The main forces of Red Army, having been
reorganized into Eighth Route Army in August 1937, were immediately deployed in
North China battlefield.
In September 1937, Japanese army in North China invaded Shanxi province through
Yanmen Pass and other strategic passes along Great Wall, attempting to seize Taiyuan,
the capital of Shanxi province.
National Government organized Taiyuan Campaign. Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen led No.
115 Division of Eighth Route Army to defend Pingxing Pass, which is the strategic
spot to the north of Shanxi. On September 25th, No. 115 Division ambushed Japanese
army and wiped out over 1,000 soldiers of Itagaki Division, stormed over 100 vehicles
and seized a lot of military materials, hence the "Victory at Pingxing Pass". This
was the first victory won by Chinese army since the beginning of nationwide Anti-Japanese
War. This win dispelled the myth that Japanese army was invincible, and boosted
the spirit of Chinese to fight Japanese. The victory also contributed to prepareation
of Xinkou by Nationalist Party's army.
Reference data
Eighth Route Army
Not long after Lugouqiao Incident, the CPC and the KMT joined hands to resist Japanese
invasion. On August 22nd, 1937, National Government announced the reorganization
of the main forces of Red Army into Eighth Route Army had three divisions; No. 115
Division, No. 120 Division and No. 129 Division. Zhu De was the commander-in-chief
of Eighth Route Army, and Peng Dehuai was his deputy.
Previous Next
