In 1983, generals from Huaye gathered together, such as Su Yu, Wang Bicheng, Ye Fei and others, and everyone recalled the difficult years of fighting together in small talk.
At this time, the founding generals have already entered their old age, and when they talk about the past, they have a lot of feelings. When everyone recalls the past, they always think of General Tao Yong: "Alas, if Tao Yong were here for a long time!" With him there, it will be much more lively. ”
Figure 丨 Tao Yong
However, General Tao Yong died 16 years ago.
Su Yu, as the old chief of Tao Yong, felt very uncomfortable after learning of Tao Yong's death, and afterwards specially instructed Wang Bicheng: We should give Comrade Tao Yong a book to carry forward his great achievements and noble character, and commemorate his unfortunate death!
Tao Yong joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in April 1929, went to Yan'an Kang Da in 1937 to study, and was assigned to work in the New Fourth Army in 1938.
For his superior, Su Yu, Tao Yong was very respectful, of course, this respect was also slowly accumulated in the war.
Under the leadership and command of Su Yu, Tao Yong fought bravely in countless instances.
In the early days of liberation, he led the 1st Division of the Central Field Army to Shandong, but on their way, they suddenly encountered the Nationalist 5th Army and were attacked by enemy tanks.
Pictured: January 2, 1947 Chairman Mao's telegram about the Battle of Lunan
At that time, the troops were not trained in this area and lacked experience in fighting tanks.
Therefore, at this time, they did not know what to do, so they retreated while fighting, and the team became disorganized in the panic.
At this time, the soldiers shouted at him one after another: "Division commander, the tanks can't stop it, immediately retreat!" It must be retreated immediately. ”
Tao Yong listened and sat down on the stone pillar on the roadside valley and shouted loudly: "I Tao Yong are sitting here, which one dares to withdraw?" ”
With Tao Yong's words, everyone became cheered up and encouraged each other: "Master Tao is here, what do we have to be afraid of?" ”
In fact, at this time, Tao Yong, like the warriors, came to the Lunan Mountains, where he was not familiar with life, and his thoughts could not be turned around for a while.
Map of the pre-war situation of the Battle of Lunan
But when he thought of Su Yu's ardent expectations, and of the heavy responsibility of the imminent decisive battle with the Kuomintang ace army's rapid column, what else could he say?
His whole life had long been given to the revolution, to the war. For the instructions and intentions of his superiors, Tao Yong always carried out and completed them to the letter, and never complained a little.
Soldiers always need to constantly open up new battlefields to destroy the enemy who is still alive.
Thinking of this, Tao Yong convened a meeting of the division party committee. After a while, the cadres of the brigades and regiments mobilized as they walked in accordance with the spirit of the division's party committee to propagate the significance of making great strides north to Lunan.
Soldiers are sacred. Only they are the most selfless and sacrificial.
Once we understood the great significance of going north to Lunan and meeting with the Shandong Field Army, the purpose of making our main forces highly concentrated, annihilating the enemy's living forces, and fundamentally changing the situation between the enemy and ourselves was swept away.
The slogan of going north to Lunan to win the battle resounded throughout the team.
"What, boys, when you get to Shandong, do you still want to suzhong?" Tao Yong started a routine with the warriors in the team.
The warriors all liked to chat with Tao Yong very much, unrestrained, like being with their brothers.
Tao Yong is like a brother to them, he is familiar with them, and he knows everyone's personality.
On the battlefield, if he encounters any problems, he knows who to send to solve them and who is suitable.
Once, the Political Department of the division gave him a set of examination questions, asking him to say the names of cadres at and above the level of the organs and troops, and he replied like a stream, even the names of cooks and grooms, and how many people in the family, remembered them clearly, just like counting their own family members.
Su Yu once commented on Tao Yong: "Tao Yong is a commander with a very personality, and his sternness is reflected in the battlefield, and the tasks he orders are Ding, and the tasks are Ding, and the 卯 is unambiguous. ”
Indeed, Tao Yongmian is very principled in getting along with the soldiers, scolding people when he is angry, but usually he will laugh and play with them, play cards and wrestle, and make people scratch their noses when they lose, making it difficult for people to distinguish the boundaries between commanders and soldiers.
Those who were slapped by Tao Yong often boasted to their comrades-in-arms in self-aggrandizement: "Hey hey, I was slapped twice by Commander Tao today." ”
In Tao Yong, there is a special charm that attracts people. Wherever he went, the warriors regarded him as a confidant. Su Yu also praised this.
Mobilized before the battle, Tao Yong never made a long speech, and a few concise and concise sentences summoned up the soldiers' enthusiasm for combat.
