Author: Shi Qian
On August 15, 1944, the sun was shining, and the main force of the 4th Division of the New Fourth Army held a grand westward oath meeting. On the rostrum, Peng Xuefeng dressed up cleanly and vigorously mobilized for the westward march:
"Comrades! Three years ago, in order to take into account the overall situation of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and preserve the living forces of the War of Resistance, our 4th Division withdrew from the western position of Yuwan Sulu Road. However, the diehard Kuomintang faction regarded our forbearance as weakness and deception, crossed the Jinpu Road, and intensified their efforts to engage in some kind of 'east-west combined attack'. Now that the Japanese invaded the Central Plains, the main force of tang Enbo's troops, which were actively opposed to communism, retreated without a fight, causing the vast henan region, especially the Yuwan-Suzhou region, to fall into the hands of the enemy. The few recalcitrant troops left behind have long since merged with the Japanese and the puppets, wantonly brutalizing the people, actively opposing communism, and undermining the anti-Japanese resistance.
Comrades, from the day we withdrew from Luxi, we vowed to recover The Subian of Yuwan and Anhui, 'a gentleman's revenge, three years is not too late'. Now, 3 years have passed. We are the sons and daughters of the People of Yuwan Su, and Yuwan Su is our hometown, where there are our parents, our wives and families, and our brothers and sisters. In the past 3 years, we have been looking forward to the early restoration of Yuyuan Su day and night, and the people of Yuwan Su have also been leaning on the door and looking east at all times, which can be said to be looking forward to seeing through. Now, finally, I am looking forward to this day.... ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > Peng Xuefeng's words shocked every commander and fighter, and the westward march army braved the sweltering heat to embark on the journey</h1>
On the 20th, the westward marching troops crossed Jinpu Road north of Suxian County and entered the west of Jinpu Road.
On the 21st, the westward marching troops were unreasonably blocked by the stubborn and pseudo-integrated Kuomintang Northern Jiangsu Advancing Army's 40th Column, and the vanguard of the 4th Division immediately launched a self-defense counterattack. Where the recalcitrant army could resist the westward iron flow of the New Fourth Army, it collapsed at the first touch.
However, the recalcitrant army retreated to Xiaozhuzhuang and continued to block the westward advance, and its commander Wang Chuan slowly boasted about Haikou: "With me holding the gate of Xiaozhuzhuang on the west side of the road, the New Fourth Army will not want to fly over with its wings!" "The anti-communist arrogance is very arrogant.
On the 22nd, the vanguard of the 4th Division swept around Xiaozhuzhuang and cleared the perimeter. On the 23rd, Peng Xuefeng personally came to the front line and commanded the 31st, 32nd regiments and cavalry regiments to besiege the recalcitrant army, annihilating more than 1,600 of them and killing Wang Chuanhuan.
Liu Ruiqi,a recalcitrant army aided from Xiao County in the south, was swept all the way by the New Fourth Army and fled in a daze; Liu Ziren, a recalcitrant army aided from the east, learned that Wang Chuanhuan's troops had been annihilated and immediately turned around and fled west; Wu Xinyuan, commander of the 3rd detachment of the 28th Column of the Recalcitrant Army, led 1,700 officers and men to revolt at the instigation of the local party organization in Xiao County, which was reorganized into the XiaoXian Independent Brigade, under the command of the 4th Division, and continued to stay in the Xiaoxian area to ensure the rear passage of the westward troops.
After crossing the Jinpu Road, the Sudong guerrilla detachment also annihilated the Tutu Stubborn One on the 26th in the Ten Mile Changshan Mountain, and defeated the recalcitrant Hu Kaixiang and pursued it to the Tiefo Temple.
