Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

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To strike at the main force of the 129th Division and destroy the anti-Japanese base areas, the Japanese 1st Army launched a series of "mopping-up" operations across the Taihang and Taiyue regions of southeastern Shanxi from October 6th to December 5th. The 129th Division, without time to rest and restock, immediately engaged in counter-mopping-up operations. On October 6th, in the Taihang region, over 800 enemy troops from Wu'an, western Hebei, began a "mopping-up" operation around Yangyi. On the 11th, elements of the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade, departing from Liaoxian and Wuxiang, and elements of the 36th Division, departing from Lucheng and Xiangyuan, totaling over 3000 troops, coordinated from north to south to "mop up" the area along the Zhuozhang River between Yu, Liao, and Wu, encircling and "clearing" the area south of the Yu-Liao Highway. On the 14th, they advanced eastward from Hongshui, Panlong, and Xiying into the Dongtian and Zuohui regions. The 385th and 386th Brigades, along with the 1st Decisive Death Column, and other units of the Eighth Route Army, steadily blocked the advancing enemy forces from the interior, while the New 10th Brigade operated on the exterior. On the morning of the 15th, two regiments of the new 10th Brigade ambushed an enemy motor transport convoy at Gongjiagou on the Heliao Highway, destroying more than 40 enemy vehicles and killing more than 100 Japanese soldiers escorting the vehicles. On the 17th, the enemy troops who had been "mopping up" retreated in different directions. [4]

Luo Ruiqing (second from right), director of the Eighth Route Army's Field Political Department, and others at the Guanjiazhai battlefield

On October 20, 1940, the Japanese 36th Division and the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade, totaling nearly 10 people, set out from Wuan, Liaoxian, Wuxiang, Lucheng and other places to "sweep" the east and west areas of the Qingzhang River, focusing on the areas of Matan, Zuohuijian, Shexian and Piancheng, where the Northern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, the 129th Division, and the party and government organs of the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan Border Region were located. After the Japanese army entered the joint attack area, they carried out "mopping up" and burning and killing for several consecutive days. On the 26th, the Japanese army began to withdraw, carrying out "mopping up" in different areas on the way back. The base area was severely damaged and destroyed. [35] [4]

On October 29, 1940, a unit of the enemy's 36th Division, consisting of over 500 men and over 400 baggage carriers, which had been mopping up Huangyandong, advanced through Zuohui to Guanjiazhai, east of Panlong, preparing to return to Wuxiang. At 1:00 PM that day, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters ordered the 129th Division to concentrate its main forces to annihilate the enemy. That night, the 129th Division, with the main forces of the 385th and 386th Brigades, the New 10th Brigade, and parts of the 1st Decisive Death Column, surrounded the enemy at Guanjiazhai, planning to launch a general offensive at 4:00 AM the following day. The besieged enemy, in addition to urgently constructing fortifications, took advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack and seize Fengkengding Heights southwest of Guanjiazhai. Using these two commanding heights as a pincer attack, they stubbornly held their ground. The 129th Division, as planned, launched its attack on Guanjiazhai and dispatched a unit to seize Fengkengding Peak. The 129th Division quickly broke through the enemy's defenses, squeezed them into a small area, and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The fierce battle lasted until dawn on the 31st. Most of the enemy was wiped out, and only more than 60 people remained to defend the position. In the afternoon, more than 1500 enemies in Huangyandong rushed to the rescue with the support of more than 10 aircraft. The 129th Division withdrew from the battle. The remaining enemy fled to the flood with more than 280 corpses under the support of the enemy. At this point, most of the Japanese troops had withdrawn from the central area of ​​the base. [4][36-37]

In early November 1940, the Japanese army in Licheng, south of the Taihang Mountains, attacked Nanweiquan and Beiweiquan from the north, and then attacked Xijing. The Japanese army in Xiangyuan attacked Panlong via Xiying, intending to attack Dongtian and the area around Zhuanbi, where the Eighth Route Army headquarters was located. The 386th Brigade was ordered to rush to Damo Village, east of Panlong, to block the invading enemy along the north-south line and cover the transfer of the Eighth Route Army headquarters. [4]

At 9:00 on November 3, 1940, the troops had just finished deploying in the area around Damo Village when they engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. The Japanese army launched a series of attacks and captured some positions in Damo Village. The 386th Brigade held on tenaciously until 4:00 a.m. on the 4th, when they withdrew from the battle after the Eighth Route Army headquarters was successfully transferred. The Japanese army's attempt at a joint attack failed, and they retreated to the Baijin Line on the 5th. [4]

In the northern part of the Taihang area, more than 2500 Heshun enemies passed through Hanwang Town and Changcheng Town and arrived at Yushe on November 3, strengthening the Japanese forces in the Yu, Liao, and Wu areas. After that, they carried out repeated "mopping-up" operations in the areas of Jiangtang, Lingshang, Songjiazhuang, Guojiao, and Dayi south of the Yuliao Highway. Under the harassment and attacks of the military and civilians in the base area, by the 13th, the Japanese troops had retreated to their strongholds. The 40-day anti-"mopping-up" operation in the Taihang area ended. [4]

Starting from November 17, the Japanese army in the Taiyue area sent part of the 37th Division from Qin County and Nanguan Town, part of the 16th Independent Mixed Brigade from Pingyao, Jiexiu and Huo County, and a battalion of the 41st Division from Hongdong, totaling more than 7000 people, to attack Qinyuan and the Guodao Town area to the north. In order to avoid the enemy's attack, the Taiyue Military Region divided the leadership and main forces into two detachments, Qindong and Qinxi, and moved them to the areas on both sides of the Qin River outside the Japanese attack circle to attack the Japanese troops' scattered activities. Under the harassment of local armed forces, the Japanese army entered the joint attack area on the 23rd and immediately carried out a dispersed "mopping up". Qinyuan County suffered the most serious damage, with more than 5000 people killed, accounting for 1/10 of the county's population. Nearly 10,000 livestock were killed, more than 7000 were stolen, and 30,000 to 40,000 houses were destroyed. [4]

大岳军区部队抓住日军四出“清剿”，兵力分散的机会，积极打击日军。23日，沁西支队第42团在官滩歼灭日军100余人。27日，第42、第59团各一部又在胡汉坪、马背一带毙伤日军160余人。沁东支队第17、第57团，先后在光凹、陈家沟、龙佛寺、吾元镇、南卫村、南里等处予敌严重打击，其中第17团龙佛寺战斗，即歼日军100余人。第212旅在交口地区也予敌以重创。日军被迫于12月5日分路撤出太岳区。[4]

The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region's Anti-"Mopping-up Campaign"

The anti-"mopping-up" campaign in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area began in Pingxi, the area first attacked by the Japanese army, and was launched one after another. The Pingxi Anti-Japanese Base Area directly threatened the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front Army and the center of the North China puppet regime, Peking, as well as the main transportation lines of North China, the Pinghan and Pingsui lines. It was the first target of the Japanese army's "mopping-up" campaign in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area. [4]

1940年10月13日，日伪军1万余人分10路向平西根据地中心地区-三坡合击。日军采取稳扎稳打，依靠据点逐步推进的战术，每日前进5～10公里。[4]

Beiyue District Winter Anti-"Mopping-up" Campaign (2 photos)

The Pingxi Military Sub-district responded to the enemy's "mopping-up" campaign with timely maneuvers of its main forces and extensive guerrilla warfare.[38] After more than a week of fighting, the enemy was constantly harassed and attacked, making them quite tired.