Historical information on the Japanese invasion of Hangzhou

Japanese troops are on guard near the Qiantang River Bridge that was blown up by Chinese troops.

It is really exciting to discover these photographs recorded by the Japanese invaders themselves that witnessed the fall of Hangzhou, but the clues were obtained purely by chance. Special thanks go to Mao Zhaoting and Mao Lijun, father and son from Jiangshan, Zhejiang. They are very unhappy. It was easy to collect these materials, but when I heard that newspapers were interested in these historical materials about Hangzhou, Mao, a retired cultural conservation worker from the Jiangshan Museum, came to Hangzhou at his own expense last weekend and provided these long-lost information for free. A piece of history that even we ourselves have almost forgotten.

They are also very humble collectors in their hometown. The elderly father was at home, and his son went to collectibles markets in various provinces to run a collection business. A few years ago, he discovered these illustrated magazines appeared in the market. Mao felt that this was irrefutable evidence of Japan's invasion of China and a rare historical material. It is also a new collection variety. They began to collect them intermittently, sometimes buying multiple copies at the same time and selling duplicates. By now, they have basically collected all the wartime special issues published by the Asahi Shimbun.

I met Xiao Mao on a rainy weekend more than a month ago. He took an overnight train from Jiangshan to Hangzhou to set up a stall at the 200th Collectibles Market, and brought a few "duplicate" pictorials. It was for sale. It was almost time to close the stall, but it was still not sold. Xiao Mao huddled in the corner to take shelter from the rain. In front of the stall were some worthless porcelain and wood carvings that were not afraid of the rain. The pictorials and old books were wrapped in plastic and put aside. The reporter asked to take a look and found that they were records of the Japanese army's invasion of the Central Plains. I thought they were rare, so I looked through them.

“This was put out for sale after being repeated.” “I want to collect this set of pictorials.” Xiao Mao’s words caught the reporter’s attention, and he asked, “Have you received any information from Zhejiang and Zhejiang? What about the content related to Hangzhou?" He said he didn't know, and he didn't read the content carefully. "My dad compiled this." He left a phone number for the reporter.

Later, there were several phone calls from Hangzhou to Jiangshan. Xiao Mao left the matter to Lao Mao. Lao Mao was a very serious old-school person. He called and said, "There is Hangzhou." I'll show it to you next time." Last weekend, he showed up at the newspaper office with a bag of pictorials. In each pictorial, he had put notes in advance about the places he thought we would be interested in.

He said that the pictorial may have been picked from old paper materials imported from Japan. Reporters accompanying the army from several Japanese news agencies took these photos. "Everywhere we hit, wherever we took photos, they were all taken at the time of the invasion." Mao pointed to the "War Log" column in the lower right corner of the pictorial and said, " You see, it is said here that they reached Fengshan Gate on the 24th, and on the 27th they took photos of the Japanese watching fish in Yuquan, and "they also went to the top of Baoshi Mountain to form a team!"

Among them! There is a picture of the Japanese army with the Songhu Anti-Japanese War Memorial Arch at the Xixi Road Racecourse as the background. The sinister intentions of the Japanese reporter back then were clear at a glance.

The father and son have a collection of 69 volumes of this type of illustrated magazine published by the Asahi Shimbun and others. It is an irregular supplement with color printing on the cover and map, and black and white photos on the inside pages. With the southern extension of the invasion area and the expansion of the war, the titles of the pictorials were divided into "Pictures on the Northern Branch Incident", "Pictures on the Japanese Branch Incident" and "Pictures on the China Incident".

Photographs of the Japanese occupation of Hangzhou are accompanied by a brief description, the name of the photographer and the time, which are used to accompany thematic articles. The pictorial is not a military reading. The main article is about 1,500 words long. In terms of content, it almost introduces the history of Hangzhou and the scenic spots around the lake to the Japanese people. It is very much like a Japanese journalist plagiarized the tourist guide information of Hangzhou at that time.

The Japanese army surrounded Hangzhou from three sides:

On the morning of December 21, the Japanese army surrounded Hangzhou from three sides.

