He was a famous general of the Expeditionary Force, led his troops to achieve the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, saved more than 7,500 British allies and their families, and won the first merit of exotic yangwei. However, such a famous general of the expeditionary force, the credit was impersonated for 21 years. In his later years, his life was miserable, and he made a living selling briquettes. Before his death, the wish he had waited for for 50 years was finally realized.
Who is he? He was the famous general of the expeditionary force—
Liu Fangwu
。
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Liu Fangwu
Liu Fangwu was born in 1899, his original name was Liu Jishu, a native of Guiyang, Hunan. He graduated from the Infantry Section of the Sixth Phase of the Whampoa Military Academy and served as the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Taxation Police Corps. On December 23, 1941, China and the United Kingdom signed the Agreement on mutual defense of the Burma Highway. On the 26th of the same year, China and Britain signed a military alliance and decided that China would form an expeditionary force to go to Burma to support the British army in its war against Japan. At this time, Liu Fangwu, who had been promoted to colonel of the 113th Regiment of the newly organized 38th Division of the 66th Army, responded to the call of the state and led his troops into Burma to fight.
That year, the expeditionary force sang the military song of the expeditionary army: "The boy should be in serious danger, and he will let Ruguan mistakenly live this life." In the case of the country's crisis, the feathers are racing without stopping. Abandoning my old pen, I called out to more than 100,000 comrades in wartime, singing war songs and joining the army. More than 100,000 comrades sang war songs and joined the army. Qi congjun, cleaned the dust, and swore to sweep away the slaves regardless of their bodies. The expeditionary force entered Burma from the Border of Yunnan and began to aid the British anti-Japanese resistance.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The expeditionary force entered Burma
On March 8, 1942, after the Japanese occupied Rangoon, the troops pursued the British army north in three ways. On 14 April, the Japanese 33rd Division attacked Magway's 213th Wing, crushing the anglo-Burmese forces on the south bank of the river approaching the central Burmese city of Magway in an attempt to quickly capture Nhonang, an important oil base north of Magway, and encircle the British.
At the same time, the Japanese 215th Wing also pretended to attack Shaswa, Dong Dunzhi and other places to cooperate with the encirclement and annihilation plan; another roundabout unit, the 214Th Wing, was secretly copying to the rear of the British army. At 2 p.m. on the same day, Alexander, the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Burmese army who had commanded the Dunkirk evacuation, in view of the urgent situation on the front line, told Hou Teng, the representative of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, to ask the Chinese Expeditionary Force to provide rapid assistance.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The new 38th Division of the Expeditionary Force
After receiving the request for help, Liu Fangwu was immediately ordered to lead the officers and men of the 113th Regiment to set off, braving the sweltering heat of the Burmese dry season and arriving at the small town of Chokberdang, more than 200 kilometers south of Mandalay, at 4 p.m. on April 16, ready to meet the British army and cover the flank of the Chinese 5th Army.
That night, the Japanese 214th Wing advanced 5 kilometers east of Ren'anqiang, occupied the Changzhen area, cut off the British retreat, and besieged the Anglo-Burmese 1st Division and 1 Tank Brigade in the Area of the Ren'anqiang Oil field. General Slim, then commander of the 1st Army of the Anglo-Burmese Army, wrote in his post-war memoirs: "At that time, the British army was exhausted due to lack of food and water, and it was difficult to survive under the scorching sun. After being attacked by the Japanese army, the casualties were heavy, and although there were more than 7,000 troops, they had actually completely collapsed. ”
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Expeditionary Force warriors
The situation was urgent, and Slim immediately sent Liu Fangwu an offensive warrant, asking Liu Fangwu to immediately launch an attack on the Japanese army, block the Japanese invasion of Ren'anqiang, and rescue the trapped British troops. Liu Fangwu immediately launched an attack on the Japanese army. At this time, the Japanese army had increased its strength to more than 4,000 people, and Liu Fangwu's 113th Regiment only had more than 1,000 troops, but the military urgency was too late to think about it, and the 113th Regiment immediately launched an attack on the Japanese army.
After the fierce battle began, the Japanese counterattacked the position of the 113th Regiment with aircraft cannons, and the position changed hands three times. The officers and men of the expeditionary force all regarded death as a homecoming, calmly responded to the battle, and repeatedly repelled the attacks of the Japanese army. Liu Fangwu commanded the 113th Regiment to carry out a fierce charge near the Japanese occupation of The 501 Heights, and repeated hand-to-hand combat. It was not until mid-afternoon that the 1st Battalion of the 113th Regiment finally captured Hill 501 with more than half of the casualties.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Slim gave Liu a warrant
At 3:00 p.m., the regimental commander Liu Fangwu personally led the 113th Regiment to launch a general attack, and the officers and men quickly entered the village of Dungong, the main traffic point, and drove the Japanese troops entrenched here to the south. The encirclement of the Japanese siege of the British was opened, and at dusk the British were able to break out of the encirclement under the cover of the 113th Regiment and begin to retreat from the river beach path on the east side of The 501 Heights.