He used to go into the line after giving any explanation, touch this backpack, look at the weapon of that one; when he saw the recruit, he asked with concern, "Are you afraid?" I was a little scared the first time, but I also had to rush forward. If the head is opened, I will not be afraid in the future. ”
When he saw the veteran, he would ask, "You've been carrying this gun for three years, haven't you?" Find enemies for a new one! ”
When the charge horn sounded, he rushed to the front of the line and said to the subordinate commander, "Pay attention to your tactical movements, I will stare at your ass with a telescope!" "I'll follow you into the city, and if you're slow, I'll go first!"
At the moment, Tao Yong and the warriors were walking and talking, their footsteps were like flying, and sonorous and powerful words poured out of their mouths:
"Fight the first battle of entering Lulu and win glory for the First Division!"
"Go north to Shandong to win the battle, and we must promote our prestige to the world!"
..........
After seven days and seven nights of arduous marching and concealed advance, Tao Yong's troops marched south of Tancheng, Shandong, on New Year's Day in 1947, and formed an encirclement of the enemy in Lunan together with the brother troops.
The curtain of the Battle of Lunan suddenly opened.
The sound of artillery ushered in the New Year of 1947. On the night of February 2, our army launched a full-line attack on the enemy.
In the field command post, Tao Yong paid close attention to the progress of the battle, although it was the first time to fight in Shandong, but after a few days of thorough investigation and understanding of the situation, Tao Yong's posture towards the Lunan Campaign quickly became clear.
Su Yu was also full of confidence in Tao Yong, believing that after years of war practice, his capable general had gradually formed a unique art of command.
Not fighting unprepared battles is the principle of fighting that Tao Yong has always followed. Before each battle, Tao Yong first tried to understand the enemy's situation, from the number of enemy troops and equipment to the temperament characteristics of the enemy's head, he tried his best to understand and make a correct judgment from it.
Pictured by Tao Yong (center) after the Battle of Huangqiao
On the night of the third day, it was dark. Tao Yong ordered the First and Third Brigades to work closely with friendly and neighboring troops to tighten the encirclement of the enemy.
In the command post near the front, he listened to the fierce gunfire and personally grasped the rapidly changing situation on the battlefield.
Tao Yong can not only flexibly apply traditional strategies and tactics, but also create new ways of playing without formalities. His resourcefulness and bravery in battle are the result of one battle after another.
Another night of fierce fighting ushered in the dawn of January 4. The besieged enemy's Twenty-sixth Division was completely annihilated, and the remnants of the enemy and the rapid column were tightly surrounded by the New Fourth Army in a narrow area around Chenjiaqiao, Jiatou, and Zuozigou.
The battle to peel off the shell of the turtle can be said to have just begun.
What a godsend! At this time, the sky was overcast and drizzling. The movement of enemy aircraft was blocked, and the roads were muddy, making it difficult for the enemy's mechanized troops to move.
The enemy traps me to fight! Tao Yong immediately seized the fighter, coordinated closely with friendly and neighboring troops, and began to attack the first rapid column of the Kuomintang army.
Tao Yong looked up at the sky, hoping that the snow would fall even more heavily, so that the shells of these turtles would be trapped in the mud.
Picture | August 1, 1949 in Hangzhou, Tao Yong (center) with Tan Zhigeng and Jin Ye
The enemy tanks were getting closer and closer, three hundred meters, two hundred meters, and when the tanks were only more than a hundred meters away from the position, Tao Yong shouted: "Fight! ”
Suddenly, a brigade was confronted with a fierce attack. The three brigades pounced from the flanks on the infantry behind the tanks, instantly cutting off the enemy infantry from the tanks.
In the midst of the wind and snow, Tao Yong raised his eyes to watch the battle, as steady as Mount Tai. The highly morale of the warriors, dressed in soaked cotton clothes, ignored the enemy's fire and engaged each other in short time.
Some of them used grenades to blow up the tanks, but the tanks did not move; some climbed on top of the tanks and lifted the lid and threw grenades into them.
But suddenly the turret spun up, knocking the warriors off the tanks; the warriors became more and more courageous, and the enemy rushed to the position like a gambler with a red eye.
This fierce battle lasted until 3 p.m., when the enemy, with the exception of seven tanks fleeing to Yixian County, was annihilated by the 26th Division, which was fully equipped with American equipment, and more than 30,000 people of chiang kai-shek's painstakingly managed first rapid column.
The sky after the rain and snow is exceptionally clear. On the battlefield where the smoke of gunfire had faded, Tao Yong, Zhang Zhendong, Peng Deqing, Tan Zhigeng, and other cadres happily shuttled in front of the blind, deaf, and paralyzed tanks, artillery, and cars.
