Author | Jiang Yonghong
launched in this issue " Ji commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteers to fight against the US and aid Korea went abroad to fight " (44): ", he turned his assists into the main attack, and he made special contributions! 》
The Ever-lasting Highland
Li Yannian, winner of the Order of the Republic, is a retired cadre of the army. Before the award, not many people knew his deeds. In the War of Liberation, the suppression of bandits in Xiangxi, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and border defense operations, he participated in more than 20 battles and received awards many times. The most glorious page was written on the 346.6 heights on the battlefield to resist US aggression and aid Korea.
One
346.6 Highland can control the railway and highway transportation lines from Yeoncheon to Cheorwon, and its strategic position is very important. This high ground was originally controlled by our side, but in the "autumn offensive" of the US army in 1951, it was occupied by the US Cavalry First Division and the defending army was a reinforced company. The division and regiment leader decided that Li Yannian’s third battalion of the 418th regiment would retake the high ground and hold on to it. The battle of
is not trivial. It is related to the division of North Korea's military demarcation line between North and South. At the Kaesong negotiating table, the US representative arrogantly proposed that because it holds the power of sea and air control, it must be "compensated" on land when dividing the military demarcation line. "The military demarcation line should be drawn to the position of the Chinese and North Korean military. 38 kilometers to 68 kilometers north". After this unreasonable request was rejected by our side, the U.S. representative became irritated and said, "Then let bombs, cannons, and machine guns debate!" 346.6 The Battle of the Highlands was part of the "debate." The
346.6 highland is not a mountain, but is arranged in a "one" shape with five peaks, and the fifth peak is the main peak. On the side of the high ground facing us, there is a road and a small river, Mingyi Guchuan. Crossing the small river, there is an open field with a gentle slope and a depth of about 300 meters in front of the mountain. To capture this high ground, the first problem encountered is how to pass through this open land. The
third battalion’s offensive deployment was: Ninth Company attacked from the left wing, as the main attack; Seventh Company attacked from the right wing, as assists; Eighth Company was the reserve team. The Seventh Company’s fighters complained about not being able to hit the main attack. Li Yannian criticized: "What is the ability to complain? The ability to make assists as the main attack!" Whether it is a main attack company or an assist company, the key is whether it can pass the 300-meter open field. . Li Yannian wanted the entire company to continue practicing the tactics of using shell craters to conceal and leap forward from pit to pit, and the personnel must be at least 3 meters apart.
On the night of October 8, after I prepared for artillery fire, the third battalion attacked. As soon as the team passed the Yiguchuan River, the enemy's artillery was overwhelming. The officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company moved forward in the artillery blockade in accordance with the action essentials of "falling down" and "jumping forward" repeatedly practiced before the war. Under the leadership of squad leader Zhang Defu, the first squad of the tenth squad captured the first hill and captured two light and heavy machine guns; perhaps because the enemy was restrained by Qilian's brave actions, the second, third, and fourth hills , Were also defeated by the first, fourth, and seventh classes of the seven companies. Only the last hill was left, but it was not until then that the Jiu Company, who was in charge of the main attack, came up to a squad. According to them, “The Ninth and Eighth Company was covered by enemy fire when they passed through the open area, and the casualties were exhausted.” Before the war, Li Yannian said, “If you have the ability, you can make assists as the main attack” in order to stimulate the company’s fighting enthusiasm. Unexpectedly, the assist really became the main attack. Now, they are going to attack the last hill. Li Yannian commanded the troops to make a final attack on the main peak with two wings. Tenth squad leader Zhang Defu led the whole squad along the right-wing traffic trench to a place about 30 meters from the summit. An enemy machine gun "suddenly" hit it, making it impossible to raise its head. Zhang Defu shot two hand grenades in a row. This machine gun was dumb. He was about to rush forward and hit with a machine gun. Unfortunately, he suffered a head injury. He ignored the blood flow and asked the soldier Zhu Xiefu to screw the grenade cover for him. Zhu Xiefu twisted one, and he shot one. About the thirteenth shot, the enemy's machine guns all misfired. When the summit was taken, Zhang Defu fainted. Li Yannian yelled at the person on the stretcher: "Zhang Defu! Zhang Defu!" Tears rolled like a gate. It was this Zhang Defu who publicly criticized Li Yannian for not being positive about the task before the war. Although Li Yannian was wronged, he felt at ease, because a fighter with enthusiasm for fighting is the capital of victory...
