Liberation of Shijiazhuang
It opened the prelude to the battle of the city
Zheng Weishan, commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji 3 Column, made careful arrangements
Battle of Shijiazhuang
The total offensive was scheduled for 16:00 on November 8, 1947.
In the first battle, everything is to cross the river by feeling the stones, and it is really not a joke to fight the big city, to see how the fortifications in Shijiazhuang are.
Shijiazhuang is bordered by the Taihang Mountains in the west and can control Niangziguan; the north is connected to Beiping; and the south is controlled by the North China Plain, and the traffic is in all directions, which is a place where soldiers and families must fight. In addition to the fortifications, the Kuomintang was heavily guarded.
The Japanese army operated in Shijiazhuang for 8 years, and the Kuomintang drove 20,000 migrant workers to build fortifications on the basis of the Japanese army every day. Within a radius of 15 kilometers outside Shijiazhuang, the ravines are long and horizontal, the fire points are like spider webs, and there are more than 6,000 bunkers. In addition, there are three lines of defense, the first outer city ditch is a deep ditch with a circumference of 15 kilometers, a depth of 7 meters and a width of 6 meters; the second inner city ditch is a ditch with a circumference of 18 kilometers, a depth of 5 meters and a width of 5 meters; the third is the highest point.
Zheng Weishan
Just a few hours before the general offensive was launched, Zheng Weishan came to the position outside Shijiazhuang city again, and all he saw was a chicken claw-shaped cover bunker, a hole in the ground, and a communication trench, and he nodded with satisfaction. In a few hours, a deadly battle will unfold here.
Fighting a war means sacrificing, this time it is a tough battle, the death ratio is about 2:1, according to this calculation, there will be 4,000 people sacrificed in this battle. But Zheng Weishan only let 2,000 graves be dug, and as a commander he hoped to minimize casualties.
Before each big battle, he would think of the defeated comrades of the Qilian Mountains of the Western Route Army, and their bodies were exposed in the mountains infested with wild dogs and wolves, and it was too late to bury them.
At 16:00 p.m., with the order of Zheng Weishan, more than 60 artillery pieces of various calibers were fired together, and the shells hit the positions of the Shijiazhuang defenders, and some fortifications were destroyed.
The 3rd Column consisted of three brigades, the 7th, 8th, and 9th Brigades, with Zheng Weishan's arrangement of leading the 7th and 8th Brigades, with the 9th Brigade as the reserve.
After the artillery fire, the 7th Brigade first broke through the first outer city ditch defense line, the 8th Brigade was in a hurry, and the deployment of the attack on the inner city ditch was adjusted, and the original assault company 2 battalion and 4 companies were replaced and replaced by other companies. This time there was a disaster, and the 4th company began to make a fuss.
Zhang Hong, commander of the 4th Company, found the battalion commander: "In the battle of Baobei, we dug up the fortifications and let others go up, and this time we said that we were going up, and then we changed others, how do I give an account to the soldiers, I will not do this company commander!" ”
The battalion commander was also angry: "What are you yelling at me?" Have the ability to find the leader to go! ”
When Zhang Hong was told this by the battalion commander, he stubbornly came up and said, "Look for it, you think I don't dare?"
Zhang Hong found the regimental commander Zhang Yinghui and said breathlessly, "Why didn't you clearly withdraw us from our company, either let us make a surprise attack or remove me from my post!"
Zhang Yinghui said: "The battle will start immediately, you go back first."
Seeing that the regimental commander no longer paid attention to him, Zhang Hong had to go back. At the time of the meal, the cooks delivered the meal to the position, and 150 people in the company went on hunger strike to "protest"!
Soon, Zheng Weishan, who was on hunger strike for 4 companies, knew about it, and he called the regimental commander and asked what was going on. Zhang Yinghui said: "Our brigade has fallen behind the 7th Brigade, and if there is another mistake, it is difficult to explain, and the regiment is afraid that the strength of the 4th Company is not enough, so it is decided to let the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Company go up." The 2nd Company is a "Red Army Company", rest assured!
Zheng Weishan rang called Zhang Hong, the commander of the 4th Company, and asked him how he planned to fight? Zhang Hong said: "The key to the assault is in the explosion, to ensure that the gully is filled, if the explosion does not succeed, then we have prepared a big ladder, can not complete the task, you killed me!"
