Site of the Battle to Defend Laowei Old Village

Site of the Battle to Defend Laowei Old Village

The Site of the Battle to Defend Laowei Old Village is a classic destination for red tourism.

The Site of the Battle to Defend Laowei Old Village is located in Laowei Village, Laowei Town, Dongyuan County.

In the spring of 1946, a battalion of Kuomintang forces under Chen Shanfen entered Shipai to carry out "village cleansing" and "mopping-up" operations. On February 2 (Chinese New Year’s Eve), hundreds of heavily armed enemy troops launched an attack on Laowei Village, searching for Communist Party members, militiamen, and cadres of the Peasant Association. Party member Ouyang Pu was killed, Ouyang Zhong was wounded, and others managed to evacuate safely.

At noon on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month in 1948, over 300 troops from a Kuomintang battalion led by Officer Zhao Sa, equipped with mortars, machine guns, and other weapons, launched a full-scale armed attack on Laowei Village. Laowei Village is a large walled village with over 1,000 residents, surrounded by ponds, and accessible only through a few main gates. Upon noticing the enemy encirclement, local Communist Party members Ouyang Ming, Ouyang Nan, Ouyang Tuo, Ouyang Hai, and Oujinren immediately mobilized and organized militiamen and villagers to close all the gates. They also deployed over 20 militiamen to take positions atop the walls, using firearms and homemade cannons to repel the attackers, preventing them from advancing and breaking through any of the gates. As night fell and the enemy, unsure of the village's defenses and fearing an ambush by guerrilla forces, retreated back to Shipai market. During the battle, militiaman Ouyang Mu sacrificed his life heroically.

Since then, the villagers of Laowei have moved the traditional Ghost Festival from the 14th to the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, renaming it “Revolution Day.”

Source: Party History Research Office of Heyuan Municipal Committee

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