In October 1946, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized as many as 8 divisions and a total of 100,000 troops, commanded by the famous general Du Yuming, and launched a large-scale invasion of southern Manchuria in a vain attempt to annihilate the third and fourth columns of our Northeast Allied Army.
Due to the needs of the enemy situation, the four columns had to fight on multiple fronts, and the troops showed a relatively scattered state, a total of about 10,000 people, but they were forced to be divided into four roads, two of which were stationed in Saimaji and Maotianling, one was led by Han Xianchu to support the three columns, and the other was responsible for attacking small towns, led by commander Hu Qicai.
Fighting a war emphasizes the concentration of superior troops, and there is bound to be no small risk in so many divisions of troops.
The development of the war really verified this point: the 30th Division and the 12th Division were defeated one after another under the condition that the enemy was outnumbered, and Hu Qicai's men and horses had to withdraw from the battlefield.
An even worse situation is yet to come, the four columns and the head organs of the Liaodong Military Region are besieged on all sides by tens of thousands of Chiang Kai-shek's troops, and the situation is extremely critical!
Just at this moment, Hu Qicai received a telegram from the headquarters of the Liaodong Military Region, asking him to send a unit to the mouth of the Caohe River to block the enemy and cover the transfer of the military region's organs.
This order put Hu Qicai in an extremely difficult situation.
In order to truly block the enemy at the mouth of the Caohe River and allow the organs of the military region to move safely, it is necessary to send a main force.
However, if the crisis in the organs of the military region is lifted, what about the four columns, which are already in an unfavorable situation?
In the case of a situation where the strength of the enemy and us is about 10 to 1, it is very likely that a result will occur: In the face of the enemy's large-scale pressing and heavy siege, the four columns can only retreat step by step and divide the encirclement until they are defeated and exhausted.
If the four columns are exhausted, a large part of the pressure on the entire military region will be borne by the three columns, and if the three columns cannot withstand it in the end, where will the organs of the military region go?
Through a calm analysis of the enemy's situation and our own situation, Hu Qicai believed that the most desirable way at present was to put the only remaining part of the main force in his hands on the front line of the horse race and stubbornly resist the twenty-fifth division, the most invincible of the enemy army.
In doing so, on the one hand, we can buy enough time for the organs of the military region to transfer, and on the other hand, we can have enough room for maneuver, so that the four columns can concentrate their forces to deal with the enemy, so as not to commit the taboo of dividing troops again.
Only by doing so can we truly take into account the organs of the military region and the four verticals, and can we truly take into account the current predicament and the problems we will face in the future.
However, the fighter planes are fleeting, and the time is extremely urgent, not to mention whether the military region can finally accept this plan, even if it can accept it, it will take a lot of time to explain the reasons for this, not to mention that the organs of the military region are already in a state of transfer, and they cannot be contacted for a while.
If the four columns are allowed to act without asking for instructions, it means that they have disobeyed military orders and must be punished by their superiors.
However, Hu Qi knew that in such a complicated and delicate situation, as a commander of the all-column, he must have the courage to make decisions and dare to take responsibility, and he must not hesitate and miss the opportunity!
Can't delay any longer, or both ends will fall short! Hu Qicai decided to "make up his own mind": ignoring the order to divide the troops at the mouth of the Grass River, he led the existing men and horses at hand to immediately rush to the watershed north of the horse racing set, where to block the enemy!
At that time, Peng Jiaqing, political commissar of the Fourth Column, Han Xianchu, deputy commander, Ouyang Wen, deputy political commissar, and Li Fuze, chief of staff, were not around, and Hu Qicai could only tell li Bingling, political commissar of the Eleventh Division, and several other division-level cadres of his thoughts.
Li Bingling supported Hu Qicai's plan, but he also pinched a handful of sweat: not to go to the mouth of the Grass River, to change the action on his own initiative, that is to disobey the military order!
Hu Qicai said emphatically: "This battle has to be fought, it is imperative!" Something happened, I old Hu carried it alone! ”
Having made up his mind, he could not look ahead and look ahead, so Hu Qi immediately made a combat deployment:
The Thirty-first Regiment of the Eleventh Division quickly advanced to the watershed and set up positions to block the enemy's Twenty-fifth Division; the Thirty-fifth Regiment of the Twelfth Division marched eastward while fighting, while covering the transfer of the organs of the military region, and gathered up the troops that had been scattered.
That is to say, the fourth column must sweep away the decline caused by the previous division of troops, change the "five fingers" into an "iron fist", and seek an opportunity to annihilate a main regiment or even a main division of the enemy army!
After deploying for battle, Hu Qicai finally contacted Peng Jiaqing and told him his thoughts without reservation.
Finally, Hu Qicai said on the phone: "Commissar, I know very well what I mean and what the consequences I have to bear. But the determination is set, the order is out, I can't take care of so much! ”
Peng Jiaqing did not rush to answer, but was silent for a moment before calmly saying: "Just as the so-called 'will be outside, the military orders are not subject', I fully support the commander's idea, if there is something that you do not want to carry alone, we will bear it together." ”
Interestingly, shortly after they finished making this call, Hu Qicai received a telegram from the Eastern General Headquarters, asking the four columns to concentrate superior forces to fight a mobile war and seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy.
What does this mean? It shows that the thinking of the commander of the Eastern General and Hu Qicai that "cannot divide the troops" coincide!
Since he had this "Shang Fang Sword", Hu Qicai no longer had the concern of disobeying military orders and led his troops to attack decisively!
The progress of the war almost completely coincided with Hu Qicai's plan.
From 21 to 23 October, the Thirty-first Regiment of the Eleventh Division confronted the enemy head-on at the watershed and joined forces with the main forces of the Eleventh and Twelfth Divisions.
After that, the four columns continued to expand their achievements and adopted the tactic of fighting while walking, luring the enemy to the Xinkailing area.
Deputy Commander Han Xianchu led the Tenth Division, which had originally cooperated with the three columns, to arrive in time, and the fourth column was able to restore its complete formation.
From October 31 to November 2, the Fourth Column army completely annihilated more than 8,000 people of the enemy's 25th Division, known as the "Thousand Mile Colt" (including more than 4,000 people including li zhengyi, the commander of the enemy major general's division, who captured the enemy).
This was the "Great Victory of Xinkailing" in the history of the Battle of Biao Bing, and it was the first time that the Northeast Allied Forces annihilated an entire division of the enemy army in a systematic manner in the northeast.
When the good news reached the East General Headquarters, the second political commissar at the time, Luo (Rong Huan), sighed: "Hu Qicai, true wizards also!" ”
Many military history researchers believe that han Xianchu certainly contributed to this battle, but Hu Qicai's decision-making was the most crucial. It can be said that this great victory in the history of the war was bought by him "lifting his head".