The Chinese people know the most about the Western Army in the Xifengkou War. In later generations, Song Zheyuan led the 29th Army in the bloody battle at Xifengkou. The incompetent Suzuki and Hattori Brigade became famous in the first battle. The soldiers of the 29th Army fought with machetes and grenades.

The advanced weapons of the Qian army wiped out five thousand enemies, and the Xifengkou defense line experienced many

Despite the fierce battle, the Asahi Shimbun commented: "Since Emperor Meiji established his army, the reputation of the imperial army has been completely lost outside Xifengkou, and it has suffered an insult unprecedented in the past sixty years." After the war, Song Zheyuan, Zhang Zizhong, and Feng Zhian

, Zhao Dengyu, Liu Ruming and others were awarded the "Blue Sky and White Sun" Medal.

The victory of the Xifengkou Anti-Japanese War was China's first major victory since the "September 18th Incident", and the whole country was rejoicing. People from all walks of life formed condolence groups to come to the labor force, and reporters from various newspapers also flocked to record the news film of the 29th Army.

in major universities across the country

The city's theaters showed it, and every time Song Zheyuan's scene appeared in the movie, the audience stood up and applauded. The 29th Army's Broadsword Team became famous for the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, and the "Broadsword March" composed by composer Mai Xin was immediately praised.

Singing everywhere.

Although the 29th Army won the victory at Xifengkou, the three divisions of the 17th Army of the Central Army were defeated one after another at Gubeikou. The Wei Army was able to break through from here, causing the entire defense line of the Nanzhijing government army to collapse. Zhang Xueliang

Taking the blame and resigning, He Yingqin took over

Chairman of the Peking Army Branch, in May 1933, he signed the "Tanggu Agreement" with the Qi State, which was humiliating and humiliating to the country. In fact, he recognized the Qi State's occupation of the three eastern provinces and listed Jidong and Chadong as "demilitarized zones."

", allowing the imperial army of the Qi Kingdom to enter.

The failure of the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War made Song Zheyuan heartbroken. He asked: "Why can't our 300,000-strong army defeat the 50,000-strong Chinese army?" The 29th Army's Xifengkou Anti-Japanese War was actually a tragic victory. Although 5,000 enemies were wiped out, he himself was also defeated.

There were over 10,000 casualties, and Xu Tingyao's 17th Army suffered more than 20,000 casualties.

Although Song Zheyuan's performance during the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War was remarkable, it was somewhat unsatisfactory in the future. It cannot be said that the subsequent fall of North China had nothing to do with him. The 29th Army had a stalemate with the Qianguo Army in Pingjin for two years.

Time, during which conflicts continued, but they were all resolved politically, so top to bottom were paralyzed and lacked attention to the frequent activities of the Fei Army. On the other hand,

The officers and soldiers of the 29th Army also overestimated their own strength, believing that the weak army in the Pingjin area, with only 30,000 people, was absolutely unable to fight against the 100,000-strong 29th Army. In May 1937, Song Zheyuan was tired of

After living a life of peace with the Chinese people, he left Peiping and returned to his hometown in Leling, Shandong to recuperate. While Song Zheyuan was enjoying rare leisure in his hometown, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which shocked both China and the world, broke out.

Song Zheyuan believed that "at present, the weak country is not ready to launch a full-scale war against China. As long as we show some concessions, partial solutions are still possible." Of course, Nanjing's instructions are also "to respond to war without asking for war." According to this spirit, the 29th Army

All the ministries were on hold. He Jifeng, the brigade commander of the 37th Division, asked to take the initiative to attack when Fengtai's weak army was empty, but Zhang Zizhong stopped him. In fact, Zhang Zizhong stopped him.

On the day before, the Chinese government had already made a decision to expand the war. It was only in the Battle of Wanping that the North China Chinese Army discovered that the 29th Army had strong combat capabilities, so it felt that its troops were insufficient. Negotiations with the Hebei-Cha authorities were just a delaying tactic to buy time to increase the number of troops.

