Handan Break the "dream"
Cheng-shi Sequentially "inviting" Chairman Mao to Chongqing for "peace talks" is actually just a guise to deceive public opinion and conceal it from launching a full-scale civil war.
Therefore, Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Zhou went to Chongqing in person, which was not only completely beyond Chiang Kai-shek's expectations, but also completely put him in a passive position in politics. But Chiang Kai-shek was a cunning politician after all. On August 29, the day after Chairman Mao flew to Chongqing, he "feasted" on our party representatives and talked about peace; while secretly ordered his various war zones to reprint the "bandit suppression" manual he compiled in 1933, and carried out his never-stop civil war preparations. The nationwide civil war is about to break out.
We are prepared. Comrade Mao Zedong reiterated his consistent position in the "Commentary on the Spokesperson's Talk of Chiang Kai-shek" on August 16, 1945 that our party insisted on "If anyone does not offend me, I will not offend others; if someone violates me, I will commit crimes" Chairman Mao warned the whole party: "The danger of civil war is very serious. Chiang Kai-shek's policy is to fight a civil war." Our policy is "tit for tat, and every inch of land must be fought for." "The rights obtained by the people are never allowed to be easily lost, and they must be defended by fighting."
We really hope for peace. For a long time, under the pressure of the "three mountains", our people have fought tenaciously, fought bravely, sacrificed fearlessly, endured unimaginable sufferings and paid an incomprehensible price for the world. After eight years of bloody battles, the Japanese invaders surrendered, and the people only hoped to establish a new China of independence, freedom, peace, democracy and unity. This is a reasonable and sacred wish. But we also know that for the people's sacred aspirations to become reality, they need to go through hard struggles, and peace often needs to be obtained through the most unpeaceful means - war one by one. Our experience is so deep in this law proven by history.
Chongqing is in the "peace talks". I was in the western Hebei-Shandong-Henan region where I was at that time, but I couldn't feel the peaceful atmosphere that I longed for. The Japanese army that had surrendered not only arrogantly refused to hand over our weapons, but also cooperated with the traitor team that had turned into a "national army" and blatantly provoked us. According to Chiang Kai-shek's order, at the beginning of the Chongqing negotiations, the thirteen divisions were concentrated. Together with the Japanese and puppet troops, they set out from Linfen, Fushan , Yicheng, Taiyuan, Yuci and other places to attack our Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan Liberated Areas, and invaded our southeastern Shanxi, Xiangyuan , Tunliu, Lucheng and Huguan , which is the Shangdang area, which was called the Shangdang County in ancient times.
Invasion of Shangdang area was only one step for Chiang Kai-shek to launch a full-scale civil war. The real purpose of this step is to control the two railways of Tongpu and Pingjin in order to seize Pingjin and the entire North China , and then transport troops to the northeast, seize the Northeast, and usurp the fruits of the national victory in the War of Resistance. In this way, the Pinghan Railway, as the major artery of north-south transportation, will surely be the enemy's main attack direction and the focus of the enemy's struggle. Therefore, while Commander Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping decided to eliminate the enemy that violated Shangdang, they ordered the main forces of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region to concentrate on the Pinghan Line, and combined with one unit of the Taiyue and one unit of the Hebei-South Military Region, to speed up the elimination of the Japanese and puppet troops north of Xinxiang on the Pinghan Line, to create a battlefield and cooperate with the operations in the Shangdang area.
on the one hand was a big fanfare peace negotiation; on the other hand, there was a tense military contest, which was a prominent feature of the situation at that time.
Commander Liu and Political Commissar Deng called on the troops to resolutely eliminate the invading enemies and support Chairman Mao’s negotiations in Chongqing with victory. They pointed out: The better our battle, the greater the victory we win, the more powerful Chairman Mao’s words will be at the negotiating table.
Shangdang Battle was the main force of the three military regions of Taihang, Taiyue and southern Hebei, and part of the local corps. Under the personal organization and command of Liu and Deng, they first captured the Tunliu, Lucheng, Changzi and Huguan around the Shangdang area capital Changzhi , causing the Changzhi enemy to fall into an isolated situation surrounded by layers of our siege.Then, while siege Changzhi, facing the enemy who reinforced Changzhi, it was called "siege of the city and attacking reinforcements." When the aided enemy was annihilated and the Changzhi defenders broke through and fled, Chiefs Liu and Deng ordered their troops to pursue the " Double Ten Agreement " was signed two days before the victory of the L-party battle.
