. The officers of various armies were so excited that they all made a solemn oath: to be loyal to their duties and swear to live or die with Zhongtiaoshan.
General Sun Weiru, Commander-in-Chief of the 4th Army, rode his horse to inspect the position of the troops. Judging from all aspects, he said: the Japanese army's attack was intended to completely destroy the defenders of Zhongtiaoshan Mountain, knowing that this fierce battle was in danger of life and death, and was determined to command the whole army to fight a decisive battle with the enemy to turn the tide and save the country and the people.
enemy planes flew over Zhongtiaoshan in droves to drop bombs; With the support of a large number of tanks, chariots and cavalry, the Japanese ground troops rushed toward the garrison positions like a flood, and soon broke through the frontier positions and surrounded the defenders. All the way, the Japanese army moved back to the bank of the Yellow River on the side of Zhongtiaoshan, occupied the Yellow River ferry in Pinglu and other places, and cut off the retreat of the defenders of Zhongtiaoshan.
The defenders of Zhongtiaoshan launched an unprecedented tragic life-and-death struggle with the enemy. Many hilltop positions were flattened by enemy planes. On the three hundred-mile Zhongtiao Mountain, every inch of land is burning, roaring and bleeding! A bloody battle for a week, China's army killed and injured tens of thousands of people! General officers at all levels below the commander-in-chief of each group army all fought bloody battles with the enemy in the frontline trenches with guns. Every part of the garrison is facing the situation of running out of ammunition and food. Some troops only kill war horses to feed their hunger, and some troops have eaten up their war horses, so they can only eat wild vegetables and weeds in the mountains to feed their hunger. All the troops still cling to Zhongtiao Mountain to the death, and no one withdraws without authorization.
may 7th.
The middle section of Zhongtiaoshan is a river of blood. The defenders in Wenxi, Xiaxian, Sijiaohe and Zhangdian Town have been divided and surrounded by the Japanese army, and they are fighting alone.
the 36th and 37th divisions and the 16th independent brigade of the Japanese army stormed to the east of Zhangdian town, breaking through the joint between the 3rd Army and the 8th Army, and the two armies were forced to move to the front line of Sijiaohe to resist.
may 8.
Japanese troops swarmed in and attacked the headquarters of the 3rd Army in Tanghui. Because the enemy was outnumbered, Tanghui was quickly captured by Japanese troops, and the 3rd Army was also besieged.
General Tang Huaiyuan, the commander of the army, ordered the troops to break through in regiments, trying to jump out of the iron ring and turn to outside operations. The commander of the Tang Dynasty personally led the secret service battalion of the Ministry of Military Affairs and a regiment to break through, but was intercepted by the Japanese army layer by layer, and finally, he was caught in a tight encirclement near Xiaxian. The commander of the Tang dynasty commanded his troops to rush about, unable to break out of the encirclement, the military department lost contact with its superiors, unable to ask for help, and the soldiers died. The enemy rushed to the vicinity of the military headquarters several times. Tong Heling, the battalion commander of the spy camp, Zhao Shu, the deputy battalion commander, and the soldiers waved big blades and cut the Japanese army out.
By May 13th, Tang Huaiyuan's commander was left with only one guard, and all the others were killed. Tang Junchang looked at the piles of soldiers' bodies and blood-stained positions. He was so angry that he shot himself and died! When the guards saw that the commander had fallen in a heroic martyrdom, they fell on the general's body and lost their voices, then raised their pistols. Shot by the body of Tang Junchang!
may 13th.
General Cunxingqi, the commander of the 12th Division of the 3rd Army, was under siege by the Japanese army in Xianshan area. After several days of bloody battles, they failed to get out of danger, and officers and men died in succession. On May 12th, when Mr. Inch was leading the troops to charge, he was shot in the chest and injured. On the evening of 13th, when he was organizing troops to break through, Inch was blown off by enemy shells. In order not to be captured by the Japanese army, Mr. Inch resolutely committed suicide with a knife!
may 9th.
General Wang Jun, commander of the 27th Division of the 8th Army, and Chen Wenqi, chief of staff, have led their troops in Zhangdian Town for two days. The enemy concentrated artillery fire on the garrison positions, and dozens of enemy planes took turns to bomb and bomb, and cast poison gas. Teacher Wang, Chief of Staff Chen and the following officers and men were all killed.
