In the autumn of 1941, the Japanese aggressors unlashed a "mopping-up" campaign against Shansi-Chahar-Hopei Border Region led by the Chinese Communist party. Carrying out Chairman Mao's strategic principles, a regiment of the Eighth Route Army, fighting in co-ordination with the people's militia, maneuvered on the banks of the Yishui River and on Wolf's teeth mountain and struck heavy blows at the enemy.
On September 25, the enemy, in a sudden action, attempted to encircle and trap the regiment. The commander ordered an immediate withdrawal to the foot of the mountain, leaving only five fighters of the 6th Squad of the 7th Company on Chessboard Slope--a vantage point. Their mission was to pin down the enemy, utilizing the natural defensive terrain to cover the withdrawal.
That night, after the swift and undetected withdrawal of the main force, the five rearguard fighters pledged to act on their commander's parting words: "Fight bravely. Pin down the enemy. Hit them hard."
By moonlight, the soldiers took hand-grenades out of the crates left by the regimental headquarters and tied them into small bundles. These they buried like mines in many places along the rugged path leading half way up the mountain.
Then they took cover behind natural barriers on chessboard Slope. Amidst the howling mountain winds, none felt the cold because of the fury burning in their hearts.
After the second cockcrow, the soldiers suddenly saw distant flames below the mountain. The enemy had set a village on fire. Calamity had again stricken the villagers. Filled with hatred, the soldiers fixed their eyes on the spreading conflagration.
The heart-rending cries of women, at first heard indistinctly, grew ever louder. The villagers were coming up the mountain! What if they stepped on the buried grenades? Deputy Squad leader Ko Chen-lin sprang to his feet, reported to the squad leader and sped downhill.
Soon he returned with several women and children. Angrily, they told of the enemy's brutality. The fighters burned to rush downhill to kill those beasts in human shape. But with their mission still unfulfilled, they could only swallow their hatred and send the villagers on to catch up with the main force.
At the crack of dawn, gunfire was heard from below the mountain. In the dim light, the fighters made out five to six hundred aggressor troops moving towards Chessboard Slope. The squad leader ordered, "Prepare for combat!" Each man was allowed to throw only five grenades. The fighters closely observed the oncoming foe.
Suddenly Wolf's Teeth mountain resounded with explosions and erupted with dust and smoke. Some invaders were blown to pieces. "Look, the grenades we buried have blossomed and borne fruit overnight. A quick crop, isn't it?" Ko Chen-lin joked.
After the smoke cleared, the Japanese bandits began to creep apprehensively up the mountain. The fighters shook with anger as they glared down at the enemy.
The enemy pressed nearer and nearer. At only 20 to 30 meters, on the order of the squad leader, the fighters hurled their grenades. The enemy soldiers turned tail, some scurrying away while others could only crawl.
Beaten back, the enemy bombarded Chessboard Slope again. Heavy smoke soon shrouded the slope. Shells rained down and rock-splinters filled the air. The fighters, under cover, were steady and grasped their rifles tight. "Shell as hard as you like," one challenged. "You can shatter rocks, but you'll never shake the will of revolutionary fighters!"
The gunfire finally stopped and the smoke cleared. Squad leader Ma Pao-yu shook the dust from his uniform. Scanning the tranquil scene, he found all his men safe and sound. "They thought they'd wipe us out, but it's not that easy," Deputy Leader Ko said proudly. "I'll live to see them on their knees, live to build socialism and communism!"
Two fighters, Hu Teh-lin and Hu Fu-tsai, both so caked with dust that only their teeth shone white, were arguing hotly about the number of shells which had fallen on the slope, as if nothing special had happened.
The enemy had risen to the bait! The squad leader decided to lure them in further. The fighters climbed higher up the mountain, occasionally sniping at the enemy. The invaders tailed them gingerly, just as the fighters had hoped.
When the five heroes reached a slope near the summit, Squad Leader Ma paused. "It is still early," he thought. "Our troops haven't had time to go far. We must hold out a bit longer." Loudly he ordered, "Take cover. Check their advance."
The enemy charged several times. But confronted by the heroic Eighth Route Army men, they could hardly advance an inch.
The squad leader never missed his target. Ko Chen-lin cried out with every shot as if his gun barrel was inadequate to discharge his fury. All the soldiers fought on. By noon, the rugged path was strewn with enemy corpses.
