In June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek decided to provoke a full-scale civil war and first eliminated our Central Plains People's Liberation Army. He deployed nearly 300,000 Kuomintang troops around our Central Plains Military Region and built more than 6,000 bunkers and 100,000 trenches.

Advance to Qinling

Fang Zhengping

In June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek decided to provoke a full-scale civil war, and first eliminated our Central Plains People's Liberation Army, deploying nearly 300,000 Kuomintang troops around our Central Plains Military Region and building more than 6,000 With bunkers and 100,000 trenches, the air force stationed in Wuhan is trained with the help of the US military and is ready to go into battle at any time.

Our Central Plains People's Liberation Army has about 60,000 people, which is 5.1 outnumbered by the enemy. At the same time, due to the continuous encroachment of the Kuomintang troops, the main force of the Central Plains Military Region was forced into a very small area of ​​less than a hundred miles with Xuanhuadian as the center. The situation was very critical.

Following the instructions of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao to "break out immediately, the sooner the better, don't have any worries. Survival first, victory first", the Central Plains Military Region ordered the 1st Column and 1st Brigade to move the main disguised force to the east of Jinpu Road. The troops of the Eastern Hubei Military Region persisted in fighting on the spot to confuse and contain the enemy; the main force was divided into two groups, the north and the south, and began to break through to the west on the 26th. The North Road breakout force was led by Military Region Commander Li Xiannian and Political Commissar Zheng Weisan, including the Central Plains Bureau , Central Plains Military Region agencies, and the 13th Brigade, the 45th Regiment of the 15th Brigade, and the 359th Brigade, the main force of the 2nd Column, totaling approximately 15,000 people. people. At that time, I served as the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Column and participated in the North Road Operation.

htmlAt dawn on 026th, the Kuomintang army launched a large-scale attack on our military positions to the west of Huang'an, east of Jingfu, and north of Xiaogan, and invaded our Dengdian, Huwan and other places.

html After dinner on the 26th, our troops set off from Xuanhua Store and Dingyuan Store and headed westward under the night light. On the evening of the 28th, we arrived at the Jiuliguan area east of Pinghan Road and selected the area between Liulin Station and Lijiazhai, south of Xinyang and north of Wushengguan, and broke through in two ways. blockade. This is the focus of the enemy's fortification. After half a year, along the railway from Xinyang to Wushengguan, relying on the steep terrain, a solid group of fortifications were formed, guarded by the reorganized "divisions" of the Kuomintang army. The enemy described Pinghan Road as "Steel Defense Line".

html At dawn on the 29th, the 37th Regiment of the 13th Brigade, commanded by the regiment commander Xia Shihou, rushed to attack the enemy who was sleeping at Liulin Station. The commanders and fighters of the 37th regiment were like tigers descending from the mountain, unstoppable, and the enemies huddled in the bunker fortifications were frightened. Commander Xia led the troops to bravely charge and bomb the bunker, and quickly captured Liulin. The station and surrounding commanding heights were used to annihilate an enemy regiment. The Pinghan Road blockade that the enemy had worked hard for half a year was suddenly torn apart by us.

Immediately afterwards, the main force of the Central Plains Bureau, the Central Plains Military Region and the 2nd Column came from Liulin. The station quickly crossed the Ping-Han Railway and marched to the Siwangshan area on the Xinying border. On the evening of the 29th, Wang Zhen led the 359th Brigade and other troops. After a fierce battle, they arrived at Jigong Mountain south of Liulin Station. Huangpao Mountain , broke through Pinghan Road

html On July 1, Wang Shusheng's troops broke through the Pinghan Line north of Huayuan and south of Wangjiadian and reached Anying District, where they met Yuan Zailu. The news that the 15th Brigade and 44th Regiment from the west had successfully broken through the Pinghan Road blockade made Chiang Kai-shek's dream of "encircling and annihilating" the Central Plains People's Liberation Army in Xuanhuadian come true. It was in vain, and Liu Zhi urgently ordered Liu Zhi to organize a "pursuit and annihilation". Liu Zhi urgently mobilized Sun Zhen's reorganized 41st Division, and ordered his reorganized 3rd Division and other units to rush to Xinyang from Guangshan. followed the line of Tianhekou north of the county . At the same time, he ordered the reorganized 66th Division, Qiaoshi and other units to follow and pursue, in an attempt to form a new encirclement of our army in the Tianhekou area and annihilate our northern army in one fell swoop.

