During the Liberation War, among the Kuomintang troops at that time, the most powerful combat effectiveness was the 74th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which was formed during the War of Resistance Against Japan and also rose in the period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and was a very strong unit in combat effectiveness. However, in the Kuomintang army at that time, there was also a very strong fighting force, which was the 18th Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
The 18th Army is the traditional ace unit of the Kuomintang, which was formed very early in history and is the largest unit in the Kuomintang army, with the most famous generals and the deepest background. The first commander of this unit was Chiang Kai-shek's beloved general Chen Cheng, and the backbone was all graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy. The 18th Army was Chen Cheng's starting capital, and the successive commanders of the 18th Army, such as Luo Zhuoying, Huang Wei, Fang Tian, Hu Lian and other generals, were deeply valued by Chiang Kai-shek.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance, this unit went to the battlefield under the leadership of Luo Zhuoying. The most tragic battle site of the Battle of Songhu was in Luodian, where this unit repeatedly fought with the Japanese army, and Major General Cai Bingyan, the brigade commander of the 201st Brigade of the 18th Army, after fighting with the Japanese army, led the only remaining battalion to rush to the Japanese position to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army, but unfortunately was hit by Japanese bullets and died heroically. The commander of the 67th Division of the 18th Army was also seriously wounded in the battle, and his division commander was replaced by Huang Wei, who had just been urgently transferred from Germany, and finally this division was left with a regiment. In the 1943 Shipai Defense War, Hu Lian, deputy commander of the 18th Army and 11th Division, led his troops to repel the Japanese attack, and also launched the largest white-knife battle with the Japanese army during the War of Resistance.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, this unit was reorganized into the 11th Division, but there were still more than 30,000 people. The reorganized 11th Division is also one of the five main forces, and with Chen Cheng's background, the weapons and equipment are even better than that of the reorganized 74th Division, and the quality of the soldiers is also very high. After the liberation war began, this unit, under the leadership of division commander Hu Lian, caused great trouble to the Plakmen. Nakano tried several times to annihilate this force, but was escaped by him.
In the second phase of the Huaihai Campaign, in the Battle of Shuangduiji, the four corps of the 12th Corps of the Kuomintang Army led by Huang Wei were heavily surrounded by the People's Liberation Army, and the 18th Army was also among them. During the Battle of Shuangduiji, the most capable of fighting was the 18th Army, the commander of the 12th Corps, Huang Wei, and the deputy commander Hu Lian, who had served as the commander of the 18th Army, and were very important to this unit. At the final moment of the Battle of Shuangduiji, Nakano Hanano stopped in front of Dawangzhuang, the southern gate of Shuangduiji, only a few kilometers away from the 12th Corps. Huang Wei put the 33rd Regiment of the 118th Division of the 18th Army in this place, and the 33rd Regiment was known as the Tiger Regiment, which was composed of experienced veterans, and the weapons and equipment were also very sophisticated, and the combat effectiveness was very strong.
In order to annihilate the Tiger Regiment, the 58th regiment and the 60th regiment of the seventh column of Huaye took the lead in organizing three battalions to attack Dawangzhuang, and after repeated battles, only the 59th regiment of the seventh column that went up later remained in the southwest corner of Zhuang. The commander of the Sixth Column, Wang Jinshan, finally sent the 46th Regiment of the Sixth Column to him, hoping to take Xiaowangzhuang. After the 46th Regiment of the Sixth Column went up, the remaining officers and men of the 58th Regiment, 59th Regiment, and 60th Regiment of the Seventh Column also rushed up, hoping to solve this unit through close combat.
Melee combat was originally a good play for our army, but for the Tiger Regiment, which has repeatedly fought fiercely, it is also unambiguous. The sound of grenades, explosive packs, and mortar shells exploding on both sides came and went, and the heavy artillery of both sides also fell like raindrops into the village, and the whole Dawangzhuang was like a leaf boat in the sea, trembling and swaying in the fire. In the end, the seven columns sent up the headquarters guard company, and only 17 people were left in one company, and finally completely annihilated this strong brigade of the national army. At that time, the officers and men of the 23rd Division of the 85th Army, who were watching the bustle in Xiaowangzhuang, and the officers and men of two regiments witnessed this fierce and bloody battle from beginning to end, and finally decisively surrendered to the Seventh Column of Huaye.