The battle of Xiaozhuzhuang opened the door to the westward advance, and "morale was boosted, the people returned to their hearts, the enemy and the hypocrisy were invincible, and the soil was stubbornly disintegrated." After that, the westward marching troops swept away the fallen leaves with the autumn wind, and the Japanese puppet army strongholds such as Huangzhuang, Juzhuang, and Mazhuang, southeast of Yongcheng in the South of the River, quickly restored the Xiaoyongsu area. "The enemy lost its courage without turning the moon, the land was restored, the people were liberated, and the situation in Luxi was thus laid, and the victory was great and the speed of its success was beyond our expectations." The broad masses rejoiced and warmly welcomed the return of their children and soldiers, and told their relatives one after another about the sufferings of being ravaged and oppressed by the enemy and hypocrisy over the past three years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Second, the recalcitrant enemy army pressed the border, the New Fourth Army headquarters was really nervous, and it called the CPC Central Committee and the 4th Division several times in one day</h1>
In order to take advantage of this opportune opportunity to express the flesh-and-blood feelings of the sons and daughters of the soldiers to the vast number of compatriots in Yuwan and Suzhou, so as to mobilize and organize the masses and better cooperate with the troops' westward advance, Peng Xuefeng ordered the soldiers to distribute to the people of the Yuwan-Anhui-Suzhou Border Region the "Letter of Respect to the Fathers, Elders, Brothers and Sisters of the Yuwan-Anhui-Suzhou Border Region" signed by Peng Xuefeng, Deng Zihui, Zhang Zhen, and Wu Zhipu: "Your sons and daughters, don't leave you, it has been 3 years and 3 months!" Although the time is not long, but the whole division, no matter who has the feeling of 'one day and three autumns'! For 3 years, we have been thinking about Luxi all the time, talking about the Yuwan-Suzhou Border Region, and never forgetting our fathers, brothers and sisters! ”
Then, the "Letter of Respect" also recalled the heroic anti-Japanese struggle and the three-month arduous anti-fascist struggle jointly waged by the military and people in the Yuwan-Anhui Soviet Border Region three years ago, analyzed the current situation of anti-fascist struggle in the world, the whole country, and central China, and affirmed that the task of the 4th Division's westward march into The Yuwan-Anhui-Suzhou Was: "In order to finally save the Chinese nation, rescue the rear area, recover the Central Plains, quickly seek a strategic counteroffensive, and cooperate with friendly forces to fight, our army continues to ignore the gaps, does not think of the past, and works harder to respond to friendly forces, assist friendly forces in counterattacking, and suppress the enemy." Strike at the enemy, make it difficult for him to hesitate and advance, in order to coordinate with the current unprecedentedly favorable international situation, expel the enemy at an early date, recover his national territory, and liberate the Chinese nation. ”
To this end, the "Letter of Respect" issued an appeal to friendly troops, friendly parties, compatriots, and long-hidden underground MEMBERS of the CPC in the Yuwan-Anhui-Suzhou Border Region, asking them to "rise up together, work together, and march toward the road of light and happiness!" Victory is coming."
However, the Diehard Kuomintang faction, which was timid in resisting the War of Resistance and daring to oppose communism, looked at the tiger and tried to repeat the same trick and take advantage of the fact that the New Fourth Army's foothold was unstable, actively dispatched troops and generals to counterattack.
On September 2, 1944, Tang Enbo ordered Wang Yuwen, commander of the Provisional 1st Army, to unify the 8th Cavalry Division, the Provisional 62nd Division, the Temporary 30th Division, and the Provisional 14th Division to attack Yongcheng and Xiaoxian from the south of the Vortex River, and to receive the remnants of Geng Jixun and Liu Ruiqi of the Kuomintang Northern Su Advance Army north of Longhai Road; ordered Duan Haizhou of the 33rd Division and Miao Xiulin of the 14th Column to attack from the east to the west of Jinpu Road, in an attempt to attack the westward troops from the east, south, and north of the Xiaoyong area in mid-September.
