On April 21, 1938, more than 40,000 sons and daughters of the Yunnan Army formed the 60th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, said goodbye to their parents, wives and children, and traveled thousands of miles to the east bank of the Canal in the Yuwang Mountain (now belongs to the town of Daizhuang, Pizhou City, Jiangsu Province) and the surrounding villages, and heroically fought the Japanese in the second stage of the Battle of Taierzhuang for more than 20 days, and heroically blocked the southern invasion of the Japanese army at the expense of more than 5,000 casualties in battle, which was called "China's Iron Army" by the Japanese Tokyo base camp. The Japanese Tokyo base camp called it: "China's Iron Army". However, this battle of flesh and blood, because of various reasons, *** military history of the tree is not much, Taierzhuang Battle Memorial Museum does not have a "place" for them. In order to make up for this "shortcoming", in late May 2013, by Zaozhuang City, the former deputy mayor Wu Chengjian, Taizhuang District People's Congress Standing Committee party secretary, the first deputy director of the Qin Jian, led by the "Dian army war martyrs search group" a line of six people traveled to Yunnan, looking for the Taizhuang war veterans and descendants of the generals, for the establishment of the "Dian army war exhibition hall" in the Taizhuang War Memorial Museum to prepare for the war. Pledging to fight against Japanese invaders On May 11, 2013, the reporter accompanied the "Yunnan Army Anti-War Martyrs Visiting Group" from Taierzhuang to Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, which is the city with the largest number of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country in the Taierzhuang Anti-Japanese War. The "Martyrs' List" in the exhibition hall of the Zhaotong Museum of the Yunnan Army's Anti-Japanese War clearly states that 3,398 sons and daughters of the Yunnan Army sacrificed their precious lives in the Taierzhuang War. Now, in Zhaotong City, Zhaoyang District Regulus Square, erected a 6-meter-high granite sculpture monument, the front of the pedestal is engraved with "*** to the national tragedy," the four big gold characters, the remaining three sides of the city's 11 counties and districts to participate in the National Revolutionary Army's 60th Army of Zhaotong, the name of the 3,398 soldiers killed in action. Sculpture for the group, the south side is a high military flag "soldiers", look determined, righteousness; East is a "mother to send off her son to go on the war" group carving, the scene of its feelings let a person shocked; North is a "waving goodbye to the folks of the soldiers", face full of "the strong man never return" of the righteousness; West is a group of "young wives embrace young children with their husbands to say goodbye to the" group carving, viewed by a hundred mixed feelings, It's a very touching sight to see!
Zhaotong Whampoa Association President, Taierzhuang war witness Yang Peng in the "Dianjun war" in the article recalled that: September 9, 1937, Division Commander An Enpu led by the Zhaotong children of the 182 Division Division of the officers and men, in the Regulus Plaza (now *** to the national tragedy monument) to pledge to leave the Sichuan Province, rushed to Changsha in Hunan Province. That day, from the Yuanmen Square to the outskirts of the city Yuanbaoshan, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life to send off, the generals and soldiers carrying guns, head high, with a smile to say goodbye to the tears of the parents and wives and children, that the scene of the moving indescribable. The 182nd Division, the 183rd Division, the 184th Division, and the 184th Division swore an oath of allegiance in Wujiaba, the southern suburb of Kunming.
Professor of Yunnan University, Yunnan army resistance research expert Luo Yuexian detailed 60 army to Taierzhuang before and after the war. He said: Yunnan has 26 nationalities, ranking first among all provinces in the country. At that time, enrolled in the 60th Army of Yunnan soldiers of almost all nationalities. At the beginning of the war, Yunnan was not attacked by the Japanese army, is the anti-Japanese rear, but the people of Yunnan high winds, take the initiative to send troops. The then chairman of yunnan province Long Yun said in a public talk, the Japanese soldiers barbaric, insulting my Chinese, willing to all yunnan 13 million patriotism and protection of the country of the red and all the spirit of the material force, ready to sacrifice for the motherland. 1937 early, the national *** in nanjing held the supreme national defense conference, chiang kai-shek demanded that yunnan troops against the japanese, Long Yun agreed to send 200,000 troops, the first to send an army. Chiang Kai-shek was very happy, and immediately gave four regiments of supplies, the source of soldiers can be replenished at any time, the army pay at any time supply. Most of the soldiers have received specialized training Professor Luo introduced, 60th Army soldiers mostly after more than two months of specialized training, platoon company commander and above officers are mostly from the Yunnan Lecture School of martial arts. The weapons used by the 60th Army were purchased by Yunnan Province from France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and other countries over the years, and it was a well-trained army with advanced weaponry.On October 10, 1937, the 60th Army set off from Kunming, arrived at Changsha on November 26, and then walked more than 2,000 kilometers to enter Zhejiang Province on December 6, in preparation for the defense of Nanking. By then Nanjing had already fallen, so they took the train to Wuhan instead. When the Yunnan army passed through the bustling city of Hankou, their mighty military style and advanced weaponry made foreign envoys stare in disbelief, and the nation rejoiced.
