"During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Shandong had three generals, namely 'Liang Daya' Liang Xingchu; 'Zhang Crazy' Zhang Renchu; and 'Hair Monkey' He Dongsheng."
In the book "Commanding the Long Live the Army" written by General Zhang Wannian, the above three generals are specifically mentioned. Speaking of these three, many people know Liang Xingchu's Long Live Army and he Dongsheng, a strange man who has not been shot, but as for Zhang Renchu, the "Zhang Madman", they do not know much. Speaking of this "mad general", it is also quite legendary.
First, the bare-chested charge
Like most revolutionary fighters, Zhang Renchu's family was not well-off, and he worked in the landlord's house at a very young age.
Oppressed by the landlord for a long time, he had the idea of rebellion. In 1926, the local peasant association was established, and when he heard that it was for the poor peasants, he chose to join.
Since then, Zhang Renchu has embarked on the revolutionary road. During the period of the agrarian revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japan, with the courage to fight and the courage to fight and dare to rush, the comrades-in-arms gave him a nickname that did not seem to be very elegant, but was actually full of admiration and praise - "Zhang Crazy"!
As soon as "madman" is said, it is necessary to mention the battle of Lazikou.
By the time of the Red Army's Long March, he was already the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Red First Army, while the commander of the 4th Regiment was Huang Kaixiang and the political commissar was Yang Chengwu. Since then, he has begun his journey in the Red First Army. Soon, Zhang Renchu accepted the first task - to take down lazikou.
As the name suggests, the bridge in front of the warriors at Lazikou is the only "one road". Other than that, there are only cliffs left.
If you don't attack from the front, you can only climb up the cliffs from under the Lazi River.
This task is actually very difficult to complete.
With the natural danger of Lazikou, the enemy deployed crossfire around it, and it was difficult to break through as if ascending to the sky. When Zhang Renchu led the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion and Six Companies to begin the attack, the enemy stubbornly held the bridgehead position, frantically throwing grenades and machine guns at the bridgehead.
Under heavy fire, the soldiers of the 6th Company even had problems throwing grenades close to them. Unable to attack strongly, Zhang Renchu was very anxious. If they failed to capture Lazikou in two days, the pursuing soldiers behind them would catch up, but they were afraid that the large troops could only retreat to the grassland. Several times in a row, the strong attack still did not work.
The enemy on the other side even shouted, "Lazikou, you can't come!" ”
This provocative sentence made Zhang Renchu angry and anxious. How exactly can we break through the LaziKou? Under the heavy fire of the enemy, the possibility of a breakthrough from the front is minimal.
If the front can't pass, can it be detoured?
Long before the attack on Lazikou, the terrain here was clearly surveyed. Except for the wooden bridge on the front, there is almost no way to get around, unless the cornice goes through the wall! It is impossible to fly over, can you climb up the cliffs?
When Zhang Renchu proposed this idea, many fighters directly shook their heads. The cliffs around Lazikou are steep and smooth, and it is difficult to climb up to the sky.
Frontal assault is not enough, nor is it possible to detour, which makes him fierce: "No matter what method is used, even if the monkey can't climb up, we have to climb up!" ”
This sentence gave the commandos instant confidence.
For the sake of their comrades, for the sake of victory, the warriors climbed up the cliffs little by little. With the frontal cooperation of the other fighters, the roundabout commandos quickly broke through the enemy's fire network, and Zhang Renchu launched a charge forward with his comrades.
During the fierce battle, a grenade exploded in front of him. Even so, he still led the charge with his bare arms. This scene has been remembered by many soldiers.
As the commander of the 2nd Battalion, Zhang Renchu's fighting spirit infected many people. So much so that when Chairman Mao later received him, he could not help but praise:
"Lazikou fought a good battle, thank you!"
Second, Zhang Crazy
If it is said that the Battle of Lazikou made his reputation famous, then the Battle of Zhiluo Town completely sounded the nickname of "Zhang Crazy"! On October 20, 1935, Nationalist troops attacked the town of Zhiluo.
At that time, Zhang Renchu, who had just been promoted to deputy regimental commander of the Fourth Regiment of the Second Division of the Red First Army, assisted the regimental commander and political commissar in participating in the battle of Zhiluo Town. This battle was planned in advance, and part of the troops were used to lure the enemy to the town of Zhiluo and form a siege. It is normal for the enemy to resist.
Who knew that when the battle was scorched, seeing that the enemy's firepower point had not been captured for a long time, Zhang Renchu did not say a word and immediately rode into the battlefield on a warhorse.