On September 5, after reporting on the stubborn situation of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, the New Fourth Army held that "the attempt of the stubborn enemy to attack the westward advance of the 4th Division from the south, north, and east has become obvious." "We immediately plan to concentrate the main force of Ludong to cooperate with Luxi's troops, first attack and annihilate the sections of the Ludong-west movement, Miao, and other units, to ensure the connection between the east and the west, and then concentrate the main force to deal with the stubborn enemy in the womeng area going north." "Xiao Yong is the key to the connection between the stubborn enemies of Su and Lu, and will certainly be the key place for the stubborn enemy, and it is estimated that it is inevitable that the stubborn me will fight continuously in the XiaoYong area." We are prepared to resolutely strike at the stubborn enemy in successive battles in order to consolidate the Xiaoyong area and then advance westward to ensure that we will be able to do so, otherwise we will have the worry of being cut off. ”
The New Fourth Army headquarters was really nervous when the recalcitrant enemy army pressed the border, and it called the CPC Central Committee and the 4th Division several times in one day to constantly expound the importance of this campaign and make detailed arrangements for the operation, so as to avoid the mistakes of the last westward advance.
However, the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee was very calm, believing that in fact, "the stubborn side was very panicked" and that "the various units of the recalcitrant army were scattered everywhere, the mobilization was not effective, the coordination was uncertain, and the three-way attack plan was not easy to realize."
The Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee pointed out: We should adopt the policy of breaking through the recalcitrant troops that come to attack them. The westward advancing troops arranged the battlefield on the spot and prepared to meet the recalcitrant troops who were attacking, and the huaibei road troops sent capable troops to the rear when Duan and Miaobu were to attack the west, and cooperated with the westward advancing troops to wipe out Duan and Miao in the Xiaoyong area; the 7th Brigade entered the line of Sinan and Lingbi and crossed the Jinpu Road for reinforcements if necessary; the Sudong guerrilla detachment in Suxi should intensify its activities to contain the recalcitrant troops in the Woyang and Mengcheng areas; the Eighth Route Army's Hebei Luyu Military Region mobilized troops to eliminate the remnants of Geng and Liu at the greatest speed and open up contact with the troops advancing west; and the troops in the Shuidong area should carry out guerrilla attacks on the spot , to contain the recalcitrant Chen Daqing's troops and prevent them from attacking the Xiao Yongxia area with all their might.
The Central Military Commission of the COMMUNIST Party of China also pointed out in particular: "The area east of the new Yellow River is the link hub between North China and Central China, which is extremely important strategically, and has now become a place where stubbornness must be contested." Our army must be victorious in successive battles in order to fully consolidate the development of the region. To this end, under the unified command of Peng Xuefeng, all units should cooperate with operations flexibly and astutely to complete the tasks they have undertaken.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > third, Peng Xuefeng was sacrificed, and Zhang Zhen ordered strict confidentiality</h1>
In order to further expand the battlefield and give the New Fourth Army more room for maneuver in the area north of Yongcheng, the leaders of the 4th Division decided, after study, to first attack Li Guangming, the 82nd detachment of the 28th Column, which was stubborn, pseudo,and banditry in Bali, east of Xiayi County.
According to the instructions of the CPC Central Committee, the New Fourth Army decided to set up the Ludong Headquarters, with Peng Mingyi, commander of the 7th Brigade, and Wei Guoqing, commander of the 9th Brigade, as the political commissar, to unify the command of the 7th and 9th Brigades and the 52nd Regiment of the 1st Division, following Duan Haizhou and Miao Xiulin.
On September 12, Duan Haizhou and Cao Xiulin suffered heavy losses, and the New Fourth Army completely annihilated 1 of its regiments and destroyed 5 regiments.
At dusk on September 11, as night gradually fell, Peng Xuefeng and Zhang Zhen of Luxi commanded their troops to secretly approach Balizhuang and quickly reached a siege. Within 10 minutes, the 4th Division broke through from both the east and the north and breached Balizhuang. Most of the enemy troops were captured by the New Fourth Army in their sleep, and only Li Guangming's detachment headquarters and another brigade relied on the small polder in the southwest corner to resist.
