It's an ordinary rifle. Its common name in the world is M1944 Mosin-Nagant, while in China, PLA fighters like to call it "Shui Lianzhu". The gun is not a famous weapon, but this one in front of me is not ordinary, it lies proudly in the War Museum to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and a row of annotations illustrates its former glory:
"In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, its owner used it to kill 214 enemies with 436 rounds of ammunition in 32 days, setting the highest record for the Chinese People's Volunteers to kill the enemy coldly on the Korean battlefield." This achievement, put in any war in the world, is a miracle. The owner of the gun, Zhang Taofang, is therefore known as the "Sniper God". Nowadays, the gun cannot be spoken, and the "sniper god" is gone. Fortunately, Lu Changqing, a veteran soldier in the same trench as Zhang Taofang, helped the reporter relive the legend on Shangganling.
"I also used the gun in the military museum." Lu Changqing's words were astonishing. This veteran soldier, who used to be in the same trench as Zhang Taofang, always squinted one eye, but the other eye was blazing, as if he was aiming with a gun. This expression has not changed since he returned from the Korean battlefield. It's been 57 years, and the "aftermath" of the war has even changed his appearance. Back then, Lu Changqing was not only a soldier in the same squad as Zhang Taofang, but also an excellent sniper. Today, he has retired from the geological team and is retiring in the countryside of Tangshan, Hebei Province.
It is recorded in the archives that Lu Changqing "killed and injured 178 enemies" during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, although this record is not as good as Zhang Taofang, but according to the existing sniper ranking in the world, Lu Changqing can also be ranked in the top 100. For those passionate years, Lu Changqing only talked to his son when he was drunk, and he didn't even know much about his colleagues in the unit. People in the same village only know that Uncle Lu likes to play balloons when he catches the market, and he can get the jackpot every time. A few years ago, a documentary about the sniper to resist US aggression and aid Korea was broadcast on TV, and when Zhang Taofang appeared in the picture, Lu Changqing jumped up excitedly, how many times ago he hugged his old comrades-in-arms! However, after several searches, the news I got was that Lao Zhang had died of illness in an army retreat center in Weifang.
"The four of us, am I the only one left?" The other three snipers in the Shangganling forward position squad seemed to be right in front of the old man's eyes, and he said that he wanted to reunite with them in his lifetime and go to the Chinese Military Museum to touch the gun, the gun that belonged to the four of them. In the military museum, the reporter saw this old and dilapidated horse rifle, its common name in the world is the M1944 Mosin-Nagant riding rifle, the caliber is 7.92 mm, the barrel length is 520 mm, the aiming tool is an arc ruler, the muzzle velocity of the bullet is 820 meters per second, and the effective range is 1000 meters.
This rifle does not even have the necessary scope for snipers, but the row of notes behind the glass is awe-inspiring: "In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, its owner used it to kill 214 enemies with 436 rounds of ammunition in 32 days, setting the highest record of cold shooting enemies killed by the Chinese People's Volunteers on the Korean battlefield." ”
People have the impression that snipers are all one person and one shot. In the TV series "My Brother is Shun Yo", Shun Yo and his Type 1942 sniper rifle are even more inseparable, even when he sleeps, he hugs him tightly. However, Lu Changqing told reporters that due to the special situation on the Korean battlefield, the gun in Junbori belonged not only to Zhang Taofang alone, but to the four snipers in the front squad.
"Our squad is guarding the No. 7 position at the forefront of the No. 597.9 highland in Shangganling, which is actually a traffic trench more than 30 meters long." Don't look at it for so many years, Lu Changqing still clearly remembers every inch of land on Shangganling.
"The nearest firing stand was just over 50 meters away from the enemy, and the Yankees on the opposite side could see clearly whether they had yellow or green eyes. Everything that can reflect the light must be placed in the ground, otherwise it will attract a wild and indiscriminate bombardment. Lu Changqing recalled that the two armies were biting each other together like teeth, and the US 3rd Division on the opposite side was well-equipped, using anti-aircraft machine guns and other heavy firepower, as well as reconnaissance planes. During the day, if we are not careful, we will have to pay the price of blood.
Obviously, when crawling down the traffic trench to the firing position, the target is easily exposed if the gun is carried on your back. Lu Changqing said that their four snipers, including Zhang Taofang, were divided into two squads, taking turns to kill the enemy, and they all used that gun, and the enemies who died under this gun were innumerable. Strictly speaking, Zhang Taofang is only a sharpshooter, not a sniper, because this gun is not a sniper rifle at all. Li Yanlin, director of the Armory Hall of the Military Museum, said that the Mosin-Nagant is a non-automatic riding rifle, and every time the trigger is pulled, the bolt must be pulled again before it can be fired again. If you miss the first shot, there is basically no chance of making a hit. Before the advent of the automatic rifle, although this gun was famous, it was not a sniper rifle in terms of rate of fire and accuracy.
