In April 1992, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Lady," paid a state visit to the United States, and after a meeting with then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush, she suddenly made a request: "I would like to meet a veteran Chinese general who has settled in Chicago." ”
It turned out that Margaret Thatcher's visit to the United States, in addition to normal state exchanges, also had a special mission: this year was the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory of Ren'an Qiang, and she specially came to visit a Chinese veteran who made great contributions to World War II and Britain.
Margaret Thatcher shook hands with Liu Fangwu
In Chicago, Margaret Thatcher finally met the old man Liu Fangwu, whom she had in mind, and the two looked at each other with a thousand feelings. Thatcher stepped forward, shook hands with Liu Fangwu in a wheelchair, and said: "Old general, I have heard many stories about you, you rescued thousands of British troops, and their descendants have been passed down to the second and third generations. You saved them, and on behalf of the British Government, I pay you a high tribute! ”
The meeting between Margaret Thatcher and Liu Fangwu soon spread throughout the United States, and the US secretary of defense and the governors of various states expressed sincere condolences to this veteran Chinese general, and even the elder Bush specially sent a letter of condolence, which read: On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory, I am willing to pay tribute on behalf of the country to the heroic deeds of you in rescuing 500 American journalists, missionaries, and thousands of British troops!
At this point, Liu Fangwu's deeds were publicized, and many years later, the protagonist of the TV series "My Regiment Leader My Regiment" based on him, The Dragon Article, was praised and sought after by hundreds of millions of Chinese people...
Liu Fangwu
Whampoa graduated and fought in iron blood
Liu Fangwu, a native of Guiyang, Hunan, was born in 1899. Liu Fangwu came from a peasant family, suffered a lot since childhood, and saw too many tragic incidents. But he was not insensitive, but determined to contribute to the terminally ill country. Willing to crush to pieces.
In 1926, Liu Fangwu was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy as he wished, and became the sixth cadet of Whampoa. The huangpu six phases gathered heroes and famous generals, including communists Luo Ruiqing and Zhao Yiman, Kuomintang people Liao Yaoxiang and Dai Kasa, and Liu Fangwu was also fortunate to be one of them.
During his three years at the Whampoa Military Academy, Liu Fangwu forgot to eat and sleep, assiduously honed his military skills, and gradually grew from an ordinary student who knew very little about the military to an excellent talent with excellent military quality.
After graduating from Huangpu, Liu Fangwu naturally entered the Kuomintang army as a major platoon leader. With huangpu's signboard and excellent skills, Liu Fangwu was promoted very quickly, and in just a few years, he was promoted to battalion commander and commanded hundreds of people. But for a grassroots officer, his biggest dream is to fight for the country and go to Qian Qian to lead the troops to kill the enemy. In 1937, with the anti-Japanese War in full swing, Liu Fangwu also ushered in his opportunity to make a name for himself.
Chinese Expeditionary Force
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to realize the ambition of "destroying China in three months", the Japanese army gathered heavy troops in Shanghai and provoked war, and the Battle of Songhu began. Liu Fangwu was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, leading his troops to participate in the Battle of Songhu, leading his troops through the rain of bullets and bullets to launch a fierce battle with the Japanese army.
Although the Battle of Songhu eventually ended in defeat, Liu Fangwu, who fought bravely against the enemy, was noticed by the Kuomintang top brass. A few years later, he was appointed colonel of the 113th Regiment of the newly organized 38th Division, and the commander of the 38th Division was none other than the famous General Sun Liren.
Liu Fangwu's greatest achievement was the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, which made British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President George H.W. Bush remember the Chinese general.
Battle of Ren'anqiang
A bloody battle against Ren Anqiang, freeing thousands of British troops
Speaking of the Great Victory of Ren'an Qiang, Liu Fangwu in his later years confessed that it was the most impressive battle he commanded in his life.
In 1942, the frenzied Japanese army occupied most of Southeast Asia, pointed directly at Burma, and soon captured the Burmese capital, Rangoon. In order to expand the results of the war and annex all of Burma, the Japanese army continued to march west and north, trying to cut off the Burma Road and insert a sharp knife into the southwest border of our country, threatening our rear.
