Former Site of the Battle Where Puan Village Residents Fought Against Japanese Invaders

Former Site of the Battle Where Puan Village Residents Fought Against Japanese Invaders

The Former Site of the Battle Where Puan Village Residents Fought Against Japanese Invaders is a classic red tourism attraction.

Puan is a remote small village (now called Puan Economic Cooperative) in Jinzhou Village, Beotou Town, Lianping County, located 15 li from the Beitou market town. The natural village is surrounded by mountains, and in the small basin of less than half a kilometer enclosed by the mountains stands a brick-and-tile house with distinct local Lianping architectural features. The entire structure is square-shaped, with two-story pavilions at each corner, the four sides connected by row houses, with walls two Chinese feet thick. The east-facing gate is made of 15-centimeter-thick wooden planks, fitted with wooden bars and iron rings. To guard against bandit attacks, the outer walls of the four corner towers are equipped with irregular firing holes, and the open areas of the surrounding terraced fields are all within range. Before liberation, over 20 households and more than 100 villagers lived together in this stronghold. To protect against bandits and wildlife damaging their crops, most villagers kept “powder guns” (bird guns), and some even purchased “Type 79 rifles” from the black market, with ample ammunition. Due to frequent hunting, many men in the village were skilled marksmen, among whom the young Xie Panpiao was an outstanding sharpshooter.

On the evening of June 7, 1945, Puan villagers learned from fleeing civilians that the Japanese had invaded the Beitou market town, so they prepared various defenses in the village to fight off the Japanese advance.

At dawn on June 9, a group of over 100 Japanese soldiers entered Puan Village via Shuziping from Wuniu’ao in Wengyuan, taking the route through Ladder Ridge. Upon hearing the news, Xie Panpiao immediately directed the villagers to prop up the gate with wooden beams, then climbed to the watchtowers. He was the first to raise a Type 79 rifle and shot dead three Japanese soldiers who were charging toward the gate, frightening the enemy back up the mountain. The Japanese responded by firing machine guns and rifles at the tile-roofed tower, shattering the roof tiles. Other marksmen took positions in the four watchtowers, using the firing holes, windows, and other advantageous terrain to bravely and skillfully repel the attackers. They changed positions after each shot, confusing the Japanese, who were either shot dead if they dared to lift their heads or approach the building. The Japanese could only fire blindly from a distance and dared not approach the houses easily. The battle lasted from morning until 7 p.m., with the villagers fighting more fiercely as time went on, gunfire rising and falling, yet the tile house remained standing. Fearing a nighttime counterattack, the Japanese hastily buried their fallen comrades and carried their wounded back to the Beitou market town.

In this battle, Puan villagers killed or injured over 30 Japanese soldiers, with Xie Panpiao alone accounting for more than 20. Six local villagers were killed by Japanese gunfire.

The brick-and-tile house where Puan villagers fought the Japanese invaders has mostly been destroyed, with only a small section of row houses and two watchtowers remaining.

In May 2011, a memorial stele was erected for protection by the Lianping County Committee and County Government.

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