Chairman Mao gave a high evaluation of the victory of the Shangdang Battle. When he talked about the policy of "tit-for-tat, one must fight for the next step" in his important aid to "tit-for-tat, one must fight for the next step", the above party battle as an example, said, "This time, we are 'right', 'fighting', and 'right', and 'fighting' very well, 'fighting' means to eliminate all their thirteen divisions." "This kind of battle must be fought." After the signing of the "Double Tenth Agreement", Chairman Mao returned to Yan'an. Vice Chairman Zhou and Comrade Wang Ruofei are still continuing negotiations with the Kuomintang in Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek takes advantage of the opportunity to continue negotiations and, with the active support of US imperialism, he has gradually expanded the scale of his attack on us. North China alone has divided troops into four groups to press us.
One of them, the vanguard of Chiang Kai-shek Army's first war zone Hu Zongnan two armies have arrived in Shijiazhuang on the same Pu and Zhengtai Road. The subsequent army has advanced to the south of Wenxi (belonging to Shanxi Province). The second route, the 30th Army (commander Lu Chongyi ), the 40th Army and the New Eighth Army in the 11th War Zone of Sun Lianzhong, in its deputy commander-in-chief Ma Fawu (also commander 40th Army), Gao Shuxun (also commander of the New Eighth Army, and the deputy commander of the theater. ) led the army from Xinxiang along Pinghan Road, and the 32nd Army and the puppet army Sun Dianying followed up. There were four subsequent armies, one of which had advanced to Xinxiang, and the rest were preparing to advance to Xinxiang from Luoyang, Kaifeng and other places; the third route was a vanguard of the north invasion along the Jinpu Line, and a military vanguard had occupied Jinan from Xuzhou , and the fourth route was Fu Zuoyi's army attacking along the Pingsui Line, and had approached Zhangjiakou . According to rough calculations, Chiang Kai-shek invested twelve and three regular troops in these four routes alone. It is truly a big army that is overwhelming and arrogant. It is very stance to swallow us up in one bite. After the Shangdang Battle, the main forces of the four military regions of Hebei, Shandong and Henan, southern Hebei, Taihang and Taiyue were successively organized into the first, second, third, and fourth columns of the Shanxi, Hebei Shandong and Henan Field Army. In response to the situation of Chiang Kai-shek's invasion, Comrade Liu Bocheng, commander of the field army, pointed out vividly and clearly: the enemy attacking North China was advancing along four railways, like four claws stretching out at the same time. The main force is on the Pinghan Line.
The focus of the competition between the two sides was on the Handan area of Pinghan Line. This was not only because the people's government of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region was located in Handan at that time, but more importantly, Chiang Kai-shek wanted to realize his ambition to open up the Pinghan Line and transport troops to seize the Northeast, and he had to control the transportation hub centered on Handan. The first column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, which was mainly composed of the former Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region troops, was active in Handan at that time, and preventing the enemy from seizing the task of opening the Pinghan Line in Handan, naturally fell on the first column.
In addition to me, the person in charge of the first column at that time also had political commissar Su Zhenhua , deputy political commissar Zhang Guohua , chief of staff Lu Shaowu, and three brigade commander 1 Yang Junsheng , political commissar Deng Cunlun; brigade commander 2 Yin Xianbing, political commissar Dai Yunsheng; brigade commander 3 Li Dongchao, political commissar Chen Yunkai. This newly formed unit includes the old Red Army, the teaching team of the 129th Division and the local armed forces that have long adhered to the War of Resistance in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan region, as well as the team that has just been upgraded from the county brigade to the field army. Some of the responsible comrades of the brigade and regiment have just arrived, and some of the past have not focused on military work.
Therefore, the first column has strong combat effectiveness and many practical problems to be solved. The Party Central Committee and Liu and Deng have high requirements and expectations for us. On October 17, 1945, Chairman Mao pointed out in a telegram to Liu, Deng, etc., Comrades 1, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan Central Bureau, that "the upcoming new Pinghan Battle is to oppose the attack of the main forces of the Kuomintang and to strive for the realization of a peaceful situation.The victory or defeat of this battle is extremely important to the overall situation. "Call us to "above the spirit of the party's battle and strive for victory in the battle of Pinghan." Liu and Deng also had specific and detailed instructions on fighting the Battle of Pinghan (also known as Handan Battle ) with Handan as the center.
