In the smoke of the civil war, a group of fearsome bandit leaders appeared on the land of the northeast. Their brutality and brutality have taken a toll on the lives of the local population. Among them, Li Huatang and Xie Wendong are two well-known bandit leaders. The People's Liberation Army suppressed bandits and surrounded Li Huatang twice, but they let this treacherous and cunning guy escape. It wasn't until a heavy snowfall in 1946 that the trails clearly visible on the snow finally allowed the PLA to successfully capture the cunning Li Huatang. But before that, what kind of cunning trick did Li Huatang use, and why did the People's Liberation Army besiege him twice in vain? And how did he end up in the hands of the PLA?
1. Records of the Northeast Crackdown on Bandits
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke out in the northeast. The Northeast Democratic Alliance Army advanced to Siping, guarding the area around the Songhua River, and at the same time stepping up the construction of the base area. Suppressing bandits has become the most urgent task at present.
At that time, in the countryside of Northeast China, Li Huatang and Xie Wendong, the two villains, were rampant and were known as "the first place in the Northeast". They called on the remnants of the defeated army to gather crowds to abuse, wantonly kill and plunder, and bring harm to innocent people. In just one area, tens of thousands of peasants were looted and their families were destroyed. Counties and towns were also attacked from time to time, and the official gentry and wealthy households bore the brunt.
In the face of such a ferocious and savage enemy, the battle against bandits cannot be delayed. The 1st Independent Division of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army was ordered to go to the Boli area to completely eliminate banditry. It has always been a base for bandit activities, and it is also the decisive place of the anti-bandit campaign.
The troops adopted the tactics of steadfastness and wheels, and divided their troops into several routes to go deep into the dense forest to cut off the escape routes of the bandits. At the same time, the masses were mobilized in various towns to publicize the interests of the bandits and isolate the bandits in the mountains and wilderness. The reconnaissance team is always lurking in the forest, searching for clues and opening the way for the army.
Soon, the whereabouts of Xie Wendong, the number one bandit in the Northeast, surfaced. The Democratic Alliance Army fought many times, annihilated its main force of more than 200 people, and inflicted heavy losses on it. But Xie Wendong escaped by luck and still hid in Tibet in the middle of the dense forest, sometimes looting and killing people to do evil.
Compared with Xie Wendong, Li Huatang is more cunning and sinister. Intentionally or unintentionally, he avoided encountering the Democratic Alliance in order to escape the purge of the purge of the Democratic Alliance. The troops surrounded him twice, but they let the old fox slip away. These bandits are fighting guerrilla warfare and are full of tricks, just like Li Huatang's arrogant self-description: "In Beiman, when he enters the forest, Jiaolong enters the sea, and the Eighth Route Army can't help him."
Morale is frustrated and hatred grows. The troops pointed the spearhead at Li Huatang and were determined to annihilate this "dragon". Finally, in a surprise attack, the Democratic Alliance Army emptied Li Huatang's camp and annihilated its main force. Only the first evil lives alone, and flees to the deep mountains and old forests in embarrassment.
2. Li Xie and his bandits have done many evils
Li Huatang is known as the "Commander-in-Chief of the 18th Group Army of the Northeast Anti-Communist National Salvation Army", and Xie Wendong is known as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast Advance Army". These two bandit leaders are just some gossipy and chaotic demon kings, who make a living by bullying men and women, and robbing homes and houses. They co-opted a group of defeated soldiers and scoundrels to wantonly do evil in the northeastern countryside.
Xie Wendong is insidious and tricky, and his wrists are also extremely vicious. He had set fire to most towns, burning hundreds of innocent villagers alive. Women and children, old and weak, are not spared. The wealthy merchants and merchants in the town were also looted, and they left their hometowns one by one. The officials and gentry of the yamen in the town bore the brunt of the attack, and none of them were spared. The most ruthless one, simply killed all the capable people in the town. The tragic scene is so painful.
