The last battle of the Railway Guerrillas

On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, and the Chinese people finally welcomed the long-awaited victory! However, enemy commander Yasuji Okamura issued an order: surrender only to the Kuomintang army, firmly refuse to surrender to other armed forces, and "without hesitation exercise self-defense force" when necessary.

On November 29, the Lunan Railway Brigade (Railway Guerrilla) of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army learned that the Japanese armored train brigade and railway security brigade had secretly gathered at Lincheng Railway Station, preparing to flee by armored train toward Shagou Railway Station on their way to Xuzhou."Trying to escape? Not so easy!" Brigade Commander Liu Jinshan slammed his fist on the table. After careful discussion, the team devised a counterplan: turn the enemy’s scheme against them by trapping them at Shagou Station—"shut the door and beat the dog."

Shagou Station, located 8 kilometers south of Lincheng, was a key node on the Jinpu Railway and also the only way out for the invaders. Liu Jinshan knew the area inside out. Over the years, the Railway Guerrilla had operated on this railway, "boarding moving trains, seizing machine guns, derailing trains, and blowing up bridges—like a sharp knife plunged into the enemy’s heart, terrifying the Japanese forces." Luo Ronghuan, political commissar of the 115th Division, praised them as a formidable force in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

That night, the Railway Guerrilla set up an ambush on the Jinpu Railway between Lincheng and Xuzhou. Before long, an armored train loaded with troops and weapons came rushing southward. Its wheels clattered over the cold tracks, echoing through the desolate wilderness.

"Commander, listen! The Japanese train is coming," whispered a voice from behind a mound near the tracks.

"Pass the order: proceed as planned, prepare for action!"

Soon, the train passed Jizhuang. With the path clear, Shagou Station drew closer. The Japanese armored train commander, Ota, and the soldiers aboard remained completely unaware of the impending danger.

"Screech—" A sharp braking sound pierced the night. The train jolted and came to an abrupt halt. Inside, the Japanese soldiers were thrown forward like sandbags, instantly thrown into chaos.

The railway ahead had been destroyed.

Seeing no hope of escaping south, after a brief chaos, Ota ordered the train to turn around and head back toward Lincheng.

"Commander, the Japanese are retreating!" The voice behind the mound was excited.

"Good! Let’s give them a ‘big gift’."

As soon as he spoke, the fuse hissed and sparked. In an instant, a loud "boom" erupted—the pre-planted explosives detonated, cutting off the Japanese retreat.

The armored train was completely stranded on a section of track north of Shagou Station.

An anxious Ota rushed to the window. On the slope to one side, he saw a row of familiar figures. They wore dark felt hats and coarse cotton-padded clothes, standing with guns—it was their old adversaries! The Railway Guerrilla team!

"Quickly... quickly!" With urgent commands, the Japanese soldiers frantically opened the train doors, swarmed onto the open ground west of the railway, and hastily set up barbed wire to build makeshift defenses. To the east, they mounted artillery and heavy machine guns, using the train cars as cover, preparing for armed resistance. A battle was imminent! Liu Jinshan made a decisive call: the rifle and pistol squads were divided into three groups, deploying to the east, west, and north, standing ready. At the same time, he urgently sent word to the Lunan Military District command to seek instructions on whether to eliminate the Japanese troops on the spot.

Soon, the military district leadership replied: "Do not attack. Japan has already surrendered, and they cannot escape. Negotiate to have them hand over their weapons."

Upon receiving the instruction, Liu Jinshan immediately called for messenger Zhang Shutai and had him deliver an ‘ultimatum’ to the Japanese train, demanding they surrender their weapons within a time limit.

Knowing he was cornered, Ota agreed to negotiate.

Liu Jinshan led the team to prepare for combat, while political commissar Zheng Ti went to negotiate with the Japanese.

Ota tried to trick them: "We cannot accept the ‘ultimatum’ and cannot hand over our weapons to your army. Because your army does not represent China."

"The forces fighting and ultimately defeating you in the Lincheng-Zaozhuang area are the Eighth Route Army and guerrilla forces led by the Communist Party of China. We have the most right to accept your surrender."

The negotiations lasted from morning until noon. Our representatives stood firm and kept applying pressure, and the arrogant Ota finally relented but set a condition: if they were to disarm, they must see a "higher-ranking officer." At 2 p.m., Zhang Guangzhong, commander of the Lunan Military District, arrived on the scene. He went straight to the point: "Our objective is clear: you must unconditionally surrender all weapons to the Railway Brigade, whom you have fought for seven years. Because we have won, and you have lost." After a pause, he fixed his piercing gaze on Ota and added, "If you remain obstinate, we will resolve this by force."

Faced with such firm resolve, Ota lost his earlier defiance. "We are willing to surrender our weapons to your forces. It’s just... the specifics require further discussion. We request a night’s grace."

The next day, the Japanese representatives did not make further excuses. However, just as the agreement was about to be finalized, Ota made one "small request": he asked that soldiers be allowed to keep their bayonets and officers their swords, "for self-defense." The request seemed ordinary but was actually cunning. The officer’s sword was far from a simple weapon—in the Japanese military system, it was not only a symbol of command but also embodied the so-called "bushido spirit" and the dignity of the "Imperial Army." Surrendering it meant fully admitting defeat, which the Japanese were clearly unwilling to accept.

"The swords must be surrendered!" Zheng Ti stated firmly. "We will guarantee your safety."

Hearing this, Ota nodded repeatedly with a bitter smile. Finally, both sides agreed that the formal surrender of weapons would take place on the afternoon of December 1.   Hearing that the Japanese were to surrender, by the afternoon of December 1, people swarmed to a low-lying area west of Shagou Station and east of Weishan Lake from all directions, eagerly awaiting the moment to witness the invaders bow their heads.

"Surrender—begin!" Around 3 p.m., a resounding command echoed across the area.

The Japanese soldiers came unit by unit, led by Ota and Kobayashi, commander of the railway security brigade, to disarm. Each squad stepped forward, saluted the Railway Brigade, took three steps back, neatly laid their guns on the ground, and then retreated in formation. This process repeated deep into the night until the mountainous pile of weapons was fully surrendered.

By the time the surrender site was cleared, day had broken. The crew could no longer contain their excitement—they grabbed the newly captured guns and fired toward Weishan Lake in celebration of the hard-won victory after years of bloody struggle. According to later recollections, the cheers by the lake were thunderous, even livelier than New Year celebrations.

Shortly afterward, "Dazhong Daily" and "Liberation Daily" prominently featured the surrender news on their front pages under the headlines "Over a Thousand Japanese Troops in Lunan Surrender to Us" and "Enemy Forces in Lincheng Surrender to Our Army." In 1954, writer Liu Zhixia authored the novel Railway Guerrilla based on the brigade’s anti-Japanese invasion deeds. In 1956, a film of the same name was released. In both works, the "Shagou Surrender" was a climactic event.

…………

In early autumn 80 years later, the "Into Former Battlefields of War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" reporting team visited the areas where the Railway Guerrilla Team fought.

"Look! That’s the surrender site. Back then, our members stood on high ground to accept the Japanese surrender—it was incredibly impressive," said Yang Jiachang, director of the CPPCC Office in Shagou Town, Xuecheng District, Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, pointing excitedly at a cornfield nearing harvest.

He turned and pointed to the nearby railway: "And look at this railway—after electrification, it’s nothing like it was in the past."

As we spoke, a silver-and-red bullet train sped by.

That is our "Fuxing" train!

(By Guangming Daily reporters Cai Chuang, Yao Kun, Song Xiqun)

Translated by Xiong Jian