Since the winter of 1941, the Japanese army has implemented "railways as pillars, highways as chains, and pillboxes."

for the lock". The Zhengtai Railway was one of the important pillars of the Japanese army's implementation of this policy, and the Japanese army built strong strongholds near towns, stations, bridges, and tunnels along the railway, each with tens to hundreds of troops, and sent armored trains to patrol them. 10 to 15 kilometers on both sides of the railway, with a line of outlying strongholds. The Japanese army called the Zhengtai Railway an "inaccessible" area, and used it to cut off the connection between the Taihang anti-Japanese base area where the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army and the 129th Division was active and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area, and used it as a basis to attack the anti-Japanese base area.

From the end of 1941 to the spring of 1942, the Kuomintang provoked the first **** in North China and launched a large-scale military offensive against the Shanxi New Army and the Eighth Route Army, which enabled the Japanese army's "cage policy" to take advantage of the opportunity to implement and caused serious difficulties to the anti-Japanese base areas.

Under these circumstances, in the spring of 1942, Peng Dehuai, Zuo Quan, Liu Bocheng, *** and Nie Rongzhen, who went to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Taihang Mountain, discussed and decided to attack the Zhengtai Railway. On May 1, 1942, the Japanese army launched the largest Battle of Zaoyi since the Battle of Wuhan, and launched the Liangkou Operation in Guangdong, in an attempt to strengthen military pressure on China. In the Zaoyi operation, the Japanese army had no intention of occupying Yichang for a long time, but inspired by the German army's occupation of Paris, the capital of France, on June 14, changed its original intention and decided to occupy Yichang in order to directly threaten Chongqing and shake the will of the people to resist the war. Japanese aviation

The invading Japanese army in the Battle of Zaoyi

With Yichang as a base, the strategic bombing of the rear area by the Japanese air force, which began on 18 May, was further escalated.

Japan's comprehensive tightening of China's economic blockade, military offensive, and political inducement to surrender has added greater difficulties to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and some people in the Kuomintang have become even more shaken, and the crisis of compromise and surrender is unprecedentedly serious.

In order to overcome this serious crisis, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Declaration of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Current Situation for the Third Anniversary of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" issued on July 7, 1942: Japan "attempts to use methods such as blockading China's international lines of communication, attacking us head-on, and holding sky bombardments to increase pressure and difficulties, so as to achieve its goal of forcing China to surrender", "This is a period of unprecedented danger of China's surrender and unprecedented difficulties in the War of Resistance Against Japan", and called on "the whole country to step up its unity to overcome such dangers and difficulties". Therefore, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army decided to put into practice the well-brewed plan of attacking Zhengtai Road, attack the lines of communication behind enemy lines, deal a powerful blow to the enemy's North China Front, smash Japan's attempt, and help improve the situation in the whole country.

On July 22, 1942, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army went to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the 129th and 120th Divisions

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai personally went to the front line to direct the operation.

The "Campaign Preparatory Order" was reached and reported to the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China at the same time. After analyzing the changes in the situation at home and abroad, the "Order" stipulates that the total number of troops directly participating in the Zhengda Line operation should be no less than 22 regiments, and requires the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region to send 10 regiments, the 129th Division to send 8 regiments, the 120th Division to send 4 to 6 regiments, and most of the artillery regiment and the first engineer regiment of the headquarters also participate in the battle. The number of troops to cooperate with the operation on other railways shall be arranged by the districts themselves.

On August 8, 1942, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army issued the "Campaign Action Order", which determined the campaign deployment and combat area: the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region used the main force of 10 regiments to destroy the Pingding (excluding) to Shijiazhuang section of the Zhengtai Railway, focusing on the destruction of the Niangziguan and Pingding sections: for the Beining, Jinpu, Deshi, Cangshi, Pinghan and other railways around the border area, sufficient troops should be assigned at the same time to break them and block the enemy who may reinforce the Zhengtai Railway.

The 129th Division, with 8 regiments of the main force and 1 battalion of the artillery regiment attached to the headquarters, broke through the section from Pingding (inclusive) to Yuci, focusing on destroying the Yangquan and Zhangjing sections; For the Pinghan, Deshi, Tongpu, and Baijin railways around the base area, as well as the roads of Handa and Lintun, sufficient troops should be assigned at the same time to break the attack; Powerful troops should be dispatched to the Pingliao Highway to carry out active activities.