These bandits oppressed and brutalized the township, ran rampant, and killed innocent people indiscriminately. Although Li Huatang is not as ruthless as Xie Wendong, he is full of tricks and is extremely insidious. These bandit leaders are strict and majestic, and they act like the co-masters of the world.
However, it is actually a group of bullies, specializing in soft persimmons. They were ferocious and brutal, just because they relied on the hundreds of rabble they called, and they were arrogant for a while. In fact, where there are any high-level soldiers, it is just ordinary looting and trading. The only way to deal with the incompetence of the people is to exploit and oppress. But once he had serious arms, he immediately fled and scattered in all directions.
Although Li Huatang's "old gunners" have received both stolen goods, they are actually no different from ordinary bandits. They are accustomed to plundering the people for a living when the mountains and rivers are exhausted, and violence is rampant, and human lives are at stake. But as soon as there is regular force, it is immediately cowardly, and the lost dog is generally cowardly.
The most hateful thing is that these bandits mutilate innocents. They did all kinds of evil, burning, killing and looting, seriously endangering the livelihood and safety of the people in Northeast China. In Liaoxi, Rehe, and Siping, tens of thousands of peasants were looted by them and left in extreme poverty. For this reason, the peasants in Northeast China hated these former masters and looked forward to the arrival of the bandits and expelled these tigers and leopards from the Northeast.
The people's desire is to suppress the bandits and justice! The movement to vacate the democratic base areas in Northeast China is in full swing, and the suppression of bandits is the urgent need of the times. Only by thoroughly eradicating these wolf and tiger gangsters can we win the right of the vast number of peasants to live and work in peace and contentment.
Third, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has made careful arrangements to suppress bandits
In the face of Li Huatang and Xie Wendong, the two murderous bandit forces, the People's Liberation Army was determined to completely annihilate them. To this end, meticulous arrangements have been made, careful arrangements have been made, weeds have been cut down and eradicated to the roots, and banditry has been resolutely eliminated.
First of all, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has conducted in-depth propaganda and mobilized the masses in various villages and villages, so that they can personally experience the benefits of suppressing bandits. The task force went into the villages and households to explain to the masses how the Kuomintang reactionaries and bandits were poisonous, and how they ran rampant in the villages, oppressed and brutalized the people. After hearing this, the peasants all hated these former "old men" and said that they would expel them, tigers and wolves.
At the same time as the propaganda was launched, the task force also contacted and mobilized the poor hired peasants and set up militia groups in various localities to cooperate with the PLA in fighting against bandits. Relying on the advantage of being familiar with the terrain, they acted as guides and reconnaissance, opening and guiding the way for the PLA army.
After cutting off the bandits' popular ties and sources of food and grass, the PLA troops began preparations for a decisive battle. First of all, the reconnaissance team infiltrated the mountains and deep forests to find out the bandits' traces and activity patterns, so as to prepare for the future dispatch of troops to suppress bandits.
Subsequently, the main force divided its troops into several routes, surrounded the mountain from different directions, and weaved a net of heaven and earth. At the same time, a temporary task force was also dispatched to accompany him, which was responsible for sweeping up the remnants of the bandits, surveying clues, and fully cooperating with the combat needs of the army.
At the very beginning of the campaign to suppress the bandits, it was met with frantic resistance from the diehards. Although Li Huatang's group of "old gunners" had nowhere to escape under the siege, they still fought back desperately, treating death as if they were home. The People's Liberation Army had to completely annihilate it with grenades to completely destroy the combat effectiveness of this fanatic.
At the same time, the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) were brave and tenacious, fearless of hardships and hardships, and persevered in pursuit and fierce fighting. Even if Li Huatang escaped repeatedly, everyone's fighting spirit did not diminish at all. The more he fought, the more he frustrated, the stronger he became, and he vowed to completely annihilate this "snake head".
Countless night raids, countless chasing the murderer in the deep forest. Whenever it succeeds, the PLA always wins a big victory and crushes the bandits. But even if Li Huatang's main force is annihilated, this sinister old fox can always get away with it.
