Author: Mo Guyan
Huang Kecheng has formed an indissoluble bond with Peng Dehuai since he was sent to the 5th Red Army as the political commissar of the brigade. During the Red Army era, Huang Kecheng had been serving in the 5th Red Army and the 3rd Red Army led by General Peng; after liberation, Peng Dehuai took charge of the army, and General Huang Kecheng served as the commander-in-chief, and they got along with each other day and night.
Peng and Huang formed a profound friendship and had a very close relationship during the long revolutionary years. Because of this, during the 1959 incident, some people said that Huang obeyed Peng Yan and that the two had a "father-son relationship." Huang Kecheng was very angry about this and thought it was an insult to his character. When talking to the chairman, he said that he and Mr. Peng had many arguments in the past, almost half a lifetime, and many times their views were not consistent.
The 1955 investiture ceremony, from left: Su Yu, Huang Kecheng, Tan Zheng, Xiao Jinguang, Wang Shusheng
If you know something about the history of our army, you will know that Peng and Huang had many disagreements in history, including quarreling with Peng Dehuai Whoever has done it the most times must be Huang Kecheng.
In the autumn of 1930, Huang Kecheng had just become the political commissar of the 1st Division of the 3rd Red Army Corps and caught up with the Battle of Ganzhou. It was during this battle that he and Peng Dehuai had a fierce quarrel. The victory of
's third counter-encirclement and suppression campaign gave some leaders in the Jiangxi Soviet Area the illusion that the situation was great, and they made the decision to attack Ganzhou . Ganzhou is the commercial center of Gannan . Conquering this place will not only eliminate the threat to Ruijin , but also obtain a large amount of supplies. At the same time, it can also threaten Nanchang . It can be said that it kills three birds with one stone.
This task has been handed over to the 3rd Red Army Corps, which can fight tough battles. Peng Dehuai agrees with this. This is not only due to his brave and good fighting personality, but also because he has led his troops to conquer Changsha before, so he is experienced and confident in attacking cities. Since Changsha can be captured, and the Red Army is much stronger now than when it first attacked Changsha, is there any reason not to attack Ganzhou?
Peng Dehuai during the Red Army period
After Peng Dehuai conveyed the combat order to the cadres of the 3rd Red Army, everyone became enthusiastic about fighting. But at this moment, Huang Kecheng poured cold water on everyone on the spot. He objected to attacking Ganzhou on the grounds that Ganzhou, surrounded by water on three sides, was easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Red Army did not have heavy weapons. It would be difficult to defeat Ganzhou with its existing strength, and unnecessary costs would be paid.
Huang Kecheng had been dismissed from his post because he opposed the attack on Changsha. As soon as he was restored to his post, he came to oppose it again. Sure enough, the temper of the "Hunan stubborn donkey" has flared up again. In the heated environment at that time, no one would support Huang Kecheng. Besides, the attack on Ganzhou was originally an order from the headquarters, so what if we objected?
On February 13, 1931, the battle to attack Ganzhou began in the southwest corner of the city. The first problem the Red Army had to solve was how to break through the tall and thick city wall. First, the old way - climb the ladder to the city. This ancient method of warfare was destined to fail under the intensive machine gun fire of the defenders. Huang Kecheng was so anxious that he suggested withdrawing the siege, but it was not adopted.
The ladder force attack failed, and the Red Army switched to tunnel blasting. "Cave siege" was originally the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's specialty, but now it has become the Red Army's trump card for attacking earthen sieges. After ten days of preparation, the Red Army dug tunnels outside the three city gates and transported coffins filled with black powder. Commandos were lying in ambush nearby, preparing to blow open the city gates and rush in in one fell swoop.
Playing with explosives is a technical job, which is very scientific and must not be done recklessly. The Red Army lacked experience in blasting. Although the city wall was blown up, the position of the commando team was not chosen well. They were buried by flying earth and rocks. Only a few of the more than 200 commandos survived. The breach opened by the explosion was quickly blocked, and the Red Army was still unable to break through the city. Huang Kecheng once again suggested withdrawing the siege, but Mr. Peng refused.