The Japanese troops occupying Wuhu attacked Hangzhou from the direction of Guangde. On the morning of the 24th, the Japanese troops entered the city through Fengshan Gate; in the direction of Huzhou, the Japanese troops from Fukui, Tanichuan and Tsuda set out from Moganshan, Deqing and Wukang. , entered the city from Wulin Gate on the same day;

The Tengshan Division attacked Hangzhou along the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway and entered the city from Qingtai and Wangjiang gates.

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Plains, a prosperous land in China, fell into the hands of the Japanese invaders.

The "situation map" of the Japanese army's battle:

By May 1939, the territory occupied by the Japanese army had reached two and a half times the area of ??Japan's mainland.

Pictures from the period of the Japanese invasion of China:

The Japanese army passed by the Songhu Anti-Japanese War Memorial Arch:

This picture shows the Japanese army passing by the Songhu Anti-Japanese War Memorial Arch at Xixi Road Racecourse With the memorial archway as the background, the sinister intentions of the Japanese reporter back then were clear at a glance.

The Japanese troops who occupied Hangzhou rested by the lake:

The Japanese troops who occupied Hangzhou rested by the lake. On that day, the Japanese army

carried out an entry into the city, and troops including tanks and cavalry passed through the lakeside.

Japanese troops carrying heavy machine guns to climb the Liuhe Pagoda:

The Liuhe Pagoda standing on the Qiantang River is an important commanding height. Climbing to the top has a great impact on the surrounding areas

The changes in the situation are clearly visible. The picture shows the Japanese troops carrying heavy machine guns preparing to climb the tower.

Japanese invaders in Yuquan:

Soldiers visiting the Yuquan of Qinglian Temple beside the West Lake. This temple

is famous for this spring. There are many precious cloud koi fish and large herring.

Japanese soldiers rowing boats in Huagang Park:

On New Year's Day in 1938, a Japanese soldier rowed leisurely in Huagang Park.

Japanese soldiers admire the West Lake on Baoshi Mountain:

Japanese soldiers admire the West Lake on Baoshi Mountain.

The Japanese army held a worship ceremony:

One week after occupying Hangzhou, the Japanese army gathered on Baoshi Mountain to hold a worship ceremony.

The broken bridge under the iron heel:

The Japanese army was on guard beside the Qiantang River Bridge that was blown up by the Chinese army:

The Japanese army was blown up by the Chinese army and the Qiantang River Bridge was blown up Border security.

Pictures of Japanese troops:

Japanese troops in front of Shaoxing County Government:

Japanese troops invading Quzhou:

Japanese troops attacking Dinghai:

p>

Japanese occupation of Yuhuan Island:

Other examples of resistance:

On March 16, 1938, Wu Fuxia, a Dongyang pilot of the Second Battalion of the Chinese Air Force, was ordered to fly a bombing and was occupied by the Japanese army Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport, destroyed 11 enemy aircraft, 4 warehouses, and killed more than 20 Japanese soldiers. On the way back, he was intercepted by an enemy plane and died in a crash.

On February 17, 1940, the Japanese troops who invaded the west bank of Puyang River in Xiaoshan were resisted by the Chinese army and were forced to retreat to Wutang Village, Dai Village, and set up a command post at the home of civilian daughter Shen Peilan. Shen Peilan ventured out of the village and reported the enemy's situation to the Chinese army. He said that he would destroy his family and kill the enemy at any cost, and demanded that the artillery fire be fired immediately. In an instant, more than 20 buildings were reduced to ashes, and hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed in the flames. Shen Peilan's deeds of destroying families to rescue people were widely praised.