At the end of World War II, the former Soviet Union customized this rifle, and by the end of World War II, more than 17 million units were produced. Since the war was nearing its end, not many of them were equipped with their own troops, but a large number of them were deployed on the Korean battlefield.
Compared to long-range sniping, the Mosin-Nagant gun is better at fighting street fights. In 1943, some Soviet Red Army soldiers complained that the M1891/30 rifle was too long for street fighting, and sometimes had to be equipped with bayonets, so Soviet designers installed folding bayonets on the side of the M1891/30 rifle and cut the barrel shortened to complete the design of this gun.
The designers probably never dreamed that such a gun would be used in sniper warfare, but it was precisely the standard configuration of snipers in the Volunteer Army. On January 29, 1952, our army issued a special directive, "to organize light and heavy machine guns and rifles against single targets and small groups of targets on the enemy's positions, and to organize special shooters to carry out sniper operations." One of them is a very important sentence: "We categorically reject the argument that in modern warfare the rifle is already an outdated weapon." The "rifle" here refers to the Mosin-Nagant riding rifle. Compared with other weapons and equipment in the army, it has good shooting accuracy and is particularly cold-resistant, so it is affectionately called "Water Lianzhu" by the volunteer soldiers.
"I've finally met my opponent, and this kind of trick can't fool him." Zhang Taofang said secretly. He crawled through the trenches, and when he reached the end, he suddenly sprang up and walked through a small clearing in a few steps. He was just about to enter the sniper station when another burst fire from the machine gun on the opposite side, and the bullets chased his heels, sending the ground dusty. Zhang Taofang stretched out her hands, leaned over, and fell into the bunker on the left side of the shooting table as if she had been hit.
This feint apparently deceived the shooter on the opposite side, and he paused the shot. Zhang Taofang slowly poked her head out of the bunker and began to search the opposite position. He first carefully observed the machine-gun bunkers on the American positions and found that two machine guns were firing in other directions. Zhang Taofang did not shoot because he understood that it was a decoy to some extent. The real opponent must be hiding somewhere else and searching for his location. As soon as he fired, he would be killed. At this moment, both sides have only one goal, that is, the most cunning and terrifying opponent on the other side.
He waited patiently, searching. Finally, in the gap between two rocks next to each other on the opposite hill, the opponent's position was discovered. Zhang Taofang immediately shot and aimed the muzzle at the opponent's head. However, at the moment when he was about to pull the trigger, the opponent also discovered him, his head was deflected, and he broke away from Zhang Taofang's muzzle, and then the machine gun in his hand spit out tongues of fire! Zhang Taofang was once again suppressed in the bunker.
This time, his opponent obviously realized his awesomeness, and the muzzle of the machine gun was always aimed at Zhang Taofang's sniper platform, and it was a burst shot in a few seconds. Zhang Taofang showed her head slightly, and she would immediately attract a long point shot. Zhang Taofang was not in a hurry, sat behind the cover, and quietly observed the opponent's impact point.
After a long time, he suddenly noticed that his opponent seemed to be focusing on the left side of the sniper table, which was where he was now, and not hitting the right side of the sniper table very often. Under the cover of the sandbag, he slowly climbed to the right side of the sniper table and gently stretched his rifle against the sandbag. He still didn't shoot, quietly judging whether this was a real omission on the part of his opponent or a trap.
It took more than 10 minutes. The impact point of the machine gun indicates that his opponent did not realize that he had changed position. The time has finally come! When the opponent had just fired a point shot on the right side of the sniper table and turned his gaze and muzzle to the left, Zhang Taofang stood up suddenly, put the butt of the rifle against his shoulder, and fired immediately. Almost at the same time, the opponent also spotted Zhang Taofang and immediately turned the muzzle of the gun and pulled the trigger. Master duel, victory or defeat is only in an instant. Zhang Taofang's bullet was a few tenths of a second faster than her opponent's. It was these tenths of a second that decided fate. When Zhang Taofang's bullet passed through the opponent's head, the opponent's bullet flew past Zhang Taofang's scalp.
Zhang Taofang fought alone for 32 days and killed 214 enemies, setting a record for the highest number of cold sniper shots on the Korean battlefield. And the most legendary thing is that although he has experienced a hundred battles and has been in danger many times, he escaped unscathed and completely exhausted.
Zhang Taofang often ridiculed American soldiers: "Don't believe in God, your God has blessed me." Although this is a joke, there seems to be an invisible force protecting him in the dark: once, the enemy's bullets pierced his cotton coat, cotton coat, and fleece jacket, and yellowed the white shirt inside, but his skin was not broken at all. Another time, the cold cannon of the US army cut off half of Zhang Taofang's cotton hat, but he didn't lose even a single hair.