Handan is an ancient city, and it was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. At that time, Zhao State was adjacent to Yan and Qi in the east, Qin State, and Southern Qi . At that time, Zhao State was adjacent to Yan and Qi in the east, and Qin State, and Southern Qi . Han, Wei, North forced Xiongnu , "rejecting enemies from all directions" and is known as the "Four Wars Country". Chief Liu and Deng told us that the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan Field Army was also in the main strategic position of the "Four Wars Land" at that time. Because from our region, the north could fight with the Jin, Cha, Hebei troops, the south could connect with the Central Plains troops, the east could cooperate with the East China troops, and the west could cooperate with the Shaanxi and Gansu troops to operate. Since we are in the "Four Wars Land", we must shoulder the important mission of the "Four Wars Army".
Not far from the north of Handan, there is a name called Huang The small village of Liang Meng is said to be. In the legend of " Pillow Records " written by Shen Jiji , Shandong Lu Sheng's masterpiece "Yellow Liang Dream" is in this place. Chief Liu and Deng borrowed this story to point out to the army that Chiang Kai-shek dreamed of winning in Handan and maintaining his reactionary rule, and we must break his dream.
The army was inspired by the slogan "Fight to defend the fruits of victory", and the desire to fight was high. At first glance, it was certain that he could defeat the enemy in Handan. But the severe reality reminds me that it is not so easy for the 1st Column to complete the glorious tasks assigned by Chief Liu and Deng.
First of all, the difficulty is that the troops' weapons and equipment are seriously insufficient. After I returned to Hebei, Shandong and Henan from Yan'an, the central government instructed us to lightly build our elite troops and prepare to march into the Northeast. According to this instruction, we conducted in-depth mobilization and education from within the Party to outside the Party. Considering that the weapons and equipment of the Dongjun army can be confiscated after going to the Northeast, the original mortar and heavy machine gun and some light weapons were handed over to brothers' troops, and some established companies only had four light machine guns and two-thirds of the rifles. In this case, we received an order to participate in the Pinghan Battle. From preparing for the expedition to the Northeast to staying to participate in the war on the spot, the thoughts could be turned, but the weapons handed over to brothers' troops could not be retrieved. Another difficulty is facing the attack of heavy troops and strong enemies.
After receiving the central order, we immediately received the signature from the commander Liu and Deng. The "Instructions on the deployment of Pinghan Road Operations to the Heads of the First and Second Columns". The instructions clearly require us to annihilate the northern enemy south of Handan to the north of the Zhanghe River. At this time, the invading enemies, the 30th, 40th and the New Eighth Army were advancing northward, and the vanguard had arrived in Fengle Town on the south bank of the Zhanghe River barrier of Handan. The Party Central Committee and Liu and Deng decided to join the other troops of the Pinghan Battle, because the Shangdang Battle had just ended (the Shangdang Battle is still in progress, and the three enemy troops have begun to go north), and they were still on the way. We know that after the war between brothers, they all rely on two legs. It really takes time for Shanxi to come. This formed a column with incomplete weapons and equipment, and temporarily resisted the invasion of the enemy with a total force of more than three times ours. Among the three enemy armies, Lu Chongyi's 30th Army was semi-American mechanized equipment; Ma Fa5's 40th Army could fight melee battles, and could also fight grenades , which is rare in the Kuomintang army; Gao Shuxun's new Eighth Army was not weak in combat.
is October, and there are very few hidden objects available in the fields. On both sides of the Zhang River, there are also flat horses and sandy geology, which is constructed. Building fortifications is extremely difficult. Without corresponding fortifications, if you want to block so many well-equipped enemies on the Great Plain, it means you have to prepare to make huge sacrifices.
Under this situation, you must delay the enemy's attack and wait for the brothers to arrive and gather and annihilate them. Fierce and hard battles are indispensable. The Party Committee of the Column decided to explain all the difficulties to the troops, mobilize the masses to come up with ideas and solutions, and work together to study and implement the instructions of Liu and Deng on the command of the first column, to be decisive, flexible, and resolutely blocking, and to delay the enemy's actions in every way.After the enemy's main force crossed the Zhang River north, he quickly occupied Ci County , which was only more than 100 miles away from Handan, forming a fan-shaped encirclement of Handan with the places they originally occupied, such as Linzhang , Fei'an, Feixiang, etc., and rushed towards Handan in unison. The situation is both tense and serious. In the face of a strong enemy, the method of comprehensive blocking is obviously not good. If we block one after another, we will suffer great casualties and will encourage the enemy's arrogance. Therefore, we first attack the enemy's vanguard with a small number of troops unexpectedly. If we can annihilate, we will annihilate them. If we cannot annihilate, we will consume and kill part of the enemy, and then we will withdraw from the battle and look for another fighter. But when the enemy is running, sometimes it is lost, sometimes it is difficult to win in a short time because the enemy is too concentrated, and sometimes it is quite difficult to withdraw if it is fought. Although the troops consumed a lot of physical strength, they achieved the effect of slowing down the enemy's advance, and built fortifications fortifications for the large army to rush to Tunzhuang, Cuiqu, Xiaodi, etc. south of Handan, organized defense, and won time.