However, in Before the enemy's encirclement was formed, our army entered the Jiangxidian and Zhujiadian lines on July 1. On July 4, it crossed Tianhekou and assembled in the area west of Tianhekou and north of Zaoyang. The conspiracy went bankrupt again.

After the enemy's second pursuit and defeat, Chiang Kai-shek reprimanded Liu Zhi for his incompetence in fighting and ordered the organization to continue the "encirclement and annihilation" of the Central Plains People's Liberation Army. , in the left bank area of ​​ Tang River , the Central Plains troops will be annihilated.The 15th Division and the 41st Division were deployed in hot pursuit, and more than 10 aircraft were dispatched to conduct reconnaissance, strafing, and blockade of the mouth of the Tang River. They coordinated with the reorganized 3rd Division to "encircle and annihilate" our army in the Cangtai area on the left bank of the Tang River before July 7.

Our army marched towards several ferries of the Tang River in great strides. We braved wind and rain, ignored the bumpy and muddy roads, and fatigue, and marched day and night. Finally, with amazing perseverance, we arrived in front of the enemy and seized the ferries. During this period, our army broke through the ambush and interception of the enemy's reorganized 3rd Division, traveled a hundred and dozens of miles a day, crossed the grass, captured the Chengjia River and Guotan Ferry, built pontoon bridges, and flew across the Tang River and Baihe River. , traveled through the hilly plains of southwest Henan, and inserted at the southern foot of Funiu Mountain . When the enemy pursued them to the right bank of the Tang River, our army had successfully reached the front lines of H1 Neixiang H2 and Zhechuan on July 12, and the main force had already entered H1 Jingziguan H2 and the scheduled garrison at the division post. The enemy was left far behind by our army.

htmlOn July 13, the Party Central Committee instructed us: Chiang Kai-shek plans to attack Jiangsu and Anhui first, and then North China to annihilate the Central Plains People's Liberation Army. To this end, the Central Plains troops should contain the enemy from the outside in Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Sichuan and Shaanxi, and assist the combat troops in various districts on the inside to crush the enemy's conspiracy.

According to the spirit of the central government's instructions, the main force of the North Road was divided into two lines of action in the Shigang area: Li Xiannian and Zheng Weisan led the Central Plains Bureau, the military region directly affiliated team and the 13th Brigade and the 45th Regiment of the 15th Brigade as the left column, to Go forward to Nanhuatang in the direction of Ning-Shaan . The 359th Brigade and the Cadre Brigade led by Wang Zhen formed the right column, passing through Jingziguan and advancing towards Shanyang and Zhashui.

When the main force of the North Road advanced to the right bank of Danjiang , Chiang Kai-shek seemed to be aware of our army's intention. He immediately mobilized the army to form a new blockade situation on the left bank of Danjiang. The troops of the four divisions were deployed in Nanyang, Zhenping, south of Neixiang, and in the Jianchuan area along the Danjiang River. At the same time, the 1st Brigade and the 90th Division of the 1st Division of Hu Zongnan's Ace Army also rushed to the front lines of Jingziguan and Nanhuatang at night to intercept them as soon as possible. The enemy's attitude is an attempt to "encircle and annihilate" the main force of the North Route of the Central Plains Army along the Danjiang River.

Danjiang is located at the junction of Hubei, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces in southwest Henan, and its strategic position is very important. Whether our army can cross the Danjiang River is a matter of life and death. If we can cross the Danjiang River, we can get rid of the enemy's encirclement and realize our plan to march into southern Shaanxi. Otherwise, our army will be besieged on the right bank of the Danjiang River, surrounded by enemy troops several times our size, and the situation will be very dangerous. .

Therefore, we must get ahead of the enemy, forcefully cross the Danjiang River, and throw away the enemy.

htmlOn July 12, when our troops on the left marched westward from the division post, 4 security regiments from the enemy's inner township blocked them, and the 37th regiment of our 13th avant-garde brigade defeated them. On the 13th, the 38th Regiment of the 13th Brigade quickly surrounded the enemies in Ma Dengpu and attacked the enemies in Li Guanqiao , Mengjialou and other places. The fight was very good, allowing our army to quickly enter the Zhechuan area. .

