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In the glorious history of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for decades, many combat heroes who have made countless meritorious contributions have emerged.
However, no one can be like Zhang Yingcai, who has won nine times of special merit, three times won the title of "special combat hero", and was personally received by Chairman Mao four times.
So, what kind of extraordinary military talent did Zhang Yingcai have that made him such a brilliant honor?
In October 1945, in order to consolidate the victorious results of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and block the northward movement of the Kuomintang army, our troops in the Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan regions, under the command of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, carried out a major annihilation battle against the invading national army, which was the Shangdang Campaign.
This battle is also known as the prelude to the Liberation War, and the glorious career of the combat hero Zhang Yingcai also officially began in this battle.
Zhang Yingcai, who was only 23 years old at this time, has become a mature and reliable veteran under the baptism of the Anti-Japanese War.
In the Shangdang Campaign, the task of Zhang Yingcai's unit was to attack the North Pass, block the city gate, block the enemy's entry and exit, and at the same time completely annihilate the garrison enemy in the pass.
On this night, Zhang Yingcai took advantage of the night and approached the city gate with two platoons of soldiers.
Just when Zhang Yingcai deployed his troops to prepare for battle while it was dark, the soldiers suddenly came into close contact with the enemy and exchanged fire.
In the face of this sudden unexpected situation, Zhang Yingcai did not panic, he calmly commanded the troops to launch a counterattack with the help of favorable terrain, and under the suppression of our army's firepower, the enemy was quickly routed.
Zhang Yingcai did not indulge in victory, he knew that this was just the enemy at night, and did not dare to act rashly, and when it was dawn, the enemy would launch a more fierce counterattack.
If they don't prepare in time, let alone complete the task of destroying the enemy, even they will be at risk of being annihilated by the enemy.
So Zhang Yingcai quickly gathered his troops, occupied favorable terrain and quickly built fortifications, and occupied nearby high-rise buildings, and carved many gun holes in the walls for shooting, always waiting for the enemy's counterattack.
Sure enough, as soon as dawn the next day, the enemy organized firepower and launched a fierce counterattack against our army, thanks to Zhang Yingcai's foresight, the enemy's counterattack was once again defeated by our army.
The hole of the gun drilled earlier was now also in full force, and because the enemy was not aware of it, the bullets fired from the shadows killed and wounded a large number of attacking enemies.
In response to this, the enemy, who had suffered a lot, also reacted quickly, and they mobilized heavy firepower, and artillery fire bombarded our positions, causing considerable casualties to our troops.
Several high-rise buildings occupied by our troops suddenly collapsed and collapsed, leaving only fragments of the walls and ruins.
Faced with such a situation, Zhang Yingcai quickly made a judgment, and he believed that the enemy army would definitely gather forces to organize a countercharge after the artillery fire.
He quickly ordered his troops to enter nearby houses and wait for the enemy to approach before firing on them.
Sure enough, after the artillery fire stopped, the enemy saw that there was no movement on our position, and thought that our army had been wiped out by the fierce artillery fire, so he immediately counterattacked our position.
Zhang Yingcai led the troops to remain motionless in the house, and after the enemy entered the range of our army, Zhang Yingcai immediately ordered to open fire, and the unsuspecting enemy was quickly suppressed by our army's fire, with countless casualties.
At this time, the enemy in the pass was already annoyed and began to organize a large-scale charge.
Zhang Yingcai, on the other hand, commanded the troops, repelled the enemy's charges again and again, and constantly adjusted the strategic deployment according to the tactics adopted by the enemy during the interval between the enemy's charges.
Within a day, Zhang Yingcai commanded the troops, with a force of about one company, to repel more than 20 large-scale counter-charges of the enemy, and killed and wounded more than 300 enemy troops.
Until the end, the enemy army failed to break through Zhang Yingcai's position.
The heroic fighting of Zhang Yingcai and his comrades-in-arms successfully shared the pressure on the troops and provided a solid foundation for the victory of the campaign.
After this battle, Zhang Yingcai was awarded a special merit by our army for his heroic performance in the battle, and his ninth company was also awarded the title of "Iron Ninth Company".
This Shangdang Battle was only the beginning of Zhang Yingcai's brilliant military career, and after that, Zhang Yingcai participated in hundreds of large and small battles with his troops, and made more and more proud achievements.
In the Battle of Luliang, Zhang Yingcai took the lead and led dozens of soldiers to rush into the enemy's position first.
Surrounded by the enemy on three sides, Zhang Yingcai organized his troops to hold their positions for four hours, repelled the enemy's attacks again and again, and held out until the enemy was completely annihilated by a large force.
After the Battle of Luliang, Zhang Yingcai was awarded the title of "Special Battle Hero" for the first time.
By the time the Huaihai Battle began, Zhang Yingcai had already been promoted to battalion commander by virtue of his superior performance in the battle.
In the Huaihai Campaign, Zhang Yingcai and his troops participated in dozens of battles, in which Zhang Yingcai exerted his indomitable will to fight, bravely killed the enemy, and made countless military exploits.
Zhang Yingcai led his troops to kill nearly 2,000 enemies and capture nearly 1,000 enemy soldiers.
Relying on the heroic performance of Zhang Yingcai and his troops, the commission awarded the battalion led by Zhang Yingcai the "Steel Battalion" and awarded him the honorary titles of "Commander of the Steel Battalion" and "Special Combat Hero".
Zhang Yingcai's military career is legendary, and he has won many honors that others may not be able to reach in their lifetimes.
This also reflects Zhang Yingcai's outstanding military ability and his outstanding combat skills on the battlefield.
After that, Zhang Yingcai was also promoted all the way, and finally was promoted to the position of deputy commander.
In 2017, the 93-year-old combat hero passed away, but his glorious deeds and strong spirit are still sung in the army.
Today, our motherland has finally embarked on prosperity and strength.
Living in a harmonious and happy society, we must not forget that it was many heroic soldiers like Zhang Yingcai who shed their blood in the past to get this hard-won victory.
In the era of peace, we must all the more make unremitting efforts to improve ourselves, work hard, and dedicate our own strength to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
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