In the history of our army, Hu Qi was a legendary general, who was once known as the "four wild fierce Zhang Fei" and commanded the fourth column of the Northeast Field Army to completely annihilate an integrated division of the enemy in the famous Xinkailing Campaign, thus creating a precedent in the history of our army.
What is less known is that the four columns were able to win a great victory in the Battle of Xinkailing, which had a major relationship with Hu Qicai's "disobedience and disobedience" before the war. If he had not made the correct decision with the courage of "the sky falling down and I stood up" at the critical moment of the army, the four columns would probably have suffered heavy losses, and the victory of the new Kailing would have been impossible to talk about.
It was in October 1946 that Du Yuming personally commanded 8 divisions totaling 100,000 troops to sweep through southern Manchuria in an attempt to wipe out the three or four main columns of our army in southern Manchuria and then annex the entire northeast.
As soon as the battle curtain opened and the two sides formally engaged in a battle, our army was suddenly in an unfavorable state, especially the four columns were in danger due to the dispersion of troops, and they were almost scattered by Du Yuming one by one and swallowed one by one.
Since its reorganization in February 1946, the four columns have commanded a total of 3 divisions, 1 guard regiment, 1 artillery regiment, and about 10,000 troops.
In this battle with Du Yuming, this ten thousand horses were divided into four routes: one way to cooperate with three columns, one to deploy the Sky Ridge, one way to garrison the horse racing set, and one to hu Qicai personally commanded to attack the small town.
In this way, a main column was dismantled within 100 square kilometers. Experienced soldiers know that it is a very dangerous thing to guard the pass separately and suffer from enemies on all sides.
On October 19, worrying things did follow--first the 10th Division defeated Yongling, then Hu Qicai withdrew from the small town, and finally the 12th Division lost the Sky Ridge and Oxhoe Cliffs.
Immediately afterward, tens of thousands of enemy troops with the 25th Division as the core came from all directions with great ferocity, wanting to put the fourth column and the Liaodong Military Region plane to death, and the situation was 100,000 fierce!
Commander of the Liaodong Military Region sent a telegram to Hu Qicai to quickly send the most elite team to the mouth of the Caohe River to organize the first line of defense to ensure that the organs of the military region could be safely transferred.
Going to the grass estuary? Is it to go to the grass estuary, or to the horse racing set? Hu Qi, who was holding the telegram, was embarrassed.
He knew that there was a problem with this order of the military district, and the problem was that only the organs were taken into account, and not the four verticals.
Placing a main force at the mouth of the Caohe River can indeed ensure the transfer of organs, but what about the four verticals? He was bound to retreat step by step, dividing point by point, and finally being forced by Du Yuming to the corner of Fengcheng, fighting a decisive battle with multiple enemy troops alone.
The strength of the two sides was one to ten, and they were either slaughtered and killed, or defeated and killed, and there was no choice. How long can the three columns hold out, and where can the organs of the military region still run? The consequences are unimaginable!
The only correct approach is to place the only main force at hand in the horse race set, resist the most arrogant enemy 25th Division, and win time, not only to cover the transfer of organs, but also to cover the concentration of forces in the four columns, to change the five fingers into an iron fist, and to seek opportunities to attack the enemy.
In Hu Qicai's mind, this is the most accurate plan, and in carrying out this plan, the troops will be saved, the organs will be saved, and the entire war situation will also turn around. But in doing so, the drawbacks are also obvious, that is, disobeying orders is bound to be punished with the most severe punishment.
Hu Qicai knew this better than anyone, but he made a decision more resolutely than anyone: not to go to the mouth of the Grass River, but to go to the watershed north of the Horse Racing Set, and seize the position to block the enemy 25th Division!
At that time, peng Jiaqing, political commissar of the column, was holding a meeting in the military region, deputy commander Han Xianchu led the 10th Division to cooperate with the three-column operation, and deputy political commissar Ouyang Wen and chief of staff Li Fuze were guarding their homes at Tongyuan Fort. Hu Qicai can only take on this responsibility alone, and if he wants to kill the head, he will kill him alone!
"Commander." Li Bingling, political commissar of the 11th Division, spoke, "Going to the mouth of the Grass River is an order from a superior, how can I not carry it out?" ”
"Will be outside, and the king's fate will not be affected!" Hu Qicai gritted his teeth, "Just do it, the sky is falling down and I am on top!" ”
He categorically ordered: the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division seized the watershed to resist the offensive of the 25th Division; the 35th Regiment of the 12th Division fought while walking, covering the organs of the military region and the 11th and 12th Divisions of the Fourth Column.
Hu Qicai's idea was: the whole column went backwards to the east, slowly moving closer to the third column. While fighting and retreating, in the retreat, we must gather the 11th and 12th divisions, look for fighters, and be sure to find a strong enemy main force or main division that dares to take the risk and lure them to annihilate them.
On the night of October 20, the army began to move according to Hu Qicai's deployment. At the same time, Hu Qicai called Peng Jiaqing, a political commissar far away in Andong, told him about the entire decision-making process, and asked him for advice.
In the leadership of the four verticals, Peng Jiaqing is the oldest, usually silent, sharp-eyed, sharp, accurate, and always says one or two of the most critical words at the most critical moments, expressing support or opposition.
For the mighty and fierce Hu Qicai, this political commissar is equivalent to a calm and serious brother, so Hu Qicai respects him, trusts him, and always communicates with him first whenever there is something that cannot be decided.
"Commissar," Hu Qicai said at last, "I can't take care of so much when the order is issued." ”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time, before Peng Jiaqing's calm and firm voice came: "Commander, I support you. ”
As soon as Hu and Peng finished talking on the phone, Second Marshal Lin and Luo sent a telegram, and the instructions in the telegram coincided with Hu Qicai's thoughts: "The enemy is attacking southern Manchuria by separate routes, and you must concentrate your superior forces, find an opportunity by means of mobile warfare, and annihilate the enemy's living forces." ”
On October 23, under the bloody blockade of the 31st and 35th Regiments, the main forces of the 11th and 12th Divisions of the Fourth Column were finally concentrated.
At dusk on this day, the troops ate their first full meal on a hill called Xinkailing. Hu Qicai looked at the soldiers in front of him, and his eyes were red.
For two days and two nights, it was not easy to gather the main forces of two divisions distributed within an area of 100 square kilometers!
This was bought with the determination of decision-makers, the blood of the blocking forces, and the will of the marchers. It can also be said that under the desperate situation of the enemy's siege of thousands of weights, Hu Qicai earned it with his head.
A few days later, Hu Qicai led the four columns to annihilate more than 8,000 people of the enemy's 25th Division in the Battle of Xinkailing, and achieved a great victory in the history of the army.