In October 1948, the 50,000-strong flying troops of the Fourth Column of the Northeast Field Army flew into Tashan, and one of the most classic battles in the Liberation War, the "Tashan Blockade Battle", began.
What is less well known is that just before the start of this great war, Hu Qicai, deputy commander of the Fourth Column (Huang'an, Hubei, who became a founding lieutenant general in 1955) found a flaw that made him break out in a cold sweat...
In fact, "Tashan" has neither mountains nor towers, just a small dirt bag with an altitude of 59 meters, but this seemingly inconspicuous small dirt bag is actually the gateway to Jinzhou.
Why? Because Tower Hill's geographical location is extremely important. Once this place is lost, Old Chiang Kai-shek's eastward marching corps will be able to reach Jinzhou in half a day, and Liao Yaoxiang's westward marching corps can also directly attack Jinzhou from Shenyang, forming a two-sided pincer attack and an internal and external attack, and our army will be extremely passive.
That is to say, the key to the success or failure of the Liaoshen Campaign lies in whether the four columns can hold Tashan.
The 12th Division of the Fourth Column took the lead in garrisoning Tashan, and the division sent the main force of the 34th Regiment to hold the first-line positions such as Tashan and Tayushan Island, the 36th Regiment to hold the No. 7 position of Baitai Mountain, the 31st and 32nd Regiments as reserves, and the 33rd Regiment to guard the junction between Tashan Fort and Baitai Mountain.
Judging from the map, it is reasonable to deploy the defensive line in this way, and guarding the mountains, bridges, and islands are all in line with the rules of war, which can be described as decent. However, Hu Qicai always felt that he could not relax his mind until the on-site investigation, so he personally took several commanders to the front of Tashan.
It was in the process that Hu Qicai developed a deep doubt.
When he learned that it was a company of the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division guarding the Tower Hill Fort, and that only one platoon of the regiment's guard company was guarding Yushan Island, he couldn't help but blurt out: "Is it really enough to put this little force?" ”
However, at this moment, their whereabouts were discovered by the enemy not far from Tashan, and a group of B-29 bombers were summoned to bomb, almost wiping out Hu Qicai and other column commanders.
The 12th Division's Yangtze River Xieyuan (Jiangxi Yongxin, Founding Major General) was so anxious that he blushed and had a thick neck, saying that he would not let them come during the day.
However, at dawn the next day, Hu Qicai took the column chief of staff Li Fuze (a native of Changyi, Shandong, a founding major general) straight to Tashan and observed the terrain again.
Hu Qicai said to himself through the telescope, "This place is really too difficult to defend!" ”
He looked left and right, forward and back, and the more he looked, the more he felt that his back was cold and his scalp was hard.
He always felt that the village of Tashan Fort in front of Tashan was too important, and from the perspective of the entire defense system, it was even more important than Tashan behind the village, and it was the top priority of the entire defense war!
Once the battle began, Lao Jiang would stare at the development of the war around Tashan, and then his 11 well-equipped main divisions would flock to Tashan desperately, and they would never collect troops without killing a river of blood.
If our army only guards Tashan and ignores Tashan Fort, the consequences are likely to be unimaginable!
Because once the barrier of Tashan Fort is lost, it may be difficult to take back a battalion of men and horses! In this case, the enemy can rely on the Tower Hill Fort and cross the river with all his might to compete with our army for Tower Hill.
What's more, even if the enemy can't take Tashan, he can completely bypass the mountain along the road and directly attack Jinzhou.
In this way, Tashan Fort is the real door latch in the entire defensive battle, and it is no exaggeration to say that if the door latch is lost, all sides will be broken!
Hu Qicai suddenly remembered the set of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that Luo Shuai gave him--guarding the mountains and not the villages, there are roads that do not tie the village, who has made this mistake? This is the biggest failure of ma Mo's life when he lost the street kiosk!
Hu Qicai thought of this, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, he hurriedly called Li Fuze: "There is a huge flaw in the defensive line, we almost became a horse!" ”
After listening to his statement, Li Fuze was also surprised: "What then?" ”
"It must be rearranged and troops transferred into the village!" Hu Qicai's voice did not fall, and suddenly he saw a flash of red light on the opposite side of the Drinking Horse River, and a row of shells flew in unison.
After a loud bang, smoke and dust covered everything here.
The 12th Division Division's Jiang Xieyuan and political commissar Pan Shoucai (a native of Xinxian County, Henan, the founding major general) shouted and ran over. They led the warriors, one by one, with their eyes wide open and sweating all over their bodies, searched for half an hour before pulling Hu Qicai and Li Fuze out of the thick dust.
Hu Qicai did not care to shake off the dust all over his body, so he eagerly said to Jiang Xieyuan: "You have come just in time, the troops must be readjusted, and you must defend the place of Tashan Fort." ”
Jiang Xieyuan said, "Didn't Tashan Fort already arrange a company?" ”
"8000 meters of defense, Tashan Fort is the core! If a company can't stand up, at least put into a battalion! Hu Qicai then put his own considerations and thoughts out.
Jiang Xieyuan and Pan Shou saw that he had made up his mind, hurriedly studied the map, and then ordered that the 1st Battalion of the 34th Regiment be transferred into Tashan Fort, and would not retreat until the light was exhausted.
When the great battle was imminent, Hu Qicai temporarily transferred troops, which immediately alarmed Wu Kehua (a founding lieutenant general), commander of the fourth column, and Cheng Zihua, commander of the Second Corps of the Northeast Military Region, and Lin Shuai.
It turned out that it was fortunate that Hu Qi found this flaw before the start of the great war, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. The 1st Battalion of the 34th Regiment became a crucial force in the Battle of Tashan to hold the entire defensive line.
After this thrilling battle, Lin Shuai made a special phone call to affirm the role of Hu Qicai's troop transfer this time: "This battalion of Tashan Fort is like a nail, and it is all right!" ”