The enemy relies on the advantages of manpower and weapons and advances north at all costs. The 20th army of Lu Chongyi surpassed Gao Shuxun's New Eighth Army and Ma Fawu's Forty Army, and occupied the Matou and Gaomuying, which were only more than 30 miles east of Handan on the east side of the Fuyang River. Its vanguard's main force advanced rapidly towards the Cui Qu and Xiaodi line. Cui Qu is only ten miles away from Handan, and the small dike area is the location of our column and the command posts of the three brigades. The villages in this area are relatively dense. In order to prevent sand, the people planted many poplar trees, , jujube trees, and pears, peaches and apricot trees in the sand nests between villages, forming a natural barrier and providing us with better conditions to block the enemy. Several responsible persons in our column knew that this can be said to be the last line of defense for us to defend Handan. If the enemy breaks through, it would be like opening the door of Handan, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
Column decided to put the brigade on the front line of Cuiqu. The first brigade decided to place their main seventh regiment in Cuiqu Village , which has two or three hundred households. After I explained the mission to the brigade commander of the 1st Brigade, Yang Junsheng and political commissar Deng Cunlun, I said, "You know the distance between Cui Qu and Handan. The troops were moving while fighting, which consumed a lot of physical strength and reduced a lot of personnel, but the more cruel battle was still behind. To be honest, we are not worried at all! Yang and Deng certainly understood what I meant. They looked at each other and did not speak.
After a while, Yang Junsheng said, "The burden of the 2nd Brigade and the 3rd Brigade is not light. As for our 1st Brigade, he stopped to look at Deng Cunlun, and then said, "The commander understands it. Trust." After saying that, the two saluted me seriously, turned around and walked away, and stood at the door. They saw them stepping on the war horses and disappearing on the path flying on the sand.
The enemy was very cunning. After all three of them crossed the Zhang River, they left the 30th Army, which had originally attacked in front, and the 40th Army and the New Eighth Army, to advance northward, with the 106th Division of the 40th Army as the main force, attacked Cui Qu, who was defending our 7th Regiment, and launched a continuous attack. At this time, the fortifications of the 17th Regiment were not completely built. The commander of the 106th Division of the enemy Li Zhenqing , nicknamed Li Tietou, it is said that he often goes bare-handed and is a desperate person. This makes me a little worried: Can the Seventh Regiment withstand it?
Comrade Yang Junsheng and Deng Cunlun report to the column at any time that they said that the Seventh Regiment fought hard, but Cui Qu is still in our hands.
The Seventh Regiment stubbornly blocked Cui Qu for more than a day and night. Wenzhuang, Jiadi, Jiadi, and Jiadi, which were close to our column command post, were broken through by the enemy. Wenzhuang and Jiadi were only three or five miles away from Cui Qu. This line was broken through, which naturally strengthened the attack power of the hostile Cui Qu. The Seventh Regiment stubbornly blocked Cui Qu for more than a day and night. Fighting against a main division of the enemy, the intensity and cruelty of the battle are self-evident. If the enemy's strength is strengthened, what situation will happen? When the battle goes to this level, the commander should have calculated the worst possible situation and determine the emergency measures. Strangely, in such a critical situation, the command post of the 1st Brigade did not inform us of the battle situation for one or two hours.
"Do you find Yang Junsheng and the others?" Political Commissar Su Zhenhua asked me. I shook my head and said, "If there is any situation, they will report it. Now it is certain that the 7th Regiment's injury must be very serious.Are you considering taking the Third Brigade? "At this time, the staff comrade said that the first brigade reported that their phone number and the 7th Regiment were interrupted, and they were sending people to contact each other. Although I had a premonition that Cui Qu might have been broken by the enemy, I did not say it. I just said to Chief of Staff Lu Shaowu: "Notify the brigade commanders and political commissars of each brigade to come to the column for a meeting and report our situation immediately to the Chief of Staff Liu and Deng, request instructions, tell Liu and Deng, please rest assured that the enemy cannot enter Handan!"
However, Cui Qu was broken by Li Tietou's 106th Division.
