preface
On August 27, 1971, Chairman Mao arrived in Changsha, Hunan Province, by special train. At 9 p.m. on the 28th, Chairman Mao received Ding Sheng, commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, Wei Guoqing, first political commissar, and Liu Xingyuan, second political commissar, who were already waiting in Changsha.
As soon as they met, Chairman Mao started talking to everyone about their daily routines. He asked Wei Guoqing, "Wei Baqun and you are both surnamed Wei, are you a family?" ”
Figure | Chairman Mao and Wei Guoqing (first from left)
Wei Guoqing replied:
"It's outside of five servings, not within five servings." Wei Baqun studied at the Guangdong Peasant Movement Training Institute and received the chairman's education. He returned to Guangxi to carry out mass work and brought back a few books, and set up a peasant movement training center in Donglan County. ”
Chairman Mao said:
"Can't say what he learned from me. Nominally, I am Sir, he is a student, in fact, he is Sir, I am a student. Guangxi things, he knows more than I know. Unfortunately, this comrade has been sacrificed, and I miss him very much. ”
Then, Chairman Mao turned the topic to the Yan'an rectification. At this time, Ding Sheng reported to Chairman Mao: "I have written two books in Yan'an Rectification School, which has helped me a lot, and later participated in the Seventh National Congress. ”
Figure | Ding Sheng
Chairman Mao said as he listened: "You have participated in the Seventh National Congress, which is remarkable!" Did you (referring to Liu Xingyuan, Wei Guoqing and Wang Dongxing) participate? ”
Wang Dongxing replied, "I participated." I am an alternate representative of the Seventh Congress. ”
At the end of the conversation, Ding Sheng then reported on his combat experience. When he spoke of hitting Jinzhou, Chairman Mao interjected. The chairman affirmed Ding Sheng's practice of replenishing prisoners to the troops. Chairman Mao said: "Prisoners are also working people!" We have always had this policy! ”
Speaking of 'fighting', Ding Sheng talked endlessly...
Chairman Mao called Ding Sheng "Ding Bold"
After the Battle of Pingjin, Ding Sheng led the 135th Division to rest near Tianjin for two months, and then was ordered to accompany the 4th Field Army south to participate in the pursuit.
According to military history:
The predecessor of the 135th Division was the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division of the 1st Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, which was formed in Sanwan Village, Yongxin County, Jiangxi Province in September 1927.
When Ding Sheng received the task of fighting in the south, he immediately held a mobilization meeting. At the meeting, he said: "We must be prepared to fight hard and vicious battles at any time!" Because we are sharp knife masters, we can't shame the heroic People's Liberation Army! In particular, it should be mentioned that the "Eighteen Warriors" of the Red Army period and the "Five Heroes of Wolf's Tooth Mountain" during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression all came from this unit.
In October 1949, the 4th and 2nd Field Armies of the People's Liberation Army, which were moving south, formed a three-way army of "west, middle and east", and surrounded more than 200,000 people of the Kuomintang army Bai Chongxi Group in a "big pincer shape".
Bai Chongxi has always been a fighter of wisdom and strength, known as "Little Zhuge Ge". What Bai Chongxi thought was that the PLA's big detour plan, although it could cut off the Gui army's retreat, also dispersed its own troops, after all, the gap between the three plausible units of the PLA was extremely large. Therefore, while using his own 200,000 main force to build fortifications in the area of Hengyang and Baoqing, he also mobilized troops to strengthen the Hengbao line in an attempt to delay the action of the People's Liberation Army.
Such an unusual use of troops made Lin Biao, commander of the 4th Field Army, dare not act rashly, and immediately ordered "the three-way army to suspend the attack and assemble on standby."
However, after the order was issued, there was still a force that continued to attack, all the way into Bai Chongxi's "nest". This unit was the 135th Division under the command of Ding Sheng.
On October 2, the 135th Division penetrated south of the Hengbao Highway, making contact with the enemy on the way, and Ding Sheng ordered a quick battle to break through the gui army's front-line positions and continue to plunge into the Hengbao Highway.
Figure | Ding Sheng and his comrades-in-arms were together
On the evening of the 4th, the 403rd Regiment of the vanguard occupied the Shuidong River on the Hengbao Highway. Because of the inability to set up a radio station during the rapid march, Ding Sheng did not receive the order to 'stop advancing', so he continued to lead his troops to the south of the Hengbao Highway.
