One day in July 1976, at the memorial service for Fuzhou Military Region Commander Pi Dingjun, a middle-aged man in his 40s knelt down in front of his portrait, kowtowed and cried bitterly: "Old soldier. Sir, I came to see you. You have been looking for me for so long, and I have been looking for you for so long! I came from Lanzhou and we finally met. I didn’t expect that our meeting would be in the world of Yin and Yang. Unexpectedly , Unexpectedly, the old army commander..."
Pi Dingjun's memorial service
Pi Dingjun's children did not know this man. When they were wondering, someone said to Pi Dingjun's second son, Pi Xiaonong: "Xiaonong. "He is Zhang Taofang of the 214th Regiment of the 24th Army. He is a well-known sharpshooter in the Korean battlefield. Commander Pi must have mentioned him to you."
Pi Xiaonong suddenly realized it. He quickly stepped forward and took Zhang Taofang. Helped him up.
So how powerful is this Zhang Taofang? What kind of story is there between him and Pi Dingjun?
Zhang Taofang was born in Xicun, Chengbao Town, Xinghua Town, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1931. In March 1951, he joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army and served as a soldier in the 8th Company of the 214th Regiment of the 72nd Division of the 24th Army. In September 1952, he entered North Korea with the army. After entering North Korea,
8 Company held a target practice. Zhang Taofang was originally a good shooter, but because he was on the road every day after joining the DPRK, and he also became a correspondent for the company headquarters, how could he have time to think about the new gun he was carrying behind his back? As a result, he hit three "zero eggs" in three bullets. As punishment, he had to help in the kitchen.
Zhang Taofang
Zhang Taofang, who has a strong personality, was not convinced. From then on, he devoted himself to shooting training. In order to hold the gun motionless, Zhang Taofang asked herself to keep thinking about the target after firing, and to see clearly how the crosshair jumped away from the target and stabilized. At that moment, he wouldn't even let go and put the trigger back, as if he were frozen in ice.
At that time, the gun used by the volunteer army was the Soviet-made M1944 Mosin Nagant rifle. This gun was not a real sniper rifle. It did not have a scope , and the gun bore was short and the recoil was strong. Even if there was only a hair when the bullet came out of the chamber The silky deviation will be one meter away when the target is 200 meters away. In order to improve shooting accuracy, Zhang Taofang made two homemade sandbags to exercise his arm strength. Later, when more than ten kilograms of sandbags were hung on his arms, he could still pull the trigger without moving.
In January 1953, the 24th Army stationed at the position in Shangganling. The U.S. troops on the opposite position relied on their air superiority and artillery superiority and paid no attention to the volunteers. They built fortifications in a swaggering manner, delivered meals to the position step by step, and even lay on the ground in groups to bask in the sun.
24 Army Commander Pi Dingjun was furious when he learned about it: "Damn it, thunder struck the mountain temple, and ghosts and monsters came out to cause trouble. We can't let the American devils shit and piss on our heads, we must beat their arrogance Go down!" Pi Dingjun asked the troops to carry out a mass "cold gun and cold gun" activity, selecting four snipers from each position to teach the enemy a lesson.
Pi Dingjun
After Zhang Taofang learned the news, he immediately signed up to be a sniper. But after the report, when the company commander thought of those three "zero eggs", how could he feel relieved? He personally went to the battlefield and pointed out three targets to Zhang Taofang. He actually hit them all, so Zhang Taofang was successfully elected as a sniper.
html On January 29, Zhang Taofang ushered in his first sniper attack. This morning, he consumed 12 rounds of bullets but failed to kill an enemy. He felt very frustrated. That night, the squad leader calmly asked Zhang Taofang about his firing situation, and then learned about his problem. It turned out that the enemy had been moving, and Zhang Taofang did not calculate the advance when aiming, so of course he missed the target.Finally, the squad leader told Zhang Taofang that when the enemy runs down the mountain, because the speed of movement will affect the shooting position, the fast runner should aim at his feet; the slow runner should aim at his knees; and for the enemy climbing up the mountain, , you should aim at his head. In a nutshell: aim in advance.