When the cadres of the three brigades rushed to the column command post in sweat, they were a little nervous and were covered in smoke and dust. They had not met for only a few days. People seemed to have suddenly changed. Deng Cunlun came in, grabbed a bowl, and drank two bowls of water in a row. Then he sat aside, took out a steamed bun from his pocket and chewed it. It seemed that he had not eaten several meals. When I saw the steamed bun was covered with blood, he asked, "Are you injured?" "No!" Deng Cunlun stood up, looked at the bloody steamed bun, and said, "This is what I just picked out from the battlefield." He held the steamed bun in his hand and said excitedly: "The 7th regiment was fighting very hard. I met the cadre of the regiment. The deputy regiment commander Xu Zhongyu cried, and the soldiers asked. The leaders trust them, and they will definitely take Cui Qu back!"
Deng Cunlun was talking about the Seventh Regiment, but I know that this is also the determination of him and all the commanders and soldiers of the First Brigade. What a good soldier, what a good cadre!
comrades from each brigade briefly reported their respective situations, I said: "The First Brigade evacuated Cui Qu, and the battle was very hard and very good. The comrades did their best. The problem now is that the instructions of Liu and Deng must be followed, and the enemy cannot be allowed to move forward. Do you still remember the instructions of the Central Committee? The victory or defeat of the Battle of Pinghan is related to the overall situation, and it is extremely important! Once the enemy breaks into Handan, the entire battle plan of Liu and Deng will be disrupted, and our first column will not be able to explain it. There is only one way: take Cui Qu back before dawn tomorrow! No matter what Li Tietou or Li Gangtou it is, it will smash him!"
After I proposed to seize Cui Qu's troops and his strategy, Political Commissar Su Zhenhua said: "Today's meeting is to clarify a problem: our first column must complete the strategic intentions of Liu and Deng. Now the brothers are rushing here from Shanxi. We must withstand the enemy, only win, not lose!"
"Yes!" I continued, "If you can't take Cui Qu back, you will lose your head!"
Cui Qu is a big village, with two or three hundred families at that time. Li Tietou's two regiments live here, and his division headquarters and other troops are very close to each other, obviously because they are afraid that they will be broken down by us. In response to these situations, The team decided that the 7th Regiment of the 1st Brigade 1st Brigade was taken back from the northwest corner of Cui Qu, and the 16th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade was taken back from the northeast corner in the form of an encirclement. The 20th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade was inserted between Cui Qu and Li Tietou Division, on the one hand, it was ready to fight aid, and on the other hand, it was ready to block the enemy's escape route. We not only wanted to regain Cui Qu, but also annihilate his living power here. I told the leader of the 2nd Yu regiment, Wang Dashun, and Chief of Staff Comrade Mu Bin, "Although you do not attack Cui Qu directly, the task is also heavy. This area is sandy land and it is difficult to build fortifications. You are the same regiment, defending and blocking the vast ground within a radius of dozens of miles at night, and there are many difficulties!’ Wang Dashun asked Zhi to stand up and said only one sentence: “Please rest assured, commander.” The main energy of several responsible comrades in the
column is focused on Cui Qu. Although Cui Qu is not a city, there is Tuweizi around it. Almost all the houses of the people here are flat roofs. Usually, food can be dried on the roof, and a ladder can be used to climb up and down, and it has become a natural fortress in wartime. The flat-roofed houses around the village play a role similar to the fortress on the city wall. Without occupying these natural fortresses first, even if they attack the village with narrow streets and dense houses, they cannot drive the enemy out. Instead, they will fall into the enemy's condescending fire net, and the casualties will be even greater. At that time, because we had few heavy weapons, , we didn’t know how to use explosives, so we used ladders to seize these natural fortresses, and grenades. The attacking troops decided to attack side by side with the strength of the two battalions, that is, to insert two arrows towards the breakthrough point.A 200-man bomb drop team was organized in front of the main attacking force. The bombers tied their waists and shoulders, and each of them also carried a willow basket full of grenades and followed closely. Finally, there was a firepower team that was concentrated in the entire regiment. This kind of equipment shows that the main attacking troops are not afraid of all sacrifices, and if they don’t fight, they will be determined to win one after another.