At the same time, Wang Zhen's 359th Brigade and 718th Regiment on our right are preparing to seize Jingziguan, the throat into Shaanxi. On

14, enemy planes fired violently at our troops. The troops have been forced to march for several days, which is very hard, but our cadres and soldiers have performed strongly and carried forward the glorious tradition of continuous combat. Because Hu Zongnan's reorganized 90th Division arrived before me at Jingziguan, they were tightly guarded and could not be conquered. In order to reduce casualties, the leaders of the Central Plains Military Region immediately decided to avoid Jingziguan, take a detour to cross the Danjiang River, go south around Baoyu Ridge and Nanhuatang, and enter southern Shaanxi from there.

html At noon on the 14th, the 717th Regiment of the 359th Brigade rushed to cross the Danjiang River between Dashiqiao and Liujiaquan Niangniang Cave, and then took a detour to the west. On the evening of the same day, Li Xiannian and Zheng Weisan led the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region to cross the Danjiang River at Dashiqiao and entered the Meijiapu area west of Zhejiang and Sichuan.

When we were crossing the river, due to heavy rain for days and flash floods, the water level in the Danjiang River suddenly rose sharply. Since we couldn't get a ferry at that time, we decided to wade across the river on foot, and immediately sent people along the coast to look for shallow water. We soon found a ferry that could be wade on foot. The commanders and soldiers of the army held hands and supported each other, carrying forward the spirit of unity and mutual assistance. Braving the chest-high turbulent river, we plodded forward step by step. Although everyone tried their best to help, a few comrades were still swept away by the flood due to the fierceness of the river.

The Battle of Nanhuatang was the last battle to break through to the west.After our army crossed the Danjiang River, our troops on the left arrived at Nanhuatang on the 17th. However, Hu Zongnan's troops had already occupied the commanding heights of Yuhuangding and the Huangjiabao line, and the pursuing enemies rushed towards me again. The situation was very serious. sinister. At that time, the leaders of the Central Plains troops were all in this narrow deep ravine. They came to the forward position, conducted observations, and quickly made a decision. Commander Li Xiannian ordered: Resolutely capture the enemy's main position. The 37th Regiment will attack the main position of Yuhuangding from below, the 38th Regiment will attack from the right wing, the 39th Regiment will attack the left wing, and the 45th Regiment will attack the rear. The battle started at 3 pm on the 17th. Our army concentrated its artillery fire on the enemy. Commander Xia Shihou of the 37th Regiment led the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions toward the enemy's positions, engaging in hand-to-hand combat and bayonets. In this battle, Comrade Li Jinshan, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the regiment, died heroically. He is an excellent commander and a cadre from the Red Army. That night they captured the main position of Huangjiabao at the foot of Yuhuangding Mountain, opening the door to Shaanxi. Li Xiannian once told everyone at the time: After all, the Communist Party’s team is still powerful. Today we are going to suppress the enemy at the top of the mountain so that none of them can get through.

html At dawn on the 19th, our troops on the left advanced to Zhaochuan Town , and encountered enemy interception. Within 16 hours, the enemy launched 17 charges against me, and I defeated them all. More than 400 enemy soldiers were killed and injured. Wang Shicai, the leader of our 45th regiment, remained on the main position of Huangpoling until he died heroically.

After the battles in Zhaochuan and Nanhuatang, our main force on the North Road arrived in the area of ​​Shanyang County in southern Shaanxi. This is a large mountain in the Qinling Mountains, which is suitable for guerrilla warfare. We are like a fish in water, and the enemy's plot to "encircle and annihilate" us has been declared bankrupt.

The southern Shaanxi region is located at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains. It has undulating mountains, high mountains, narrow roads, crisscrossing ravines, dangerous terrain, sparsely populated areas, and thin and poor ridges.

After our army entered southern Shaanxi, Chiang Kai-shek assembled 14 brigades with 100,000 troops to form a new blockade network in southern Shaanxi, attempting to use heavy troops to "encircle and suppress" and economic blockade, starving us to death in the barren mountains and rivers .