On March 21, 1939, under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese army attacked and occupied Dongzhou Sand in Fuyang. The local soldiers and civilians fought bravely. Dongzhou Sand is located in the eastern suburbs of Fuyang County and is a large sand island on the Fuchun River. After the fall of Fuyang County, it was only separated by a river from the Japanese garrison and became the most outpost of the Zhejiang Anti-Japanese War. The Japanese army planned to attack Dongzhousha, trying to cross the Fuchun River and capture Xiaoshan, Shaoxing, Zhuji, and even Jinhua to coordinate their attack on Nanchang. After repeated battles, the Chinese military and civilians regained the lost ground on the 23rd. This was the fiercest battle on the Fuchun River in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. More than 50 people, including the captain and below, were killed and wounded in the Japanese army. The victory of the Dongzhou Sand Defense Battle shattered the enemy's conspiracy to "sweep Dongzhou and forcefully cross the Fuchun River to advance southward" and further consolidated the situation of confrontation between the enemy and ourselves across the river.

"August 14th" air battle:

After the "July 7th" Incident in 1937, the Anti-Japanese War started in full swing on the North China battlefield. At that time, the main force of our Chinese Air Force was transferred north to support the North China battlefield. In early August, the situation in the Songhu area became urgent. In order to prevent the enemy from seizing Shanghai, controlling the Yangtze River Estuary, breaking through Lianyungang, falling into the Central Plains, and going down to Wuhan, we would cut off our rear resources and retreat route. , the National Government Aviation Committee issued the Air Force Operation Order No. 1 on August 13.

On the afternoon of August 14, the Fourth Brigade of the PLA Air Force suddenly received a telegram from Nanjing, and 27 fighter planes of the whole brigade immediately stationed in Jianqiao, Zhejiang from Zhoujiakou, Henan. At that time, a typhoon was passing through Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the weather was extremely bad. The plane was bumpy and groping in the mist and mist. After several hours of arduous flying, the four fleets finally arrived safely over Hangzhou.

At 18:10, just as the fleet lowered its landing gear and prepared to land, an air raid warning was issued in Hangzhou. Captain Gao Zhihang and Station Commander Xing Tuanfei of Jianqiao Station made hurried gestures on the takeoff line to signal for continuous takeoff, and shouted loudly, "The enemy plane is coming soon, don't stop the plane."

While speaking, Gao Zhihang Captain Gao immediately rushed onto the plane, jumped into the cabin, and was the first to fly straight into the sky. With no time to refuel, other fighter planes also took off one after another and rushed towards the enemy plane. The first major air battle in the history of the Anti-Japanese Air War began.

After receiving the alert, the Fourth Brigade scrambled into the air to search for a fleet led by Japanese Air Force Major Nitta. Since the typhoon area was close to Hangzhou, the cloud height above Jianqiao was only 300-500 meters, accompanied by light rain, and visibility was very low. At 18:30, 6 aircraft in the Xintian formation discovered Jianqiao Airport and started at an altitude of 500 meters. The bomb was dropped, but the hit rate was not high, and it only hit some airport facilities and fuel trucks.

After our fleet ascended to an altitude of 4,000 meters, we did not find any enemy planes. We realized that the enemy planes must have dropped below the clouds when bombing and dropping bombs, so we descended through the clouds again. After emerging from the clouds, we immediately discovered that the enemy planes were in Hangzhou Bay. The formation was evacuated in the sky. With the assistance of his comrades, Captain Gao Zhihang quickly approached and aimed at an enemy plane that was diving to attack. Gao Zhihang first shot the tail guard machine gun shooter of the Japanese aircraft, and after killing him, he approached the enemy aircraft without any worries, and fired four shots at the enemy aircraft's fuel tank, hitting the enemy aircraft immediately. While parachuting, the fire caused all the bombs in the cabin to explode in the air. The behemoth suddenly fell into pieces and landed on the banks of the Qiantang River.

After Li Guidan, the leader of the 21st Squadron, took off, he felt that the clouds at Jianqiao were too low and thick to detect enemy aircraft, so he led two wingmen and flew over the Qiaotong Airport. During the search, they discovered a Japanese bomber painted in brown, yellow, and dark green camouflage on the right front. The three of them joined forces to attack from a high position, preemptively and in turn. Unwilling to sit still and wait for death, the enemy plane's rear-seat machine gunner fought back desperately, but was finally unable to withstand the fierce firepower of three of our men. He was hit by a bullet and caught fire, and crashed near the Qiaohai Airport.