The Burma Road was the most important international transportation route in China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and in the case of the sea passage being completely cut off by the Japanese army, only by keeping this road could the materials of international assistance be continuously transported back to China and sent to the hands of frontline fighters to fight the Japanese army. In view of this, the Chinese army formed the Chinese Expeditionary Force, went to Burma to fight, and vowed to defend this lifeline to the death, including Liu Fangwu's newly organized 38th Division.
However, as the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the Japanese were engaged in battle in Burma, in April 1942, the British troops who should have been stationed on the Western Front collapsed under the frantic pursuit of the Japanese army. Among them, the Anglo-Burmese First Division and a tank battalion totaling more than 7,000 people were besieged by two companies of the Thirty-third Division of the Japanese Army, and the combat system was completely paralyzed, and all the ammunition and food were exhausted, and all of them were trapped.
After Sun Liren received the signal for help from the British army, he immediately ordered Liu Fangwu to lead his troops to carry out rescue operations. Liu Fangwu's 113th Regiment only had more than 1,100 people, and only 800 people could participate in the battle, and the Japanese army they wanted to fight had two companies, with about 7,000 people, which was seven times that of the 113th Regiment. Moreover, although the 113th Regiment received a large number of British equipment, it was far from being compared with the well-equipped Japanese army, which was destined to be a bloody battle.
At the critical moment of life and death, Liu Fangwu led his troops to descend from heaven and rushed to the Kyaukpodong area, across the river from the Japanese army. Liu Fangwu did not immediately launch a strong attack, he knew that in the daytime combat, the Japanese aircraft and tanks would have the advantage. So he set the time for the attack at dawn the next day.
At 3:00 a.m. on April 18, the death squads took the lead and rushed to the Japanese artillery positions, throwing one grenade after another, blowing up the Japanese artillery. The Japanese soldiers heard the explosions, walked out of their tents to check, and were knocked down by the death squads.
As the sky brightened, the Japanese army recognized the intentions of the Chinese army and quickly launched a counterattack, gathering aircraft, artillery, and tanks to launch a crazy bombing campaign against the chinese army in the attack.
When the general attack sounded, Liu Fangwu ordered the first battalion commander Yang Zhenhan to lead his troops to attack from the front, and the second and third battalions to encircle from the flanks and launch a fierce attack on the Japanese army. Knowing that the Chinese Expeditionary Force had arrived on the battlefield, the British army seemed to grasp the life-saving straw and immediately cooperated with the Chinese army, using chariots and artillery as cover to support the battlefield.
In three days, the position changed hands three times, and finally under the desperate fight of all the soldiers of the 113 regiment, the Japanese army left more than 1200 corpses and fled in a hurry. The 113th Regiment continued its efforts to recover all the lost land, rescued more than 7,000 British troops and more than 500 American journalists and missionaries who were besieged, and won the great victory of Ren'anQiang.
When Liu Fangwu led the soldiers through the battlefield filled with gun smoke, the rescued British and American troops could not help but raise their arms and shout: "Long live the Chinese Expeditionary Force!" From this day on, those proud Allied soldiers did not dare to despise the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and they admired General Liu Fangwu even more, keeping in mind the grace of saving their lives.
After the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, Liu Fangwu was promoted to major general of the Kuomintang, and an anti-Japanese general star seemed to be rising. However, shortly thereafter, he faded out of the anti-Japanese battlefield and disappeared from people's sight, and when he reappeared, he was an old man who made a living by picking up coal balls.
Hong Kong in the 1960s
The fraudsters took the credit, the true and false general cases
Among the rescued British troops was a regimental commander named Fresting, who was promoted to lieutenant general in 1950 and later to Hong Kong as commander-in-chief of the British Army, Army and Air Force in Hong Kong. Fristine, who was in a high position, did not forget Liu Fangwu's life-saving grace. So after arriving in Hong Kong, he began to look for the former regimental commander Liu Fangwu.