Their mission now completed, the squad started to withdraw. After some distance, they came to a fork in the path. Squad Leader Ma stopped short. The track on the right led to the path taken by the regiment and the villagers. That way, the enemy could easily trace them. But the left track led to the peak above Chessboard Slope, a precipice, a dead end.
"This way!" the squad leader said unhesitatingly. He was inspired by the determination to wipe out the Japanese invaders and liberate all China. Gripping a sapling for support, he led his comrades up the left track towards the peak.
The fighters needed no explanation. They understood. It was what they themselves wanted. "Let's go," they echoed. "We'll lead the enemy into a dead end." To lure the foe further up, they fired more shots as they climbed.
"How far do you think our regimental commander and comrades have gone?" Hu Teh-lin asked the squad leader. "They must be a long way off by now," replied Ma Pao-yu. "Even if the enemies had four legs apiece, they couldn't possibly catch up," Ko Chen-lin chimed in. Hu Fu-tsai laughed with relief.
The sun sank towards the horizon. Before dark, the five heroes reached the peak. They looked into the distance at the magnificent panorama of the motherland, their minds uplifted by the lofty words: "We the Chinese nation have the spirit to fight the enemy to the last drop of our blood." They piled up stones for barricades, ready to fight the aggressors to the end.
Soon the enemy came clambering up. The five fighters, firm and courageous, squarely faced the foe, with their backs to the fathomless depth. In the life-and-death struggle, they sent some enemy soldiers headlong into the gorge.
The invaders tried desperately to reach the peak. As they pressed closer, the squad found its bullets gone, and only one grenade left. Hu Fu-tsai was about to throw it. But the squad leader took it from him and tucked it into his own waist band.
Squad Leader Ma lifted up a big piece of rock, shouting, "Let's crush them with stones, comrades!" Jagged boulders thundered down the slope, carrying with them the determination of the fighters and the Chinese people's profound hatred of the enemy. The invaders screamed in panicky disarray. Some were knocked over by the rocks into the deep valley below.
The squad had used up all the loose rocks. Seeing the enemy soldiers swarm frantically towards them, the squad leader took out the remaining grenade. The fighters knew their last hour had come. They moved close to Squad Leader Ma, lifted their chins, squared their shoulders and cried out in one voice, "Pull the cord, Squad Leader!"
The grenade began to smoke as the heroes stood on the peak. More wild shouts came from the enemy below. With a quick turn, the squad leader threw the grenade, tumbling several more Japanese soldiers into the gorge.
The invaders came still nearer. the heroes' eyes shone bright. Their true hearts beat as one. Never shall we dishonor our people or this lofty mountain, they pledged. They resolved to prove themselves faithful to the Chinese Communist Party, to their people and country.
The squad leader raised his rifle high. "Comrades," he said, "we won't let the enemy get our weapons. Let's smash them." Then he broke his rifle on the rock. Two others, with pain in their hearts, did the same with theirs.
The squad leader exchanged a few words with his deputy. Then he said to the three soldiers with deep emotion, "All of you have stood the test of battle and proved yourselves worthy to be members of the glorious Communist Party. We two, already in its ranks, will recommend you for the membership."
Quickly writing a few lines in his notebook, he said, "Some day, our comrades will find in my pocket this letter of recommendation for your admittance. Now the hour has come. Let's prove ourselves truly faithful to the Party." Straightening his cap and uniform, his head high, he went to the edge of the precipice with unconstrained dignity.
The fighters came closely behind their leader. As they reached the top of the sheer cliff, they drank in their last view of the majestic and beautiful motherland. Deeply stirred, they said, "Our beloved Party and country. We've completed our mission. We've tied down the enemy." They cast a contemptuous look at the cowering troops beneath them.
"After me, comrades," the squad leader shouted at the top of his voice as he always did in an attack. Then he jumped into the yawning gorge. The fighters followed, one after another. Their proud voices echoed through Wolf's Teeth Mountain, "Down with Japanese imperialism! Long live the Communist Part of China!"
Towering Wolf's Teeth Mountain has stood erect through the ages. The heroic story of these five staunch fighters will always inspire the Chinese people in their struggle to build a strong socialist motherland!
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