Just as the night fell, we issued an attack command. Under the cover of the firepower team, the bomb drop team and the ladder team were first involved in the battle. The enemy was prepared, but they did not expect that we would organize a counterattack so quickly, nor did they expect that we would organize a bomb drop team of 200 people to go straight to the "roof position" at the forefront of their village. The bomb drop team of these 200 people can be said to be equal to dozens of small cannons. They threw desperately, and the comrades of the ladder team struggled to climb. In just over three hours, all the enemies on the "roof positions" at the front of the village were driven down, and the subsequent troops took the opportunity to break into the village. At this time, there was actually a three-dimensional battle in three-layered battle: the first floor is an attack on the "roof positions", which is considered an air combat; the first floor is to seize the house by door and window, which is considered a "middle battle". The other floor is to blow up the walls of the house and strive to control the streets. This is considered a "ground battle."
The little Cui Qu is mixed with us, a sea of fire, and the battle is extremely cruel. At midnight, we got the information that Li Tietou ordered Cui Qu to defend the enemy's breakout. Under the leadership of Comrade Wang Dashun, the 20th Regiment blocked, intercepted, and surrounded the vast fields, and forced Li Tietou back. At this time, Cui Qu and the surrounding paths were basically blocked by the treebooks interrupted by corpses and artillery fire. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Tietou made a desperate bet and took the team of more than one company alone to take advantage of the night to escape.
regained Cui Qu, and our hearts were finally overwhelmed. On the one hand, the column reported to the leaders Liu and Deng, and on the other hand, the brigades quickly rectify their teams and prepare for another battle. After this battle, many comrades died in each army, with the 16th Regiment of the Third Brigade alone exceeding 300 casualties. Sacrifices in war are inevitable and common to us, but in the face of the number of casualties reported by various troops, I always feel heavy in my heart. Especially when we learned that Wang Dashun, the leader of the 20th Regiment who participated in Red Army in 1932, was only 31 years old at the time, and the leader of the 20th Regiment, and Comrade Mu Bin, who was the chief of staff and intellectual background, also died gloriously, his tears could not be stopped......
The First Column was trying his best to block the enemy, the Cavalry Regiment of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region led by Comrade Yang Yong, a brother unit who participated in the Shangdang Battle, rushed to Handan day and night. Our First Column and Comrade Yang Yong formed a joint command post. At this time, Chief Liu and Deng were personally directing another important "fight" - fighting for the Gao Shuxun Uprising.
The New Eighth Army to which Gao Shuxun belonged was originally the Northwest Army. Over the years, he was discriminated against and excluded by Chiang Kai-shek and his direct descendants, and the conflicts were becoming increasingly serious. Communist Party member Wang Dingnan once conveyed to him many times the expectations of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, such as our army's senior leaders for him, and carried out the work of striving for Gao Shuxun to stand on the people's side. After the Battle of Handan, Chief of Staff of the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan Field Army, Comrade Li Da 2, went to the headquarters of the New Eighth Army to fight for Gao Shuxun's battlefield uprising.
On October 30, General Gao Shuxun led the New Eighth Army and more than 10,000 Hebei civilians under his command to raise the righteous flag in Matou Town.
General Gao Shuxun's battlefield uprising enabled Liu and Deng to concentrate the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan field troops to do their best to deal with Ma Fawu and Lu Chongyi.
Due to the heavy blow to our army and the uprising of General Gao Shuxun, the spirit of the two armies of Ma Fawu and Lu Chongyi was severely frustrated. They were unwilling to fight and tried to cross the Zhanghe River and flee south again, but at this time the Zhanghe River was controlled by the troops I rushed from Shangdang. More than ten days ago, Ma Fawu, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Eleventh War Zone, was still swaying when crossing the Zhang River north, and was arrogant. At this time, he and Lu Chongyi led their troops to retreat to Linzhang and were unable to leave. The Zhang River would become their burial place.
After Cui Qu's battle, the first column took advantage of the victory and retreated to the enemy in accordance with the intentions of Liu and Deng. When we advanced to Beidouwang Village, northwest of Linzhang, we received a notice from Liu and Deng: Ma Fawu led the head of the 11th War Zone and the 40th Army had retreated to the front and rear flagpole Zhang (village), and we must seize the opportunity to eliminate Ma Fawu.
Flagshangzhang (now known as Zhangliji) is a large village composed of three villages: Flagshangzhang, Zhongzhang and Houzhang. There are more than a thousand families here, which is different from Cui Qu. The streets in the village are relatively wide. Ma Fawu's point of criticism was set up in the courtyard of a landlord in Houzhang.
