Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

On the afternoon of the 7th, the Japanese army "divided into a large number of columns, formed a broad front method, concentrated machine gun fire, and used aircraft to guide infantry to launch a fierce attack on the positions of the 80th Regiment on the right wing of Wang Jun's division in Xicun, Xinliyuan, Wangjiayaotou, and Liangjiayaotou (the junction of the Tang and Kong armies). In addition, the 3rd Independent Brigade, attached to part of the 37th Division, launched a full-scale feint attack on the Liujiagou, Guwang, Jiwang and Wang Zhiqi divisions to contain the fierce fighting." Their purpose was to seize the positions of Kong Lingxun's 80th Army.

In the early morning of the 8th, the Japanese army broke through the 27th Division's defenses east of Zhangdian, severing contact between the Kong and Tang armies. The 27th Division retreated to the Caojiachuan and Taizhai areas. Meanwhile, the 165th Division of the 80th Army, ordered to concentrate at Wangyuan, also retreated to the Caojiachuan and Taizhai areas after being attacked by the Japanese. Seizing the opportunity, the enemy's advancing columns seized the Huaiba, Jianping, and Nangou crossings below Maojin Ferry that evening; the furthest-reaching force reached the border of Pinglu, Yuanqu, and Xiaxian counties.

At noon on the 9th, the 80th Army was attacked by enemy plainclothes officers and bombed and strafed by aircraft, and was further defeated. "In a chaotic battle, several officers including the commander of the newly formed 27th Division, Wang Jun, the chief of staff, Chen Wenqi, and the battalion commander of the 165th Division, Yao Ruchong, died near Leigongmiaoling, west of Taizhai Village. The remaining troops retreated to Nangou, the crossing point of the Yellow River, in the evening." The commanders of the 80th Army, Kong Lingxun, and Wang Zhiqi, the commander of the 165th Division, abandoned their troops and crossed the Yellow River. The troops, without command, rushed to cross the Yellow River and suffered heavy casualties. Liang Ruxian, the deputy commander of the newly formed 27th Division, saw that the situation was hopeless and jumped into the river to die for his country. [11]

The 7000-man vanguard of the Japanese army in Xia County divided into three groups and attacked the positions of Tang Huaiyuan's 3rd Army from the south.

At dawn on the 8th, the Japanese captured Sijiao Village, a key transportation hub on the northern slopes of Zhongtiao Mountain. They then advanced northwestward, attacking the 7th Division headquarters at Wangjiahe, and southeastward, the 3rd Army headquarters at Tanghui. Wangjiahe was heavily surrounded by Japanese forces, but Division Commander Li Shilong led his troops to break through. Tanghui, however, was captured by Japanese ground and airborne forces, even as the Army Commander led his reserve troops to support Wangjiahe. Third Army Commander Tang Huaiyuan led the remaining troops in an eastward retreat to the Wenyu area (the Yellow River crossing at Wufuzhang in Nantong). Blocked from the south by Japanese forces, they engaged in fierce fighting, suffering heavy casualties, before retreating northeastward and northwestward.

On the 12th, Commander Tang and his troops were surrounded by Japanese forces on Jianshan Mountain. After three failed attempts to break out, "Commander Tang, feeling his mission to defend Zhongtiao Mountain had failed and facing a formidable enemy, committed suicide in a temple atop Jianshan Mountain." That same day, the 12th Division of the 3rd Army was intercepted by Japanese forces after breaking out to Hujiayu. Division Commander Cun Xingqi was shot in the chest and severely wounded, but he continued to lead his troops in a fierce battle.

On the 13th, Cun's division was also surrounded by the Japanese. Division Commander Cun was wounded for the second time, his right leg severed by enemy artillery fire. Knowing he was powerless to save the situation, he also drew his gun and committed suicide. Following the deaths of Hao Mengling, commander of the 9th Army, and Liu Jiaqi, commander of the 54th Division, in the Xinkou Campaign, this was the first tragic epic in which a general and a division commander died simultaneously.

Chinese Army positions during the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain

"More than 3000 vanguard troops from the enemy's 36th Division in Wenxi launched a fierce attack on the positions defended by Gong Bingfan's 34th Division at Yeyu, Shibaping, and Tangwang Mountain, and quickly captured Tangwang Mountain. Gong Bingfan organized a counterattack and recaptured the positions around Tangwang Mountain. However, because the defense line of his friendly troops on his right flank was breached, the First War Zone Commander-in-Chief ordered Gong Bingfan to lead his troops to Macun (note: Macun is the headquarters of the 5th Army Group). The 34th Division then abandoned the Tangwang Mountain position and retreated to Hujiayu."

