The art of war: "Know thyself and know the other, never lose a hundred battles", but in actual combat, there are often various variables, and the most troublesome thing is that after the battle starts, it is found that the intelligence is wrong, and the enemy's strength far exceeds the pre-war forecast. In this situation, how to fight the battle is undoubtedly a major test for the commander.
The night raid on the town in the history of the Red Army is such a typical example.
On the evening of August 13, 1935, when the 82nd Division of the 28th Red Army marched to the territory of Huoshan County, Anhui Province, the political commissar Fang Yongle suddenly issued a password to the rear: the troops should rest on the side, and the cadres above the battalion level should go to the front for a meeting.
When Lin Weixian, the commander of the second battalion (who became a founding lieutenant general in 1955), came over, he asked, "Commissar Fang, what meeting?" ”
Fang Yongle saw that everyone had arrived and said calmly: "A battalion of the 390th Regiment of the enemy's 195th Brigade was stationed at Hualiang pavilion by Liu Boxuan in an attempt to block our way. I called everyone to study it together, what should I do? Do you want to knock it off? ”
Everyone squatted on the side of the road, and no one squeaked. This was the first time to attack the enemy who was entrenched in the stronghold, and everyone did not have much bottom in their hearts.
Fang Yongle said: "The enemy defenders have only one battalion, we are four battalions, plus the pistol regiment, the strength of the absolute superiority, as long as we use the night to surprise and attack them, it is certain to destroy the enemy." In addition, if the flower pavilion can mobilize the enemy of the Buddhas' temples and streams, we may take the opportunity to cross the enemy's blockade line and get rid of this situation of being chased and blocked everywhere. ”
"Commissar, just say how to fight." Someone said it bluntly.
"Have you ever stabbed a honeycomb?" Sneak over and stab it off with a stick. Fang Yongle made a gesture.
"You mean a combination of sneak attack and assault?"
"Yes! It's just that the action should be crisp and clean, otherwise, the wasp will stab people. ”
Fang Yongle ordered: the first battalion and the pistol regiment were responsible for the frontal attack; the second battalion captured the hill west of the main road, and after winning the battle, it cooperated with the first battalion to attack on the side; and the third battalion was a reserve. All the soldiers wrapped a white towel around their arms so that they could distinguish between enemy and enemy in the darkness.
Hua Pavilion is an important market town between Huoshan and Yingshan. In order to strengthen the garrison, the Kuomintang garrison cut down the trees outside the town into a protective area, and the fallen trees were piled up into a "wooden city wall" tens of meters wide. To get close to the town, you must pass through this "wooden wall".
The simplest way is to burn it, but fire can burn the "wooden wall", but it can't burn the enemy, let alone the fortifications on the mountain, but it is equivalent to sending a message to the enemy. Not only can it not be burned, but it cannot be cut, and when Ding Zero cuts it, can the enemies in the town not hear it?
Lin Weixian led the second battalion of fighters to the "wooden city wall", and their task was to quietly occupy the hill on the edge of the town and knock out the enemy's fire point. Time is not waiting for anyone, only everyone moves and moves a passage.
By the time the soldiers of the whole battalion passed through the "wooden city wall", one by one, they were already covered in skin and blood, and their clothes were torn like pieces of rags.
Everyone immediately scattered and touched the mountain.
By this time, a battalion and a regiment of pistols had already joined the enemy, and for a time the flames were soaring into the sky and the guns were firing in unison.
Eight or nine long tongues of fire spat out from the top of the mountain. Lin Weixian was secretly happy in his heart: I was worried that I couldn't find your strongest fire point, and the original machine gun position was here!
At that time, the enemy on the hill had not yet found the second battalion that had touched the nose, and was concentrating its strength on blocking the first battalion and the pistol regiment that attacked from the front facing the market town of Hualiangting.
"Six companies give me up and take down the machine gun position with grenades!" Lin Wei gave the order to attack first.
As a result, the "rumbling" sound on the top of the mountain was continuous, the smoke billowed out, and the machine gun was muted.
Li Shiyan, commander of the Sixth Company, picked up a large knife and led the whole company into the smoke of gunfire, slashing and slashing and killing. Although the machine guns were dumb, the enemy was more than estimated, and it seemed to be more and more, and it seemed that six companies were surrounded at the core.
Lin Weixian suddenly realized that the intelligence was wrong--the defenders of the Flower Pavilion were definitely more than one battalion!
But at this time, he couldn't take care of so much, and Lin Weixian gave a categorical order: Never back down and continue to attack! While directing the six companies to kill from the inside out, he blew the trumpet and ordered the four and five companies on both sides to quickly kill the top of the mountain and rescue the six companies.
When explaining the task, he repeatedly emphasized a sentence: "We must take down this mountain!" ”
In the moonlight, the cold knife flashed, flesh and blood splashed, corpses were strewn all over the ground, all the soldiers of the second battalion were strangled together with the enemy, and the white towel on the arm became the only mark that distinguished the enemy from us, and the large knife showed its might.
After several back-and-forth tugs, the second battalion occupied the hill.
On the main position down the hill, a battalion and a pistol regiment were braving a deadly attack, but several charges were suppressed by the enemy.
Lin Weixian immediately reorganized his forces and prepared to attack the Hualiangting market town from the flank.
At this time, Fang Yongle ordered the trumpeter to blow the retreating trumpet. According to the investigation, the enemy in Hualiangting Market Town is far more than one battalion, but yesterday a new regiment was added, totaling four battalions of troops.
In this battle, more than 200 enemy people were annihilated, more than 100 enemy were captured, more than 200 rifles were captured, 7 light and heavy machine guns, and 1 mortar were captured.
Many years later, Lin Weixian, who was already a founding lieutenant general, made an appraisal: Although the scale of the night attack on Hualiangting Market Town was not very large, and after the battle began, it was suddenly found that the intelligence was wrong, but all the soldiers were not alarmed, fought extremely heroically and resolutely, and was a very beautiful night offensive attack, which gave the enemy a blow to the "cleansing and suppression," greatly boosted the morale of the Red Army troops, and was of great significance in the history of the Red Twenty-Eighth Army.