The next day, Zhang Taofang came to the sniper station with the squad leader, but he still didn't listen to the squad leader's words. When three enemies came over from the opposite mountain, he still aimed and fired as usual. With the sound of a gunshot, in the middle The enemy fell to the ground. Zhang Taofang was very happy, but also confused, because he was clearly targeting the first person, so how could he hit the second person?
Zhang Taofang told the squad leader her doubts, and the squad leader said excitedly: "That's right. It proves that their speed is exactly the lead time of a person." At this time, the monitor's explanation finally made Zhang Taofang understand the true meaning of the concept of "lead time." Meaning, from then on, he "enlightened".
Zhang Taofang conducted a sniper attack.
html On February 10, Zhang Taofang shot 7 enemy soldiers with only 9 shots, surpassing all veteran snipers. In future snipers, Zhang Taofang paid more attention to understanding and speculation, and continued to accumulate experience. By the end of February, Zhang Taofang fired 247 bullets and killed 71 enemy soldiers, becoming the leading sniper of the 24th Army.Once, Zhang Taofang and his comrades lay in the snow and took turns sniping at the enemy. They killed all the enemies who came out of the tunnel. The enemy hiding in the bunker at the last place stretched out a white flag and shouted: "Chinamen, stop fighting! You are unjust, you have to let people eat, shit and pee. You are not capable of hiding in the dark and shooting cold shots. You have the ability." Let's come out and fight with open swords and guns!"
Zhang Taofang saw a figure shaking at the bunker window. He immediately fired a bullet straight into the bunker window. The enemy was silenced...
Staff Officer Xiao of the Army Operations Department took Zhang Taofang's The deeds were reported to Pi Dingjun. Pi Dingjun was a person who did not easily believe rumors and was extremely serious in his work. He did not believe Zhang Taofang's shooting results, so he took out a pair of brand new leather warm boots from under the bed, and then told Staff Officer Xiao Said: "Take this with you and go to the 8th company to find Zhang Taofang. Follow him to the forward position and watch him kill three enemies with your own eyes. If it is true, give him the leather boots as a reward; if it is false, , and bring the boots back."
Pi Dingjun
Staff Officer Xiao said awkwardly: "Commander, these leather boots were specially issued by the Volunteer Army headquarters to the army chief. Each army only has two or three pairs. They are given to the soldiers. You can wear them. "What?"
Pi Dingjun said: "These boots can be worn by army leaders, and soldiers can wear them. If there are no soldiers, where can the army leaders come from?"
Commander Xiao arrived with leather boots! In the 8th company, after he explained his purpose to the company commander, the company commander said to Zhang Taofang: "Go and accompany Staff Officer Xiao on a trip, and shoot some Japanese to show him what to do."
Zhang Taofang and Staff Officer Xiao came to the sniper station, and then With a gunshot, an enemy fell down, and then an enemy sentry was hit by Zhang Taofang. At this time, the enemy's snipers also opened fire. Officer Xiao did not dare to raise his head for fear of exposing his target, and he was worried about Zhang Taofang's safety. Just as he was thinking about it, a gunshot rang out in the distance. It turned out that Zhang Taofang had already moved to another sniper position and eliminated the third enemy.
Staff Officer Xiao was very excited. After returning to the 8th Company, he followed Pi Dingjun's instructions and held a boot ceremony for Zhang Taofang. Zhang Taofang sat on the bullet box in front, and Staff Officer Xiao hung his leather boots around his neck, making him blush and speechless with excitement.