Another experience was even more thrilling. At that time, Zhang Taofang came down from the front line and was about to return to China to participate in the heroic model conference. When changing vehicles at the logistics department of the 24th Army, they happened to encounter an air raid by enemy planes, and Zhang Taofang and 17 male and female officers had no choice but to hide in a sheltered department. After a long time, most of the people in the shelter department ran out to flee for their lives. As a result, all but one of those who escaped were killed. Zhang Taofang had been hiding in the shelter, and the rubble outside was rushed in by the blast and flew in all directions like bullets. Zhang Taofang shouted at the sky: "This time it's really over, I can't go back to clean them up!" Unexpectedly, he escaped the catastrophe again, and still did not scratch the skin at all.
Before Zhang Taofang returned to China, Pi Dingjun notified the Propaganda Department and asked Zhang Taofang to come to him. After receiving the notice, Zhang Taofang took off her leather boots from the head of the bed, put them on her shoulders and went on the road. From the 8th Company to the regimental headquarters, with every step, the leather boots "chirped".
"How did you carry it back?" Pi Dingjun was surprised to see the pair of boots on Zhang Taofang's shoulder. Zhang Taofang didn't speak, only put her boots on the table and made a loud noise. The Minister of Propaganda explained: "This is a record of the enemy he killed. Every time you kill an enemy, you save that shell. ”
"How many?" "211." "You're playing well, but you're not making a name for yourself." Zhang Taofang was stunned by the commander for a while. The commander then said, "What is the number of your regiment?" "214th Regiment." "That's right. 214 regiments, you have to fight 214 enemies. Hit 3 more, no more, no less. ”
Zhang Taofang didn't say a word, he returned to the sniper position, an hour later he killed 3 enemies, and after returning to the military headquarters, he put 3 bullet casings on the table. Pi Dingjun picked up the three bullet shells, put them on the palm of his hand and stroked them for a while, and said, "Eat here with me today, you are so nervous on the front line, let's have a good meal." "Rice, six dishes and one soup, Zhang Taofang was so nervous that she didn't dare to eat enough, and lied that she had less activities at the front and less to eat.
Pi Dingjun's sons and daughters Pi Xiaonong and Pi Weihua wrote about this anecdote in their articles reminiscing about their father. Zhang Taofang's story is so legendary that it is often questioned by future generations. But in Lu Changqing's eyes, it doesn't matter whether the number of "sniping 214 enemy soldiers" is accurate.
"It's actually hard to count the results of sniper battles." Lu Changqing said that the Volunteers have a rule that if they shoot at the enemy, they will fall to the ground for 15 minutes without moving, or if another enemy carries them away or drags them away, they will be counted as dead. Injuries are counted as those who walk on their backs or on their backs; After the shot, the enemy falls and then runs again, and then he is counted alive. Even so, it cannot be said that those who are carried or dragged away must die, and the statistics of battle results are a world-class problem.
In his opinion, Zhang Taofang is synonymous with all snipers in the volunteer army, and his results are "from May 1952 to July 1953, more than 52,000 people were killed and wounded by the 'United Nations Army' and the South Korean Army." Although the names of all the snipers cannot be recorded in history, Lu Changqing repeatedly asked reporters to write down the names of the other two snipers in the front class - they are Ning Caitang and Li Biao.
The summer counterattack ended on the morning of July 18, 1953. So far, the 24th Army has killed 10,000 enemies with cold guns and 4,000 enemies with cold guns and 4,000 enemies with cold guns in five months. At the same time, the two-year-long armistice talks in Korea are finally coming to an end. On July 27, representatives of both sides formally signed an armistice agreement at Panmunjom.
"Zhang Taofang and thousands of snipers made a great contribution to the signing of the armistice." A few years ago, Lu Changqing was emotionally moved by the words in a related documentary, he said, "We didn't enjoy any special treatment, and this evaluation is enough." ”
After the war, Zhang Taofang was awarded the title of "Second-Class Sniper Hero" by the Volunteer Army Headquarters; At the same time, he was awarded the Order of the National Flag by the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, 1st class. In the spring of 1954, the Volunteer Army selected fighter pilots, and 198 soldiers of the 24th Army passed the primary selection, and in the end, only Zhang Taofang was selected and became the first generation of fighter fighter pilots in New China.
Since then, he has never been on the battlefield again, nor has he picked up a sniper rifle. On October 29, 2007, Zhang Taofang passed away in the First Army Rest House in Weifang City. The tombstone is engraved with his favorite verses: Pain is so long-lasting, like a snail moving patiently; Happiness is so short-lived, like a rabbit's tail skimming over the autumn prairie
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