In the 1962 counterattack against India, the People's Liberation Army defeated the Indian army in the border area with thunder, but our army also paid the price of blood. So, who are the most senior officers of our army who have sacrificed? What rank and position does he hold?
Heroic martyrs
After the victory in the counterattack against India, the People's Liberation Army counted the battle losses and counted the data of more than 1,700 casualties, compared with the Indian army's record of more than 4,800 casualties and more than 3,900 captured, our army did achieve brilliant victories, but for the martyrs who sacrificed, the soldiers still feel very sad.
Among them, Li Baishi was the highest ranking officer among the sacrificial officers, and he was the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 33rd Regiment of the 11th Division at the time of his death, with the rank of Lieutenant.
In 1962, the Indian army disregarded international law, openly invaded China's Tibet border, and built its own military stronghold on Chinese territory, a provocation that China could not bear, so the counterattack against India began on October 10. Among them, the 11th Division of the People's Liberation Army arrived at Xishan Pass and prepared to sweep away the "one-word long snake array" arranged here by the Indian army along the road.
On 18 October, the PLA 11th Division launched an offensive in the early morning, launching a fierce attack on the main peak of Bondira at the West Pass. The weakness of the Indian army's combat effectiveness surprised our army, and after only three hours of fighting, the main peak was successfully taken by our army, and by the next day, all the enemies in Bondira had been swept away.
According to the battle plan, the 3rd Battalion of the 33rd Regiment, to which Li Baishi belonged, was responsible for staying in place to prevent the eastern part of Bondilla from sneaking into the flank of the 11th Division.
As a result, as our army expected, there was an Indian army in the east of Bondira who saw our army stationed in Bondira and was eager to move and tried to sneak attack from the rear, and this sneak attack was discovered by Li Baishi's 3rd Battalion and was pursued by 3 Battalion. Li Baishi led two infantry companies and a mortar company to pursue and fight in the direction of the Indian army fleeing south.
Highland Pursuit
At 12:00 noon on October 19, Li Baishi led the 3rd Battalion to catch up with the Indian troops who were trying to flee south, and engaged in an exchange of fire with the Indian troops. The Indian army had just crossed a small bridge at this time, and set up 3 light machine guns after crossing the bridge in an attempt to block the pursuit of our army.
After carefully observing the terrain, Li Baishi found that there was a reverse slope on the west side of the small bridge, and as long as he tried to find a way to break into the back of the slope, he could reach the Indian army fire point and destroy it with grenades. However, if you want to break into the slope, you need to risk the strafing of the Indian machine gunners.
At this time, a company commander under Li Baishi stood up, he took the lead in forming a death squad, leading more than 30 fighters to directly launch a charge, and at the same time, the 3rd battalion also set up machine guns in situ to shoot at the Indian fire point to cover the charge of the death squad.
In the highland mountains, where people were likely to be in danger of lack of oxygen in the event of intense exercise, the stormtrooper fighters braved the pain of blackening in front of their eyes, gritted their teeth and rushed to the back of the reverse slope, and then approached the Indian fire point and threw grenades. As the flames rose up, the Indian fire behind the small bridge was completely muted, and Li Baishi continued to lead his comrades to cross the small bridge and launch a pursuit against the Indian army.
Li Baishi's act of leading the soldiers across the bridge frightened the Indian army into obscurity, and they could not imagine why the officers and men of the People's Liberation Army could run continuously on the plateau above 4,000 meters above sea level. Under the pursuit of the 3rd Battalion, the Indian army paid the price of more than 30 casualties, and the rest of the Indian army continued to flee along the road, and even snatched the car and ran away.
An hour later, the 3rd Battalion had pursued more than 5 km and had seized a large amount of equipment discarded by the Indian army, including two vehicles. At this time, the Indian army's escape pace showed signs of slowness, and in an unnamed highland, more than 300 Indian defeated soldiers gathered together, intending to rely on the highland terrain to repel the pursuit of the People's Liberation Army.
Heroic sacrifice
The gathering of the Indian army was detected by the forward troops of the 3rd Battalion, and after analysis, Li Baishi decided to adopt the tactic of enveloping and interspersing to fight a war of annihilation on this nameless highland. He left 8 companies to pretend to attack the Indian positions from the front, while he led the 9 companies around to the rear of the Indian army and "wrapped a dumpling" for the Indian army.
After the battle of annihilation began, Li Baishi took the lead and personally joined the battle. Encircling the enemy's direction is where the main force of our army's attack is located, and it is also the key to this battle, so Li Baishi can only rest assured that he can only be assured if he personally goes into battle. He bravely charged forward in the rain of bullets, and the soldiers of the 9th Company were also encouraged by the heroic posture of the battalion commander and shouted to rush to the Indian position.
However, when Li Baishi charged, stray bullets from nowhere hit him in the chest, and blood suddenly gushed out, staining his military uniform red. Seeing that the battalion commander was shot, the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion immediately killed the red eyes and followed the battalion commander to launch a charge.
The Indian army did not know why the PLA offensive suddenly became more ferocious, but they could not resist the attack of the fighters, and eventually the more than 300 Indian troops were annihilated by more than 170 people, and the rest of the Indian army threw down their weapons and raised their hands to surrender.
Although the battle was won, Li Baishi's sacrifice still grieved the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, and he was the most senior officer who died in the counterattack against India.
As a battalion commander, Li Baishi did not have to participate in the most dangerous encirclement operation, but soldiers like Li Baishi would not retreat because of danger. Moreover, the 3rd battalion he led not only completed the task of defending the flank and rear flank of the large army, but also exceeded the task of pursuing the battle, making outstanding contributions to the victory of the counterattack against India.