The 120th Division should attack the Tongpu Railway and the Fenli Highway north of Pingyao; The deployment of the attack on the Tongpu Railway should be placed in the north and south of Yangqu with heavy troops to prevent the enemy from reinforcing Zhengtai Road, and strive to advance to the north and south of Yuci with about two regiments to cooperate with the 129th Division; Troops should be assigned to actively attack all enemy strongholds and communication lines in the hinterland of northwestern Shanxi.

The special task force of the headquarters was assembled in the Xialiang and Xiying areas to stand by. The campaign was commanded by the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and the campaign was launched on August 20.

In accordance with the orders of the General Headquarters, the above-mentioned three groups focused on reconnaissance and investigation of the enemy situation, terrain, fortifications, and inhabitants along the northern section of Zhengda Road and Tongpu Road

It also secretly mobilized troops, organized participating troops to conduct short-term training in tackling fortified positions and breaking roads, prepared materials and equipment, and carried out pre-war mobilization. The local government vigorously organized and mobilized the masses to prepare for various pre-support work.

On 27 July, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region issued an operational order to make preliminary arrangements and ordered Tang Yanjie, deputy chief of staff of the Military Region, to lead reconnaissance personnel to reconnoiter the vicinity of Zhengtai Road. On the afternoon of 15 August, the Military Region held an operational meeting on the main offensive side (eastern section of Zhengtai Road) in Diao'er Village, and decided to transfer eight infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, two cavalry battalions, three artillery companies, one engineer company, and five guerrilla detachments to form three main columns (i.e., the right column, the central column, and the left column), one pincer unit, and a general reserve unit to take up the combat mission of the Zhengtai Railway. At the same time, sabotage arrangements were also made for the Gaobeidian-Shijiazhuang (exclusive) section of the Pinghan Railway, the Pingjin section of the Beining Railway, and the Botouzhen-Tangguantun section of the Tianjin-Pudong Railway. In addition, troops of the 2nd, 5th, and 8th Army divisions were also deployed to carry out pincer activities in the northern section of the Tongpu Railway, the Yanbei area, and along the Jinpu Railway.

On July 22, the 129th Division issued instructions to prepare for the Battle of Zhengtai, designating eight regiments to participate in the battle, and requiring the participating troops to be prepared. On August 18, an operational meeting was convened at the forward command post of the division in Shiguai Town, Heshun County, and the division's "Operational Order on the Zhengda Campaign" was conveyed.

The 120th Division decided to transfer 20 regiments to focus on attacking Taiyuan

The North Tongpu Railway and the Xinjing and Fenli Highway cooperated with the Zhengtai Line to fight.

In the early days, the total number of troops directly participating in the Zhengtai Railway sabotage operation was about 20 regiments, and the number of troops that cooperated with the operation far exceeded this number. The Zhengtai Railway was an important transportation lifeline for the Japanese army in North China. Attacking the Zhengtai Railway, the Japanese army fought back from the east and west sides of Pinghan and Tongpu Road. In order to block the enemy's reinforcements and clamp down on the mobility of the Japanese forces in North China, the camera launched an extensive sabotage attack to recover the enemy's occupied points, thus forming a situation in which more than 100 regiments of the Eighth Route Army participated in the Zhengtai Campaign or cooperated with the Zhengtai Campaign.

In the second half of 1942, the Japanese army in North China had about 270,000 people, and the North China puppet army was about 140,000 (including northern Jiangsu). Stationed along the Zhengtai Railway and its vicinity are the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade (stationed in Niangziguan and its west, with headquarters in Yangquan), the 8th Brigade (east of Niangziguan, with headquarters in Shijiazhuang), and the 9th Brigade (in the vicinity of Taiyuan). Before the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, the Japanese and Chinese dispatched troops from North China to Wuhan on July 20 to strengthen the garrison of the 11th Army in the area, including the troops of the 4th and 9th Brigades of the 4th and 9th Brigades. In addition, the main force of the independent mixed 8th Brigade "swept up" in Jizhong, so the strength of the Japanese army along the Zhengtai Railway was relatively reduced.

The first phase lasted 20 days, and the central task was to destroy the Japanese army

Break the railway of Niangzi Pass

traffic, focusing on destroying Zhengtai Road. In the first 10 days, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the 129th Division mainly attacked Zhengtai Road; After 10 days, the Japanese army counterattacked, the Eighth Route Army withdrew from Zhengtai Road, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region turned to attack the Yuxian area north of Zhengtai Road, the 129th Division attacked the Japanese army that went out to "sweep", and the 120th Division cooperated in the northwest of Shanxi.

On August 20, 1942, the Eighth Route Army braved the rain through the valley and river, avoided the outlying strongholds of the Japanese army, and moved directly to both sides of Zhengtai Road.