With a roar, I saw him rampage all the way, the enemy was shocked by its momentum, the comrades were infected by it, and the fire point that had not been taken down for a long time was quickly destroyed.
In the past, the warriors had heard of Zhang Renchu's great name, but now they had to see the real person, and they were really the lords of "fighting without life". In order to praise him for seeing death as a homecoming in battle, many people gave him a nickname - Zhang Madman. Over time, the nickname "Zhang Crazy" was called out throughout the army.
But to really make the name of Shandong 'Zhang Crazy' resound throughout the land of China, it is necessary to talk about the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Zhang Renchu (right)
As mentioned earlier, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Shandong had three major generals, namely Liang Xingchu, He Dongsheng, and Zhang Renchu. To this day, when I go to Shandong to ask the old man who "Zhang Crazy" is, many people will say, "I know, Zhang Renchu!" And the reason why he has such a big reputation is all because of the momentum of fighting a war "don't die".
On the anti-Japanese battlefield, his reputation grew, and even the Japanese army knew that there was a "Zhang Madman" in the Eighth Route Army. At first, the enemy did not think so, until after the "Lufang Breakout Battle", the nickname of "Zhang Crazy" was completely sounded.
It was May 11, 1939, and the Japanese army dispatched a number of Japanese puppet troops to gather all kinds of heavy firepower to sweep the south bank of the Daru River.
The sweep was true, and the real purpose of the Japanese army was to annihilate the troops of the 115th Division.
At that time, the troops of the 115th Division and the 686th Regiment, a total of more than 3,000 people, had not yet been able to move. The enemy was menacing, and soon the troops were surrounded by the land house.
Lufang is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the east is still hilly, and once it is really surrounded by Japanese puppet troops, the consequences are unimaginable. At this critical moment, the task of defending the breakthrough fell on Zhang Renchu's 686 regiment. He immediately said: "As long as there is still one person in the 686 Regiment, the enemy will not want to take a step into the land house." ”
Although Zhang Renchu was full of confidence, he also knew that the enemy was prepared and must not be taken lightly. Back in the troops, he immediately carried out a pre-war mobilization and analyzed the current situation.
Zhang Renchu (second from left)
With more than 8,000 Japanese puppet troops coming and going, and with heavy fire support, this will be an unprecedented hard battle. Soon, the battle began.
Just as Zhang Renchu originally envisioned, the enemy, under the cover of heavy fire, launched a charge towards the land house from all sides. One charge after another, intending to completely disperse the 686 regiment guarding the mountain. Unexpectedly, the defense of the 686 Regiment was impregnable, and the Japanese puppet army that rushed up was suppressed with a counter-charge.
If you can't make one charge, you can't do it twice.
However, after several successive charges, the enemy was never able to clash with the 686 regimental defense line, which made the Japanese puppet army completely anxious. Nine consecutive chargebacks, when the battle was at its most intense, Zhang Renchu wielded a large knife and fought with his comrades-in-arms.
With his example, the struggle of the whole regiment became more and more high. In this way, the whole regiment fought until dusk, and finally completed the task assigned by the superior. Although it was said that the position was successfully defended and the enemy was repelled, it was inevitable that the long-term defense would be lost, and staying in the land house was not a long-term solution, and it was At night Zhang Renchu who suggested that the troops break through.
At this time, the enemy's strength has not yet completely shrunk, coupled with the enemy's cowardice at night, it is a good time to break through. Under the cover of the 686th Regiment, the 115th Division successfully broke through the blockade line. It was not until the next day that the enemy was ready to attack that it was empty.
After this battle, Zhang Renchu became completely famous.
Iii. Mad General
Naturally, to be able to grow from an ordinary soldier to a senior general of the People's Liberation Army, you can not only rely on a lonely courage, but also be able to fight and win battles.
In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, Zhang Renchu led the troops to make outstanding achievements. On 9 February 1949, he was appointed commander of the 26th Army. At first, the 26th Army was responsible for the security work in Shanghai, but as the Korean war was tight, it was urgently summoned into the DPRK, and as soon as it entered the DPRK, it caught up with the second battle.
From Shanghai to North Korea, all the way to the rush, there is no time to change cotton clothes, cotton pants, minus thirty degrees of environment, the soldiers can only huddle together to warm up.
Even if the conditions were difficult, Zhang Renchu still led the soldiers to complete the tasks assigned by their superiors. In the fifth campaign, the "United Nations Army" intended to rely on the fire support of aircraft and artillery to counterattack the Volunteer Army. At this time, Zhang Renchu was ordered to rush to the Tieyuan area and undertake the task of blocking the enemy.
