readsfreenovel Chapter 465
Chapter 465
第129师于7月22日下达了准备进行正太战役的指示，指定8个团参战，要求参战部队作好准备。8月18日，在和顺县石拐镇师前进指挥所召集作战会议，传达了本师《关于正大战役的作战命令》[14]。[4]
Battle Map of the Hundred Regiments Campaign
The 120th Division decided to dispatch 20 regiments to focus on destroying the Tongpu Railway and the Xinjing and Fenli highways north of Taiyuan, in support of the Zhengtai Line campaign.[15]
In the initial stage, the total number of troops directly participating in the attack on the Zhengtai Railway was about 20 regiments, and the number of troops participating in the supporting operations far exceeded this number. The Zhengtai Railway was an important transportation lifeline for the Japanese army in North China. If the Zhengtai Railway was attacked, the Japanese army would inevitably counterattack from the east and west sides of the Pinghan and Tongpu railways. In order to prevent the enemy from reinforcing and clamp down on the mobility of the Japanese army in North China, the Eighth Route Army launched a wide range of attacks and recovered enemy-occupied points. As a result, more than 100 regiments of the Eighth Route Army participated in the Zhengtai Campaign or cooperated with the Zhengtai Campaign. [4]
In the second half of 1940, the Japanese army in North China had about 270,000 troops, and the puppet army in North China had about 140,000 troops (including northern Jiangsu). The 4th Independent Mixed Brigade (stationed in Niangziguan and its west, with its headquarters in Yangquan), the 8th Brigade (east of Niangziguan, with its headquarters in Shijiazhuang), and the 9th Brigade (near Taiyuan) were stationed along the Zhengtai Railway and in the vicinity. Before the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army dispatched six infantry battalions and one mountain artillery battalion from North China to Wuhan on July 20 to strengthen the 11th Army's defense of the area. Among them were troops from the 4th and 9th Independent Mixed Brigades. In addition, the main force of the 8th Independent Mixed Brigade was "mopping up" in central Hebei, so the number of Japanese troops along the Zhengtai Railway was relatively reduced. [4]
Battle
The Hundred Regiments Campaign went through two active offensive phases and one anti-"mopping up" phase.
1.第一阶段（1940年8月20日至1940年9月10日）
Destroy the railway at Niangzi Pass[12]
The first phase lasted 20 days, with the central task being to disrupt Japanese military transportation, with a focus on destroying the Zhengtai Road. In the first 10 days, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and the 129th Division focused on destroying the Zhengtai Road. In the second 10 days, the Japanese army counterattacked, and the Eighth Route Army withdrew from the Zhengtai Road. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region then attacked the Yu County area north of the Zhengtai Road, while the 129th Division attacked the Japanese troops who were "mopping up" the area, and the 120th Division cooperated in combat in northwest Shanxi. [4]
On August 20, 1940, the Eighth Route Army braved the rain and crossed valleys and rivers, avoiding the Japanese army’s outer strongholds and moving directly to both sides of the Zhengtai Road. That night, they launched a surprise attack on the entire Zhengtai Road, successfully achieving a surprise attack. [4]
The right column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region (commanded by the 5th and 19th Regiments) was responsible for attacking the section of the Zhengtai Railway from Niangziguan to Luanliu.[16] At 20:00 on the 20th, a part of the 5th Regiment, the main attack force of the right column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, first sneaked into Niangziguan Village and annihilated the puppet troops in the village. At dawn, Niangziguan was captured. Afterwards, the main force covered the engineers, destroyed a large number of enemy fortifications, and blew up the Guandong Railway Bridge. Then, they took the initiative to withdraw from Niangziguan.[4]
The Eighth Route Army troops led by Guo Tianmin and Liu Daosheng occupied Niangzi Pass. (Photo by Sha Fei)
On the night of August 20, 1940, the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment attacked Mohetan and was counterattacked by the Japanese army. They withdrew from the station at dawn on the 21st. That night, the 1st Company crossed the Mian River and attacked the station. The enemy retreated to the barracks to resist. There were nearly 1000 Japanese soldiers defending Mohetan. When it rained heavily and the water level of the Mian River rose, it was impossible to wade through. The 1st Company then seized the village west of the station and held on. On the afternoon of the 22nd, more than 400 Japanese soldiers began to counterattack. The main force of the 5th Regiment launched a fire attack on the enemy on the north bank of the Mian River. After killing more than 50 enemies, the 1st Company withdrew from the battle. [17] The 19th Regiment had attacked Jucheng and Yirang Station. [4]
On August 23, 1940, the 5th Regiment again captured Niangzi Pass and blew up the stone bridge east of Niangzi Pass, destroying the railway between Chengjialongdi and Mohetan. That night, the 19th Regiment again attacked Yirang Station and blew up the water tower and railway. [4]
Attack on Jingxing Coal Mine (Photo by Sha Fei) (18 photos)
From August 24 to 27, 1940, the Right Column blew up several stone and wooden bridges near Yanhui. Due to the Right Column's vigorous attacks, from the 25th onward, Japanese traffic on the Zhengtai Road from Niangziguan to Luanliu was completely cut off, and each Japanese stronghold fought independently. The Central Column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region (commanded by the 2nd, 3rd, and 16th Regiments) was responsible for destroying the Zhengtai Road from Niangziguan to Weishui and the Jingxing Coal Mine.