8 冀中的地道战

Lesson Eight

Tunnel Warfare in Central Hebei

1. In the years from 1942 to 1944, the Japanese invaders carried out a “sweeping” campaign in the Central Hebei Plain, and built blockade ditches and walls, with a bunker for ten miles and a fort for eight miles, trying to bring down our people’s armed forces.

2. In order to smash the enemy’s “sweeping”, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the people in central Hebei created a new way of struggle, which was tunnel warfare.

3. When it comes to tunnel warfare, it’s really a miracle.

4. Under the vast plain, countless tunnels have been dug, which were horizontal, vertical, straight and curved. Every family was connected and every village was connected with these tunnels.

5. When the enemy came, we would go into the tunnel and let them come in vain; when the enemy was gone, we would come out of the tunnel and farmed as usual, and sometimes we have to attack the enemy.

6. Relying on such a strong fortress as the tunnel, the people in the Central Hebei Plain persisted in guerrilla warfare fought in the enemy-occupied area.

7. There are more than one hundred styles of tunnels.

8. Taking the tunnels in Renqiu for example, the tunnels in the village were dug under the streets, and the tunnels connected with other villages were dug under the farmland.

9. The tunnel was more than four feet high, and people who were tall could walk through it by bending; the top of the tunnel was three or four feet above the ground, which had no impact on the crops.

10. There was a big underground pit every other distance in the tunnel. The top of the pit was supported by wood, which was very reliable.

11. Many small holes were dug in the walls of the big one. Some were used for people, some for tying up animals, some for putting things, and some for taking as toilets.

12. A big tunnel could hold about 100 people, and the largest one could hold more than 200 people.

13. Boiling water, solid food, quilts and lights were often prepared in the tunnel. It is not a problem to live in it for three or five days.

14. There were holes in the tunnel that lead to the ground, from which light could leak in.

15. The openings of the holes were all in hidden places, which was hard for the enemy to find out.

16. When people hided in the tunnel, there were neither stuffy nor dark.

17. Some old ladies brought in the spinning wheel and spun the yarn buzzing.

18. The exit of the tunnel was also in a hidden place, which was covered with brambles.

19. Some people also dug a pit nearby, in which sharp knives were inserted or mines were buried. The pit was covered with wooden board and grass. As soon as the enemy stepped on it, he will fall down into the pit and die.

20. In the tunnel, a few especially solid holes were dug near the exit, and the militiamen guarded the hole with weapons; some holes that could confuse the enemy were dug at the corners. In case the enemy comes in, they can’t tell which leads to the exit.

21. When they enter the blind alley, there were mines waiting for them; even if they enter the way out, they couldn’t pass the strategic pass.

22. It turns out that there is a very narrow “hole” in every section of the tunnel, which can only allow one person to get out.

23. The “hold” was guarded only by one person with a stick. It is really can be said that “one man can hold this pass to guard against ten thousand enemies”.

24. The enemy tried every means to destroy them after they had known the function of the tunnels. Fire attack, water attack and poison gas attack were all used up.

25. We have come up with many wonderful ways to guard against it.

26. Soil and sand were prepared at the entrance of the tunnel, which could be used for firefighting.

27. There was a hanging board on the “hole”, which could prevent the poisonous gas from penetrating into it.

28. The way to deal with the water attack was better. The tunnel was connected with the underground ditch. When the enemy released water, the water came in from the hole and flew into the underground ditch.

29. Any venomous forms of attack of the enemy could be solved, because the tunnels in each village were interlinked, and people could move to other villages.

30. How can one know the situation on the ground in the tunnel?

31. The militia headquarters sent a number of people to be distributed everywhere to observe the enemy’s situation. When the enemy was coming, they yelled, one by one, and sent the news to the headquarters.

32. People called this kind of shouting “radio”.

33. Cable electricity was used in the tunnel. A wire held a small copper bell. When the wire was pulled here, the bell at the other side would ring. The meaning that how many times the wire was pulled has been agreed before.

34. In order to attack the enemy, all kinds of methods have been worked out, and the wisdom of the people is endless.

35. With the way of underground warfare, the enemy’s vicious “sweeping” was smashed.

36. The people in the Central Hebei Plain not only persisted in production, but also attacked the enemy forcefully, leaving an amazing miracle in the history of the Anti-Japanese war in China.