However, due to the fact that Fristine and Liu Fangwu only have one side of the relationship, there is no contact after the war, coupled with the fact that the two belong to different nationalities and do not speak the language, with the passage of time, Fresting will also slowly forget Liu Fangwu's figure, so despite many searches, there has been no progress.
The news that Fristine was looking for "Captain Liu" quickly spread in Hong Kong, but was exploited by a lin yanzhang man.
British army and Hong Kong police
Lin Yanzhang originally lived in the mainland, had some culture, served as the leader of the township self-defense force appointed by the Nationalist government, was very familiar with the internal situation of the Kuomintang, and understood the history of the Chinese Expeditionary Force's going to Burma to resist the war. Before the founding of New China, he fled to Guangxi to sell clothes, and later to Hong Kong to do some small business.
Now the Commander of the British Army was trying to find "Commander Liu", and Lin Yanzhang, who had a bad stomach, felt that this was an opportunity to soar, so he crossed the sea in secret, borrowed medals and military uniforms from a former Deputy Commander of the Kuomintang who lived in Hong Kong, dressed himself up as Liu Fangwu, and went to see Fresting in a dignified manner, and got the warm hospitality of Fresting.
After that, Lin Yanzhang, relying on the name of "anti-Japanese hero", swindled in Hong Kong, cheated a lot of money, and even raised 10 million to build a residential community.
In 1963, Lin Yanzhang's false identity was revealed, and the Hong Kong police arrested him and deported him.
Where are the real battle heroes when the crooks are caught?
Taiwan Coal Mine in the 1960s
He made a living by picking up briquettes, and in his later years he was received by the british and American heads of state
After Lin Yanzhang was arrested, the Hong Kong media heard the wind and began to search for the whereabouts of the real "Chief Liu" on a large scale, and soon, news came from Taiwan that Liu Fangwu was found in a coal mine!
Why did the commander of the expeditionary corps, who had made brilliant achievements, go into poverty and live in the coal mine? What twists and turns are going on in between?
It turned out that after the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, although Liu Fangwu was promoted to major general, he did not make a name for himself, and his credit was recorded on his superior Sun Liren, who only knew Sun Liren and did not remember Liu Fangwu. Yang Zhenhan, the commander of the first battalion, was very dissatisfied and said to Liu Fangwu: "Commander, you see the medal of the division commander, which is already hanging on the front chest. ”
Liu Fangwu himself was very low-key and did not care about this, but after the army arrived in India, he was not good at making friends with powerful people, and he had a bad relationship with Sun Liren, was sent to the Army University for further study, and has since left the army. Liu Fangwu was unwilling to do corrupt things, so that he not only lost real power, but even supported his family became a problem.
Liu Fangwu in his later years
During the Liberation War, the Kuomintang soldiers were defeated, and Liu Fangwu came to Taiwan. After that, Sun Liren's "mutiny" failed, he was also implicated, forced to retire, life was more difficult, and several times he turned away from his superiors for help.
At this moment, his former subordinate Yang Zhenhan contacted him, and the two went to the coal mine in Pingtung, Taiwan, and worked together to start a briquette business to maintain food and clothing, which lasted for seven or eight years.
It was not until 1963, when the "true and false general case" in Hong Kong occurred, that Liu Fangwu was found by the Taiwan media, his identity was made public, and the "anti-war hero" returned to people's sights.
However, Liu Fangwu's condition did not improve, and due to the difficulties of life, he was forced to move to the United States in 1977 to join his friends. During his time in the United States, he did not say a word about the great victory of Ren'an Qiang, and few people knew about his past.
It was not until 1992, when Mrs. Thatcher visited the United States and made a special trip to visit Liu Fangwu to thank him for his heroic feat of saving the British army, that Liu Fangwu's story spread throughout the United States and was recognized and concerned by the top level of the United States.
On June 29, 1994, Liu Fangwu died of illness in the United States, ending the first half of his life legend and the second half of his bumpy life.