Fourth, the wind and clouds will be decisive battles in the snow
In the winter of 1946, heavy snow and strong winds raged. The cold and bone-chilling snow of the forest sea has become a battlefield for Li Huatang and the People's Liberation Army to fight to the death.
This time, the climate and environment have become the key factor in determining the direction of the battle. Heavy snow removed the cover of the woodland, clearly exposing all trails. The PLA only needs to follow these clues to locate the hiding places of the bandits.
Li Huatang knew that a catastrophe was coming, and tried his cunning means to escape. He scattered his main forces and hid in the woods, while he himself held the camp with a small group of cronies. Once discovered, they immediately fled from the camp and hid in Tibet.
But who would have expected that this time the People's Liberation Army had already prepared and saw through their bandit tricks clearly. The reconnaissance team had already figured out their whereabouts and hiding places, and guided the main force.
The two sides repeatedly circled on the snow, you came and went, and fought to the death. Due to the terrain barrier, both sides were unable to give full play to their superior forces to enter the battle, so they could only send small forces to attack each other.
For more than a month, the snow in the forest was full of gunsmoke and artillery fire, and the tragic fire met each other. Bloody fighting, heavy casualties on both sides. The good soldiers were killed in the forest, and even the senior officers were killed and wounded.
The persistent and tenacious two sides will not let anyone, and they will fight to the death. The People's Liberation Army vowed to annihilate these vicious elements, and Li Huatang's bandits also regarded death as indifferent and resisted to the end.
Just when the stalemate between the two sides was difficult to solve, the People's Liberation Army finally discovered the big camp where Li Huatang was hiding. Several main forces immediately surrounded it.
But at this critical juncture, Li Huatang fled again, escaped from the encirclement with his cronies, and fled in a hurry. The People's Liberation Army was exhausted, and he escaped again.
This time, however, the situation has shifted completely in favor of the PLA. Li Huatang lost his base camp and collapsed. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) discovered the traces of their escape, intensified their pursuit, encirclement and suppression, and was forced to a dead end.
Fifth, Li Huatang was embarrassed and finally subdued
In a desperate situation, Li Huatang was embarrassed. The remaining dozen or so cronies were simply tired and exhausted. Their whereabouts were exposed, surrounded by layers of the People's Liberation Army, and ordinary means of escape were no longer effective.
Seeing that he was about to be captured alive, Li Huatang decided to fight to the death. He led his cronies to charge the encirclement, shooting wildly, and cutting a bloody path. But the People's Liberation Army had fierce firepower and completely blocked their attack.
In the rain of bullets, Li Huatang himself was also shot and wounded, unable to move. Seeing that the situation was gone, his cronies turned and surrendered, leaving the treacherous bandit leader alone in the snow.
In the end, Li Huatang was captured alive like a wounded wolf. This guy, known as "Jiaolong", actually threw away his armor like this, and was powerless to resist.
After being arrested and brought to justice, Li Huatang's arrogance was gone. He lowered his eyebrows and lowered his head, with a humble face, and he couldn't stop thanking the People's Liberation Army for "opening the net". Looking at this ferocious and arrogant bandit in the past, now he is embarrassed, and it can't help but make people feel emotional.
At the beginning, he relied on his cunning and cunning methods to do all kinds of evil in the Northeast and harm innocents. Countless peasant families were ruined and their wives were separated, all of which were tragedies caused by his bandits. Now justice has finally been done and this scourge in the northeast has been swept away.
After Li Huatang was escorted back to Siping, he was convicted in the first instance and sentenced to death. And Xie Wendong, who was on the same path as him in doing evil, had been killed earlier. The two bandits and outlaws were all ambushed, and the Northeast finally cleared up this scourge.
The smoke of the war of liberation simply extinguished their arrogance. These former "dragons" are now just prisoners. Once upon a time, they flaunted their might and were arrogant; Now they can only grovel and be slaughtered. Since then, there are no more tigers and wolves in the Northeast to harm the township.