However, it is not time for him to express his emotions. Taking back the position from the enemy is only the first step, and the responsibility of holding the positionTasks are more difficult and dangerous than winning positions. Li Yannian urged everyone to quickly build fortifications and counted the personnel. He found that although Quanlian had reduced its staff by more than 20%, the shift organization system was still relatively complete. At this time, the radio communication between him and the superior was still established. According to the order of the battalion, because other companies suffered heavy casualties, the seventh company had to carry heavy burdens and be responsible for the defense of the main peak and the fourth hill, while the other companies were responsible for the other three hills. If you want to hold the hill, you must repair the fortifications overnight and dig the tunnel. In order to regain this high ground, the US military has concentrated 10 artillery groups. Can't bear the shelling, everything is over. Li Yannian inspected and supervised the bunkers and tunnels one by one to meet the storm of steel pouring from the US army after dawn.
2
At 9 o'clock on the 9th, the US plane arrived first. Eight planes took turns to drop bombs at my position, and one bomb would blow up a large hole. If the bunker is hit directly, it will be catastrophic. The U.S. plane bullied me without anti-aircraft weapons and deliberately flew very low. The plane made harsh noises, and the faint-hearted would be frightened. The eight planes circled back and forth three or four times and flew away after dropping the bombs they carried. As soon as the plane left, the shells followed. Li Yannian is a man who has been fighting for a long time. He has seen all kinds of shelling scenes. Now he does not know what words to use to describe the situation. He only knew that the explosion of the shells had no gaps like serial mines, and the explosion made people hallucinate, as if they were being pulled into the abyss of terror by a mysterious force. It is said that if the US military's tactics are not good, it will "strike steel", but after having tasted the taste of the US military's "strike steel", I know how uncomfortable it is! The enemy's first shelling finally stopped, and Li Yannian ran out of the tunnel with the correspondent Liu Shuanggong. Gosh! The position has changed beyond recognition, as if a world away. The dense vegetation on the high ground is gone, only the "corpses" of tall trees are still smoking; the originally moist and cohesive land has turned into dust, and a cloud of smoke is thrown out as soon as you lift your foot. Most of the trenches and traffic trenches are hard to find, and only a few of them can still see an outline.
Li Yannian got out of the tunnel and shouted vigorously: "Come out and get ready to fight!" One after another, soldiers crawled out of the bunker. Because of the dust, they couldn't tell who was who. Suddenly, he heard an anxious and crying voice: "The barrel is clogged with dust. What can I do?" Reports of the barrel being blocked came one after another. Li Yannian said loudly: "Grenades, explosive bags and throwing Shoot the bullet!” I was afraid that everyone wouldn’t be able to use the grenades. He demonstrated on the spot in the second row. First he hit a grenade with the grenades, and then another 60 artillery shells. The grenades and artillery shells were all there. The enemy group exploded. Li Yannian said: "Fight like this and knock down the enemy!" Sure enough, the first wave of the US offensive was repelled by grenades and grenades.
However, the enemy retreat means that the shells are about to strike. The U.S. military is fighting a battle of wealth and steel. There is almost no tactics to "fight steel" in such a simple and rude manner, but you have to admit that it is powerful. It blows you up from the air and the ground, wave after wave, until it makes you completely useless. After repulsing the fourth wave of the US offensive, only Li Yannian and the third platoon leader were left in the seventh company’s seven cadres. There were only enough soldiers to organize four squads. What was more serious was the interruption of communications with their superiors. During the last call with the battalion, Li Yannian received instructions: "It's really impossible. Let the eighth and ninth companies shrink to the main peak, and the lost hilltop waits for the brothers to take over and recover." "Absolutely not!" Li Yannian As soon as these four words were spoken, the radio was bombed. What he hasn’t finished saying is: First, just guarding one main peak is unstoppable. After the other hills are lost, the enemy can surround the main peak on all sides; second, even if a small hill is lost, the enemy will brag. It's not good for negotiation... Li Yannian felt that he had a sacred historical responsibility calling himself, and at such a critical moment of life and death, he decided to step forward.