The Japanese planes in the air could not withstand the sudden attack of our air force and fled one after another.

At this time, the 22nd Squadron, which came from Guangde to refuel, also encountered another Japanese aircraft formation in the air that came to bomb - a 9-plane formation led by Major Asano. Our army made an urgent pursuit and intercepted one of them until they reached the vicinity of Cao'e Airport on the Qiantang River. The enemy plane was hit by a bullet in its fuel tank and fled to the southeast with thick smoke. It is said to have crashed off the coast of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Over Jianqiao, the air battle continued. After my captain Gao Zhihang shot down the Japanese plane, he also participated in the siege of the fleet and damaged another Japanese plane. The Japanese aircraft could not hold on and finally escaped. The battle ended in more than 20 minutes. The Anti-Japanese War broke out on July 7, 1937. At that time, the Chinese Air Force only had 305 combat aircraft of various types, which was at an absolute disadvantage compared with Japan. But our Air Force is not afraid of violence. In the "8·14" battle, the first battle was won, breaking the myth that "the Japanese Air Force is invincible".

Watching the Japanese bombing:

Mr. Liu Lansheng, who was born in 1925, is still in good spirits. He loves to raise flowers and plants at home, and is accompanied by his wife. He is nearly 80 years old and walking around The back is still straight all the way. Recalling the scene when the Japanese invaded Hangzhou 67 years ago, Mr. Liu became excited.

"In 1937, I was 13 years old and about to graduate from elementary school. Since September 18th, we all had anti-Japanese ideas, sang anti-Japanese songs, and went to the streets to perform anti-Japanese performances, like "Put Down Your Whip"

"My family has six brothers and sisters, because my father was a mail carrier at the post office, and he was well paid, so he was considered a middle class person at that time. I often read the newspapers. Marco Polo Bridge and Taierzhuang are mentioned in every battle report. There is also the Songhu Anti-Japanese War Memorial Tower in the Third Park by the West Lake. Therefore, various influences, education, and anti-Japanese concepts are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. "

"In September and October, Japanese planes began to bomb some major facilities in Hangzhou many times. At that time, there were many Bodhisattvas on Chenghuang Mountain, so the citizens went to Chenghuang Mountain to hide. Mr. Liu witnessed the air raid on the city bombing station on Chenghuang Mountain. "

"The Japanese aircraft were initially bi-winged, with two upper and lower wings, and later single-winged ones with one wing on each side, with a propeller in the front and a plaster flag on the belly, so they could not fly very fast. High, you can see it from a distance. The plane swoops down, and when it gets very close, it will drop a bomb and blow you up. That time I carried my youngest brother on my back and hid on the mountain. The city station at that time was a conical building shaped like two chicken coops. We all called it chicken coop tops. The Japanese came to drop bombs and blew off the top of a chicken coop. There is an anti-aircraft machine gun in Shiwukui Lane, which is used to shoot down planes, but the range is too low and it has never shot down a single plane. Every time the Japanese came, they bombed a few key targets, such as the Chengdu Railway Station and the Qianjiang Bridge. Up to six bombers came at a time. We didn't have many planes. We shot down two or three planes in several air battles. The most famous one was Gao Zhihang. "

The Japanese attacked step by step and were about to enter Hangzhou. Mr. Liu's family began to flee, crossing the Qiantang River to Xixing, then taking a boat to Shaoxing, and returned to his hometown of Ningbo after a while. Later he followed his father The escort truck arrived at Jinhua’s grandma’s house. In Jinhua, Mr. Liu saw the tragic scene of the Japanese bombing the train station.

