The Southern Jiangsu Counter-Diehard Campaign

The campaign

According to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, from 12 to 15 April 1943 more than 5,000 troops of the New Fourth Army's 16th Brigade and the Ninth Branch School of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University counter-attacked the diehard forces advancing into southern Jiangsu, in six engagements: Shangxingbu–Qilishan, Yushuling–Guanshan, Tongshan, Caoshan, Huifeng Mountain–Beijingxiang, and Zhishan–Heshangshan.

The Lishui engagement

Of the six, the one connected with Lishui is the Huifeng Mountain–Beijingxiang action, fought on what is now Huifeng Mountain in Baima Town, Lishui District. The other place names, such as Shangxingbu and Zhishan, lie outside Lishui: the campaign was fought across several counties, and this entry does not attach the whole of it to Lishui alone.

Units engaged

According to the inscription reading published by the Yuhuatai Martyrs' Cemetery, the western line was held by three battalions of the Ninth Branch School and the 1st Battalion of the 47th Regiment, facing the Nationalist diehard forces; the eastern line by the 48th and 46th Regiments of the 16th Brigade, the brigade's security battalion and the 2nd Battalion of the 51st Regiment, facing five regiments of the diehard advance troops and the Zhongjiu forces. The ground fought over included Huifeng Mountain, Guanshan, Caoshan and Beijingxiang. Unit designations follow the wording of the source and are neither simplified nor rewritten.

Casualties

According to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the campaign accounted for more than 2,000 of the diehard forces, while the New Fourth Army suffered over 300 casualties, of whom 179 were killed. These figures follow party and military history counting practice; this entry reproduces them with their source.

Note on terms

"Diehard forces" is the term used in the documents of the time and in party history writing for the troops of the Nationalist diehard faction. This site reproduces the term and explains it, without passing judgement.

Memorial

A monument to those killed in the campaign was erected on Huifeng Mountain after the fighting; see the entry on the Huifeng Mountain Counter-Diehard Campaign Site.