How were the five heroes of Langya Mountain discovered by the masses?

"Revolutionary soldiers should have the spirit to regard death as returning home; preferring death to surrender is the glorious tradition of Yanzhao heroes." This was the words inscribed by Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, for the Five Heroes Memorial Tower in Langya Mountain. During the Anti-Japanese War, five heroes, Ma Baoyu, Ge Zhenlin, Song Xueyi, Hu Delin, and Hu Fucai, soldiers of the Seventh Company of the First Division and Regiment of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, resolutely led the enemy to the top of Qipantuo Peak of Langya Mountain in order to cover the retreat of the masses and the main force. At the end of the road, with all the bullets fired, he jumped off the cliff and used his life and blood to compose a magnificent poem that swallowed up mountains and rivers.

In 1941, the Japanese army carried out a continuous "mopping up" of the anti-Japanese base areas in the Langya Mountain area of ??Yixian County, Hebei Province, and caused many tragic massacres such as Tian Gang and Dong Lou Mountain in an attempt to use the brutal " The "Three Guangs" policy "cannibalized" our anti-Japanese base areas. On September 23, the Japanese army marched towards Yixian County in three directions, attempting to encircle the first division of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Army Division commanded by Commander Yang Chengwu.

On the 24th, 3,000 Japanese and puppet troops suddenly surrounded the Langya Mountain area, killing the guerrillas from Qiu Weituan, Yixian, Dingxing, Xushui, and Mancheng counties as well as the surrounding people. More than 2,000 people surrounded the army and the situation was very serious. Commander Qiu Wei quickly reported the situation to Commander Yang Chengwu. In order to rescue the guerrillas and local people, Commander Yang Chengwu formulated a combat plan of "surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao" and ordered the 3rd Regiment and the 20th Regiment. The regiment pretended to attack the Japanese troops in Guantou, Songshan, and Ganhe areas, prompting the Japanese troops to mobilize reinforcements from the northeast of Langya Mountain, so that the besieged guerrillas and the people could break out from the northeast of Langya Mountain. Based on this combat plan, Commander Qiu Wei assigned the task of covering the transfer of troops to the 7th Company.

At midnight, Commander Qiu Wei commanded the troops and local people to safely move from Pantuo Road to the Tiangang, Niugang, and Songgang areas. In the early morning, the Japanese and puppet troops mistakenly believed that Qiu Wei's regiment had been surrounded. Under the cover of aircraft and artillery, more than 500 Japanese puppet troops fiercely attacked toward Langya Mountain. The soldiers of the 7th Company had already laid mines on the road that the enemy must pass through. The explosion caused the Japanese and puppet troops to leave more than fifty corpses and fled back in a hurry. The Japanese commander was convinced that Qiu Wei's regiment had been surrounded and ordered his troops to attack frantically toward Langya Mountain again. During the fierce battle, most of the soldiers of the 7th company were killed, and company commander Liu Fushan was seriously injured. In order to allow the main force to move further and the injured soldiers of the 7th Company to be safely transferred, instructor Cai Zhanpeng ordered Ma Baoyu's squad to stay and hold on.

In order to hold back and attract the Japanese and puppet troops, Ma Baoyu led five soldiers including Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi to retreat in the direction of Qipantuo while fighting, leading the Japanese and puppet troops to a cliff and a dead end. When they retreated to the top of Qipantuo, there were only five people left, and all their bullets had been fired. They had no choice but to lift rocks and throw them at the Japanese and puppet troops. The Japanese and puppet troops realized that they had no more bullets, and swarmed toward the top of the mountain, shouting "Capture them alive, capture them alive!" Ma Baoyu, Ge Zhenlin, Song Xueyi, Hu Delin, and Hu Fucai would rather die than surrender, in order to prevent the Japanese and puppet troops from capturing them alive. The soldiers and weapons fell into the hands of the Japanese and puppet troops, and they jumped into the cliff with their guns in hand. Ma Baoyu, Hu Delin, and Hu Fucai died heroically. Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi were caught on branches on the cliff and survived.

The heroic deeds of Ma Baoyu and other five soldiers quickly spread throughout the country, and they were known as the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain". In May 1942, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region held the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain" At the "hero" naming and anti-mopping victory celebration meeting, the leadership of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region awarded the three martyrs the title of "Model Honorary Warrior", and ratified Hu Delin and Hu Fucai as members of the Communist Party of China; a general order commended Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi, and awarded them " Bravery and Tenacity" Medal. The fearless spirit of sacrifice and unyielding national integrity of the five heroes of Langya Mountain were highly praised by Commander Nie Rongzhen. He said: "They embody the excellent qualities of the people's army led by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese nation. Heroic spirit."

To commemorate and commend the five anti-Japanese heroes, the local revolutionary government built a memorial tower on the main peak of Qipantuo. After the founding of New China, the heroic deeds of the five heroes of Langya Mountain were included in primary school textbooks. In 1978, Song Xueyi died of illness and was buried in Qinyang City Martyrs Cemetery. On March 21, 2005, just before the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Ge Zhenlin died of illness in Hengyang, Hunan. At this point, the last living person among the Five Heroes of Langya Mountain also left people forever.