Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Ninth Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army

The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a crucial component of the World Anti-Fascist War. The Chinese Anti-Japanese War was the primary battlefield for the Allied Powers' ground operations in Asia. During the eight years of fighting against Japan, the Chinese Anti-Japanese Army annihilated, depleted, and contained the vast majority of the Japanese fascist ground forces, making a significant contribution to World War II and the final victory of the Anti-Fascist War. Throughout the War, the Chinese Army was organized into 40 group armies.

The Ninth Group Army was formed in the Shanghai area in mid-August 1937. Its first commander-in-chief was Zhang Zhizhong, with Huang Qixiang as its deputy commander-in-chief. It comprised the 36th, 87th, and 88th Divisions, all elite divisions of the former Nationalist Government Guard Army trained by German advisors. They were the first troops deployed in the Battle of Shanghai and were under the command of the Third War Zone. General Huang Meixing, the first to die in action on August 13, 1937, was the commander of the 264th Brigade of the 88th Division. In mid-September, Zhu Shaoliang assumed command of the Ninth Group Army, and the 18th and 61st Divisions joined the group army. At this point, the group army was tasked with defending the central sector of the Battle of Shanghai. The "Eight Hundred Warriors" who defended the Sihang Warehouse were composed of officers and soldiers from the 524th Regiment of the 262nd Brigade of the 88th Division. On October 25th, Zhu Yaohua, commander of the 18th Group Army's division, committed suicide after his defenses at Dachang were breached, resulting in heavy casualties among his men. Unable to recover, he was pounced upon by a guard, whose bullet missed his target, but he survived. Later, during the Battle of Nanjing, Yi Anhua, commander of the 259th Brigade of the 87th Division, Gao Zhisong, commander of the 264th Brigade of the 88th Division, and Zhu Chi, commander of the 262nd Brigade, all died in action. In the summer of 1938, the Ninth Group Army was transferred to the command of the Ninth War Zone, with Wu Qiwei as commander-in-chief. It comprised the 64th, 70th, 25th, 4th, 8th, and 66th Armies, stationed in Jiangxi. It participated in the Battle of Wuhan and was a key participant in the Wanjialing Victory, annihilating four Japanese regiments. By the spring of 1939, the Ninth Group Army consisted of only the 4th and 49th Armies, though it participated in the Battle of Nanchang. In 1940, the Ninth Army was transferred to the Fourth War Zone, with Guan Linzheng as its commander-in-chief. Under its command were the 54th and 6th Armies. In 1943, the Ninth Army was transferred back to the Kunming Headquarters, with Guan Linzheng remaining as commander-in-chief. His original unit, the 52nd Army, joined the army's battle order. The 54th and 6th Armies were later transferred out of the army. In the spring of 1945, the Ninth Army and the 52nd Army were ordered to be incorporated into the First Front Army, one of four fronts directly under the Chinese Army General Headquarters dedicated to strategic counteroffensives. Guan Linzheng served as deputy commander-in-chief of the First Front Army.