At this time, Commander Li Xiannian called me to him and assigned me tasks. He pointed to the one-millionth map and said to me: We must continue to move towards Ningshan. This area is full of mountains, making it difficult for large troops to move. Now the troops are advancing in two ways. We led the Central Plains Bureau, the Central Plains Military Region, the 13th Brigade, the 37th Regiment, and the Guard Regiment as the right column, heading south of Shangnan, Longjuzhai, and passing through Zhen'an to Ningshan. You lead the 2nd Column Direct Team, the 38th Regiment, the 45th Regiment and the 39th Regiment as the left column, from Shanyang to Manchuanguan, passing through Zhenan and Zhashui, and meeting us in Ningshan. Comrade Zhou Zhijian led the first unit of the 39th Regiment to cover the main force in the rear before it could move up. Now you lead your troops into action quickly.

After accepting the task, I immediately led the 2nd column directly affiliated agencies, the 38th regiment and other troops to set off. After an arduous journey, we arrived at Heigou, Longshantou, south of Zhulin Pass on July 24, and in the northeastern area of ​​Manchuang Pass, preparing to go west through Zhen'an to Ningshan.

This area is full of high mountains and narrow valleys. It is remote and desolate. It is extremely hot during the day and cool at night. There are no ordinary people living nearby. In order to determine the surrounding situation, we sent the vanguard troops to conduct reconnaissance. The stragglers of the scouts and cadre brigade reported to us that the line from Shanyang to Manchuanguan has been blocked by Hu Zongnan's troops.

Immediately, I discussed with other comrades and decided to take a detour from Yunxi to Ningshan. When we advanced to Maoping, northeast of Yunxi, we found that all road checkpoints in this area had been occupied by the enemy's 135th Brigade. So we went north to the territory of Shanyang County and gathered the troops in Shuichang. We set up a radio station to contact the head of the Central Plains Military Region, but we could not get through. Then I asked the radio station to directly call Yan'an and contact the Central Military Commission. Soon, Yan'an Radio heard our call, asked us to report the situation, and told us that there were several radio stations facing us at the same time. We are very grateful to the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission for their care. We reported the enemy's situation and our situation to Yan'an, and requested to be notified of the detailed enemy situation around us and asked for instructions on how to proceed next.

After a while, the central government gave us a callback instruction: Fang Zhengping called us to express his condolences.The enemy Hu Zongnan has gathered heavy troops to intercept you at the front lines of Shanyang, Zhashui, and Zhen'an. The enemy chasing you is the Sichuan Army. In this case, you should not advance north. You should overcome the thought of returning to the army, conserve your strength, avoid major battles, and disperse on the spot. Carry out guerrilla warfare and establish a base area. The sooner the better, please implement it resolutely.

After receiving the instructions from the Central Committee, we immediately held a meeting of cadres at the league level and above to carefully convey and discuss the spirit of the Central Committee's instructions and study implementation measures. The meeting decided: disperse the battalions on the spot, carry out guerrilla warfare according to designated activity areas, and create base areas. Specific deployment: I led the team directly under the 2nd column and 1 battalion of the 38th Regiment to move north of Longshantou in Shanyang. Qi Yong led the first part of the 45th Regiment to move in the Yunxi area. Zeng Guangtai and Qin Zhen led the 38th Regiment. One group is active in Zhenan and Zhashui areas. After arriving at Shuichang, the guerrillas led by Tan Daopeng got in touch with me. We were very happy. They also sent someone to act as our guide and introduce the local situation to us.

At the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains in southern Shaanxi, although the mountains are high, the roads are dangerous, and there are few people Thalassemia , there are many favorable conditions for carrying out guerrilla warfare. The forests are dense, covering hundreds of kilometers in radius, and there is a lot of room for maneuver. Small units carry out guerrilla warfare. This is our strength. We are familiar with it and can use it with ease. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the 4th Red Army, 3rd Red Army, Red 25th Army, Red 15th Army, etc. all fought here. The 25th Red Army established the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Center with Shangluo as the center. During the Anti-Japanese War, the party's armed forces were active on both sides of the Danjiang River. After the winter of 1945, Gong Defang was appointed as the guerrilla commander in southern Shaanxi, and political commissar Wang Li had a good mass base.