He first reorganized more than 40 people in his company into 4 squads, with two platoons in one row, and designated a squad leader to act as the platoon leader; three platoons and two squads, still under the command of the injured third platoon leader. Then, he went to understand the situation of the brother company and found that there was only one squad left in the 9th company. Li Yannian asked this squad to fight with the 7th company and 3 platoons and obey the command of the 3rd platoon leader. The situation in the Eighth Company is also very serious: there are a total of 19 people, and only one platoon leader, Song Guoliang, remains. Li Yannian organized them into two classes and appointed Song Guoliang as the acting deputy company commander. He mobilized and said: "The Eighth Company is the famous'Steel Eighth Company'. Now, you are the roots of the'Steel Eighth Company'. I believe you will be able to play the'Steel Eighth Company' prestige! Let US imperialism see, too Let Brother Company see!" He finally arrivedAfter the machine gun company, it was found that the company commander Wang Cai and the instructor Wang Rongbao were still there, but there were only 15 soldiers left in the company, of which 8 ammunition officers had never touched a gun. Li Yannian discussed with them and organized these 15 people into two squads. Because the machine guns had been lost, he asked them to find weapons on the enemy's corpse, arm themselves, and fight like infantry. There are also 5 cadres on the
position, of which 3 are company-level cadres and two platoon leaders. Li Yannian convened an emergency cadre meeting and proposed that the five party members and cadres form a temporary branch committee to uniformly direct the battle. He said: "Now the contact with the superior is completely interrupted, and we must complete the task independently. At this time, I am not polite, and I will be the temporary convener; if I sacrifice, the instructor of the machine gun company Wang Rongbao will be the convener. Ours The task is to lead everyone to firmly hold the position until the brother troops come to take over."
Next, Li Yannian redeployed the combat mission. It turned out that seven companies guarded the fourth and fifth hills, and eight companies and nine companies guarded the other three hills. The machine gun company was assigned to the action. Li Yannian divided the position into left and right wings. Although the left wing is facing us, because there is about 300 meters of open ground under the mountain, the enemy can detour to the back of our position to launch an offensive; the right wing is the side facing the enemy, and the enemy's first four waves of attacks are launched from the right wing. Li Yannian proposed that the company commander of the machine gun company Wang Cai coordinate the two wings; on the left wing, the instructor Wang Rongbao commanded two squads of the eighth company and two squads of the machine gun company to prevent the enemy from detouring attacks; the right wing would consist of four squads of seven companies and one squad of nine companies. , Directed by him himself.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the fifth wave of the US military's offensive has not yet been fully adjusted. This time, the U.S. military seemed to have learned the lessons of the previous four blindly frontal offensives, and adopted a combination of frontal offensive and roundabout tactics. After fierce bombardment with aircraft and artillery, they attacked from the left and right wings, each with a company of troops. Fortunately, Li Yannian adjusted his deployment and strengthened the forces of the left wing. The US military may have underestimated my flanking defense capabilities, and rushed towards my position in a dense formation, unexpectedly being bombarded by a series of grenades. Gao Qingshan, a soldier from the eighth company and nineth squad, threw more than 20 grenades by himself. After the grenades were lit, the recruit Hu Zhonghua handed him a carbine, which was picked up from the enemy's body. Gao Qingshan took the carbine and knocked down 5 enemies with 5 single shots. He said to Hu Zhonghua: "Look, how easy the devils are, you can shoot one. You try it too." Then he handed the gun to Hu Zhonghua. Hu Zhonghua took the gun, hit two shuttles, and knocked down 5 enemies...The machine gun company encountered a fierce battle as soon as the two squads were formed. The instructor Wang Rongbao threw 16 hand grenades in a row to repel one of the enemies; while the other enemy was about to approach my traffic trench and was about to succeed. Wang Rongbao shouted: "Communists, Communist Youth League members, revolutionary fighters, follow me. Ah!" Leading everyone out of the trenches, facing the enemy, swept with machine guns and submachine guns. The enemy was frightened by their aura, leaving the corpses and the wounded and retreated. However, Wang Rongbao was injured in his leg and foot and could not stand up. At this time, there were not many bullets and grenades left, and the enemy came up again. Wang Rongbao said to everyone: "If the bullets are gone, use blasting tubes and 60 shells!" The soldiers said, "Instructor! Don't worry. We must defeat the enemy!" They did what they said, and after a fierce battle, they fought back. The most intense battle of
was the position of a squad of seven on the right. This position is a place where the enemy must go up the mountain, so it must be taken at any cost. The first squad repelled more than ten consecutive attacks from the enemy, leaving dozens of enemy corpses in front of the position, and only Teng Guiqiao was left in the first squad. This lonely hero fought to the end. The bullets were shot and the grenade shots were finished. What should I do with his bare hands? He planed fiercely in the dust and dug out two blasting tubes. He picked up a blasting tube and threw it hard at the enemy, but due to too much force, he threw it off the wrong track, killing only a few enemies on the side. Seeing more than 40 enemies screaming and swarming into the trenches, Teng Guiqiao grabbed the last blasting tube, pulled the fuze off, and rushed into the enemy group holding the smoking blasting tube. With a bang, the enemy fell. The heroic warrior Teng Guiqiao died with the enemy! Teng Guiqiao's heroic feat completely shocked the enemy, and until the end of this wave of offensive, the enemy did not come here.