After General Gao Shuxun's uprising, Ma Fawu became the supreme commander of the enemy who was invaded by the North. Our troops were in a very high mood when they heard that they were going to gather to annihilate Ma Fawu. In particular, Comrade Chen Zaidao and others led the Second Column to fight side by side with us according to the unified deployment of Chief Liu and Deng, which further increased everyone's confidence in victory. But considering that the villages and population in this area are relatively dense, the enemy's firepower is stronger than ours. The daytime action was not good for us, so we decided to launch an attack in the second half of the night. The first column was led by the Third Brigade led by Comrade Li Dongchao and other comrades, attacking from the southeast direction of the flagpole Zhang, and the second column attacking from the south direction.
Everything was arranged. I came to a big kiln in the west of Beidouwang Village. It was close to Flagshang Zhang, which was convenient for a while. Comrade Li Dongchao, the commander of the Second Brigade, also came. This old comrade who participated in the Ningdu riot was a few years older than me. During the Long March, he was in the Fifth Army and was very capable of fighting.
The night before the fierce battle was very quiet, and there was no cover for the surrounding fields except for a small amount of cotton poles. The late autumn wind has a clear chill. The staff and guards came to persuade us to rest, but who can rest at this moment?
The battle progressed smoothly at the beginning of the battle. When the comrades of the Second Column and our Third Brigade rushed into the village, they immediately encountered the enemy's desperate resistance. Relying on the firepower of strong men and favorable terrain and land, they blocked us at the edge of the village, forming a confrontation. For a long time, they only heard the fierce and dense sound of gunfire, and even saw the firelight in the distance, but could not get news of the progress of the troops. Comrade Li Dongchao was a little anxious and wanted to go ahead. I asked him to tell the troops that he must seize the favorable opportunity of night battle to annihilate the enemy. I said: "Occupying a house at night is equivalent to occupying a street during the day. We must work hard to expand the results and prepare for a more arduous battle." I asked Comrade Li Dongchao to understand the situation and make a decision.
The troops did fight hard. Because Ma Fawu has realized that for them, this battle is due to life and death. When the 16th Brigade Regiment entered the flagpole, he was blocked by the enemy step by step. In the battle between the streets and houses, every step forward was to pay the blood and lives of the commanders and soldiers. That's it, and it failed to achieve the goal we expected before the war. At dawn, the Third Brigade only controlled about one-third of the entire village.
At dawn, the enemy launched a crazy counterattack. Some troops were squeezed out of the occupied areas, and the troops who were still fighting in the village had completely interrupted their telephone contact with us. The enemy concentrated artillery fire and fired around the outside of the village, which was obviously to cut off the way forward of our support troops in order to facilitate their battle in the village.
The 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade, which was responsible for the assault mission, fought in front of the entire army and occupied a larger courtyard. Deputy Regiment Commander Xue Zonghua led the regiment command post and three other companies, and urgently moved closer to the 6th Company, opened up the wall, and formed a position in this courtyard. Although the courtyard is large, there are obviously too many concentrated troops. Since this position is the most prominent, it naturally became the main target of the enemy's concentrated firepower siege. They first used platoons to lift the roof off, then used rocket launcher to shoot horizontally, destroy the walls that we still act as barriers, and then pressed towards this position with infantry several times my.
The comrades who stick to this position do not give up any inch of land and fight against the enemy in a sea of fire. The close forces were met, and the swords met, from dawn to around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and the gunshots slowly dropped. The sparse gunfire is not a good omen for us. But it is obviously impossible to send troops to support the 16th Regiment at this time.Several leaders of the column decided to transfer the troops to continue attacking after dark, while sending communication personnel to collude with the 16th Regiment at all costs. However, several efforts failed, and some comrades sacrificed for this and the gunfire became increasingly rare on the way.
"Commander" Li Dongchao asked me with some concern, "Will the 16th Regiment..."
" Wait a minute, wait and see." I believe the 16th Regiment, and I believe that even if one of them is left, they will not give up their positions. But why did a few hours pass and there was no information at all?
The cook brought us the meal and urged us to eat soon. But how can you eat this moment?
At dusk, the comrades in the agency brought two soldiers. The two comrades carried shiny American submachine guns, their military uniforms were burned into strips of cloth by artillery fire, their faces were covered with smoke and dust, their eyes were covered with red silk, and their cracked lips were stained with blood. It was so heartbreaking to see them. Li Dongchao took their hand and said with concern;
"Which unit are you from?"
"From the Sixteenth Regiment!" The two soldiers answered loudly.
"Where comes from?" Li Dongchao asked again.
"Fighted out of the flagpole!"
"Where is your troops?"
Only then did the two soldiers realize that the words "fighted out" just now were misunderstood by their brigade commander. He quickly said, "The troops are here, and the positions are there too!" He said, and took out a letter and handed it to Li Dongchao: "This is the letter from our regiment commander to the brigade commander and the column commander."