In the end, Zheng Weishan decided to let 4 connect.
Half an hour after artillery fire, the 4th Company completed the blasting mission in just 6 minutes. At this moment, 4 tanks of the Kuomintang rushed over and were destroyed by the concealed artillery of our army. Several other cars turned around and ran.
Although in just a few minutes, 4 companies opened the gap, but 54 people died. The 4th Company had just rushed into the gap and was counterattacked, and Zhang Hong and the 4th Company engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. With the support of 6 companies, they repelled several enemy attacks.
Zhang Yinghui, the regimental commander, was very excited when he saw Zhang Hong, who was bare-chested and covered in blood, and the regimental political commissar said: "You have fought very well, the task has been completed, go down and rest quickly."
Zhang Hong gathered the rest of the people, counting the remaining 20 people, he said: "Comrades, we have completed the task, and the chief ordered us to rest. Willing to rest and stay, unwilling to follow me. ”
After speaking, Zhang Hong threw off the cotton jacket on his body and rushed out. Followed by 20 bare-chested warriors. They rushed to a courtyard and found that there were Kuomintang soldiers inside, and Zhang Hong shouted inside: "Don't resist the brothers inside, or you won't see your father and mother."
Who knew that not only did the inside not surrender, but also shot outward with all its might. Zhang Hong asked, "Who has a grenade," and the fighter said there was only one package of explosives. Zhang Hongyi grabbed the explosive package, lit it and threw it in, only to hear a "boom", and 3 kilograms of explosives exploded.
Zhang Hong went in and counted, and there were 50 prisoners, but they were all deaf. Hurriedly reported to the regimental commander Zhang Yinghui: "We captured 50 people who were all deaf."
Watching Zhang Hong and them carrying a group of prisoners back, the 9th Brigade, which was serving as a reserve, was in a hurry, and it would be finished without fighting, and the brigade commander and regiment commander were anxious to turn around.
The commander of the 9th Brigade, Chen Fangren, was anxious and fought a war, and the famous Desperate Sanlang. Zheng Weishan originally wanted them to take the lead, but he gave up thinking of the fortified city of Shijiazhuang.
No matter how noisy Chen Fangren was, Zheng Weishan ignored it until November 11, when he shouted: "Chen Fangren, up!" Straight to the command"
Soon, Chen Fangren called, we had occupied the city, and the Kuomintang Headquarters Garden Hotel was already empty. Chen Fangren pounced, and the Nationalist commander Liu Ying had already run to the bottom of the fortifications of the Dashi Bridge to take shelter and was later captured.
At this point, Shijiazhuang was liberated, but it did not mean that we could let our guard down.
Shijiazhuang was not easy to manage; during the warlord period, Shijiazhuang had "three treasures": "broken shoes", cakes, and large yam; after the Japanese occupation, it was "six more": many spies, many unemployed, many prostitutes, many drugs, more counterfeit banknotes, and more goons. During the kuomintang's rule, it was even more chaotic, with the party, government, army, police, and special forces dominating the party.
The officers and men of the 3rd Column could not rest, wore the "security" logo on their left arms, and began to perform their duties. Then, just then, citizens and nearby villagers rushed to banks and shops as they had defeated Japan. After coming here, I found that these places were all guarded by the People's Liberation Army.
A group of people driving the cart ran directly to the cotton mill, and the sentries stopped them, and they even grabbed guns and wounded several sentries. Zhang Hong, furious, brought someone over to stop it and shouted, "Stop!" No one paid any attention to him, he fired his gun into the air, and three militiamen stabbed at him with their guns, only to be knocked down by him, one of whom was slightly injured. At this time, someone suddenly shouted: "The People's Liberation Army has beaten people!" , attracting a crowd of onlookers.
When Zheng Weishan heard the news, he rushed to the scene, and he immediately ordered Zhang Hong to be tied up and dealt with. His 23rd regiment was also punished with a major demerit.
However, Zheng Weishan understood that after liberating Shijiazhuang, Zhang Hong and his company had made the first contribution, and they should have been informed of the commendation and promotion. But in order to solemnize military discipline, he had to deal with Zhang Hong. Zhang Hong was demoted from company commander to squad leader, but later became deputy division commander through his own efforts.