3. After
defeated the enemy's fifth wave of attacks, it was already 4 pm. Li Yannian counted the number of people and found that there were more than 10 reductions in the left and right wings, and the defensive force became increasingly insufficient. The troops were low and the ammunition was used up, so everyone had to look for the enemy's corpse. Li Yannian carried the U.S. military's carbine on his shouldersThe gun, with a bullet bag in his hand, was collecting ammunition with the soldiers. Correspondent Liu Shuanggong hurriedly ran to report: "The division commander sent Erlian Deputy Company Commander to bring a platoon up." Z1z
Deputy Company Commander Jiang reported to him: "Division, regiment chief. I am very concerned about you, Master Li specially asked me to bring the radio station, so that you can turn on the radio as soon as you receive it and report the situation.”
As soon as Li Yannian turned on the radio, the voice of Yang Shengde, head of the training section of the division headquarters, was heard on the radio. After listening to Li Yannian's report, Yang Shengde said: "Listen carefully, the teacher must speak to you." Li Yannian first felt that he had heard it wrong, and then felt that this was in line with the usual style of the teacher Li Yuan.
"Li Yannian!"
"Here!"
only heard the teacher say: "You seven consecutively played so beautifully! You have made a great contribution! We must continue to carry forward the brave and tenacious fighting style and strike the enemy fiercely. The division's artillery will do its best. To support you, pay attention to observing the impact point and report it in time."
"Please rest assured, we guarantee that people are on the ground and destroy the American devils under your nose!" The concern and encouragement of
were quickly spread to every combat position, Li Yannian asked Everyone played heroism, and everyone tried to make merit. At the same time, together with the machine gun company commander Wang Cai, an artillery scout was recruited from the wounded to give the division's artillery group an eye.
The sixth wave of the enemy's attack has begun, and it is still the same, using aircraft and cannon to clear the way. The sound of the artillery stopped and the infantry swarmed in two directions. Li Yannian asked the scouts to report to the division: "500 meters southeast of the main peak, there are about two enemy companies; 300 meters northeast of the main peak, there are about 1 enemy company. Request to fire!" The artillery shells of the division's artillery group immediately covered. Because the first five waves of the U.S. offensive did not encounter major shelling, this time it was covered by artillery fire, and immediately suffered heavy casualties. It was lost in advance and retreat, and its combat effectiveness was instantly lost...
Before dark, Li Yannian commanded his troops to crush the seventh U.S. military. Wave offense.
according to the order of superiors, at 5 am on the 10th, the brothers will come to defend. It was safe at 24:00 on the 9th, and after another 5 hours, the guard troops came up. In these 5 hours, they repelled another enemy sneak attack.
At 5 in the morning, the brother troops came up on time to take over. After the handover between the two parties was completed, the three battalion forces withdrew. After the war, Li Yannian was awarded the honorary title of "First Class Hero" by the Volunteer Army Headquarters; at the same time, he was awarded the Second Class Medal of Freedom and Independence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Third Class National Flag Medal.
This is his always high ground.
