In January 1946, Wu Ruilin, chief of staff of the Liaodong People's Self-Defense Army, was instructed by his superiors to visit Marshal Malinovsky of the Soviet Army.
When Wu Ruilin introduced the situation of the War of Resistance in Shandong, Malinovsky suddenly asked: "As far as I know, a magical battle took place in a certain mountainous area in Shandong more than two years ago, setting a rare record for the ratio of war losses, called the Daigu Defense War?" ”
"Yes! Do you know about the Defense of Daigu? Wu Ruilin was stunned.
Malinovsky smiled and said, "I want to know, what does 'Gu' mean?" ”
Wu Ruilin thought about it and said: "Gu is the name given by the Chinese people for a special terrain, which generally refers to the steep but flat top of the mountain. ”
"The surroundings are steep, the top is flatter," Malinovsky exclaimed with some understanding, "I understand, I understand!" It seems that a company of your Eighth Route Army can fight more than 3,000 enemies on that mountain, can skillfully fight for 18 days, and has a realistic basis in terms of terrain conditions, and is not a fake battle example made up! ”
Wu Ruilin nodded and said: "The terrain conditions are very important, but the most important thing is the human factor!" ”
Malinovsky, who had been twice awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", laughed and said: "Of course, without human wisdom and courage, no matter how unique external conditions are, it will not help!" ”
In fact, the Daigu Defense War was only a small battle, and the reason why it attracted the attention of the Soviet Marshal was because it was indeed a magical example.
It was in November 1943, when the Japanese puppet army dispatched more than 15,000 people to "sweep" the Yimeng Mountains. In order to contain the enemy and cover the transfer of the masses and organs, the Second Sub-district of the Luzhong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army decided to send three battalions and eight companies of the Eleventh Regiment to block the enemy at Daigu in the middle of Mengyin County.
What happened later proved that choosing to block the enemy in Daigu was really a stroke of God.
This is because the terrain conditions of Daigu are very peculiar.
It is surrounded by cliffs like axe knives, only a sheep intestine trail can be reached, and there is a lookout tower built on the mountainside.
The roof is generally relatively flat, about 500 square meters, and there are some boulders and small earth bags that can be used as shelters.
In order to fight this blockade battle well, Zhang Dong, deputy battalion commander of the third battalion, sat in command of the Eighth Company, so this company was not full, plus Zhang Dong only had 93 cadres and fighters.
Considering that the battle might last for some time, Zhang Dong ordered his troops to carry more than a dozen large tanks in advance and place them in a cave at the top of the gu to store grain and water.
In addition, Zhang Dongzai also made an important arrangement, that is, to maintain contact with friendly neighboring troops and local armed forces (mainly county brigades and district squads), and to coordinate operations once the Japanese army attacked.
On November 13, the enemy dispatched more than 1,000 men (including an air force squadron, an artillery squadron, an infantry brigade, and a regiment of the puppet army) to attack Daigu with the cooperation of aircraft and artillery.
Zhang Dong led the commanders and fighters of the Eighth Company, making full use of flexible and mobile tactics and Daigu's unique terrain advantages to stubbornly resist the enemy.
The Japanese puppet army used all kinds of means to attack for two whole days, but it was still unable to attack the top of the gust.
The enemy commander was furious and sent more than 2,000 troops to assist in the battle, in an attempt to besiege all the Eighth Route Army in Guding, dying of thirst and starving them to death.
Fortunately, the commanders and fighters of the Eighth Company had already made preparations, and they relied on the water and food prepared in advance to maneuver with the enemy, leaving them helpless.
Because the enemy has air superiority, it is absolutely superior in weapons and equipment and the number of soldiers, so it is the enemy's world during the day, most of the Eighth Route Army is hidden in caves, and only some fighters monitor the enemy.
At night, the Eighth Company organized a capable detachment to quietly slip down the roof and launch a surprise attack on the Japanese puppet army stationed on the mountain, making the enemy overwhelmed and could not sleep or eat.
Friendly and neighboring troops and local armed forces operating in the vicinity also attacked flexibly from time to time, harassing the enemy with tactics such as firing cold cannons, shooting cold guns, and laying mines, so that they could not live in fear.
The enemy was so embarrassed and angry that he could only frequently dispatch planes and artillery to carry out indiscriminate bombardment, and even attacked with poison gas bombs from time to time, but the commanders and fighters of the Eighth Company relied on the caves on the top of the valley to hide, leaving the enemy helpless.
When the enemy infantry attacked upward along the mountain path, the Eighth Company only sent a few sharpshooters to condescendingly shoot at the enemy one by one by "roll call", which made the enemy return again and again.
What is unbelievable is that the invincible Japanese army, in the face of the stubborn resistance of the Eighth Route Army, has never been able to conquer Daigu.
The 93 commanders and fighters of the Eighth Route Army, led by Zhang Dong, relied on the natural danger of Daigu to hold their positions for 18 days without losing, repelling countless attacks by the Japanese puppet army, causing them to pay the price of more than 360 casualties, while only 7 people in the Eighth Company were wounded and 2 people were sacrificed.
That is to say, in this series of contests between the enemy and us, the exchange ratio of battle losses reached an astonishing 40:1.
Finally, the commander of the Eleventh Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, considering that the Eighth Company had held out for so long and had exceeded its task of attacking the enemy, sent troops to receive the Eighth Company and used the tactics of attacking the east and west to cover the withdrawal of the Eighth Company from Daigu.
At this time, the grain and water that the Eighth Company had originally stored at The Top of the Valley were exhausted, and there was very little ammunition left, and this breakthrough transfer came too timely.
Some people may question that this is another anti-Japanese "divine drama", but this example of war is really recorded in various documents and is completely well documented.
In the defense of Daigu, the Eighth Company relied on a special condition (Daigu's terrain advantage) to fight for 18 days, setting an astonishing record for the ratio of battle losses, and was hailed as a miraculous battle in military history, which was not only commended by the general orders of the Shandong Military Region and the Central Military Commission, but also reported by some foreign news agencies.
And marshal of the Soviet army
Malinovsky
It was from the Reuters report that the battle was learned, and later specially sought someone to understand the situation.
When Chen Yi, acting commander of the New Fourth Army, and Xu Shiyou, commander of the Jiaodong Military Region, learned of this example, they praised this as a "miraculous battle in the use of troops." They both sent special personnel to visit and study it.