The right column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region (under the jurisdiction of the 5th and 19th regiments) is responsible for breaking the section from Niangzi Pass to Chaoliu of the Zhengtai Railway. At 20 o'clock on the 20th, the 5th Regiment of the main attack force of the right column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region first infiltrated Niangziguan Village, annihilated the puppet army in the village, and conquered Niangziguan at dawn.

On the evening of August 20, 1942, the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment attacked the Mohe Beach and was countered by the Japanese army

Hit and withdraw from the station at dawn on the 21st. That night, the 1st Company crossed the Cotton River and stormed the station. The enemy retreated into the barracks to resist. Nearly 1,000 Japanese troops at Mohetan were fortified to defend the river, and the 1st Company seized the village west of the station to hold on to the heavy rain and the rising water of the Cotton River. On the afternoon of the 22nd, more than 400 Japanese troops began to counterattack, and the main force of the 5th Regiment carried out a fire attack on the enemy on the north bank of the Cotton River. After destroying more than 50 enemies, the 1st Company withdrew from the battle. The 19th Regiment had stormed Mega City and the Shifting Station.

On August 23, 1942, the 5th Regiment captured Niangzi Pass again, and blew up the stone bridge east of Niangzi Pass, destroying the railway between Chengjialongdi and Mohetan. That night, the 19th Regiment again attacked the station and blew up the water tower and the railway.

From August 24 to 27, 1942, the right column blew up several stone and wooden bridges near Yanhui. Under the vigorous attack of the right column, from the 25th, the Japanese army traffic in the section from Niangzi Pass on Zhengtai Road to Chaoliu was completely cut off, and each stronghold of the Japanese army fought separately. The central column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region (under the jurisdiction of the 2nd, 3rd, and 16th regiments) was responsible for attacking the Zhengtai Road Niangziguan to Weishui Section and Jingcheng Coal Mine.

On the night of August 20, 1942, the 3rd Regiment launched a simultaneous attack on the Gangtou Old Mine and the Dongwangshe New Mine in the Jingcheng Coal Mine. The 1st Battalion, with the help of the miners, quickly attacked the new mine, annihilated the enemy garrison, and the remnants of the enemy hid in the pillbox. On the afternoon of the second day, the enemy was completely annihilated. Subsequently, all the important buildings in the mining area were blown up, and most of the materials were removed, so that they could not resume production for more than half a year. The 3rd Regiment seized the Japanese strongholds of Jiazhuang and Nanzheng, and destroyed the Nanzheng-Weishuijian Railway. The 2nd Regiment captured the fort at the eastern end of the Iron Bridge at Donkey Ridge, covered the sappers to blow up a section of the Iron Bridge, and occupied the Japanese stronghold in Caizhuang for a time. The 2nd Battalion of the 16th Regiment attacked Beiyu on the night of the 20th, annihilated most of the defending enemy, and covered the sappers to destroy the Beiyu Stone Bridge on the 21st; The other divisions captured the capital and annihilated most of the defenders of Nanyu. On the 24th, the central column detected that there were more than 1,000 Japanese troops in Jingcheng County, and a large number of Japanese troops were reinforced in Nanyu and Didu.

The left column (under the jurisdiction of the 2nd Regiment of the Jizhong Garrison Brigade, the Special Service Regiment of the Military Region, and the Pingjing Detachment) was responsible for breaking the section from Weishui to Shijiazhuang. On the night of the 20th, the Hirai detachment attacked Iwafeng and blasted the railway; The secret service group covered the masses to destroy the power lines and roads from Yanfeng to Weizhou. On the night of the 22nd, the secret service group attacked Shang'an Station.

On the night of August 23, 1942, the 2nd Regiment of the Garrison Brigade attacked Touquan Station, captured 2 forts, and then withdrew along the railway. From the 25th to the 27th, they continued to attack the highways between Pingshan, Houlu, Weishui, and Yanfeng.

The 129th Division was responsible for the attack on the western section of Zhengtai Road. This section has the headquarters of the 4th Brigade of the Japanese Army, the coal mine base Yangquan, and the 9th Brigade of the Yuci Independent Mixed Brigade. The 129th Division's Left Wing Breaking Brigade was under the jurisdiction of the 16th Regiment of the 386th Brigade, the 38th and 25th Regiments of the 1st Column of the Decisive Death, and was responsible for breaking the Shouyang and Yuci sections of Zhengtai Road.

