The 4th Column of the Northeast Field Army became famous in the Battle of Tashan Blockade, so that Wu Kehua, Hu Qicai and other column generals were remembered by more people!
The reason why 4 Zhong was so able to fight was inseparable from another general, he was Han Xianchu.
People who know the history of Dongye should know that Han Xianchu served as deputy commander of the 4th Column for more than 20 months before serving as the commander of the 3rd Column.
Why is it said that the strength of the four columns is inseparable from Han Xianchu?
In February 1946, Du Yuming's troops attacked the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army in three ways, in which a regiment of the New 6th Army, known as the five aces of the Kuomintang Army, seized the Shaling area. The Liaodong Military Region decided to concentrate its superior forces and annihilate the enemy in Shaling.
Because the 3rd Column led the troops to respond to the Northern Manchurian forces, the 4th Column and 6 Columns, under the leadership of Wu Kehua, pointed directly at Shaling.
According to the comparison of troop strength, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army is six times the enemy army, and its strength is absolutely superior. However, in offensive operations, the combat ability of individual soldiers is poor and they suffer heavy losses. The artillery could not hit accurately, and even hit their own positions, and the infantry consumed 320,000 rounds of bullets to kill 600 enemy troops, an average of 500 bullets killed one enemy, and the shooting technique was too poor.
In contrast, the New Sixth Army had participated in the Expeditionary Force, fought in India and Burma, had strong combat capabilities, was well-armed, and had many veterans with rich combat experience.
After the First World War, 6 regiments not only did not annihilate 1 regiment, but also caused more than 2,000 casualties. Two enemy battalions came to reinforce, thinking it was two regiments, and quickly withdrew from the battle.
After the battle, how low the morale of the 4 columns is, it is difficult for you to see in the film and television drama, many soldiers deserted, and everyone could not see hope. The troops had no mass base, and when it was freezing cold, they lost the battle, and their morale fell to the freezing point like the weather.
It was also after the Battle of Shaling that Han Xianchu was transferred to the 4th Column as deputy commander. Commander Wu Kehua recuperated from illness and was later transferred to the Liaodong Military Region as deputy commander, and former deputy commander Hu Qicai served as acting commander.
Although Hu Qi was the acting commander, he often recuperated from illness, and the operations of the troops were basically handed over to Han Xianchu to command.
In order to boost the morale of the column, a battle must be fought
In order to improve the morale of the 4 columns and to reduce the pressure on the Northern Manchurian troops, another battle had to be fought. As for who to fight, he fixed his eyes on Anshan and Haicheng, where the Nationalist 184th Division was stationed.
The 184th Division was a Dian Army, and its combat effectiveness was not strong, and there was a gap with the Central Army, so it was easier to fight.
Xiao Hua, commander of the Liaodong Military Region, gave Han Xianchu two divisions plus an artillery regiment, as well as two independent local regiments.
Anshan became the primary target of Han Xianchu's annihilation of the enemy, and after defeating the enemy of Anshan, he took a political offensive when besieging the 184th Division of Haicheng, and finally let the division commander Pan Shuoduan lead an uprising of 2700 people.
Although the battle was small in scale and did not bring much change to the overall situation, it could improve the morale of the 4 columns. The Battle of Anhai was also the first uprising led by the Kuomintang in the northeast, and it was of great political significance.
A few months later, Du Yuming adopted a strategy of first going south and then north, mobilizing 100,000 people to attack southern Manchuria. The 25th and 2nd Divisions of the 52nd Army of the Kuomintang Army directly approached the leading organs of the Liaodong Military Region. Hu Qicai, who had returned from recuperation, decided to lure the 25th Division into the narrow valley of Xinkailing and annihilate it.
At that time, Hu Qicai only led 2 divisions, and the other division was under the leadership of Han Xianchu to carry out other tasks, and when he learned that he was going to annihilate the enemy's 25th Division at Xinkailing, he led his troops day and night.
Hu Qicai surrounded more than 8,000 people of the 25th Division in the Xinkailing area, whether it could eat it was still unknown, 2 divisions only had 1.6 people, although the strength of the troops was a bit superior, but it was not an advantageous force. The 25th Division is known as the "Thousand Mile Colt Division" with excellent weapons and equipment, and the quality of individual soldiers is excellent, and it is not necessary to suffer losses when fighting.
The 4th Column encircled the 25th Division and could not be attacked for a long time, and the people stuck to waiting for help. At this time enemy reinforcements were coming to their side, and if they were not eliminated, the column would fall into a counter-encirclement. At this time, there was also a voice, taking advantage of the fact that most of the enemy army had not yet come, quickly retreated, and maintained strength.
Han Xianchu was the first to stand up and disagree, the enemy forces in the encirclement were still strong, and once the troops withdrew, they would chase and fight, and the casualties of the troops would be even greater. Only before the reinforcements arrive, they can be annihilated.
We are difficult, and the enemy is not easy. He suggested the establishment of a front-line command post, so that Hu Qicai and the political commissar would stay in the basic command post and direct the operation in the front himself. This gave Hu Qicai a lot of confidence and insisted on fighting.
When fighting on the front line, constantly making adjustments, taking advantage of the night and artillery fire, and finally knocking the 25th Division down, making the 4th Column famous. The battle set a record for annihilating one division of the enemy.
In the Battle of Sibao Linjiang, he led the 4th Column and the 3rd Column to cooperate, once again creating a record for annihilating the enemy.
Under the leadership of Han Xianchu, the more he fought, the more he fought, the more he fought, the bigger the battle. It was not until the autumn of 1947 that he left the 4th to 3rd columns as commander.
After Han Xianchu left, Wu Kehua returned from the Liaodong Military Region to serve as the commander of the Fourth Column, and the former commander Hu Qicai was demoted to a deputy post, and he was still a little unhappy at that time.
The reason why Hu Qicai was demoted was mainly because of his poor health and long-term illness, and the troops could not lack commanders in battle, and the 4th Column was already a strange soldier.
In the Liaoshen Campaign in 1948, Hu Qicai sat in the command post on the tashan front and coexisted with the position. This battle was the one that Hu Qicai was most proud of, after all, it was a battle he personally commanded, and the cruelty was much higher than the Battle of Xinkailing.
In addition to Wu Kehua and Hu Qicai's determination to fight, this unit had already been trained by Han Xianchu as a surprise soldier who could attack and defend.