“The Japanese had a kind of bomb at that time, and the tail of the bomb would automatically detach when it was thrown. , the fuse connected inside will be pulled, and exploded two or three feet above the ground. We saw people throwing bombs lying on the ground. If you are standing or squatting, your whole head may be damaged if you touch this kind of bomb. was chipped away. Once, the Japanese bombed Jinhua Railway Station, which was full of people. It was really tragic. The pieces of corpses were hanging everywhere, and there was blood and dirt everywhere. ”

Following his father’s relationship, Mr. Liu worked in the post office for a month. It happened that Chongqing No. 21 Arsenal was recruiting apprentices. After 1941, Mr. Liu was admitted after passing the dual assessment as a technical apprentice. The key personnel entered the factory to build the Hanyang Type 79 rifle. Mr. Liu said with a bit of regret: "The Anti-Japanese War was won before the gun was built. ”

Iron evidence from the pictorial:

It is really exciting to discover these photographic pictures recorded by the Japanese invaders themselves to witness the fall of Hangzhou. However, the clues were obtained purely by chance. This place is special. Thanks to the father and son Mao Zhaoting and Mao Lijun from Jiangshan, Zhejiang, they collected this information with great difficulty. However, when they heard that the newspaper was interested in these historical materials about Hangzhou, Lao Mao, a retired cultural conservation worker from the Jiangshan Museum, went to I came to Hangzhou on the weekend at my own expense, and provided these pieces of history that had been forgotten for a long time for free.

They are also very humble collectors in their hometown. The elderly father is at home, and his son is here. Collectibles markets in various provinces "go to market" to run the collection business. A few years ago, I found these pictorials appearing in the market. Mao felt that this was irrefutable evidence of Japan's invasion of China. It was a rare historical material and a new type of collection. I began to collect them intermittently, sometimes buying multiple copies at the same time, and selling duplicates. Now, I have basically collected all the wartime special issues published by the Asahi Shimbun.

It took more than a month to get to know Xiaomao. On the previous rainy weekend, he took an overnight train from Jiangshan to Hangzhou to set up a stall at the 200th Collectibles Market. He brought a few "duplicate" illustrated magazines to sell. When the stall was about to close, Xiao Mao didn't sell them. In the corner to take shelter from the rain, in front of the stall were some worthless porcelain and wood carvings that were not afraid of the rain. Illustrated magazines and old books were wrapped in plastic and put aside. The reporter asked to take a look and found that they were records of the Japanese army's invasion of the Central Plains. They felt very little. See it, just look it up.

“This was put out for sale after being repeated.” “I want to collect this set of pictorials.” Xiao Mao’s words caught the reporter’s attention, and he asked, “Have you received any information from Zhejiang and Zhejiang? What about the content related to Hangzhou?" He said he didn't know, and he didn't read the content carefully. "My dad compiled this." He left a phone number for the reporter.

Later, there were several phone calls from Hangzhou to Jiangshan. Xiao Mao left the matter to Lao Mao. Lao Mao was a very serious old-school person. He called and said, "There is Hangzhou." I'll show it to you next time." Last weekend, he showed up at the newspaper office with a bag of pictorials. In each pictorial, he had put notes in advance about the places he thought we would be interested in.

He said that the pictorial may have been picked from old paper materials imported from Japan. Reporters accompanying the army from several Japanese news agencies took these photos. "Everywhere we hit, wherever we took photos, they were all taken at the time of the invasion." Mao pointed to the "War Log" column in the lower right corner of the pictorial and said, " You see, it is said here that they reached Fengshan Gate on the 24th, and on the 27th they took photos of the Japanese watching fish in Yuquan, and "they also went to the top of Baoshi Mountain to form a team!"

Among them! There is a picture of the Japanese army with the Songhu Anti-Japanese War Memorial Arch at the Xixi Road Racecourse as the background. The sinister intentions of the Japanese reporter back then were clear at a glance.

The father and son have a collection of 69 volumes of this type of illustrated magazine published by the Asahi Shimbun and others. It is an irregular supplement with color printing on the cover and map, and black and white photos on the inside pages. With the southern extension of the invasion area and the expansion of the war, the titles of the pictorials were divided into "Pictures on the Northern Branch Incident", "Pictures on the Japanese Branch Incident" and "Pictures on the China Incident".