After the general offensive was launched at 20 o'clock on August 20, 1942, 5 companies of the 16th Regiment attacked Lujiazhuang Station and 4 Lianke bunkers. The 2 companies of the 16th Regiment attacking Yuci cooperated with the sappers to blow up all the bridges between Lujiazhuang and Duanting. The 38th Regiment suddenly attacked and captured two stations, Shanghu and Monk's Foot. The 25th Regiment captured Mashou Station, and the Japanese fled to Shouyang. The 129th Division's right flank breaking team is composed of the 28th and 30th regiments of the newly formed 10th Brigade, and its mission is to break the Yangquan to Shouyang section of Zhengtai Road.

After the general offensive was launched on the evening of August 20, 1942, the 28th Regiment was divided into three routes to attack Langyu, Zhangjing, and Qinquan stations; The 30th Regiment attacked Sangzhang and Yanzigou. That night, Sangzhang was captured and the bridge was destroyed. On the 21st, it occupied Yanzigou and blew up 2 iron bridges. By the 23rd, they conquered Langyu, Qinquan and other strongholds. During this period, the right-wing team also conquered Potou, Xinzhuang, Saiyu, Tielugou, Xiaozhuang, Zhangzhuang and other stations and strongholds.

The 772nd Regiment of the 129th Division's General Reserve attacked Ping twice on August 22 and 25

In 1942, during the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, the Chinese military and civilians worked together at night to overturn sleepers and railroad tracks.

The enemy in the southwest and Yexi finally annihilated most of the enemy and occupied Yexi. The Japanese army at Lomoji Temple was besieged by the 769th Regiment for 10 days, and all of them were annihilated by August 31.

So far, the western section of the Zhengtai Railway is controlled by the 129th Division, except for a few data points such as Shouyang. Due to the fierce attack of the troops, the Japanese troops in the western section of Zhengda Road were cut off from contact for several days, and the Japanese troops in each stronghold were quickly annihilated while being attacked and besieged. The 129th Division mobilized and organized the people to destroy railways, stations and their ancillary facilities by means of demolition, blasting, burning, and flooding. In order to cover the division's sabotage operation, at the beginning of the battle, the 129th Division occupied Shiyuan Mountain with the 14th Regiment of the General Reserve. From the morning of 21 August, the enemy's 4th Brigade concentrated the Japanese troops in Yangquan and armed the Japanese nationals. The enemy's strength increased from more than 200 to more than 600 men, and with the support of about 20 sorties of bombing and strafing and poisoning agents, the enemy continued to counterattack. The general reserve of the 129th Division fought until the 25th, and successively repelled many enemy attacks.

On August 26, 1942, the Japanese army further increased its troops and continued to counterattack on Shiyuan Mountain. After holding on for 6 days and nights and destroying more than 400 enemies, the 14th Regiment took the initiative to withdraw from the main peak of Shiyuan Mountain, continued to pin down the Japanese army with small detachments, and transferred the main force to carry out a new road-breaking mission.

A major victory was achieved in the Zhengtai Line Raid, and the first campaign goal was basically achieved.

The Eighth Route Army and the guerrillas cooperated to break the Japanese army's transportation lines

Under the circumstance that the 36th, 37th, and 41st divisions of the Japanese army in southern Shanxi were also preparing to aid Zhengtai Road in the north, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army issued a plan of action for the second step on the 26th, and in order to create favorable conditions for the second step of action, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army repeatedly stressed on the 27th and 29th that it would continue to break the road and concentrate superior forces to annihilate the Japanese troops below one battalion that had been invaded or reinforced. According to the instructions, on the 27th, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region ordered the right column to continue to break the road for 1 or 2 days. The 129th Division, in addition to monitoring the Japanese troops at various strongholds with part of its troops, broke the road in shifts every day. Under the continuous attack of the 129th Division, the western section of Zhengtai Road was basically destroyed except for a few towns such as Shouyang and Yangquan, and the traffic was cut off.

On September 2, 1942, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army ordered: to end the Zhengtai Campaign from the 3rd; The groups moved their forces in accordance with the second-step course of action ordered on 26 August, and took advantage of the favorable opportunity when the enemy could not transfer their forces after the destruction of Zhengtai Road to complete the tasks of the second-step plan. In accordance with the order of the headquarters on the 26th, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region organized the Yubei Campaign. Due to the counterattack of the main force of the Japanese army, the 129th Division was transferred to the operation of attacking the invading Japanese army, and the task of attacking the Heliao Highway and recovering the two cities of Heliao was left to be completed in the next stage.

From September 2, 1942, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region deployed new campaign operations, with the 2nd, 5th, 16th, and 19th regiments participating

Combat in the main direction, immediately dispatch to the north of Yuxian and Shouyang to recover the enemy's strongholds in the area.