In late October 1948, the 27th Brigade of the Ninth Column of the Central Plains Field Army, led by brigade commander Cui Jiangong (later renamed Cui Jiangong), launched an attack on the strategically located Huangshan Mountain on the south bank of the Yellow River.
At dawn on October 14, Cui Jiangong commanded the regiments to surround the enemy, opened the way from the minefield and barbed wire, and launched a fierce attack on the main peak of Mount Yao.
However, due to the extremely dangerous terrain here, coupled with the extremely strong fortifications built by the enemy, and the rain cracks and ravines between the hills, the Eighty-first Regiment, which was shouldering the main offensive task, was frustrated in three consecutive attacks, and even three company commanders were sacrificed, and two battalion-level cadres were seriously wounded.
Although the situation was very passive, the commander of the Eighty-first Regiment believed that since the column and brigade commanders had already set the goal of conquering The Mountain, they could not give up halfway.
Therefore, they repeatedly asked the brigade commander Cui Jiangong for orders to let the Eighty-first Regiment continue to attack until the main peak of Mount Yao was captured.
The Eighty Regiments responsible for assisting and the commanders of the Seventy-ninth Regiment who served as the second echelon saw that the Eighty-first Regiment could not be attacked repeatedly, and also ran to Cui Jiangong and demanded to take over the heavy responsibility of the main attack and resolutely fight to the end.
In the face of the generals' requests for orders, Cui Jiangong, who has always had a calm personality, was rarely angry, and he categorically vetoed it: "The battle cannot be fought like this!" Stop attacking now! ”
Then he looked at the generals solemnly and said, "If the price we pay for fighting this battle is too great, then even if we conquer Mount Yao, it will not be regarded as a victory for our army!" ”
"Then..." one of the regimental cadres asked tentatively, "what now?" ”
"What to do?" Cui Jiangong raised his head and said in an extremely firm tone, "Adjust your thinking, change your tactics and attack again, but you can't do it recklessly!" ”
"The brigade commander is right!" Duan Chengxiu, the leader of the Eighty Regiment, who had not said a word for half a day, suddenly interjected, "The enemy's fortifications are extremely strong, and they occupy the terrain advantage, and it is really necessary to find another good way to open up the situation!" ”
Cui Jiangong knew this ai general very well, and knew that as long as Duan Chengxiu spoke, he must have an idea in his heart, so he asked: "Talk about your opinion!" ”
Duan Chengxiu nodded and said, "Since the ancient soldiers are not tired of deception, I think we can choose another breakthrough." ”
A cadre of the Eighty-first Regiment said: "Before the battle began, we had repeatedly observed that there was only one way to attack the main peak of Mount Yao. ”
"We need to further open our minds," Duan Chengxiu said, "I suggest attacking the mountain head and secretly attacking the foot of the mountain." ”
"The foot of the mountain? How to play? Cui Jiangong was suddenly interested.
Duan Chengxiu said confidently: "Let's go from the near and far, attack the west from the east, and on the one hand, follow the attack on the main peak of Mount Yao, while sending troops to attack along the railway and the bank of the Yellow River, directly take the station on the south bank, cut off the enemy's retreat, shake his confidence in garrison, and it will be much easier to surround and annihilate the enemy who is guarding the mountain at that time!" ”
One cadre was still suspicious: "But the front of this attack route is too narrow to deploy a large number of troops!" ”
"It doesn't matter, we use thimble tactics, as long as you can insert a needle, the thread can be threaded with the needle!" Duan Chengxiu thought very thoroughly.
"Good! Good! Good! Cui Jiangong smashed his fist on the table and said excitedly, "This method is too good, just do it!" You'll be in charge of the next battle! ”
Duan Chengxiu gladly took the order, and immediately made a combat deployment:
After replenishing its guns and ammunition, the Eighty-first Regiment continued to attack the main peak of Mount Yao, but only made a tentative feint in order to attract the attention of the enemy and create the illusion of the enemy.
Duan Chengxiu personally led the Eighty Regiments to attack the south bank of the Yellow River and the Yellow River Iron Bridge at the foot of the mountain.
The Seventy-ninth Regiment, still as the second echelon, assembled near the main peak, waiting for the opportunity to cooperate with the Eighty Regiments to encircle and annihilate the enemy on the main peak.
At 5 p.m., the commanders and fighters of the Second Company of the First Battalion of the Eighty Regiment, as a sharp knife company, suddenly launched an attack along the railway and the banks of the Yellow River, supported by fierce fire.
When they reached the vicinity of the station, a battalion of two companies and three platoons of fighters drilled through the barbed wire, and then took a ladder to climb over the outer trench, stuffed grenades into the enemy bunker, and occupied the station in one fell swoop.
Not to be outdone, the second company and one platoon cut off the detonation wires with the explosives they had planted before the enemy blew up the Yellow River Iron Bridge, eliminated the enemy soldiers, and quickly occupied the Yellow River Iron Bridge.
The actions of the commanders and fighters of the Second Company were really rapid, and the enemy never expected that the People's Liberation Army, which was supposed to attack Mount Yaoshan, would come to attack these two places, and because of its negligence, it would allow a single company to conquer two enemy passes in a row.
The enemy commander panicked and tried to mobilize troops from The Mountain, which was "impregnable and the overall situation was determined", to counterattack, but where did he think that the defenders on the Mountain had already become a pot of porridge!
It turned out that just as the Eighty Regiment was attacking the station and the Yellow River Iron Bridge, and the sound of gunfire was loud, Cui Jiangong sensed that the defenders of Mount Yao had relaxed their guard, and immediately commanded the Eighty-first Regiment and the Seventy-ninth Regiment, which had originally served as the second echelon, to attack decisively.
The enemy at Mount Yao lost sight of one another, and suddenly there was a great confusion, some of them were killed and wounded on the battlefield by our army, and the other part saw that the situation was not good, and they surrendered their weapons one after another.
After about an hour of fierce fighting, the Eighty-first Regiment and the Seventy-ninth Regiment jointly captured Mount Yao, and the two enemy regiments originally stationed on the mountain were all annihilated.
After the battle, Brigadier Cui Jiangong gave commendation to Commander Duan Chengxiu and praised him for his brilliant plan at a critical moment, which opened up the situation for the whole brigade and was the first meritorious servant of our army's victory in this battle.
It is worth mentioning that in the famous Battle of Shangganling during the Period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Cui Jiangong, then commander of the Forty-fifth Division of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army, and Duan Chengxiu, commander of the 134th Regiment, performed very well.
Reference historical materials: "History of the Central Plains Field Army", "Records of the Conquest of the Second Field Army", "Records of the Conquest of Liu Deng's Army", etc