In the world-famous Battle of Shangganling, the 15th Army emerged a number of combat heroes, such as Huang Jiguang, a special hero who sacrificed himself to block the gun hole; such as Sun Zhanyuan, a first-class hero who insisted on commanding the battle after his legs were broken, and finally died with the enemy.
According to post-war statistics, in the Battle of Shangganling, there were 12,347 combat heroes at all levels who were awarded the third class or above in the 15th Army, and Zhang Jifa, commander of the 7th Company of the 135th Regiment of the 45th Division, was one of them. Zhang Jifa is a native of Zanhuang County, Hebei Province, born in 1926, his parents made a living from farming, and his life was very difficult. Later, the Japanese army invaded Hebei again, burning and looting everywhere, and the people's lives were even more bitter.
Zhang Jifa, a heroic company commander in the Battle of Shangganling
Witnessing the various atrocities of the Japanese army, Zhang Ji was furious, and he was determined to join the Eighth Route Army and go to the battlefield to fight the devils, but because he was too young, he failed to achieve his wish. In 1942, at the age of 16, Zhang Jifa joined the Anti-Japanese Vanguard, delivering intelligence to the Eighth Route Army and rescuing the wounded and sick.
Three years later, Zhang Jifa officially became a soldier of the Eighth Route Army and followed the troops to participate in the great counteroffensive against the Japanese army. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Jifa participated in the Liberation War and was promoted to platoon leader after accumulating military merits. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Zhang Jifa followed the 15th Army across the Yalu River and entered the Korean War.
On October 14, 1952, the world-famous Battle of Shangganling began, by which time Zhang Jifa had been promoted to company commander of the 7th Company of the 135th Regiment of the 45th Division. After the battle began, the U.S. army relied on its strong firepower superiority to continuously attack and occupied the surface position of Shangganling after the 6th day of the battle.
After Cui Jiangong learned of the news of the loss of the surface position, he decided to organize a counterattack while the enemy's foothold was unstable. After the night attack began, the charge of the 4th and 6th companies of the 135th Regiment was blocked, and the regimental commander ordered Zhang Jifa to lead 7 companies to reinforce.
"In that battle, it was not only weapons, but also courage. The assault platoon against the rain of bullets and bullets rushed 3 times in a row before occupying the position" Zhang Jifa was very impressed by this battle. After dawn, the enemy, under the cover of aircraft artillery, launched several rounds of counterattacks against the positions of the 7th Company.
Zhang Jifa led his comrades-in-arms and the enemy to carry out a bloody battle, and repelled the enemy's charge more than a dozen times in succession, but he also paid a great price, leaving only eight people in the 136 people in the company, and had to retreat into the tunnel to hold on. The most arduous tunnel defense battle of the Battle of Shangganling thus began.
After the 45th Division retreated into the tunnel, it did not blindly take a passive beating, but used the cover of night to continuously send out small forces to carry out night attacks on the enemy, making the enemy restless day and night, and his spirit was highly tense. In order to force our tunnel troops to submit, the US military used intensive artillery fire to block our army's supply line in a vain attempt to trap our tunnel troops.
Under the enemy's tight seal, the water in the tunnel was quickly used up, and the soldiers were so thirsty that they could not swallow the biscuits and steamed buns. In order to solve the difficulty of water shortage of the tunnel troops, Qin Jiwei asked the logistics department of the 15th Army to urgently purchase more than 63,000 kilograms of apples to send to the tunnels, and stipulated that if a basket of apples were sent in, the second-class merit would be recorded.
However, due to the enemy's artillery fire, only one apple was eventually sent into the tunnel. Zhang Jifa later recalled that he had not drunk a mouthful of water for many days in a row, and his throat had long been as dry as smoke and fire, not to mention this one apple, even ten eight could be eaten in one breath.
But Zhang Jifa himself did not eat, but handed the apple to the walker, who was reluctant to eat it, and handed the apple to the seriously injured. As a result, the apple turned around in the tunnel and returned to Zhang Jifa's hands intact.
Zhang Ji saw that this was not the way to go, so he took the lead in taking a small bite, and the apple was turned twice in the hands of eight people before eating. Relying on his tenacious will and the spirit of unity and fraternity, Zhang Jifa and his comrades-in-arms passed through the most difficult stage of tunnel defense, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent counterattack. After the battle of Shangganling, the 7 companies were recorded as a collective first class.
After returning from North Korea, Zhang Jifa was arranged by his superiors to study at a military academy, but just before graduation, he suffered from a serious liver disease, and doctors asserted that he could live for up to 5 years. In this case, Zhang Jifa took the initiative to submit a job transfer application to his superiors, saying: "If I can't contribute, then I will resolutely not be burdened." ”
Taking into account Zhang Jifa's physical condition, his superiors arranged for him to enter the Xinyang Military Sub-district Dry Rest House for recuperation. After that, Zhang Jifa fought tenaciously with the disease, and his body improved day by day, and finally fully recovered, and the doctor called him a miracle.
After returning to China, Zhang Jifa was invited to make a report on the heroic deeds of Shangganling many times, and he only talked about his comrades-in-arms and not himself every time. "Let more people remember our sacrificed comrades-in-arms and the great spirit of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, which is the only contribution I can make after I leave the army." Zhang Jifa's simple language is more touching than those flowery words.
After the movie was released in Ganling, Zhang Jifa was invited to watch many times, but every time he left the scene with tears, those sacrificed comrades-in-arms, one by one, he really could not control his feelings. Family members recalled that as long as they ate a good meal, especially drank good wine, Zhang Jifa would always think of his comrades who sacrificed, and then he was silent and tearful.
As a heroic company commander in the Battle of Shangganling, Zhang Jifa received a lot of praise after returning to China, to which he responded: "After returning from the Korean battlefield, I received many honors for those comrades who sacrificed, especially the people who called us the most lovely. I often wonder, what is the cutest person? Those who stand up in times of need for the motherland and the people are the loveliest people. The army of our country and the people is the least lacking in such people. ”