The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and any battle plan may encounter unexpected variables. Under such circumstances, the commander must be unfazed, quickly sort out his thinking, and make a correct judgment, otherwise it may cause very serious consequences.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in the xiangtangpu ambush battle of famous military history, the founding marshal Xu Xiangqian faced such a dangerous situation.
It was on March 30, 1938, that the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, under the command of Deputy Division Commander Xu Xiangqian, advanced to the Xiangtangpu area of Xiangxian County, where it was decided to ambush the Japanese convoy.
That night, the three main regiments of the division entered the designated positions and lurked in the cold.
The 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade set up an ambush on the Yangjiashan and Jiangjiazhuang lines east of Xiangtangpu; the 771st Regiment of the 386th Brigade set up an ambush in the Kuanzhang and Houkuanzhang areas on the front of Xiangtangpu; and the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade was ambushed in the Majiakou area.
From Dongyang Pass to both sides of Xiangxian Road, most of them are loess beam banks. The Valley River Road is longitudinal. The terrain is good, but the forest is sparse, especially in March, and there are not many shrubs and artemisia grasses.
This situation undoubtedly brought difficulties to our army in fighting an ambush, but the soldiers had a way, and soon they all hid, and the positions were "empty."
The positions were all in the shade, in the potholes, the snow had just melted, and in the middle of the night it was frozen again, and the cold wind blew, and the cold air was compelling. But in order to win, the warriors consciously endured.
There was silence in the four fields, and everyone was waiting, hoping that everything would be expected and not unexpected.
Chen Geng judged on this basis that perhaps the enemy had discovered our army's attempt to set up an ambush and vainly attempted to launch a flanking attack from the right flank, thus cutting off our army's rear road.
Xu Xiangqian was a little surprised, and without saying a word, he put down the earpiece and walked to the map with his pipe.
The sudden change in the enemy situation on the front line and the suspicion of being cut off by the enemy army created a very difficult problem for Xu Xiangqian.
If our army's attempt to set up an ambush has indeed been detected by the enemy, once the rear road is encircled, then our army will be in a very dangerous situation, and we must immediately withdraw from our positions, abandon the original battle plan, or make other plans.
However, if our army blindly withdraws without being exposed, it is equivalent to abandoning the previous achievements and wasting an opportunity to strike at the enemy in vain, which also means defeat for our army.
Where do we go from here? Xu Xiangqian was thinking bitterly and judging.
In the headquarters, Chen Xilian and several other staff officers all watched Xu Xiangqian nervously.
"Deputy Division Commander, are you considering our back?" Chen Xilian carefully reminded.
Xu Xiangqian did not answer and continued to ponder.
"If the enemy is in danger, he will see far and near, and the way of the admiral will also be." Xu Qian stared at the map for a moment, and finally made a judgment that "the intelligence may not be accurate", for two reasons:
First, if the enemy discovers our army's attempt to set up an ambush, it is impossible to send only such a small number of troops to "fight the grass and startle the snake"; second, the enemy in other directions has not moved, and how can the Japanese army let a small force rush to attack with such a big action?
In the earpiece, Chen Geng seemed to have to explain something, and Xu Xiangqian did not listen, so he put the earpiece down.
Then he sent Deng Shijun and another staff officer to the direction of Sujiajiao and Dongyangguan to find out the situation, make sure to grasp the actual situation, and make sure to go back quickly.
After about two hours, the staff officer returned, and the information he received was exactly as everyone had hoped: in the direction of Dongyang Pass, the enemy did not move abnormally. In the dark of night, the vigilance detachment mistook the people's donkeys for enemy cavalry.
After listening to the staff officer's report, Xu Xiangqian said happily: "Good, great! ”
Not long after, more than 180 Japanese vehicles entered the ambush circle of our army and were confronted by the 771st Regiment. After two hours of fierce fighting, most of the Japanese army was annihilated, and all the cars were burned, which can be described as heavy losses.
Subsequently, the Japanese troops in Licheng, Yangguan, and Xiangxian came to the rescue from different directions, and were ambushed by the 772nd Regiment and the 769th Regiment, and achieved a great victory in the history of the famous army.
It is worth noting that if Xu Xiangqian did not change his attitude when the enemy suddenly changed, did not chaos in the face of danger, and made calm decisions, then all these victories might not be able to talk about.
This history fully explains the ancient famous saying: "For the way of the general, be the first to heal the heart." Tarzan collapses in front of the same color, elk is happy on the left and does not look at the moment, and then it can control the interests and harms, and can wait for the enemy. ”
Historical sources: "Xu Qianqian", "Famous Generals of the Communist Party of China in World War II" and so on