Blocking battle is the best way of playing that Zhang Renchu is best at. During the Liberation War, there was such a saying in the East China battlefield:
"The aircraft cannons can't move, either three columns or eight columns."
And these eight verticals are exactly the team led by Zhang Renchu. Now on the Korean battlefield, he once again undertook the task of blocking the enemy army, which can be called "good steel used on the blade of the knife".
Only this time, the pressure of the 26th Army is not small, and the enemy in front of it includes the prestigious US 1st Cavalry Division, as well as the Canadian 27th Brigade, which is not small.
Soon, there was a skirmish between the two armies.
As in previous battles of the United Nations Army, this attack was suppressed by artillery fire and then launched a charge. Under the suppression of artillery fire, Zhang Renchu did not choose to confront the enemy hard, but first took the initiative to withdraw from the position, and then organized a counter-charge until the artillery fire had passed.
However, the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce, and in just two days, the structured fortifications were destroyed, and some positions were occupied by the enemy.
In addition to the suppression of firepower, there were also problems with logistical supplies. In the face of various unexpected situations, the "mad general" did not panic in the slightest, arranged defenses in an orderly manner, and issued a grass-roots level to encourage the soldiers to overcome difficulties.
When there is not enough food, non-combatants eat wild vegetables and try their best to save physical strength; the enemy's artillery is full of fire, so it will not be hard. In this way, under the condition of extreme disadvantage, Zhang Renchu still led the team to hold out in the Tieyuan, Jinhua, and Pingkang areas for ten months, and set a record of 5:2 casualties between the enemy and us.
Afterwards, many leaders commented that they once again used the saying that "the aircraft cannons cannot move, either three columns or eight columns", and it is good to exaggerate Renchu.
Relying on courage and strategy, Zhang Renchu was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1955. However, such a general who is famous for fighting wars, the marriage seems to have some "twists and turns".
Marriage
Since joining the revolution, Zhang Renchu has never thought about personal feelings. At the age of 30, I am still alone. Older leftover men, which were not common in the military at that time.
In particular, he can fight a good battle, and it is not difficult to find an object.
However, in all these years of fighting wars abroad, I never thought about this, and I was bent on driving out the invaders and liberating all of China, but my personal problems were delayed. Although he was not in a hurry, his comrades-in-arms were very anxious.
The battle must be fought, and the marriage must also be taken care of. As the saying goes, "There are three filial pieties, and no queen is greater." "Therefore, many people have always been worried about this matter and want to find a good match for him." Picking and choosing, I took a fancy to Liu Hao. Liu Hao did not participate in the revolution for a long time, but he made a lot of contributions, and he still had culture.
She worked seriously and acted very competently, winning the favor of many gay men. Before that, there were also many people who came to the door to say kisses, and every time she refused others on the grounds of "young and did not want to talk about marriage too early". This time, too, Liu Hao did not loosen up because he was Zhang Renchu.
Although the people who came to explain that this was the opinion of the organization and the leaders, and also said that Zhang Renchu's past achievements were praised as a big hero, Liu Hao still couldn't figure it out.
I thought that this matter was so yellow, but after I didn't think about it, there was a turnaround.
At a report meeting, Liu Hao met Zhang Renchu. Looking at the leader who spoke vividly and interestingly on the stage and the leader of the dao, she couldn't help but ask the people around her for the leader's name, and when she asked, she knew that this was Zhang Renchu.
In the past, I just heard about it, but now I have to see real people, and I feel naturally different. Since then, she has no longer resisted the marriage arranged by the organization, and Zhang Renchu is also very satisfied with Liu Hao. Soon, the two were married.
After getting married, Liu Hao not only became Zhang Renchu's inner assistant, but also taught him to read and write. As mentioned earlier, Zhang Renchu grew up in a poor family and did not go to school for a few days. With the help of his wife, his cultural level gradually improved. The "Zhang Madman", who only knew the charge in the past, gradually grew into a qualified military general with the care and help of the organization and his wife.
It was only years of fighting, and he had accumulated a lot of old wounds on his body. In the brain alone, I have suffered several injuries. Now that we are liberated, it is time to condition and condition.
Zhang Renchu, who was eager to study, was not willing to idle down. The organization took a compromise method, which not only allowed him to learn, but also forced him to recuperate. After a long period of recuperation, he threw himself into the tense new China construction movement.
This "crazy general" is a good hand in fighting, and it is not too much to build a new China. In promoting the development of the military region's troops and logistics work, he has made a good and successful effort. But a long period of high-intensity work still crushed his body.
On November 4, 1969, Zhang Renchu died of illness at the age of 60.