On the same day, the troops led by Liang Xixian, deputy commander of the 27th Division, fought hard with the Japanese in Taizi Village, and all the officers and men were killed. Japanese troops swarmed in, and Liang Xixian plunged into the roaring Yellow River and died heroically!
may 18th.
The 14th Army has been fighting fiercely in the enemy's encirclement for half a month, with nearly half of the casualties and extremely tired troops. At this time, Commander-in-Chief Liu Maoen received a telegram from Commander Wei Lihuang and ordered the army to retreat to the south bank of the Yellow River. In order to narrow the target and take advantage of the virtual transfer, Commander-in-Chief Liu divided the staff of the Army Command into two parts, led by himself and Chief of Staff Fu Shaoqian respectively. May 19th.
Liu Maoen led his troops to Longyan Town, Jiyuan County, Henan Province. He was surrounded by the Japanese army, but failed several times to break through. The situation was extremely dangerous. His left and right family members urged him to change his plain clothes and try to escape. Liu Maoen, however, said with awe: "As a soldier in China, I died on the battlefield and died with honor. How can I seek temporary peace and lose my national integrity and be laughed at!" After that, he pulled out his pistol and tried to commit suicide. The attendants rushed to hold on to it, and the officers and men all hugged Commander Liu and cried bitterly.
Liu Maoen and the remaining officers and men have run out of ammunition and food, and are desperate for encirclement. They are ready to fight the enemy one last time and make a solemn and stirring preparation for their country.
The night is getting darker, miracles appear, the weather changes suddenly, thunder and lightning are mixed, the wind and rain are raging, mountain torrents are rolling, and the water of the Yellow River sets off huge waves.
Liu Maoen seized this opportunity, under the cover of darkness and wind and rain, successfully broke through the tight encirclement, ventured to cross the natural barrier of the Yellow River, and arrived at the south bank, where he survived.
after a fierce battle, the troops led by Fu Shaoqian, the chief of staff, were lucky enough to be surrounded, but they lost their way in the melee and went into the mountains, lying in the daytime and walking at night. The Yellow River has been blocked by the Japanese army, and there are a large number of Japanese activities everywhere. Chief of Staff Fu thought that if he ran into the enemy again, the whole army would be destroyed, and he would not dare to go near the river bank. He only circled in the enemy circle. On the way to March, Fu ordered the officers and men to put their hats backwards and be ready to surrender at any time to save the lives of the troops.
Later, Fu Chief of Staff and his troops finally got out of the deep mountains, crossed the Yellow River and returned to the organizational system. However, when Liu Maoen heard about the incident that the troops' hats were backward, he couldn't help but fly into a rage, angrily denounced Fu's loss of military integrity, and immediately reported to the commander of the theater to dismiss him for investigation. Xing Liangchen, the commander of the 65th Division of the Ministry, was seriously ill in the front line to direct operations, fainted in the trench and was sent to the rear for medical treatment. When I heard that Zhongtiaoshan was lost in the hospital, I shouted angrily, vomited blood, fell into bed, and died with hatred.
late may.
after the Japanese army captured Xiaxian and Wenxi, they swept south in three ways, reaching the bank of the Yellow River, trying to force the Yellow River, capture the leaky pond, cut off Longhai Road and threaten Luoyang and Tongguan.
Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered the first war zone and the second world war zone to launch a counterattack to stop the enemy from going south. The 13th Army and 4th Army were the main forces in World War II, and they stormed Xiaxian and Wenxi behind enemy lines, forcing the Japanese army to retreat.
the chief of the first war zone ordered Feng Qinzai's 18th army to be left-wing and Li Xingzhong's 96th army to be right-wing, attacking both sides of the enemy. Li Tiejun's 76th Army crossed the Yellow River from Luoyang, and took on the task of confronting the enemy.
The 76th Army, with the 587th Regiment of the 196th Division as the vanguard, crossed the Yellow River and made rapid progress towards Zhang Mao Avenue. Unfortunately, it strayed into the enemy ambush circle east of Miao 'ao. More than 1 soldiers of the whole regiment were marching in a narrow hollow when they were attacked by powerful enemy fire. Li Nanping, the head of the regiment, was shot in more than 3 places and died heroically. More than 1,3 officers and men of the whole regiment died in battle, and none survived ...
After the Japanese army achieved its campaign goal, it used three divisions here to wipe out the base areas behind enemy lines, and since then, the base areas behind enemy lines have entered the most difficult period.