The main difficulty is not having anything to eat. Because the mountains are high, the forests are dense, the population is sparse, and we are in the lean season, we often eat wild yams and immature corn cobs and corn stalks on the hillside. After eating, it is difficult to digest, and many comrades suffer from severe gastrointestinal problems. Inflammation , constant diarrhea. At that time, I also suffered from severe enteritis and had no strength at all, but I was in good spirits. We climbed up and down the steep peaks and canyons almost every day. Every time we climbed over a mountain ridge, we expended a lot of energy. The mules and horses often stumbled, and the horses' legs were scratched by stones and dripping with blood. Sometimes, instead of people riding horses, people push and mount mules and horses, trudging forward. The troops were extremely tired due to continuous fighting, poor food, and the soles of many comrades' shoes were worn out. Some of them marched barefoot on the rugged mountain roads, and their feet were scratched by rocks and branches, and blood flowed. Although the fighting environment was extremely difficult, our troops performed very strongly and the difficulties did not scare us. The officers and soldiers still maintained a high degree of revolutionary heroism and optimism.

In order to improve the supplies of the troops, we decided to prepare some food. One day, local guerrillas reported that there were no regular enemy troops in Yinhua Street in Shanyang County, only the security regiment and a township office. After our reconnaissance, we found that the troops here were indeed empty, but there was some food, so we immediately decided to attack! When we entered Yinhua Street, the enemy had already heard the news and fled, and there was no exchange of fire at all. We got some food, which eased the troops' food difficulties.

Then, the troops stationed in Gaobadian and quickly got in touch with the chief of the Central Plains. Comrade Li Xiannian and other comrades were very happy to hear our report and conveyed to us the instructions of the Central Plains: the Central Plains breakout force should establish contact with the local guerrillas, carry out guerrilla warfare in more than ten counties in southern Shaanxi, establish base areas, and establish Henan and Hubei. Shaanxi Military Region.

Following the instructions of the central government and the military region, we organized local cadres based on the Longshantou area of ​​Shanyang County, and added some cadres from the 2nd column agency to form the 3rd division and prefectural committee agencies. The district founding meeting was held at the Haojia Cemetery in Zhongcun, Shanyang County, with more than 3,000 people in attendance. At the meeting, the formal establishment of the subdivision was announced, and the county governments under the subdivision were established. The county party committee secretaries and county magistrates of Shanyang County, Shangshan County, and Yunshan County were appointed. The meeting was held in a grand and lively manner. We also organized the guerrillas led by local Comrade Tan Daopeng and local cadres into a guerrilla detachment. The local people cheered enthusiastically, hoping that their own army would come and they would have people's political power.The

3 sub-area activities were held at the junction of Shanyang, Shangnan and Yunxi. Together with the local government, they led the masses to resist donations, taxes, illegal activities, and migrant workers, and fight against the enemy. Based on the accurate information provided by the masses and the southern Shaanxi guerrillas to our army, we effectively attacked the Kuomintang rural security forces, destroyed the reactionary regime, and established people's power.

After just a few months of fighting, the democratic township government was established in the struggle. After it had its own political power, it was completely different. The people supported our troops in every battle and saved money and food to provide supplies for the troops.

We gave some of the materials seized during the battle to the poor people, and the broad masses of the people supported us even more.

For example, we handed over the tens of thousands of yuan in customs stamps and some gold and silver treasures seized from the 24th Army Group of the Kuomintang during the battle to the Yunshang County Party Committee, which alleviated the financial difficulties of the local government and the army and further boosted the fighting spirit of the military and civilians.

The united front work and unity of enlightened people during this period also achieved great results. Xi Xueli, the head of Zhongcun Township in Shanyang County, and Chen Yueting, the captain of the self-defense brigade of the county, resolutely broke away from the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang through our efforts, led their troops to join our army, turned their guns, and joined us in fighting against the die-hard Chiang troops. We also paid attention to the autumn harvest production work, so that the people obtained a better harvest. The democratic regime quickly took root among the masses.

htmlOn August 18, Division 3 reported to the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Committee the situation of the establishment of political power in Yinhua Street and Zhongcun. The central government responded to instructions on the 21st: The experience of establishing political power and organizing local armed forces in Yinhua and Zhongcun must be quickly informed to all ministries to follow suit. The sooner the better. During this period, the 1st Military Division and the Prefectural Committee, the 2nd and 4th Military Divisions and the Prefectural Committee also successively established county, district and township governments. In the arduous struggle to establish the Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi base areas, many comrades unfortunately died. Comrades Gong Defang and Tan Daopeng of the underground party in southern Shaanxi, for example, made immortal contributions in initiating and leading the local guerrilla struggle. After our main force entered Shaanxi, they led the guerrillas to actively support us, publicized the party's policies to the local people, and organized a struggle against the enemy. After our main force withdrew, due to the betrayal of the traitors, they were unfortunately arrested and were tortured and butchered by the enemy. He was strong and unyielding, righteous and heroic. Their sacrifices made us deeply saddened and at the same time aroused greater hatred for our enemies.

