96-year-old expeditionary military veteran Yufu: Of more than 20 fellow villagers who joined the army, I am the only one left.

"The British army did not notify us of their retreat, so we were ambushed by the Japanese army as soon as we arrived in Burma. Division Commander Ma Weiji led us to break out. I was a machine gunner, and two ammunition handlers loaded my magazines, and I used the machine gun Fighting back against the Japanese troops and covering the company's breakout, we ran out of ammunition and the Japanese artillery fired fiercely at us. When I saw a shell coming towards me, I rolled on the spot holding the machine gun and rolled into a nearby ditch. It exploded and I saved my life." One night in 2006, in a residential building in Chengdu. Fang Xiuyun was busy in the kitchen, while her 88-year-old father Fang Yufu was watching TV series in the living room. There was the sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen, and the sound of gunfire booming on the TV. The drama on TV is about the Anti-Japanese War, and Fang Yufu likes to watch it the most.

Fang Xiuyun came out of the kitchen after washing the dishes and saw her father bursting into tears. "I thought the plot of the TV series was too touching and the old man was moved after watching it." But Fang Xiuyun felt something was wrong. His father was always serious and he almost never saw him cry. Moreover, there are so many Anti-Japanese War dramas. What about today’s Anti-Japanese Expeditionary Army TV drama impressed the old man? Fang Yufu murmured: "I have experienced all these battles, and I have also fought against the Japanese. Many brothers died there." His father had never told his family about these experiences, and Fang Xiuyun was skeptical.

But when Fang Yufu told an Anti-Japanese War researcher who came here for his unit number, sequence, and places where they fought, all of them were consistent with historical facts. "My father did participate in the Anti-Japanese War and fought against the Japanese, and he kept this secret from his children for more than 60 years." What kind of blood and fire experience has Fang Yufu experienced? Why didn't he say anything about joining the war? Recruiting soldiers from his hometown and more than 20 people joining the army to serve the country

Fang Yufu’s story began in 1938, when Lao Fang was still Xiao Fang and he was 20 years old. Let us first take a look at what major events happened in China this year.

In the spring of this year, wars broke out across the land of China: on February 3, the Chinese army and the Japanese invaders launched the massive Xuzhou Battle in Xuzhou; on February 5, the tragic Nanjing Massacre ended; 4 On March 6, the Chinese army completely wiped out the Japanese army in Taierzhuang, and the battle of Taierzhuang was victorious.

The world outside the mountains is so far away for young Fang Yufu. At that time, he was still working as a farmer in Fangjiakou, Jianyang. He learned about these battles from other people's mouths.

The arrival of a person connected the war with Fang Yufu. On Qingming Festival that year, a high-ranking official named Fang Chao came back from Fangjiakou (Fang Chao, a native of Jianyang, graduated from the fourth phase of Huangpu Military Academy, served as lieutenant general of the 79th Army of the Communist Party of China, and concurrently served as commander of Yibin, Neijiang, Luzhou, and Ziliujing 4 the security commander of a region). When Fang Chao returned to his hometown, he did not put on airs, reminisce about the past, or worship his ancestors. Instead, he non-stop mobilized young people: quickly join the army and serve the country!

"At that time, Commander Fang mobilized our young people everywhere to protect our country and win glory for our hometown." Fang Yufu didn't know what the war really meant, but it was impossible for a man to achieve a career by staying at home. . Mobilized, Fang Yufu signed up to join the army.

Under Fang Chao’s mobilization, more than 20 young people from the Fang family signed up to join the army, including Fang Yufu. He went to Chongqing and joined the New 29th Division as squad leader

After saying goodbye to his parents and family, Fang Yufu and more than 20 fellow villagers embarked on the road to serve the country. What is waiting for them ahead? Fang Yufu and others are not very clear. But they understand that after going to the battlefield, many people may never return to Fangjiakou.

They walked from Jianyang to Shiqiao. There, Fang Chao gave them dozens of yuan and asked them to go to Chongqing. Then Fang Yufu and others took a ship from Chongqing to Changshou.

In Changshou, those with a high level of education were assigned to study in the non-commissioned officer corps; those with a low level of education were assigned to serve as soldiers in the Second Brigade of the Hubei Corps. In April 1939, Fang Yufu's army was reorganized into the 29th Division of the Army. He was assigned to the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 87th Regiment (then called the Supplementary Regiment) as the squad leader.

Fang Yufu can still name the military officers at that time: Division Commander Ma Weiji, Regiment Commander Xie Shizhen, Battalion Commander Chen Keqiang, Company Commander Li Yunfeng, and Platoon Commander Wen Guoliang.