Zhang Taofang teaches shooting experience to his comrades
After the 24th army entered the summer counteroffensive campaign, Pi Dingjun personally came to the 8th company to inspect. He has never forgotten Zhang Taofang. At this time, Zhang Taofang had been promoted to platoon leader and brought out a group of sharpshooters. After Pi Dingjun met Zhang Taofang, he decided to test his shooting skills on the spot. However, the enemy's position was far away at this time. What should he fight?
At this time, Staff Officer Xiao came up with an idea: "Commander, let's test Zhang Taofang on how to shoot sparrows and birds flying in the sky!"
Pi Dingjun nodded and said, "Okay, this is smaller and more difficult than destroying the enemy with cold guns. It's higher!"
Zhang Taofang hid in a thatch. After a while, he fired 6 rounds of bullets, and several sparrows and birds fell from the sky.Staff Officer Xiao ran over and counted, then came back happily and reported to Pi Dingjun: "Commander, Zhang Taofang shot down 4 sparrows and 1 bird with 6 rounds of bullets!"
Pi Dingjun nodded with satisfaction and looked around. The cadres and soldiers also applauded excitedly.
Zhang Taofang shoots
But the greatest recognition of Zhang Taofang's sniper skills comes from the enemy. The US military on the opposite side also knew that our army had a sharpshooter who was always accurate. They hated Zhang Taofang so much that they specially brought in the "ace sniper" Colonel Ike, determined to remove Zhang Taofang, a thorn in their side and flesh. This leads to an exciting showdown between two top snipers.
One day in the early summer of 1953, the weather was sunny and cloudless. Zhang Taofang entered the position early in the morning as usual. As soon as he walked into the sniper hiding spot along the traffic ditch, a bullet flew past his scalp. He immediately realized that something was wrong and someone was waiting for him on the opposite side.
A broken steel helmet was thrown in the traffic ditch. Zhang Taofang picked it up and used a rifle to lift it up to expose the traffic ditch. He had used this method many times before to lure his opponent into revealing his position, but this time the helmet shook for a long time, but his opponent didn't fire a single shot. It was obvious that the opponent was also an experienced master. Zhang Taofang couldn't help but secretly sigh: "Finally I met my opponent. This little trick can't fool him."
So Zhang Taofang changed his tactics. He crawled in the traffic ditch. When he reached the end of the traffic ditch, he suddenly jumped up and crossed a small section in a few steps. space. The machine gun on the opposite side fired another burst. He stretched out his hands, tilted his body, and fell into the bunker as if he had been hit.
Stills from the movie "Sniper"
This fake move obviously deceived the opponent, who temporarily stopped shooting. Zhang Taofang slowly poked his head out and began to search the opposite position. He found two machine guns on the US military position shooting in other directions, but Zhang Taofang did not fire immediately because he knew that this might be the enemy's bait. As long as he Once he fires a shot, his position may be exposed and he may be killed.
Zhang Taofang continued to search, and finally found an M2 sniper heavy machine gun ambushed by the enemy between two bluestones on the opposite side. Zhang Taofang was about to fire his gun, but he didn't expect that the other party also discovered him. The other party quickly fired a round of bullets, and Zhang Taofang was suppressed in the bunker again.
Zhang Taofang was not in a hurry. He hid quietly behind the bunker, thinking and waiting. But the opponent couldn't hold his nerve, and would hit a burst shot every few minutes. Zhang Taofang tried to raise his head again, and the opponent suddenly shot another long shot. He tried several times, but it always happened. Zhang Taofang slowly discovered the enemy's shooting pattern: he only shot to the left side of the sniper station where he was, but rarely to the right side.
Zhang Taofang then slowly moved to the right side of the sniper platform and took out the gun on the sniper platform. He did not aim and fire rashly, but waited for a while. He needed to judge whether the other party really did not notice him or had already understood him. His actions were a deliberate trap.
Zhang Taofang waited for more than 10 minutes. He determined from the impact point of the machine gun that the opponent did not notice that he had changed positions. The opportunity finally came! Zhang Taofang stood up suddenly, put the butt of the gun on his shoulder, and fired immediately. Almost at the same time, his opponent also noticed Zhang Taofang, immediately turned the muzzle of the gun and pulled the trigger.