Soon after, Wang Feng, Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Working Committee of the Communist Party of China, was ordered by the Central Committee to go to southern Shaanxi to preside over the work of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Border Region and served as Secretary of the District Party Committee. On September 22, the Central Plains Military Region received a telegram from the Central Military Commission: Appointing Comrade Wen Jianwu as Commander of the Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi Military Region, Wang Feng as Political Commissar, Chen Xianrui as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, Fang Zhengping as Deputy Political Commissar, and Zhang Shucai as Director of the Political Department, the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Military Region was formally established. On September 24, the Party Committee of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Border District held an enlarged meeting in Fengdigou (now Dayu Township, Danfeng County) and announced the formal establishment of the district Party Committee. According to Comrade Li Xiannian's proposal in late August, the Central Committee approved Wang Feng as secretary, and Wen Jianwu, Chen Xianrui, Fang Zhengping, Zhang Shucai, Xia Nongtai , and Wei Guoyun as committee members. Li Xiannian also announced the regional scope and cadre allocation list of each division in the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi border region and made an important speech at the meeting. By the end of September, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th prefectural committees and military divisions had been established throughout the border region. 17 county committees (working committees) and county governments, including Yunshan, Shanyang, and Shangshan, and dozens of district governments were established. The local armed forces expanded to more than 2,000 people, and there were guerrillas in districts and townships.

htmlAfter September, I went to work in the military region. Comrades Wang Li, Zhou Guangce, Qi Yong, and Xu Daoqi were in charge of Division 3.

The establishment of the Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi Military Region marked that our main breakout force on the Central Plains North Road had taken root in southern Shaanxi and gained a foothold. Gu Xiping, director of the Political Department of the enemy theater, once lamented: Li Xiannian's attempt to occupy southern Shaanxi, control Guanzhong , and respond to northern Shaanxi was progressing very quickly and the threat was great. The national army was expected to attack northern Shaanxi within two weeks, but it has been destroyed. From the enemy's remarks, we can see the role that our southern Shaanxi base area played in the entire war situation. During the early operations of the

troops in southern Shaanxi, due to continuous marching operations, some battalions and companies were separated from the larger units and lost contact with their superiors. Coupled with the difficult life, the non-combat attrition of the troops was large, some as many as hundreds. Twenty points. After the situation stabilized and improved, many comrades returned to the team one after another.After a battalion of the Military Region Guard Corps lost contact with our regiment, it merged with our column organization, acted in unison, and persisted in the struggle.

Once, one battalion of the 38th Regiment and the 5th Company of the Military Region Guard Regiment went to the north of Dongzhaochuan in Shanyang County and encountered the Xizhaochuan Security Group. There were few people, so they screamed and rushed towards us, trying to take advantage of us. Seeing the arrogance of this local motley crew, our soldiers were furious. I ordered everyone to stay calm and fight again when they got closer. When the enemy rushed up like a flock of sheep, they were only more than 100 meters away from us. I gave the order: "Hit!" Suddenly, more than 100 of our soldiers shot at the enemy together. When we got closer, we all threw grenades at the enemy. At this time, the company commander Dong Jiashen led his troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy. Facing our army's fierce tigers descending the mountain, his marksmanship was accurate, and the security group was in chaos. Their leader took the lead. Running backwards, hundreds of security guards fled together. I ordered: "Chase!"

chased several hills in one breath, beating the enemy into panic and fleeing. In this battle, we seized a large number of weapons and ammunition, and also captured a number of prisoners. In response, the central government called us to praise us, saying that we had effectively contained the enemy and cooperated with internal operations.

spent the autumn quickly in the hard fighting life. Winter in the Qinling Mountains is a high-cold inland area, with freezing temperatures and snow-capped mountains. The troops lack cotton-padded clothes to keep out the cold.

Taking advantage of American-style equipment and abundant supplies, the enemy mobilized 10 brigades and 17 security regiments, opened a wide net, and carried out a comprehensive "clearance" of our base area, using all the cruel methods they had used before. On. Everywhere the enemy arrived, they first drove away the few people, demolished houses, smashed stone mills, slaughtered livestock, burned firewood, and destroyed almost everything that could support people's survival. The people have encountered unprecedented difficulties in terms of food, accommodation, heating, clothing, and activities.

The Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao are very concerned about the struggle in the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Border Region and attach great importance to it. Whenever we are in the most dangerous and difficult moments, instructions are always sent to us from Yan'an, many of which are hand-drafted by Chairman Mao and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai. The method we adopt is to change the enemy and we must change, and we must first change the enemy. At the beginning of our operations against larger formations of the enemy's regular army, it was right to adopt the method of dispersed guerrilla warfare. Later, in November and December of 1946, the number of regular troops of the Kuomintang was reduced. The troops that carried out "clean-up" operations against us were more than a dozen security groups from several counties, such as Neixiang, Henan District 4, Town Ping Several security groups in several counties engage in joint defense. They often gather multiple security groups to jointly attack the scattered troop garrison in our subdivision.

To this end, I proposed that when the enemy changes, we will change ourselves, concentrate our forces, attack the security groups, and formulate policies and strategies for the fight against "clearance and suppression". It was decided to concentrate more than 2,000 main troops for mobile operations. Xia Shihou and I led 1 battalion of the 37th regiment and the troops of the 7th and 8th regiments of the 4th division, a total of 13 companies. We first attacked the security groups of Shuanghuaishu, Zhenping and Neixiang, and captured more than 300 enemies. A large number of weapons and ammunition were seized, and the fleeing enemies were pursued to Wulichuan and Zhuyang Pass. These battles shattered the enemy's "clearance and suppression" conspiracy, and the enemy's prestige was destroyed. It did not dare to attack the base area easily again.

In the 4th division area, comrades Huang Lin and Yan Xuesheng led their troops to fight very well. They fought bravely several times, repelled the enemy's attack, and defeated the security group's joint 20th clearing campaign." In this regard, the Central Military Commission Zeng sent orders to commend them and encouraged the troops to learn from them.

html In early January 1947, the weather was cold. The military region mobilized more than 5,000 troops from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th divisions to form a field column. Huang Lin served as the commander, and I served as the political commissar. Hou was appointed deputy commander and chief of staff, and Weng Keye was appointed director of the political department. We led our troops to fight in the south and north, defeating more than 10 enemy security groups and marching into Funiu Mountain, creating a good situation.

1947 On February 1, 2011, Comrade Mao Zedong proposed "to welcome the new upsurge of the Chinese revolution". The Central Committee pointed out that the arduous task of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Military Region to contain Chiang Kai-shek's all-out attack on the liberated areas was successfully completed.As the national war situation changes, in order to gather strength and prepare for a greater victory, the Central Military Commission approved the main forces of the Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi Military Region to be on standby in two batches. They are scheduled to cross the Yellow River north in the Liuhuangling area of ​​Xin'an County and head to Jincheng, Shanxi Province. Gaoping County is resting. We persisted until March, when we were ordered to cross the Yellow River north to Jincheng, Shanxi Province. In July, our army began a strategic counteroffensive. Soon, we were officially reorganized into the 12th Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region and fought back to Henan and Hubei.

Looking back on this period of history, although it was only one year, we experienced extraordinary struggles. We jumped out of the encirclement, crossed the Pinghan Line, flew across the Tang River, waded into the Danjiang River, broke through the Jingzi Pass, and fought against Nanhua. Tang, successfully entered southern Shaanxi, opened up base areas, established people's political power, fought against the "purge", and eliminated the security regiments. This arduous battle process cost countless heroes and sons and daughters, and finally shattered the enemy's conspiracy to "encircle and annihilate" the People's Liberation Army of the Central Plains. Containing the enemy from the outside played a great role in protecting Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia and the Party Central Committee, and supporting battlefields such as North China and East China. What I can't forget are the poor people in northwest Hubei who supported us, the strong underground party and guerrillas in southern Shaanxi, and the heroic people of Hubei, Henan, and Shaanxi. They have a close relationship with us. They supported and participated in our battles and sacrificed their lives. He sacrificed his life and made immortal contributions to the country's liberation cause. Let us remember this extraordinary battle, educate future generations, cherish the fruits of revolutionary victory, and always follow the Communist Party and march forward bravely along the footsteps of the martyrs.

(December 1992)