In the early morning of the 5th, the 135th Division all passed through the Hengbao Highway, and the vanguard had entered the Lingguandian area south of Hengbao.
In the afternoon, Ding Sheng and political commissar Wei Zuzhen reported to the headquarters of the 4th Field Army the location of the 135th Division. At this time, the staff officers of the headquarters pointed to the Lingguan Hall with their hands on the map, and everyone present took a breath of cool air. Xiao Ke, chief of staff of the 4th Field Army, said: "A good Ding is bold, where it is not good to go, but it is better to drill into the belly of the Bull Demon King!" ”
Everyone knows that the 135th Division is in a very dangerous situation! If Bai Chongxi found that there was no follow-up troop, it was likely to be eaten.
At 18:00 on the same day, after Thinking for a long time, Lin Biao called Ding Sheng and gave 3 important instructions.
1. Your division should rest and stand by in the same place tomorrow morning, prepare to advance toward Xianggui Road in the afternoon, and suddenly enter the First Line of Hongqiao and Daying City at about 12:00 on the 6th to overturn the railway;
2. For the time being, you shall be placed under our direct command, and you shall pay special attention to contacting us by the radio;
At present, there is a great emptiness behind the enemy's lines, and you must take mobile and flexible independent actions to attack and annihilate the small enemy and intercept and retreat the enemy.
This time, Lin Biao crossed the command organs at the corps and the two levels of the army and directly commanded the division, which shows the special situation of the battle.
A division of the People's Liberation Army boldly entered, leaving Bai Chongxi scratching his head. When it was reported that the division was directly inserted into the Xianggui Railway to the south, Bai Chongxi broke out in a cold sweat. It should be known that the Xianggui Railway is the lifeblood of the implementation of troop mobility, and if it is cut off, then the consequences are bound to be unimaginable.
In this case, Bai Chongxi quickly adjusted the deployment, drew out a division in the back of the bread, and used the ace force of the two divisions of the 7th Army and the two divisions of the 48th Army to block the front.
When Ding Sheng found that the troops had been heavily surrounded by Bai Chongxi's army, he did not panic and did not immediately order a retreat. He took into account that there must be heavy ambushes on the way to retreat, and the retreat could only suffer the disaster of annihilation. However, Ding Sheng did not order the fortification on the spot, but instead issued an order to "the whole division rush forward".
Figure | Ding Sheng (first from the right)
When Ding Sheng commanded the 135th Division to attack, Lin Biao was studying how to find a "gap" in the headquarters and let the 135th Division withdraw. Who knew that his telegram had just been prepared, and the 135th Division came with an urgent telegram: the troops were enemies in front of and behind, left and right, and they were advancing with all their might.
At this moment, Lin Biao's mind flashed a bright light, and he found that Bai Chongxi had 'moved'. Didn't this move break the trap that Bai Chongxi had carefully set earlier? Therefore, Lin Biao immediately ordered a total attack on the whole line! At the same time, Lin Biao said loudly:
"Send a special power to Ding Sheng, asking him to fight to the last man, never retreat, and resolutely block the enemy."
Shino Chief of Staff Shaw proposed:
"Did you give the 135th Division a commendation order?"
Lin Biao said:
"Yes. They must resist. ”
When the commendation order was received from the Field Command, there was no green space in the hill positions of the 135th Division, and the division headquarters was temporarily converted into ambulance stations to collect hundreds of wounded. Ding Sheng said:
"Quickly inform every company of the whole division of the news of The Noji's commendation, and tell everyone that the enemy is taking the road and fleeing under the blows of our large troops, and all the units of our division must hold on to the main traffic routes, block the enemy's retreat, and fight a big annihilation battle."
On the 9th, the 135th Division blocked the retreating Nationalist troops at Jieling. In the afternoon, the nationalist 72nd Army led the 172nd Division to retreat west through Loess Po, and Ding Sheng ordered the 404th and 405th Regiments to attack and cut the 7th Army into several sections and annihilate it.
