Trilateral Hero Spectrum: Gao Ruxuan recalls the recovery of the three sides

On June 16, 1947, after the battle in Huanxian County, our Northwest Field Army rested in the area around Huanxian County (the first column was stationed in huanxian county and in the area of Shilipu and Zhangxiaying north of the city) and made preparations for the north. On June 22, Ren Shihong, commander of the 714th Regiment, said in a report on the situation at a meeting of cadres at and above the company level that the current situation of the enemy in the north is as follows: Ma Hongkui's brigade headquarters of the 10th Brigade of the reorganized 18th Division and its 20th Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Ningxia Security Regiment are stationed in Anbian and Brick Well Fort; the provisional Ninth Brigade and the 6th Ningxia Security Regiment are stationed in Dingbian; one regiment of the 168th Brigade and the 5th Ningxia Security Regiment are stationed in Yanchi. In addition, there are local reactionary forces such as the Anbian Self-Defense Force (mainly stationed in Anbian) and the Self-Defense Forces scattered in the area north of Ningtiaoliang in the east of Anbian. The fighting power of these enemies is not strong. The main force of Hu Zongnan in the south is still carrying out its so-called "liquidation and suppression" in the Yan'an and Ansai areas, which is still far away.

According to the enemy's troop deployment and its current situation, it is appropriate for our army to take advantage of the victory to advance north to attack Ningma and recover the lost land on the three sides (Dingbian, Anbian, and Jingbian). This is something that the former committee and President Peng have already decided. The head of the column and the head of the brigade also instructed us to prepare for new combat missions. However, in advance, it is necessary to do a good job of in-depth and meticulous ideological mobilization (to truthfully inform the vast number of commanders and fighters of the difficulties on the way north) and to make preparations in all aspects, and so on. In accordance with the instructions of our superiors, on June 23 and 24, our regiment mobilized and organized discussions over a period of two days. After discussion, the vast number of cadres and soldiers have made clear the task of our army's northward advance -- to fight Ningma and recover the three sides -- and basically have a unanimous understanding of the difficulties of the northward advance. The difficulties that everyone expects are the following three points:

First, the villages on the road are sparse, there are fewer people, and the grain and forage must be brought by themselves.

Second, some roads have deserts, it is not easy to walk, there is a shortage of water along the way, and people and animals may have difficulties in drafting.

Third, the climate is hot, there is no shade, there is no place to rest on the road, long-distance march, easy to harm summer diseases.

In order to overcome the difficulties on the way north, all units mobilized and relied on the masses to come up with many indigenous methods. Our regiment adopted six measures:

(1) Each person carries three days' worth of grain, two catties of fried noodles or dry food:

(2) Each person carries two or two dried vegetables or vermicelli;

(3) Everyone who has a kettle must bring water, everyone on the road should moisten their throats, and each room should find a way to bring (carry) two buckets of water so that they can cook and eat where there is no water;

(4) Units with mules and horses should bring hay to the livestock and pay attention to finding water to drink from the livestock along the way;

(5) Nail the shoes worn by the individual to the shoelaces, and tie the socks to the legs, so as not to walk into the sand;

(6) In the course of marching, each platoon of the company must have someone to take turns to carry rice cookers and oil barrels in the room, and to help the frail comrades carry guns so that they will not be left behind.

When the companies and organs were organizing special personnel to check each other's preparations for the north, the brigade headquarters gave the order to leave at 7:00 a.m. on June 25. Afterwards, it was learned that the Former Committee and General Manager Peng, with the aim of destroying the 18th Division and the security team of the Ningma Reorganized Division and recovering the three sides, in addition to insisting on Longdong with the East Advancing Corps (the Independent Regiment and the Cavalry Battalion), ordered our field army to march north from the Huanxian area on June 25 (the 2nd Column to the Eagle's Nest Cave, the New 4th Brigade to youfangdong, the 358th Brigade of the 1st Column, and the 1st Independent Brigade from two roads to Xiaojianzi, and the Teaching Brigade to Wang Jialiang).

On the twenty-ninth day (after four and a half days of continuous marching), all the corps entered Dingbian Nanshan to be on standby, at this time, Noji received a report from our trilateral sub-district: The enemy withdrew the long-distance telephone line from the trilateral occupation zone, transported supplies to the west by car, and the infantry also began to move west; on June 28, Ma Hongkui issued a "farewell letter to the people on the three sides", etc., showing signs of retreat, and after analyzing and judging, Noji and General Peng immediately made a decision: At 7:00 a.m. on June 30, I wanted our second column to advance to Brick Well Fort and Anbian to prevent the enemy's westward retreat to the road east of Brick Well Fort. And eliminate the enemy of reactionary strongholds such as Brick Well Fort and Anbian. The First Column (including my 714th Regiment) and the New Fourth Brigade attacked Dingbian City, instructing the brigade to enter the southwest of Dingbian and prepare to attack and intercept the enemy who might sneak west of Dingbian.

At about 10:00 a.m. on the morning of the thirtieth, when my main force approached the outskirts of Dingbian City, the twenty regiments of the enemy's tenth brigade retreated without a fight, and I occupied the city, and the second column simultaneously occupied the brick well fort.

On the evening of July 2, the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Column captured the city of Anbian. The enemy's reactionary local armed forces were all annihilated except for more than a dozen people who jumped out of the city and escaped.

In July, our field army continued to capture the county seat of Yanchi county, annihilating a company of twenty regiments of enemy cavalry. At this point, from June 30 to July 7, the Three-Sided Campaign ended with the recovery of the lost land of the Three Sides.

This campaign only completed the task of recovering the lost land of the three sides (Dingbian, Anbian, and Jingbian) and capturing the county seat of Yanchi County, but there were very few effective forces to eliminate the enemy (eliminating one regiment of the enemy's horsemen, all of the Anbian Self-Defense Forces - 50 wounded and wounded, 320 prisoners, a total of 370 people). There are three reasons for this:

First, ningma wanted to preserve its strength in view of the lessons of the disastrous defeat of the reorganized Eighty-first Division in Huan County. The enemy left only cavalry and horses on three sides to make contact with me, and as soon as our army arrived and fled, I could not beat him. Second, the terrain of Dingbian is open (desert stream plain), and we have no cavalry, so it is difficult to surround and capture the enemy's cavalry.

Third, our army does not have light infantry, and it lacks equipment such as kettles, goggles, and tents, and it is not suitable for long-range pursuit warfare in the desert area.

Although small battles were fought in Dingbian, Anbian (Jingbian Invincible), and Yanchi, our army suffered as many as seventy casualties. In this regard, the inspections of the relevant units have summed up the lessons learned.

Another point should also be mentioned, especially during the day march, on the road soldiers always talk and laugh, for example: there are family dishes, there are jokes, there are learning, there are storytellers, and so on. It makes people feel lively and lively, and they don't feel tired when they walk. This time, the North Army was different from usual, and its characteristics were: they all tried hard to keep walking and did not want to talk much; they were afraid of dry mouths and thirst, and there was no water to drink. Every day after noon, some soldiers were hot enough, their lips were dry, and they were dizzy and tired. Some people feel weak in their legs and feet, have difficulty walking, and cannot keep up with the team; some are sick with heat and cannot move their guns. In short, hunger, thirst, and lack of thought occur every day, but the lack of water along the way is the biggest difficulty. However, every thought of the broad masses of commanders and fighters in order to destroy the enemy must have the strong perseverance of not fearing hardships and difficulties, so the entire unit, driven by the Communists and the members of the Communist Youth League, has overcome many difficulties. Finally, the arduous task of marching long distances to annihilate the enemy was finally completed.