In 1987, you Taizhong, the 69-year-old commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, stepped down from his post and went to Beijing to work, so who should take over his post? After careful consideration, Deng Xiaoping personally ordered a famous general with both wisdom and courage, that is, Zhang Wannian, who was then deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region. Born in 1928, Zhang Wannian joined the Eighth Route Army in August 1944 and became a new soldier in the fourth squad of the seventh company of the third battalion of the Beihai Independent Regiment. After that, Zhang Wannian followed the troops to Jiaodong, and successively participated in the battles of Huangchengji ambushing the Japanese army, attacking the traitor Zhao Baoyuan, attacking Shuigoutou and attacking Pingdu, and accumulated battle merits and was promoted to the commander of the communication squad.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Wannian followed the troops into the northeast to fight, and served as the chief of the communications unit in the 36th Regiment of the 12th Division of the 4th Column. On October 10, 1948, the Tashan Blockade Battle began, and the 36th Regiment was ordered to defend the Baitaishan position, and the heavy responsibility of the whole regiment's communication support fell on Zhang Wannian. At that time, the enemy's firepower was very fierce, there were heavy artillery on the ground, warships on the sea, and aircraft in the air.
In the end, Zhang Wannian came up with a good idea, and he creatively divided the 16 telephone lines into three types: one is overhead line, one is to use hidden terrain to lay the ground, and the other is to bury deep underground. In the course of the ensuing intense battle, he used a combination of wired, wireless, cavalry, foot and signal communication to ensure the smoothness of command. During the battle, Zhang Wannian repeatedly braved the enemy's artillery bombardment to inspect the line, ensured the uninterrupted command of the regimental commander, and made important contributions to the victory of the Tashan Blockade Battle, and thus made a great contribution.
Later, Zhang Wannian followed the troops to participate in the Battles of Pingjin, hengbao and Guangxi, and his performance was very outstanding, and during the entire Liberation War, Zhang Wannian made great contributions 5 times. After the founding of new China, Zhang Wannian steadily promoted his position, and in April 1968, he was promoted to deputy director of the Operations Department of the Guangzhou Military Region, and soon after was ordered to go to Vietnam to learn the experience of the War to Resist US Aggression. Vietnam's mountains are densely forested, mosquitoes and poisonous snakes are rampant, and they can be attacked and injured at any time, and due to the bombing and blockade of the US military, the battlefield conditions are extremely difficult, not only lack of medical treatment, but also can not eat vegetables.
During the 9 months of suffering, Zhang Wannian not only observed the U.S. military up close but also learned about the Vietnamese army, and learned how to survive, march and fight in the great forests of Vietnam. In 1978, Zhang Wannian, who was already the commander of the 127th Division of the 43rd Army, was sent to study at the Platon Military Academy, and during the study period, Zhang Wannian suddenly received a secret order: he was asked to leave the school early and lead the 127th Division to the Guangxi front to prepare for war. After arriving at the Sino-Vietnamese border, in order to grasp the enemy's situation, Zhang Wannian repeatedly sent scouts to step on points and catch "tongues" and collected a large amount of first-hand information.
Know thyself and know the other, and never lose a battle. After knowing the enemy's feelings, Zhang Wannian decided to "kill the chicken with a bull's knife", concentrate superior forces to annihilate the enemy, smash the enemy with one punch, and not give them the opportunity to counterattack. On February 17, 1979, the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam officially began, and Zhang Wannian led the 127th Division from Aidian to Vietnam from Aidian in batches from Xiaolu. On the first day of the war, the Vietnamese army claimed to be able to hold out for half a year in the Area of Tsushima "beaten up" and annihilated 1 battalion of the enemy. The day after the start of the war, he once again captured the Longtou area and opened the gate to force LuPing.
The fierceness of the 127th Division's offensive and the speed of its progress not only greatly surprised the enemy, but even xu Shiyou, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, did not expect that he had to send a telegram to Zhang Wannian: "In view of the fact that the frontal troops are still fighting fiercely, in order to avoid scaring away the Vietnamese army, the 127th Division suspended the battle." Being ordered to suspend the battle by his superiors because he was advancing too quickly was the only one in this counterattack. Later, Zhang Wannian led his troops to capture LuPing, and together with his friendly troops, he laid down Lang Shan and attacked Hanoi.
During the retreat stage, the enemy sent troops to pursue, and Zhang Wannian had long expected that the enemy would have such a hand, and successively set up ambushes on the 390 heights, Bankeng and Banri, annihilating more than 470 enemy personnel. The enemy was completely frightened by Zhang Wannian and did not dare to pursue him again. On May 12, 1979, the People's Liberation Army Daily published a lengthy interview entitled "Killing Chickens with a Bull Knife -- Division Commander Zhang Wannian on the Issue of Concentrating Forces to Fight the War of Annihilation," which left a deep impression on Deng Xiaoping. Because of this, he personally ordered Zhang Wannian to succeed You Taizhong as commander of the Guangzhou Military Region in 1987. In 2015, General Zhang Wannian died of illness at the age of 87.