North Line: This is the junction of the Chinese 5th Army of Zeng Wanzhong and the 14th Army of Liu Maoen in the Zhongtiaoshan area. The strategic intention of the Japanese army was to quickly capture the Heng (Hengling Pass) and Yuan (Yuanqu) Avenue, directly take the county seat of Yuanqu, and implement a split encirclement and annihilation of the two defending armies. At the beginning of the battle, the Japanese army launched a heavy attack on both sides of the Hengyuan Avenue. Zhao Shiling's 43rd Army stationed on the northeast side of Hengling Pass and Gao Guizi's 17th Army stationed on the southwest side were simultaneously hit hard by the Japanese army. [10]

Fierce fighting continued until dawn on the 8th, when the 43rd Army's Shibaping position was breached, rendering their blocking attack ineffective. Army Commander Zhao Shiling ordered the 43rd Army to abandon their positions and retreat toward Wangxianzhuang. Although the 17th Army, relying on fortifications and favorable terrain, offered relatively effective resistance, it was ultimately forced to withdraw after both its left and right flanks were breached. Having broken through the defenders' defenses, the Japanese forces split into two groups: one advancing south along the Sangchi, Jiajiashan, and Ducun Rivers (part of the 15th Army's forces defending Sangchi fled); the other advancing south along the Boqing River, passing Gaoluo, Changzhi, and Wangmao, and on to the county seat of Yuanqu.

At dusk on the 8th, the Japanese army, with the support of paratroopers, occupied Yuanqu County on the banks of the Yellow River, cutting off contact with the southern bank of the Yellow River. The Japanese army achieved its plan of breaking through the middle, and the Chinese army was divided in two.

On the 9th and 10th, the Japanese army split into two routes, one heading east and the other west. The eastern route captured Shaoyuan on the morning of the 12th and joined the Japanese army advancing westward from Jiyuan; the western route advanced to Wufujian on the 11th and joined the Japanese army that had captured Wufujian on the 9th. At this point, the Japanese army's inner encirclement was completely formed, and the supply lines and retreat routes along the Yellow River of the Zhongtiaoshan defenders were completely cut off. [4]

Northeast Line: The Chinese defenders stationed on this line mainly include the 14th Army Group Headquarters, Wu Shimin's 98th Army, as well as the 15th Army and the 93rd Army.

On the evening of the 7th, the Japanese army launched an attack on Wu Shimin's 98th Army. Commander Wu led his troops in a desperate resistance, engaging in fierce battles on the east-west line of Dongfeng, repelling the Japanese attacks several times. In the Battle of Wangcun, 2000 enemies were defeated, and more than 700 of them, including Colonel Hamada, were killed.

On the 10th, in view of the fact that "the main ferry crossings between Jiyuan and Yuanqu were gradually blocked by the enemy, and the entire supply line of the group was cut off", the First War Zone Command ordered the 14th Group Army to "move the main force of the troops west of Yangcheng to the north of Qinyi Highway quickly, and use the tactics of turning and exploiting the gaps to attack the enemy's flanks. At 12:00, the group army engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. At 12:00, the number of enemies at the intersection gradually increased to 3,000 to 4,000, and they fled to Qingfengta and Meiping. At the same time, Erliyao, the junction of the 10th Division and the 98th Army, was also broken through by about 2,000 enemies. The enemy trapped in Shaoyuan also pressed forward to the northwest. At this time, the group army was worried about being attacked from three sides." The various units retreated to the north during the breakout. [4]

After several days of arduous attacks, at the cost of approximately 3 casualties, the Japanese broke through our Yuanqu defensive line, splitting the Zhongtiao Mountain base in two. Consequently, the Chinese troops defending Zhongtiao Mountain were unable to coordinate with each other and were forced to abandon their established positions and each hold their own in the mountain passes, engaging in an uncoordinated and passive resistance. The overall situation was extremely critical.

second stage

A collection of pictures of the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain (15 photos)

As the defenders were retreating on all fronts, the Japanese army seized the initiative with superior manpower and fierce artillery fire, and quickly completed the first phase of the combat mission - breaking through all defensive positions in the Zhongtiao Mountain area, successively occupying the county towns of Yanqu, Jiyuan, Mengxian, Pinglu and related passes and strongholds, blocking the various ferry crossings on the north bank of the Yellow River, completing the double encirclement of the national army from both inside and outside, and then switched to the second phase of the combat - repeatedly sweeping the positions of the Chinese defenders on several routes.

Taking the western front as an example, the Japanese army's "corps turned back to the north side by side from the 11th, and then turned again to the Yellow River line from May 15th, and repeated the combing and sweeping operations until June 10th. During these repeated sweeps, the corps wiped out 5 to 6 enemies (note: according to the Japanese, referring to the national army) wherever they went."

守军主力在遭受惨重伤亡后先后突围：第3、第15等军残部在第5集团军司令曾万钟率领下西渡黄河，转到洛阳、新安一带整顿；第93军主力在摆脱尾追的日军后由禹门口渡过黄河进入陕西韩城境内；第98军一部在武士敏的率领下进入太岳山区；第43军向浮山、翼城间转进；第9军主力在道清路西段和济源山地游击数天后，分别由小渡口和官阳渡口南渡；……中条山守军大部退出中条山地区，中条山战役落下了帷幕