After the south gate of Ganzhou was blown open
A few days later, the Red Army continued to attack the city. The 7th Red Army successfully blasted and attacked the city wall after paying a heavy price, but was quickly pushed back due to lack of strength.The Red 1st and Red 2nd Divisions that attacked the other two city gates did nothing at all. The gunpowder they put into the coffin was dampened by the water in the tunnel, and its power was greatly reduced. The city wall exploded but did not open.
The Red Army could not attack for a long time, and Chiang's 30,000-strong relief force came under the command of Luo Zhuoying . After setting up the pontoon bridge, two regiments of reinforcements entered the city.
At this point in the battle, it is impossible to capture Ganzhou, and the Red Army itself is in danger of being encircled and annihilated. Therefore, the best option is to stop losses in time and withdraw quickly before the enemy's encirclement is formed. It is the tradition of the Red Army to leave if you can't win. Huang Kecheng was so anxious that he proposed to Peng Dehuai for the third time to withdraw from the siege, but was rejected again. Peng's assessment of the situation was not so pessimistic at this time, and he was determined to capture Ganzhou before enemy reinforcements arrived in large numbers.
Reinforcements came one after another, greatly boosting the morale of the troops defending the city. Chiang Kai-shek suddenly launched a night attack on the Red Army positions in the early hours of the morning. The Red Army officers and soldiers who had fought hard for days were exhausted and fell asleep. Under the sudden attack by Jiang Jun, the troops were in chaos and many positions were lost.
Huang Kecheng once again suggested withdrawing from the siege, but was rejected again. Mr. Peng is not an unreasonable person. The reason why he does not withdraw is because he is afraid of being labeled as "cowardly" by some people in power. However, at this time, the battlefield situation was out of control. The Red Army was fighting independently, and the legion headquarters was no longer able to effectively command the divisions. The Red Army had reached a critical moment of life and death. Huang Kecheng did not ask General Peng for instructions again and decisively ordered the troops to retreat.
The Red Army fought for a month in the Battle of Ganzhou, with more than 3,000 casualties, including 10 division cadres who died. The most distressing thing was that the commander of the 1st Red Division Hou Zhongying was captured in the melee, and was later escorted to Nanjing and brutally killed kill.
The decision to attack Ganzhou was originally unrealistic. Even if it could win, it would only be a fluke. What's more, it also exposed many problems of the Red Army at the tactical level, so the battle was a complete failure. If Huang Kecheng hadn't killed first and then ordered a retreat, he might have suffered even greater losses. During the battle, he raised different opinions four times but was rejected. He ordered a retreat without getting orders from his superiors, which caused him to be criticized again and removed from his post. Military political commissar He Chang saw that he still refused to admit his "mistake", so he asked him to talk to him alone, but Huang made it clear that he did not intend to admit his mistake and was prepared to argue for another 20 years.
Huang Kecheng pursued the truth throughout his life and only told the truth. Even the upright Mr. Peng had to be defeated in this regard. During the second attack on Changsha, Huang Kecheng publicly expressed his opinions against attacking the central city several times. For this reason, he was dismissed from the position of political commissar of the column and demoted to the political commissar of the detachment. Mr. Peng privately reprimanded Huang for this matter, saying that if it was useless to raise his opinion, it would be better not to raise it. Huang replied: "You know it's wrong but you still don't say it. Even if you kill me, you can't do it." Peng could only sigh: "You are more like Peng Dehuai than me. Just wait and see, you will be uncomfortable."
Huang Kecheng in his later years
There is one principle in the dispute between Peng and Huang: Keep your words personal. Huang Kecheng is extremely courageous and has unique insights into many events. What is especially rare is that when others are hot-headed, he dares to pour cold water and sing the opposite. Peng Dehuai also dismissed Huang Kecheng from his post, but these were just conflicts arising from different opinions and were not personal grudges. As time goes by, people's hearts are revealed, and their trust in each other is also gained through these arguments. As Huang Kecheng said to the chairman: "The argument between Mr. Peng and I did not hurt our feelings."