The army. Song Zheyuan, Zhang Zizhong and others lacked clear judgment on this and were still committed to resolving the incident through diplomatic mediation, so they signed an armistice agreement with the weak side.

Afterwards, the Yi Army successively deployed the 5th, 6th and 20th Divisions and the 1st and 11th Independent Mixed Brigades from China and the Northeast to the Pingjin area. Together with the original Tianjin garrison, the total strength reached

More than 100,000 people. When the Yi Army issued an ultimatum to the 29th Army to withdraw from Peiping before July 27, Song Zheyuan sternly refused. Only then did Song Zheyuan realize that war was inevitable.

The army of the Ao State took the initiative and launched a full-scale offensive in the early morning of the 28th. Fierce fighting broke out in Nanyuan, Beiyuan, Xiyuan, Tongxian and other places. The 29th Army responded hastily and the situation was very unfavorable. Song Zheyuan was about to face a dilemma.

: There is no danger to defend the Pingjin area. The Yi army has superior strength and an advantage. Not only is it difficult for the 29th Army to win this battle, but it may even lose its capital.

; If we retreat, the loss of Pingjin will be a heavy responsibility, and we will not be able to explain it to Nanjing and the people. When Song Zheyuan was hesitating, bad news came. The 29th Army in Nanyuan was attacked by the main force of the Qi State Army.

During the attack, deputy commander Tong Linge and division commander Zhao Dengyu were killed. The troops directly under the military headquarters and the 132nd Division were outnumbered and defeated. Nanyuan was lost, and the 29th Army's defense line was cut in the middle. It was in danger.

Song Zheyuan probably wanted to preserve his strength at this time. He said to Zhang Zizhong: "The Northwest Army was built by Mr. Feng with all his life's efforts. We must preserve the foundation left by him. You are the only one who can do this. 20

The current front of the Ninth Army is too long. We need to contain the troops. Only you can fight with Qian

The negotiations between the Chinese people were delayed for a week..." Zhang Zizhong was ordered to act as the mayor of Peking in the critical moment. He said to Qin Dechun: "You and Mr. Song have become national heroes, and I am afraid that you have become a traitor!" July 29

In the early morning, the 29th Army withdrew except for four regiments left to maintain public security.

When the people of Peiping went out early in the morning, they found that the national army had abandoned the people of Peking and Tianjin and retreated. Notices signed by Zhang Zizhong were posted everywhere, advising the people to go about their business and not to panic. There was an uproar in the public opinion, and everyone believed that Zhang Zizhong had become a traitor.

The whole country denounced "Zhang Ni Zizhong". Zhang Zizhong was a man with high self-esteem and a strong sense of honor. This encounter had a great impact on him, and he was determined to die from then on.

Of course, it is obviously biased to place all the responsibility for the loss of Hebei on Song Zheyuan's Western Army. After all, it is impossible to resist the power of a country by relying on the Western Army alone. After all, the Western Army is still tenacious.

Although the battle was fought, the failure was excusable. The three eastern provinces in a similar situation retreated without fighting and lost all the territory of the three eastern provinces, which is incomparable.

On June 15, 1933, the Twelfth Army of the Conventional Army of the Imperial Army of China moved into Jinan to defend the Western Army's positions. The First Division switched to defend the positions of Feng Zhi'an Division, and the Second Division switched to defend the positions of Zhang Zizhong Division. Zhonghua

The imperial army held a grand farewell ceremony for Division Feng Zhi'an, Division Zhang Zizhong, Division Liu Ruming, and Division Zhao Dengyu, and highly praised the Western Army for its great contributions to the nation during the Anti-Japanese War.

The four divisions of the Western Army will withdraw to the rear to recuperate and reorganize. The long battle has made them exhausted. At the same time, in order to better integrate into the Chinese Imperial Army, they will undergo a period of study and become familiar with the operations of the Chinese Imperial Army.
Chapter completed!