Peng Xuefeng was at the forefront commanding the battle, and bullets whizzed over his head. Being a pioneer is his consistent style. He once wrote in a letter to his lover Lin Ying: "In the command position, I was deeply touched to see the brave and courageous posture of the soldiers who bravely marched forward and bravely disregarded their bodies. [The warriors] spared no mercy for their lives in order to carry out their orders. I love them from the bottom of my heart, maybe they are also loving me! Because I wasn't far from them, I didn't even need a telescope, I just didn't charge with them. ”
After fierce fighting, the peripheral battle ended at 3 a.m. on the 12th, Peng Xuefeng and Zhang Zhen entered Balizhuang, rested in the Catholic Church, and decided to launch a general attack at dawn.
Suddenly, the guard ran in and said, "Division Commander! Teachers! The enemy has broken through! Peng Xuefeng and Zhang Zhen immediately climbed up to the height of the southern wall to observe, and commanded the cavalry unit to pursue and annihilate the enemy.
In the night, unexpectedly, a criminal bullet flew over, and Peng Xuefeng fell, blood gushing out of the bullet hole in his left chest. Zhang Zhen hurriedly hugged him, only to see that Peng Xuefeng's face was pale and his pupils had dilated. Zhang Zhen hurriedly called the doctor and injected a cardiotonic agent, but Peng Xuefeng's heart never beat anymore, and the star fell...
Zhang Zhen hugged Peng Xuefeng and was grief-stricken. Deeply aware of the seriousness of the problem, he ordered strict secrecy and immediately reported to the New Fourth Army Headquarters.
After fierce fighting, more than a thousand people under Li Guangming were captured, more than 200 wounded, 11 machine guns, more than 1,000 long guns, and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition.
On the 13th, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China decided to transfer Zhang Aiping as the commander of the 4th Division and Wei Guoqing as the deputy commander of the division, and ordered Wei Guoqing to go to Jinpu Road West to direct the operation. In late November, the westward march of the New Fourth Army opened up areas such as Shang (Qiu) (County) and Yong (Cheng). At this point, the New Fourth Army basically restored the anti-Japanese base area of the Yuwan-Anhui Soviet Border, established the 2nd Special Office of Huaibei and the anti-Japanese regime in 8 counties, and established the 2nd Military Sub-district, which further consolidated the Yuwan-Anhui Soviet Border Region.
The news of Peng Xuefeng's sacrifice was not announced until January 24, 1945, and the whole party and the whole army were infinitely saddened, and the people of Yuwan and Suzhou were particularly sad.
On February 8, 1945, Yan'an's "Liberation Daily" published a special commemorative issue of Peng Xuefeng, which published an altar article:
For the nation, for the masses, twenty years of birth and death, meritorious service to the motherland;
Fight Japan, fight traitors, millions of compatriots are free and equal, ze was changed.
The elegy co-written by Chairman Mao, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, and Chen Yi is:
Twenty years of arduous undertakings, about to be completely completed, endure to see the brilliant achievements, the name of heroism is eternal, the first is loyal, is a good example for communists;
Thousands of miles of broken rivers and mountains are waiting to be cleaned up from scratch, blood and flowers are splashed, sacrificed for the country, full of sorrow and indignation, and mourning heroes for the Chinese nation.
Chen Yi was so sad that he wrote the famous poem "Eight Songs of Weeping Peng". Among them are:
Our party is in the world, and it is also handsome and talented. Zhuang Zhao was martyred and loved by all.
The majestic pressure on the Longhai, the hero breaks the Huai River. Glory and decline are exhausted, and all the people are in tears.
again:
Huaibei mourned, and the light was dim. Life for remembrance, all night without sleep.
About author:Shi Kui, history teacher at colleges and universities, history researcher. He has been cultivating the history of the Party, the Military and the History of War for a long time. History lovers are welcome to exchange criticisms.