In the competition between experts, the outcome can only be decided in an instant. When Zhang Taofang's bullet passed through the opponent's head, the bullet fired by the opponent flew past his scalp. The two top sniper masters completed the confrontation in an instant.
Zhang Taofang later learned from American media reports that the one he killed was Colonel Ike, the "ace sniper" of the US military.
In May 1953, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League held the Second National Congress in Beijing. The 24th Army was assigned a representative quota. Pi Dingjun personally made the decision and gave this quota to Zhang Taofang. Before Zhang Taofang left, he came to the military headquarters carrying the leather boots that Pi Dingjun had given him to say goodbye to Pi Dingjun.
Pi Dingjun saw Zhang Taofang standing in front of him with leather boots on his back, and asked in surprise: "How did you carry it on your back?"
Zhang Taofang replied: "Commander, I think you need it more.After saying that, he put the leather boots on the table, and the sound of bullet shells was heard inside.
Pi Dingjun asked curiously: "What's inside?"
Staff Officer Xiao on the side said: "There are bullet casings inside. Every time Zhang Taofang kills an enemy, he keeps the bullet casings." "
Pi Dingjun asked happily: "How many are there in total? "
Zhang Taofang replied: "211. "
Zhang Taofang
"You played very well, but you didn't make a name for yourself. Pi Dingjun still seemed dissatisfied: "You are going to Beijing for a meeting. You have to bring a memorable number and report it to the Party Central Committee." "
Zhang Taofang was stunned for a moment, and Pi Dingjun asked him: "What is the number of your group? "
" Group 214. "
" By the way, 214th Regiment, you have to kill 214 enemies. Hit 3 more, not one more, not one less. "
Zhang Taofang returned to the sniper position without saying a word. An hour later, he successfully killed three enemies. After returning to the military headquarters, he placed three bullet casings on the table.
Pi Dingjun said happily: "Today Just eat here. You are so nervous on the front line, so have a good meal! "What we ate that day was rice, six vegetables and one soup, but Zhang Taofang was too nervous to eat enough. He also lied and said that he had less activities at the front, so he ate less.
In this way, Zhang Taofang killed 214 enemies with 436 rounds of bullets. This is the highest record for a volunteer sniper. He was awarded the title of "Special Meritor of the Volunteer Army" and "Level 2 Hero", and was awarded the "First Class National Flag Medal" by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
After Zhang Taofang returned to China, in 1954. He was transferred to the Air Force in 2001 and successfully passed the recruitment process and became the first generation fighter pilot of the People's Republic of China. After retiring from flying, he served as a political instructor for a certain division of the Weifang Air Force.
Zhang Taofang retired honorably in his later years. In his later years, someone once asked him why he could kill so many enemies. He replied: "So many American snipers want to kill me. Their skills are not bad and their equipment is much better than mine, but why can't they kill me?" ? Because they were afraid that I would hit him. If he was so scared, their guns would lose their aim. "
On October 29, 2007, Zhang Taofang died in the First Military Rest Home in Weifang City at the age of 76. His favorite poem during his lifetime is engraved on his tombstone:
Pain is so long-lasting, moving like a snail patiently; happiness is so Briefly, like a rabbit's tail passing through the autumn grassland.
On New Year's Day this year, the movie "Sniper" directed by Zhang Yimou and based on Zhang Taofang was released nationwide and received unanimous praise from the audience. We should always remember such heroes!
About the author of "Sniper"
: Brother Di, a post-90s office worker, has been writing full-time for 2 years and has published many articles with more than 100,000 hits on major self-media platforms. If you are interested in self-media, writing, and making money, and want to do side jobs or part-time jobs every month after work, you can search and follow my public account "帝哥说史" to discuss and make progress together
.