The first phase of the eastern front: The Japanese army "started from Wenxian on the left wing, with more than 5000 infantry, more than 1,000 cavalry, more than 20 artillery pieces, dozens of aircraft, and more than 100 tanks, gas and armored vehicles, advancing along the north bank of the Yellow River." "The center started from Qin and Bo, with a vanguard of more than 1,000 people, attacking westward along the Qinji Avenue." "Another vanguard of more than 2000 people, with more than 10 artillery pieces, fled to Yizhuang in the west and then attacked Niezhang, Ziling, Dongdaizhai and Liucun." "At the same time, more than 3000 people on the north bank of the Qin River, with more than 10 aircraft and more than 20 artillery pieces, forced a crossing of the Qin River." The defending 9th Army, led by Pei Changhui, implemented a step-by-step defense and retreated step by step under the attack of the powerful enemy. [8] At noon on the 8th, they abandoned Ji and Meng and retreated westward. Faced with a complete rout, the First War Zone headquarters ordered the 9th Army to "use its main forces to establish positions north of Fengmenkou to prevent the enemy from advancing westward from Qin and Ji, while deploying a small force to counter the enemy's flanking attacks." The 9th Army deployed the main forces of the newly formed 24th Division and the Zhang Regiment of the 54th Division to defend the Fengmenkou line, while the 47th Division and the 54th Division's 4th Independent Brigade stationed in Wangwu conducted guerrilla warfare along the Gushan line. Fengmenkou was a crucial pass for the Japanese army to advance westward, and the Japanese were determined to capture it. After a protracted siege, they sent reinforcements. Fierce fighting from the morning of the 9th to the morning of the 10th finally broke the enemy line. By then, the Japanese central route had captured Yuanqu County on the evening of the 8th and were dividing their forces to attack Shaoyuan. The headquarters ordered the main forces of the 9th Army to "cross the river southward from Guanyang to support the river defense." On the 11th, over a hundred Japanese aircraft bombed and blocked the Guanyang east and west crossings. The 54th Division, suffering heavy casualties, crossed to Henan, while the remaining divisions retreated to the mountainous terrain north of Fengmenkou and Shaoyuan. On the 12th, part of the Japanese army on this route occupied the ferry crossings along the Yellow River; the main force advanced westward along Fengmenkou to Shaoyuan, where they joined forces with the enemy advancing eastward from Yuanqu, thus completing the inner encirclement of the Kuomintang 14th Army. [9] Western Front: The main attack direction of the Japanese army. "The defending forces were the 165th Division (Commander Wang Zhiqi) and the newly formed 27th Division (Commander Wang Jun) of the 80th Army under Kong Lingxun, the 7th Division (Commander Li Shilong) and the 12th Division (Commander Cun Xingqi) of the 3rd Army under Tang Huaiyuan, and the 34th Division of Gong Bingfan, which was directly under the command of the 5th Group Headquarters." [10] On the afternoon of the 7th, the Japanese army "divided into many columns, formed a broad front, 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 Wang Zhiqi division in Liujiagou, Guwang, and Jiwang to contain the fierce battle." The 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 defense line of the 27th Division east of Zhangdian, and the connection between the Kong and Tang armies was cut off. 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-Taizhai line 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; one unit reached the border of Pinglu, Yuanqu, and Xiaxian counties. At noon on the 9th, the 80th Army suffered further defeat due to attacks by enemy plainclothes officers and bombing and strafing by aircraft. "In the chaotic fighting, several officers, including Commander Wang Jun of the newly formed 27th Division, Chief of Staff Chen Wenqi, and Battalion Commander Yao Ruchong of the 165th Division, were killed near Leigongmiaoling, west of Taizhai Village. The remaining troops retreated to Nangou, a Yellow River crossing, by evening." Kong Lingxun, Commander of the 80th Army, and Wang Zhiqi, Commander of the 165th Division, abandoned their troops and crossed the Yellow River. The troops, without command, scrambled to cross the river, suffering heavy casualties. Liang Ruxian, 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 vanguard of the 7000 Japanese troops in Xia County divided into three groups and attacked the positions of Tang Huaiyuan's 3rd Army in the south. At dawn on the 8th, the Japanese army captured Sijiao Village, a key transportation route in the north of Zhongtiao Mountain. Then, they rushed northwest to attack Wangjiahe, the headquarters of the 7th Division, and rushed southeast to attack Tanghui, the headquarters of the 3rd Army. Wangjiahe was surrounded by heavy Japanese troops, and the division commander Li Shilong led his troops to break through. Tanghui was occupied by Japanese ground forces and airborne troops while the army commander led the reserve troops to support Wangjiahe. The 3rd Army commander Tang Huaiyuan led the remaining personnel to retreat eastward to Wenyu (the Yellow River ferry at Wufuzhang in Nantong), but was blocked from going south by the Japanese army. He fought fiercely with the enemy and suffered heavy casualties before retreating to the northeast and northwest. On the 12th, Army Commander Tang and his troops were surrounded by the Japanese army on all sides at Jianshan. After three failed breakout attempts, "Commander Tang, feeling his mission to defend Zhongtiao Mountain had failed and the enemy still in sight, 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 through to Hujiayu. Commander Cun Xingqi was shot in the chest and, despite being seriously wounded, he continued to lead his troops in a fierce fight. On the 13th, Cun's troops were also trapped by the Japanese. Commander Cun was wounded a second time, his right leg severed by enemy artillery fire. Knowing he was powerless, he also committed suicide. Following the events 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 of an army were simultaneously martyred for their country.