Unlike other Sichuan troops with crude equipment, Fang Yufu’s unit was well-equipped. His company alone has three machine guns. Fang Yufu is a machine gunner, equipped with a brand-new Czech machine gun.

For one year, every day was training, and every day we heard battle news from the front line. Fang Yufu also wonders every day: When will he be able to go to the front line? Entering Myanmar to defend the "lifeline" of the Anti-Japanese War

Soon, it was time for Fang Yufu's troops to serve the country.

What they didn’t know was that the expedition they participated in would be the first time that the Chinese army went abroad to fight in hundreds of years.

Here, it is necessary to talk about the background of the First Yunnan-Burma Campaign. At this point in the Anti-Japanese War, due to China's weak industrial base and the urgent need for a large amount of supplies and foreign aid, the Kuomintang built the Burma Highway in early 1938. Inspired by their belief in resisting Japan and saving the country, 200,000 people from 28 counties in western Yunnan brought their own rations and tools, ate and slept in the open air, and cut and drilled rocks for 10 months. The 990 kilometers of mountains and fields were built with hands and blood and sweat on the Burma Highway. During this period, countless people died due to blasting, falling off cliffs, falling into rivers, the weight of earth and rocks, and malignant dysentery.

At the end of 1938, the Burma Highway was opened to traffic. This highway became the "blood vessel" of China's Anti-Japanese War and also became a "thorn in the side" of the Japanese army. After the Anti-Japanese War began, Japan attempted to use force to force an interruption of "third countries'" aid activities to China. In the winter of 1939, the Japanese army occupied Nanning and cut off China's international communication line to Vietnam's coastal defense. In the spring of 1940, Japan bombed the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway indiscriminately; in June, it forced France to accept the request to stop cargo transportation between China and Vietnam. In September, Japan invaded Vietnam and signed a friendship treaty with Thailand, and the Yunnan-Vietnam Line was completely interrupted. The Burma Highway became the only channel to aid China.

Myanmar is a country of important strategic significance on the Southeast Asian peninsula. Once the Japanese army occupied Myanmar, it would not only cut off China's "blood supply", but would also directly threaten the rear area of ??the Southwest Anti-Japanese War. At the end of 1941, after the Pacific War broke out, the Japanese army swept across Southeast Asia in a short period of time, and the spearhead immediately targeted Myanmar.

In order to defend Myanmar, China and the United Kingdom were planning to establish a military alliance as early as early 1941. China actively prepared and proposed that Chinese troops enter Myanmar as soon as possible to deploy defenses. On December 23, 1941, China and Britain signed the "Sino-British Agreement on the Joint Defense of the Burma Road" in Chongqing, forming a Sino-British military alliance. Defending the lifeline of the War of Resistance and sending troops to Burma became the top priority of the War of Resistance.

In March 1942, the newly formed 28th and 29th Divisions went on an expedition to Burma to Lashio to assist the British army in fighting the Japanese invaders. "We were very excited at the time. We could finally fight the Japanese and go abroad to fight and enhance our country's prestige." Fang Yufu said that after receiving the order, his unit entered Myanmar by car from Bishan, Chongqing.

Since it was the first time to fight abroad, the expeditionary force was warmly welcomed by the people along the way not only at home, but also in Myanmar. Wherever they went, overseas Chinese in Myanmar wrote colorful slogans to express condolences and welcome. Such as "Going on an expedition abroad to promote the country's prestige", "Going on an expedition into Myanmar, it is a supreme honor", etc. Some overseas Chinese groups also entrust special personnel to entertain the transit troops to drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, eat bread and refreshments for free.

Fang Yufu said that precisely because they are going abroad to fight, the army must have stricter military discipline. At that time, the superiors were stricter on their clothing, speech, and behavior than at home. "A soldier was hungry and stole a chicken from the local people. When he was discovered, he was immediately shot on the spot." Fang Yufu said that because of the strict requirements, the local people supported the expeditionary force very much. The first combat expeditionary force suffered a disastrous defeat

But what Fang Yufu did not expect was that even though it was well-equipped and with high fighting spirit, the Chinese expeditionary force suffered a disastrous defeat when it entered Myanmar for the first time.

It was not the Chinese commanders and Chinese troops who laid the groundwork for this failure, but the British. Although the Sino-British Communist Party had long signed an agreement to defend the Yunnan-Burma Road, the British had always regarded Myanmar as a "back garden" and were extremely opposed to the entry of Chinese troops and resolutely refused to allow the expeditionary force to enter Myanmar. They also fantasize about using the British Empire's brand name to scare the Japanese from provoking easily.