At about 5 p.m., Liu Fangwu led the 113th Regiment to continue to pursue the Japanese army deeply, and the Japanese army was finally defeated. The 113th Regiment rescued more than 7,000 British troops, more than 30 chariots and more than 1,000 military horses trapped in Chu. The 113th Regiment of the Expeditionary Force defeated the strong with a weak victory and killed more than 1,200 Japanese troops, including the 214th Wing Commander of the Japanese Army, at the cost of 500 casualties, and successfully completed the task of understanding the siege. Because of the outstanding performance of the 113th Regiment of the Expeditionary Force, this battle was known as the Great Victory of Ren'an Qiang.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Ren'an Qiang Great Victory
After the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, Liu Fangwu led the 113th Regiment to cover the retreat of the main force, repeatedly defeated the main force of the Japanese 33rd Regiment that came to besiege, and finally led the troops to break through the Japanese encirclement circle over the high mountain and successfully transferred. The Great Victory of Ren'an Qiang was the first merit of the Chinese Expeditionary Force's operations in Burma, but Liu Fangwu, the regimental commander who directly participated in the operational command and personally led his troops to rush into Dungong Village to save the British army, did not receive any reward, and only received a medal license.
After the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, Liu Fangwu made great contributions in the Burmese battlefield, but he has not been treated fairly. Liu Fangwu is a man of integrity, not good at socializing, hard work is always done by himself, and meritorious rewards have never been mentioned. In 1946, Liu Fangwu took his wife and children to Taiwan to live, and served in the Army Training School, responsible for training troops. At the training school, he was promoted to major general, but was soon persecuted by villains because of his usual behavior, demoted to captain, and driven out of the training school.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Scammer Lin Yanzhang
After Liu Fangwu was expelled from the training school, his life was poor. In order to support his family, he had to make and sell briquettes for a living. Liu Fangwu was shy, and the money to buy coal and the shovels and hoes for briquettes were donated by his old subordinates, and the briquettes he sold were also known as "general briquettes". Every day before dawn, Liu Fangwu pushed the board to sell briquettes on the street, nibbled on a dry steamed bun at noon, and then went home in the afternoon after selling the briquettes to continue rubbing the briquettes to prepare for the next day.
However, the leaks in the house coincided with overnight rain. At that time, there was a swindler named Lin Yanzhang, who actually impersonated Liu Fangwu, and this swindler went around cheating money and fame in the name of the hero of Ren'an Qiang's great victory, and framed Liu Fangwu as a liar. Liu Fangwu became a counterfeiter, suffered a lot of snubs and blows, people scolded him as a shameless liar, and Liu Fangwu suffered great physical and mental damage.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Margaret Thatcher visits Liu Fangwu
In 1963, Lin Yanzhang, a fraudster who impersonated Liu Fangwu, was arrested in Hong Kong. Lin Yanzhang cheated for 21 years, Liu Fangwu endured humiliation and burden for 21 years, after Lin Yanzhang was arrested, Liu Fangwu finally settled down and revealed his anti-Japanese exploits were finally known to the media and the world after 21 years of dust. After Liu Fangwu was wronged, the people who bullied him came to the door to apologize. Liu Fangwu, who has a generous temperament and is indifferent to fame and fortune, only said lightly: "It's all over, don't mention it again." ”
In 1992, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory of Ren'anqiang, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited the United States and paid a special visit to Liu Fangwu, who had emigrated to the United States. At this time, Liu Fangwu was 93 years old, and Margaret Thatcher thanked Liu Fangwu for his feat of rescuing the Allies.
Most of my life has passed, and everything has been looked down upon. For Liu Fangwu, he had a wish that had never been fulfilled. That is, after the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, the state issued a certificate of his medal. Half a century later, Liu Fangwu has been treasured by this license.
He had lost everything in his family, he had been displaced and suffered from hunger and cold, but he never discarded this medal certificate, which clearly stated that he would be given a first-class medal for land, sea and air armor. Every day, he would take out this yellowed certificate and silently shed tears on this piece of paper. He waited a full 50 years for this promise.
In 1993, with the help and efforts of many parties, this medal that was 50 years late was finally delivered to Liu Fangwu's hands as he wished, and Liu Fangwu's last wish was finally realized. Two years later, Liu Fangwu passed away at the age of 95. After Liu Fangwu's death, this belated medal also accompanied him to sleep in the ground.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Liu Fangwu's medal
Liu Fangwu was an out-and-out general of the expeditionary army and a generation of anti-Japanese heroes. His life is the life of a hero and a life of ups and downs. The Si people have gone, but Liu Fangwu's heroic deeds have long remained in people's hearts.
[This article is written by Barnyard Shi Hou, mistakes and omissions, Jingxi readers correct]