Immortal Bonfire

At the beginning of 1938,after the founding of the counter-Japanese base area in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border region led by the CPC,the armed forces there became the main force behind the enemy lines in North China.The counter-Japanese soldiers and civilians,not afraid of violence and sacrifice,fought the invaders to the end.They attacked the enemy flexibly by mobile warfare,guerrilla warfare,tunnel warfare and mine warfare,composing a number of songs of the counter-Japanese war.

Five Heroes of Langya Mountain who would rather die than surrender In September 1941,more than 3,500 people in Japanese puppet troops besieged Langya Mountain in Yixian County.In order to cover the transfer of the locals,five soldiers voluntarily led the enemy to the precipice,and resisted the enemy relying on the dangerous situation,beating off the enemy’s charge continuously.When they ran out of their bullets,they broke their guns and jumped off the cliff.Three heroes,Ma Baoyu,Hu Fucai and Hu Delin,died heroically.Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi were injured and survived after being trapped by mountainside branches.Their devotion to national liberation was so heroic and formidable that the enemy was shocked.To commemorate and commend them,the local revolutionary government built a memorial pagoda on Peak Qipantuo of the Langya Mountain.On September 14,2009,the“Five Heroes of Langya Mountain”were selected into the“100 Heroic Models with Outstanding Contributions to the Founding of People’s Republic of China.”

Elusive Tunnel Warfare Tunnel warfare was a great pioneering creation of soldiers and civilians in central Hebei during the plain guerrilla warfare in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.It was a special fighting form of persisting in protracted war and guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines under the condition that the enemy was much stronger.During the hard years in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,people in central Hebei creatively carried out armed struggles behind enemy lines.From the digging of the“Toad Holes,”a tunnel network was gradually formed,which featured interwoven tunnels connecting all households and villages.The people,relying on the tunnels,fought bravely and tenaciously against the invaders and created the famous tunnel warfare,which turned the Central Hebei Plain with no natural barriers for defense into an indestructible underground Great Wall.During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,the people of Ranzhuang endured the bloody slaughter of the Japanese invaders.Under the leadership of the CPC,the people of Ranzhuang,who had withstood the test of blood and fire,fought against Japanese enemies without fear of violence,and made use of the tunnels to cooperate with the armed working teams and the field troops to fight the enemy 157 times,including 5 major battles,killing more than 2,100 enemies and winning the glorious title of“Model Village of Tunnel Warfare.”

Qingfengdian Battle In October 1947,a force of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army broke into the city of Xushui.The Kuomintang urgently transferred the 94th Army and the 16th Army and other troops to go south from Gucheng and Rongcheng for reinforcement,which were attacked by the PLA in the north of Baoding.Chiang Kai-shek thought that the main force of the PLA had been concentrated in Xushui and Gucheng,and it was time for the final duel with the North China Field Army,so he ordered the main force of the Third Army of Shijiazhuang to go north and attempted to attack PLA’s army in Xushui from north to south.The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army decided to concentrate its superior forces to annihilate the enemies from the south for supporting the north,leaving a few troops to continue to block the enemies from the north,while the main force quickly went south and surrounded the enemies in Qingfengdian.After three days of fierce fighting,PLA’s army won the battle and captured commander Luo Lirong and deputy commander Yang Guangyu of the enemy’s 3rd Army.This battle is the first great victory won by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army after it turned into a strategic counter-offensive.It is a brilliant example of the PLA’s mobile warfare and a triumphant victory for the army and the people to unite against the enemy.The Qingfengdian Battle reversed the situation of the war in North China.Twenty days later,the PLA conquered Shijiazhuang,completely connecting the two liberated areas,Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan,creating favorable conditions for the CPC to move its base camp to Xibaipo and commanding the three major campaigns of Liaoshen,Pingjin and Huaihai.

Wang Pu,a little hero who always lives in the hearts of the people (1929-1943),a native of Yechang Village in Wanxian County (presentday Shunping County),was a little hero in the Counter-Japanese War.In 1940,he was elected head of the first Communist Children’s League of the village.He led the members of the league to stand guard,send messages,and cover the wounded.He was a famous“Little Soldier of the Eighth Route Army.”On May 7,1943,the Japanese army suddenly surrounded Yechang Village.They gathered the people hiding in different places and forced them to hand over the guns,ammunition,food and clothing of the Eighth Route Army.Wang Pu led the members of the Communist Children’s League to recite the Counter-Japanese Convention:“Don’t tell the truth to the Japanese,don’t expose the Eighth Route Army…”and called slogans such as“rather die against Japanese aggression than be conquered people.”The Japanese army got nothing and became angry from embarrassment.They shoot the people with three machine guns at the same time,killing 118 innocent people,including Wang Pu who was only 14.The Wanxian Democratic Government awarded him the glorious title of“Little Counter-Japanese Hero”and built a monument for him.