Tao Yong said with great interest: "We defeated the mechanization of the enemy with rifles and grenades, and I believe that before long, we will definitely have our own chariot brigade!" ”
Lang Lang's laughter rippled in the quiet field. In this campaign, the first division annihilated more than 5,400 enemies, of which more than 4,100 were captured, 8 enemy tanks were captured, more than 10 enemy tanks were destroyed, 10 mountain and field guns were captured, 65 cars and a large number of equipment were captured.
The common battle condensed sincere feelings. Tao Yong has always had great respect for Su Yu. And Su Yu also has different feelings for Tao Yong.
In the early spring of 1947, everything was revived and the earth was full of life.
Time flies so fast. After the Battle of Huaihai, Tao Yong was ordered to lead the four columns to Yixian County for training. Tao Yong is no stranger to Yi County.
The Battle of Lunan two years ago was fought in this area. As soon as the troops were stationed, they began to summarize the Huaihai Campaign, conveying the resolution of the January meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the current situation and the tasks in 1949.
In the later stage of the reorganization, the Central Military Commission ordered the East China Field Army to be renamed the Third Field Army, and the fourth column was changed to the Twenty-third Army, which belonged to the seven corps structure, under the jurisdiction of the Sixty-seventh Division, the Sixty-eighth Division, and the Sixty-ninth Division.
Tao Yong is the military commander, Lu Sheng is the political commissar, Mei Jiasheng is the deputy military commander, and Liu Wenwen is the deputy political commissar.
Figure 丨 4 Column (23rd Army) Huaihai Campaign Battle Course Map
The only thing that made Tao Yong feel attached to it was that Guo Hua, who had been fighting together for four months, wanted to leave the four columns and be promoted to political commissar of the corps. The friendships forged during the war are unforgettable.
Tao Yong had already received Noji's "Preparatory Order for the Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou Operations." These are the two hands of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao Zedong against the enemy's counter-revolution.
On the one hand, they further exposed the enemy's conspiracy through peaceful negotiations, and on the other hand, they instructed the Second and Third Field Armies, under the unified command of the General Front Committee, to prepare to cross the river and directly attack the enemy's nests in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.
Just as the army was about to leave, Tao Yong suddenly received a call from Su Yu: Considering that the Twenty-third Army was mostly a descendant of Su Zhong, and was familiar with the terrain and people's conditions in the area, it was decided to change the original task of the 23rd Army to participate in the battle of crossing the river on the central front.
Temporarily under the command of the Tenth Corps, it was assembled in the Taizhou area of Jiangsu Province to participate in the river crossing operation of the Eastern Front Combat Group.
Tao Yong was deeply pleased that Commander Su Yu was sympathetic to his subordinates. He immediately relayed this order, and the whole army rejoiced.
Picture | Tao Yong (first from right) with Ye Fei, Su Yu, and Wang Bicheng
The march of more than 400 kilometers was not a problem, and the troops quickly advanced to the area south of Taixing.
Along the way, the people of the Liberated Areas laughed and laughed, and sent off their children and soldiers on an expedition.
The trust of the common people and the affection of the fathers and elders in their hometown have inspired the hearts of officers and soldiers. How many people pass by the door of the house without entering, drink a cup of hometown tea and continue on the road.
Tao Yong was surrounded by the villagers and rushed to greet: "Commander Tao, you can fight back!" This time I went, won the battle and then went home! ”
"Commander Tao, my son has been handed over to you, and I will not ask him to come back to see you without meritorious service."
I! ”.........
Tao Yong's eye sockets were moist. This is also his hometown. It was he who led a battalion into jiangbei and turned to the border of Suwan, and later grew little by little to become the 23rd Army, which is strong and strong today.
For exactly 10 years, their footprints have traveled all over northern Jiangsu, southern Jiangsu, western Zhejiang, and central Jiangsu, and they have formed a life-and-death relationship with the people here.
Before leaving, Tao Yong bid farewell to Su Yu: "Believe me Tao Yong, I will return victoriously!" ”
Marched non-stop for 20 days. On March 21, the troops arrived in Taizhou with great enthusiasm.
Pictured| Tao Yong and his wife Zhu Lan
As soon as he arrived at the station, tao Yong received a snowflake version of the letter of determination, letter of guarantee, and letter of challenge every day.
Others wrote to the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao. The high morale and eagerness to fight made Tao Yong feel excited.
On the other hand, he also warned everyone in the education on the situation and tasks to break the fear of some comrades from the north who "have no bottom in the river and boundless in the sea" and correct the idea of light enemy.
Tao Yong further clarified the tactical means of crossing the river, combining smuggling with forced crossing, making a fuss about smuggling, working fast words, and racing against every second.