Figure | Bai Chongxi
On the 10th, the 4th Field Army launched a general offensive on all fronts, and at 8 p.m., Bai Chongxi's northern front was completely destroyed, and Ling Yunshang, deputy commander of the 7th Army, became a prisoner.
In the Battle of Hengbao, Ding Sheng led his troops to disrupt Bai Chongxi's deployment, which in turn played a crucial role in the victory of the battle. Chairman Mao called him "Ding Bold."
General Ding Sheng is good at fighting and interspersing, and in his heart, the troops who fight and penetrate must be strong and bold and careful. Don't be afraid to be surrounded on all sides, don't be afraid to cut off the way back, don't love war, don't love money. He took these few to heart. Tracing back to the roots, Ding Sheng's tactical thinking was deeply influenced by Lin Biao.
During the period of the Liberation War, the 4 field troops distributed a pamphlet to cadres at and above the platoon level, entitled "The Fundamental Methods for Winning Battles", all of which were Lin Biao's tactical ideas such as "one point, two sides" and "three and three systems", which played an important role in improving the combat effectiveness of the troops.
Ding Sheng led the 54th Army all the way through the thorns
In April 1950, Ding Sheng was promoted to deputy commander of the 45th Army. In November 1950, Ding Sheng was appointed acting commander of the 45th Army.
In 1952, Ding Sheng served as the first commander of the 54th Army. At that time, the 54th Army was formed by the merger of the 44th Army and the 45th Army. The troops are very sensitive to the number, and the officers and men of the 44th Army are reluctant to call the 45th Army, and the 45th Army is also reluctant to call the 44th Army. The last week the prime minister made a decision: called the 54th Army. At that time, Premier Zhou said this:
"I think it is possible to do this, I will choose one of the 44th Army and the 45th Army to form a new 54th Army number, is this not the number of both armies retained?"
As soon as Premier Zhou explained this, everyone had no opinion.
On January 21, 1953, the newly formed 54th Army set out from Huiyang, Guangdong Province, and marched all the way to the northeast.
In early February, the 130th Division of the 54th Army took the lead in crossing the river and stationed itself on the Tieshan Peninsula in Korea, undertaking the task of resisting the enemy's landing operations; the 134th Division and the 135th Division were in the Liaodong Peninsula, while stepping up training and undertaking the task of guarding coastal defense.
On May 2, the 134th And 135th Divisions entered Korea, first in the vicinity of Pyongyang, to replace the defense of the 39th Army. In late June, the two divisions were ordered to march to the Jincheng front, with the 20th Corps to participate in the summer counterattack.
On 23 June, the 20th Corps held a combat meeting. Ding Sheng and Political Commissar Xie Ming drove to attend the meeting. On the way, Ding Sheng said to Xie Ming: "Our troops have been in the DPRK for a while, and this time they have only gained the opportunity to fight!" ”
"Yes! The troops' mood of seeking war is very high, and our troops are an old unit with glorious traditions, and they will certainly be able to fight well! Xie Ming's words were full of confidence.
"Since we entered the DPRK at the beginning of the year, we have not fought a single battle in a serious way! I can't fight this battle well, I'm sorry the prime minister gave us this 54th Army number! Ding Sheng said, "I heard that the Battle of Jincheng was fought by puppet troops, and I think the enemy is a little relieved, but the 'Capital Division' is the main force of the enemy, and we can't underestimate it!" ”
At the meeting, Commander Yang Yong began to roll call: "How about the 54th Army, how about you fight the 'Capital Division'?" Ding Sheng replied, "No problem, we will definitely fight this battle." ”
Figure | Yang Yong
On the evening of July 13, the Volunteer Army launched the Battle of Jincheng. After fierce fighting, the units of the 54th Army broke into the positions of the South Korean Army and completed all the tasks assigned by the 20th Corps. By the 14th, under the blows of the volunteer army, the South Korean Army's 'Capital Army', the 6th Division and the 8th Division had suffered heavy losses, and more than 14,000 people had been annihilated. South Korean President Syngman Rhee could not sit still, and he rushed to the front to supervise the battle and ordered his troops to counterattack.
On July 20, at the most difficult time of position warfare, Ding Sheng ordered the 134th Division of the 54th Army's reserve to all be put into battle. The 405th Regiment engaged in a scramble with the South Korean Army in the northwestern highlands of Jurimu, and engaged in 25 tug-of-war battles until the signing of the armistice agreement on the 27th, and the position was still firmly in the hands of the 54th Army.