Prof. Luo said that after the Japanese army captured Nanjing, it began to take Xuzhou directly from the north and south of Jinpu Road. Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 600,000 troops, ready to fight the Japanese in Xuzhou. The Battle of Taierzhuang was divided into two phases. In the first phase, from March 23 to April 7, the Chinese army, under the command of General Li Zongren, annihilated 11,984 Japanese soldiers, captured 31 artillery pieces, 8 battle tanks, 11 armored vehicles, and more than 10,000 rifles, which was the first major victory achieved in the *** positive battlefield, crushed the Japanese army's plan of "three months ***", and inspired the morale of the Chinese people in their resistance to the war. The second stage, from April 22 to May 18 *** 27 days, with the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army as the main force, in the southeast of Taierzhuang, around the Yuwang Mountain position blockade battle, fought a tragic and tragic. After the defeat at Taierzhuang, the Japanese mobilized 13 divisions, together with the pseudo-army, amounting to more than 300,000 men, including the most elite Itagaki Fifth Division, Isogaya Tenth Division and Tofihara Fourteenth Division, and encircled Xuzhou in a six-pronged approach. At the beginning of the battle, Tang Enbo and Yu Xuezhong resisted, but due to the advanced weapons and fierce attack of the Japanese, Taierzhuang was again in danger. The 60th Army, which was on its way to Xuzhou to take over the defense of Henan, was temporarily ordered to take over the defense of the area around Yuwang Mountain east of Taierzhuang. Not waiting for the 60th Army to arrive, Tang Enbo, Yu Xuezhong has led the withdrawal of the army, giving a large opening to the front line of defense, so the encounter occurred Chen Wafang, which is the most cruel and bloody battle. Canal south bank assembly According to historical records, on April 18, 1938, the 60th Army by train in the south station of Taierzhuang (Che Spoke Hill), after getting off, drove directly to the east bank of the canal east of Taierzhuang, Puwang, Xingjialou area assembly, ready to take over the defense of the Tang Enbo 20 Army, Yu Xuezhong Third Group Army. Due to the early withdrawal of Tang and Yu, the Japanese two coalition of more than 4000 people with more than 30 artillery, under the cover of more than 20 tanks to take advantage of the situation.
At 8:00 a.m. on April 22, 1938, when Yin Guohua Battalion of the 1081st Regiment of the 183rd Division, the lead unit of the 183rd Division, arrived at Chenwafang, the Japanese searching force had already entered in advance and was firing at the Yunnanese army. Battalion Commander Yin immediately led the Pointed Company in a charge and fought his way into Chenwafang. The Japanese followers swarmed in and cut off the Yunnanese reinforcements with heavy artillery fire. The entire battalion fought with the enemy on all sides, and Battalion Commander Yin was killed with a grenade when he blew up a Japanese tank. When the battalion was left with only 10 people, led by a squad leader, broke through to the village, was surrounded by the Japanese army, all sacrificed. Battalion of more than 500 officers and men, only four people due to serious injuries and send a letter to withdraw from the battle ahead of time to survive, the rest were killed in action. According to the 184 Division Command *** underground party member Zhang Zizai recalled, Chen Wafang encounter, Yin Guohua battalion annihilated the Japanese nearly 2,000 people, their heroic battle and martyrdom, for the whole army divisions have won the precious time to grab the fortifications, attack the Japanese. The bloody battle is unforgettable According to Chen Qikun, one of the survivors of the battle of Chen Wafang, recalled that: that morning foggy, when our battalion arrived at Chen Wafang, we found that there were soldiers, thinking that it was a friendly army, blowing a questionnaire to them, in return, it was the machine gun sound of "Ka, Ka, Ka". At that time, our battalion's guns and ammunition had not yet been unloaded from the horses, and many soldiers were killed by the sudden bullets from the devils before they had time to hold their guns. We rushed to respond to the battle, with machine gunners standing and strafing the Japanese. Battalion Commander Yin Guohua led the Pointed Company to harden Chen Wafang and take it back from the Japanese. The back-up ghost soldiers surrounded us with several times their strength and drove their tanks while charging and machine-gunning us. At that time, our Yunnan officers and soldiers had never seen a tank before and did not know what it was or how to fight it. Many soldiers were shot or crushed to death by the machine guns of the tanks, and some of them climbed up to the Japanese tanks to pry off the cover with shovels and throw grenades into it. Watching the brothers fall one by one, the disciples of the history of the death of no fear, only know that the bullet loaded to shoot the Japanese, the ghosts of the mountain artillery, field artillery, artillery shells, and airplanes, from the sky and the ground to bombard us violently. That was really a bloodbath that will never be forgotten.
Chen Wafang this year, 84-year-old Chen Luanghui old man recalled that after the war, they returned to the village, the village house only 6 mouths of the house, the rest of the whole collapsed, the door beams were also basically burned by the shelling net, the families have the remains of the Dian army generals, several hundred, there are many dead generals all over the body well, it is said to have been poisoned by Japanese poisonous gas death. In order to let the fallen soldiers of the Yunnan Army rest in peace, we will bury the remains of Yunnan soldiers to the southeast of the village of the pit ponds, ditches, some racked up and burned into ashes buried. He led the reporter to the south of the village, where there was originally a temple, which was destroyed in the war and is now a grove. The old man said that many years after the war, children in the ditch to touch the fish, but also from the ditch fished out many guns, knives, bullets, and human skulls.