Li Dongchao finished reading the letter, took the two soldiers in his arms, patted their shoulders and said, "Okay! Fight well! You guys fight!"
It turned out that the 16th Regiment and other troops attacking Flagshang Zhang had been persisting. After three o'clock in the afternoon, the gunshots were sparse, and the enemy's several fierce attacks could not work. On the one hand, they couldn't figure out our strength, and on the other hand, their enthusiasm was not good. Our troops did not organize a counterattack, except for the serious casualties (the 16th Regiment originally had more than 300 people, but only one hundred people could participate in the war at this time, and two of the three battalion commanders were injured), and the commanders were waiting for darkness. This would not only give the troops a short rest, but also cause the enemy's illusion, making them mistakenly believe that our army no longer has the ability to counterattack. The war really tests people and trains people. The commanders and soldiers quickly improved their combat and command levels in practice.
Comrade Li Dongchao looked at the two soldiers who delivered the letter and turned his head and shouted, " correspondent , take these two little ghosts to rest."
The two soldiers immediately said, "The regiment leader wants us to deliver the letter and hurry back immediately with the instructions of the leaders."
Li Dongchao said lovingly: "You have a rest first and have some food. How long have you not eaten?"
The two soldiers looked at each other. One of them said "forgot." The other poked the other party and said with a smile: "How did you forget the braised pork I ate before launching the attack last night, how could you forget the big steamed bun?" The soldier who spoke before laughed.
What a simple and cute soldier! I asked the comrades from the agency to bring the meal delivered to us by the cook to these two cute soldiers and said: "Eat, eat, eat, go back to the army after you have enough!"
One of the two soldiers picked up a steamed bun, and while eating, they listened to Li Dongchao's explanation of the situation
Although the troops that attacked Flagshang Zhang did not wipe out Ma Fawu quickly, they delayed Ma Fawu, which won the main force to realize the strategic intention of Liu and Deng to annihilate the enemy in the area north of the Zhang River, and won precious time for the general offensive of Flagshang Zhang to be relatively smooth. The battle started at dusk, and most of them were annihilated except for a few defenders who escaped the net before the night.
Just as I was on the dark day, I rushed back to the command post of the column, the comrades from the agency reported that the Third Brigade had captured the deputy commander-in-chief of the 11th War Zone and commander of the 40th Army.
"Report to Chief Liu and Deng immediately." I said to the comrades of the agency, "Do you want to meet Ma Fa5?" The comrades from the agency asked me.
I looked at the other leaders present in the column and said, "How is it? They are the deputy commander-in-chief, let's see him!"
Ma Fa is taller, but very thin, with a small beard, and has changed into plainclothes.He stood in front of us with a frustrated expression, not only without the appearance of an ordinary soldier, but like a down-and-out scholar. I couldn't help but think of Lu Sheng in Huangliang Meng and Lu Weng's temple.
"Your battle is very hard!" I asked Ma Fawu to sit down and said to him.
Ma Fawu put his hands flat on his knees and looked up at me. He said: "Our army failed to break through the defense of the Cui Qu line of the army, and the battle situation took a sharp turn. Later, General Gao Shuxun took such an action, and the battle was even worse."
I stood up and said to him: "If we count from the time, your failure will be earlier... It is unpopular to provoke a civil war, it is doomed to your failure. In addition, now we can tell you: the location and time of your annihilation are generally in line with the arrangements of our Commander Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping. This is probably what you did not expect!"
Ma Fawu looked up at me again, but couldn't say a word.
led the two highest commanders of the enemy's northern offensive to Handan. One went to the battlefield to rebel, and the other was captured alive by me. Most of the troops were annihilated by me, and the Battle of Pinghan achieved a complete victory.
Pinghan Battle is another relatively large-scale annihilation war after the Shangdang and Pingsui Battles. It broke the "yellow-grow dream" of Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to open up the Pinghan line. It was the victory of Comrade Mao Zedong's strategic guiding ideology of "tit-for-tat, an inch of land must be fought for" and the result of Comrade Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping's careful planning and wise command. After the battle, Chairman Mao called the battle a "great victory" in a telegram sent to Zhou Enlai, Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Bo Yibo and other comrades respectively, which was both a true portrayal of the battle situation at that time and an accurate evaluation of the battle.
There were more than 60,000 comrades from the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan field troops and local troops participating in the Pinghan Campaign. What I record here is only some fragments of the First Column during the battle.