After the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the 54th Army actively participated in supporting the Korean people in rebuilding their homeland. In 1958, he was ordered to return to China in batches...
In the autumn of 1962, Ding Sheng, commander of the 54th Army, was ordered to lead the 130th Division from Sichuan into Tibet to participate in the counterattack against India. Ding Sheng led the troops to use trains, cars, horses and other means of transportation, and it took 3 days to reach the Sino-Indian border and immediately set up an army command post, which was referred to as "Ding Zhi".
On November 6, Ding Zhi arrived in Chayu, Tibet. The 130th Division, which arrived at the border earlier, was undergoing pre-war reconnaissance and preparations under the leadership of division commander Dong Zhanlin.
On November 16, Ding Zhi ordered the 'War of Wa Nong'. In this battle, Ding Sheng was confident, and he had a thorough understanding of the combat situation of the Indian army. He later recalled:
The Indian Army has divisions, brigades, battalions, companies, platoons, and squads, and no regiments. The structure below the battalion level is fixed, and above the brigade level is not fixed. A brigade can command four battalions or five or six battalions. The same is true of the Division. The Indian army has a long history, soldiers are professional soldiers, the oldest is forty or fifty years old. Therefore, its grass-roots soldiers have rich combat experience and good individual skills. Battalion-level commanders are not good, they do not report the situation when they find it, and they do not know how to deal with it. There were no heavy machine guns below the battalion, and the brigades were equipped with heavy machine gun battalions. The artillery is good at shooting at short distances, and can also command shelling at dozens of meters.
Know yourself and know the other! Therefore, it took only 10 hours for Ding Zhi's troops to defeat the Indian army. At that time, foreign media reported that Ding Bu was "unstoppable like a wind-swept leaf", "a knife cut butter" and so on.
The 'Battle of Wa Nong' was the key battle and the final battle in the Sino-Indian border war, annihilating all 3 battalions of the Indian army, most of the 1 battalion and the direct detachment of the 11th Brigade of the Indian Army, with a total of more than 1200 people. The Indian troops, who claimed to have participated in World War II and defeated the Rommel Legion of the "Desert Fox", were overwhelmed in the battle against the 54th Army.
It is said that to this day, in the Indian military academies, the number of the simulated false enemy is still the "54" army led by General Ding Sheng, and "54" is the eternal pain in the heart of the Indian army.
Chairman Mao hoped that Ding Sheng would read more
Ding Sheng fought bravely and made many achievements. When debriefing work, the combat experience is the first thing to say. Chairman Mao, on the other hand, hoped that he could read with a dim sum.
On August 30, 1971, on the eve of Chairman Mao's departure from Changsha for Nanchang, he talked to Ding Sheng, Liu Xingyuan, Wei Guoqing, and others.
Then, Chairman Mao pointed at Liu Xingyuan and asked, "Do you write articles?" ”
Liu Xingyuan said: "No. ”
Chairman Mao pointed at Ding Sheng again and asked, "What about you?" ”
Ding Sheng said: "Illiterate. The Chairman's book can still be understood, but foreign books cannot be understood. ”
"I hope you'll read more books in the future."
After a pause, the Chairman said to everyone:
"So what to do?" Please sir help. You are all secretaries, and you have to be students. I am now a student every day, reading two copies of "References" every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so I know a little international knowledge. Some people are too busy to read only one "Reference News", too few. You don't have time, you can call the secretary, the section chiefs to see..."
This conversation gave Ding Sheng great help...
In December 1973, the commanders of the Eight Military Regions were transferred, and Ding Sheng was appointed commander of the Nanjing Military Region. In his later years, General Ding Sheng liked to play chess, especially with "cars", or long drives straight in, or side attacks, or swept diagonals, which were difficult for everyone to defeat. Liu Xingyuan and Liao Zhongfu are his chess friends. Sometimes, after he and his chess friends play a game of chess, he will say: "Playing chess is wonderful, always talking, and there are dangers everywhere." One step careless, regret the late also! ”
On September 25, 1999, Ding Sheng passed away.