This is the envelope of a letter written by New Fourth Army soldier Li Yunpeng to his family. Li Yunpeng (1902-1943) was political instructor of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 19th regiment of the 7th brigade under the 3rd division of the New Fourth Army. In March 1943, Japanese troops launched a massive “mopping-out operation” to the Huaihai anti-Japanese base area in northern Jiangsu Province. To escort the evacuation of the New Fourth Army main strength in the base area, the 4th company received the order to block more than 1000 Japanese and puppet troops at Liulaozhuang village. On the morning of March 18, the 82-strong company fended off five attacks launched by the Japanese and puppet troops and killed or wounded more than 300 of the enemies, but all 82 soldiers of the company laid down their lives in the fighting eventually as they were hopelessly outnumbered.
Zhu De, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, paid tribute to the company and honored it as “the paramount reflection of the heroism of our commanders and soldiers” in his article titled “On the Heroism of the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army”.