In January 1942, the Japanese 15th Army invaded Myanmar. In less than two months, the Japanese army reached near Yangon. Seeing that the army was on the verge of collapse, the British army remembered their allies and quickly asked for help from the expeditionary force. "It was under such circumstances that we entered the war zone."

Fang Yufu said that the British acted very unethically. Seeing that the war situation was unfavorable, the British lost interest in defending Burma and fled to India. Moreover, the British not only retreated without telling the Chinese army about the actual situation on the front line, but also cut off the Chinese army's rear.

Fang Yufu said that this resulted in the Chinese army being ambushed by the Japanese army as soon as it arrived in Myanmar. The 28th Division walked in front and suffered heavy losses, with almost the entire division destroyed. His 29th Division was behind the 28th Division and was surrounded by Japanese troops. Breaking through the siege and saving a life by chance

Recalling that breakout, Fang Yufu is still in pain. He recalled: "At that time, the division commander Ma Weiji led the troops to break out. I was a machine gunner, and two ammunition handlers loaded the magazine for me. I used the machine gun to fight back against the Japanese troops and cover the company's breakout."

Fang Yufu said that the Czech-made The firepower of the machine gun was very fierce, and with a click, the Japanese who were charging over fell to the ground. Soon, the ammunition was gone and the Japanese continued to charge. At this time, Japanese artillery shells began to attack the Chinese army's positions.

"I heard the whistling sound of artillery shells, and saw one coming. I rolled on the spot holding the machine gun and rolled into a nearby ditch." Fang Yufu said that the artillery shell was right where he was setting up the machine gun. The location exploded, and he was lucky enough to save his life. After two days and two nights of intense fighting, Fang Yufu and others finally broke through the Japanese encirclement. Only a few hundred of the 4,000 men of the 29th Division evacuated. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of his comrades, and the scene was horrific.

At this point, the battle could no longer continue, and Fang Yufu followed the troops and began to retreat back into the country.

What a tragic retreat it was, filled with grief, anger, humiliation, and death that followed. Fang Yufu said that along the way, when he was thirsty, he would drink water from the ditch, and when he was hungry, he would find wild vegetables and fruits to eat. Many soldiers fell to the ground and never got up due to lack of food or serious injuries and lack of treatment. "There were dead people all the way. I was talking to you just now, but I can't get up anymore." Fang Yufu recalled that period of history and war scenes, which still makes him shudder.

Even after retreating, Fang Yufu’s expeditionary force still maintained the most basic discipline and order. "Even if we starve to death, we will never take anything from the surrounding villagers.

"They walked for 4 days and 4 nights before returning to Kunming, Yunnan. I originally planned to keep the secret secret

After returning to China, despite the defeat, the people of the motherland still warmly welcomed and comforted Fang Yufu and other returning soldiers. Fang Yufu recalled that when he returned to Kunming, local people brought them roasted meat.

This meat meal is so delicious to soldiers like Fang Yufu who have endured hunger and cold for a long time. But in Fang Yufu's mouth, these condolence foods tasted extremely sad. During the First Yunnan-Burma Campaign, among the more than 20 young people who came out of Fangjiakou together, he was the only one who returned to his hometown.

Fang Yufu said, how can a defeated general speak bravely? "I don't plan to tell it." He buried his experience of fighting in Myanmar deep in his heart and did not mention it to anyone.

Later, Fang Yufu did not continue to join the army, but demobilized and became a guard in the Chengdu Public Security Department at that time. After liberation, Fang Yufu worked in the food, commercial and other departments. He has three children, now full of children and grandchildren, enjoying a peaceful old age. The secret that was originally planned to be taken to the grave was discovered by the family inadvertently.

While writing a series of reports on "The Last Anti-Japanese War Veterans", the reporter found that since the first battle into Myanmar ended in failure, historical records about the newly formed 29th Division were extremely difficult to find. Fang Yufu's memories have become valuable information for restoring that period of history.

As a volunteer from the Bashu Anti-Japanese War Research Institute said, war is cruel, and there cannot be only a glorious victory, but also the pain of defeat. The failure of the first battle into Myanmar cannot conceal the fact that most officers and soldiers fought bloody battles. "The veterans of the Anti-Japanese War are the individuals who carried the war. Whether they won the war or lost the war, the veterans deserve our respect.

"Xie Lingjie, intern of reporter Yu Xing of West China Metropolis Daily, photographed Yang Tao's veteran files.