During the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Chinese army's positions "also included the vanguard of the enemy's 36th Division in Wenxi, numbering over 3000 men. They 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 reinforce Macun (note: Macun was 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 5th Army of Zeng Wanzhong and the 14th Army of Liu Maoen, the Chinese defenders in the Zhongtiaoshan area. The strategic intention of the Japanese army was to quickly capture the Heng (Hengling Pass) Yuan (Yuanqu) Avenue and directly capture the county seat of Yuanqu, to divide and encircle the two defending armies and annihilate them one by one. 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] The fierce battle lasted until dawn on the 8th. The 43rd Army's Shibaping position was breached and the blocking attack was ineffective. Army commander Zhao Shiling ordered to abandon the position and retreat to the Wangxianzhuang line. Although the 17th Army relied on fortifications and favorable terrain to put up a relatively effective resistance, it was eventually forced to withdraw from the defense line because both its left and right wings were breached by the enemy. After breaking through the defenders' lines, the Japanese army split into two routes: "One route advanced south along the Sangchi, Jiajiashan, and Ducun Rivers (part of the 15th Army of the Sangchi defenders fled); the other route advanced south along the Boqing River, passing Gaoluo, Changzhi, and Wangmao, directly towards Yanqu County." At dusk on the 8th, Japanese troops, supported by paratroopers, captured Yanqu County on the banks of the Yellow River, cutting off its connection with the southern bank. The Japanese army achieved its plan for a breakthrough in the middle, splitting the Chinese army 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 forces with the Japanese forces advancing westward from Jiyuan. The western route reached Wufujian on the 11th and joined forces that had captured Wufujian on the 9th. With this, the Japanese inner encirclement was complete, completely severing the supply and retreat routes of the Zhongtiao Mountain defenders along the Yellow River. [4] Northeast Line: The Chinese defenders stationed on this line mainly included the 14th Army Group Headquarters, Wu Shimin’s 98th Army, and the 15th Army and 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 to fight desperately, and fought fiercely with the enemy on the east-west line of Dongfeng, repelling the Japanese attack many times. In the battle of Wangcun, 2000 enemies were defeated, and more than 700 of the enemy, 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 Army Group to "move the main force of the troops west of Yangcheng to the north of Qinyi Highway quickly, and use the tactics of rotating and drilling into the gaps to attack the enemy's flanks. At 10:00, the army group engaged in a full-scale fierce battle with the enemy. At 3:00, the enemy at the intersection gradually increased to 3,000 to 4,000, and fled to Qingfengta and Meiping. At the same time, the enemy broke through Erliyao, the junction of the 10th Division and the 98th Army. The enemy in Shaoyuan also pressed forward to the northwest. At this time, the army group was worried about being attacked from three sides. "The various units retreated northward during the breakout. [4] After several days of difficult attacks, the Japanese army broke through the Yanqu defense line of our army at the cost of about 30,000 casualties, dividing the Zhongtiaoshan base into two. As a result, the Chinese troops defending Zhongtiaoshan could not support each other and had to abandon their existing positions and each defended the mountain pass, engaging in uncoordinated passive resistance. The entire battle situation was extremely critical.