Tao Yong pointed to the map of the river crossing and said to the cadres of the divisions and regiments:
"The enemy's resistance in front of us will be very stubborn, but we must remember that this battle of crossing the river is the last big battle, and we must break through the enemy's Yangtze River defense line, the ships fight for themselves, the people fight for themselves, land in one fell swoop, nail the nails, resolutely crush the enemy's attack, stand firm, and ensure that the follow-up troops will land in the first place."
On April 20, 1949, the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations broke down when the Kuomintang Nanjing government accepted the terms of domestic peace; Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu issued an order to the whole army to "March to the Whole Country", and the great Battle of Crossing the River began.
However, just then, an unexpected event occurred.
The British ship "Purple Quartz" on the Yangtze River
On this day, just as everyone was waiting for the moment of attack, suddenly, the quiet departure position of the river crossing came from the fierce shelling sound.....
"What happened?" People's faces suddenly changed, and they rushed to inquire.
The telephone rang rapidly, and Tao Yong huoran jumped up to pick it up, and Fang knew: The evil British imperialist warship opened fire brazenly on the main attack regiment of our 68th Division, and immediately killed Deng Ruobo, the leader of the main attack regiment, and injured more than 40 people, including the political commissar of the regiment. The positions of the main offensive regiment of the 69th Division were also shelled by the enemy, causing casualties.
When Tao Yong heard this, he was full of anger. Over the past two days, British imperialist warships have been on the river, accompanied by Kuomintang warships, and have invaded the defense areas of our People's Liberation Army on several occasions, cruising back and forth, anchoring and peeping in an attempt to prevent the People's Liberation Army from crossing the river.
Among these British warships were the Purple Quartz, the Black Swan, the Companion, the London, and so on.
The Forward Observatory once again raised a signal "warning", but the "Purple Quartz" actually "bombarded" and issued a burst of artillery!
"What to do?" In the command post, people's eyes were on Tao Yong. Some people have proposed to avenge the dead comrades and uphold justice!
"Listen to my orders and fight back resolutely!" It was too late to ask his superiors, and Tao Yong immediately made a decision to make this bold decision.
The artillery fired with heavy, accurate fire, and strings of shells poured down around the British batteries and decks.
The Yangtze River and water column protrude, and the smoke rolls are wavy. In an instant, the two British ships fell into the powerful shelling net of the People's Liberation Army, emitting thick smoke and igniting a fire, and the "rice" flag broke and fell into the Yangtze River, along with the mud and sand, which was swept away by the huge waves.
"Okay, hit!" On the forward position, the commanders and fighters cheered and rejoiced, and Tao Yong's resolute face was full of righteousness and majesty.
The panicked Purple Quartz, which caught fire in several places, hung three white flags in a daze and wailed from the megaphone: "We are not your enemies!" We are not your enemies! ”
The former indomitable arrogance of the "Royal Navy of the British Empire" was swept away, and they each snatched the road and fled in the cry of forgiveness.
The British ship "London" was hit with bullets
The cruiser "Purple Quartz" was forced to stop near Zhenjiang because it was hit the most bullets, and was captured by the People's Liberation Army's cross-river troops.
This incident has strengthened the military and national prestige and shaken the world. International public opinion was in an uproar and condemned this unreasonable act of the United Kingdom one after another.
This feat of shelling the "Purple Quartz" has also entered the annals of the People's Liberation Army.
On January 21, 1967, General Tao Yong left us forever. Su Yu said this:
"In the years when we fought together, Tao Yong has always led his troops to fight in the front line of the war, galloping in the anti-Japanese guerrilla battlefields in the north and south of the Yangtze River, participating in various important battles on the battlefield in East China during the Liberation War, and participating in the great Battle of Zhuanhai and important battles such as crossing the river and Shanghai.
With his brave and tenacious fighting style, flexible command art, and communist style of taking into account the overall situation, he made immortal military achievements for the great cause of the people's liberation. With brilliant achievements, the troops he led left a glorious page in the annals of our army's history. ”
In 1983, the generals from Huaye gathered together: Su Yu, Wang Bicheng, Ye Fei and others, and everyone recalled the difficult years of fighting together in small talk.
In the course of small talk, Su Yu had entrusted Wang Bicheng to publish a book for Tao Yong in order to promote his great achievements and noble character and commemorate his unfortunate death.
Figure 丨Su Yu
With the strong support and efforts of General Tao Yong's old troops and the regional party and government leaders he fought, this wish was finally realized.
The book "General Tao Yong" is a collection of essays by many old comrades-in-arms and subordinates who remember General Tao Yong, and it is also a brilliant record of praising General Tao Yong's heroic struggle.
In addition, it also contains Su Yu's sincere feelings for Tao Yong, in the decades since Tao Yong left, he has never forgotten this outstanding military commander who grew up in the fire of the revolutionary war; a victorious general who has both wisdom and courage and is both military and political!