Battle Site of the Changgang Engagement

Battle Site of the Changgang Engagement

The Battle Site of the Changgang Engagement is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Battle Site of the Changgang Engagement is located on a mountain road about 2 kilometers south of Changgang Village, Qinghe Town, Ji’an City. Changgang Village lies in a mountain valley approximately 18 kilometers northwest of Ji’an. To the southeast are the towering peaks of the Laoling Mountain Range, while to the northwest are the spurs of the Laoling Mountains. Crossing the ridge to the north leads to Babaogou and Dongchagou. The battle site lies on both sides of the mountain road slightly south of the village, nearly 2 kilometers from the village. This was an old route leading to Ji’an that used to accommodate horse-drawn carts. Nowadays, the road is overgrown with weeds, but the surrounding mountain paths are thickly wooded. There is only a roughly 2.5-meter-wide treeless strip winding through the area, clearly showing the remnants of a path, though it is no longer passable by vehicles. A section of the old road at the battle site runs slightly from southwest to northeast, with a valley to the south and a small hill further back, locally known as East Mountain. This site is deep within the Laoling Mountains, now densely covered in trees and wild grass, with no obvious remnants.

The ambush of the puppet army’s Suo Brigade at Changgang was a battle commanded by Yang Jingyu and Yang Junheng on August 2, 1938, targeting the 41st Regiment of the Japanese-puppet Suo Brigade. In the summer of 1938, according to the strategic plan from the Laoling Emergency Meeting, the main forces of the First Route Army of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces began leaving the Laoling base area one after another in late July and headed toward ? (Hunchun), aiming to join the Fourth Route Army in the southeast. During that period, the “Anti-Sweeping Campaign” in the deep mountains was also in full swing. Although the unit had achieved successive victories, it also suffered many casualties. On August 2, Suo Jingqing, the brigade commander of the puppet army, personally led the remnants of the 41st Cavalry Regiment and the 32nd Infantry Regiment out of Ji’an County in full force, marching toward Changgang, where the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces were frequently active, in an attempt to take revenge. Upon receiving this intelligence, Yang Jingyu immediately made emergency arrangements, deploying troops to various routes and taking up ambush positions in Caicai Valley (now Xingfu Valley). When the enemy forces entered the ambush zone, they were immediately met with fierce attacks from the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces. After four hours of intense fighting, apart from Brigade Commander Suo Jingqing and a few surviving soldiers who escaped by jumping off a cliff under the cover of night, the rest were completely annihilated. This battle resulted in the killing of the enemy’s infantry Captain Gao Gang Wuji and Cavalry Lieutenant Nishida Shigetaka, with over 60 enemies killed or wounded and more than 200 captured. The battle also seized 9 machine guns, over 140 rifles, and a batch of military supplies. The once arrogant Suo Brigade, consisting of seven to eight hundred men, was completely wiped out by the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces after several battles. It is said that later, Brigade Commander Suo fled Ji’an with only a few subordinates, crying. The so-called “Flower of Manchukuo’s Bandit Suppression,” boasted by the Japanese and puppet forces, finally withered at the foot of the Laoling Mountains. However, during this battle, Yang Junheng, the chief of staff of the First Army of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, and more than ten soldiers sacrificed their lives.

On April 5, 1983, the People’s Government of Ji’an County erected a memorial monument on the hillside by the Yimi River at the entrance of Xiaobabao Valley, Dongchagou Village, Qinghe Town, in commemoration.

Changgang Village: Changgang Village…… Detailed information about Changgang Village++