In 1971, at the "August 1st" Founding Day reception held by the Ministry of National Defense, Marshal Xu Qianqian, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, pointed to the commander of the Second Artillery At that time and said to the people around him, "We are old acquaintances, and if I hadn't rescued him when I had crossed the meadow, where would he still be sitting here today?"
What is the story behind this sentence? Who is this Commander of the Second Artillery? Many readers and friends may think that this person must be the Red Fourth Front, Xu Qianqian's old subordinate. Xu Xiangqian commanded Ruoding, and he was very generous and saved many people in his life.
For example, General Chen Xilian and Lieutenant General Zhou Xihan, if it were not for Xu Xiangqian personally coming to the rescue, they would have become the ghosts under Zhang Guotao's sword and went to shout injustice to Marx. However, the commander of the Second Artillery Corps mentioned today is not the Red Fourth Front.
His name is Zhang Yixiang, from Liuyang, Hunan, one of the ten major general counties in China, and he lost his father at the age of 3, and his mother took him to beg for food. In 1929, at the age of 15, Zhang Yixiang joined the Red Army, where he was part of the unit led by Peng Dehuai, the Fifth Red Army, which later developed into the Red Third Army.
Zhang Yixiang joined the army and became a squad leader. In 1930, the Red Third Army attacked Changsha, Zhang Yixiang charged forward, in the most fierce fight, he was hit by a bullet, almost injured the heart, Zhang Yixiang was difficult not to die, was sent to the rear hospital.
In 1931, Zhang Yixiang was promoted to deputy battalion commander and participated in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" battle in the Central Soviet Region, and in 1933, he was assigned to the Red Sixth Army as a battalion commander, becoming a subordinate of Xiao Kewang Zhen, and later joined the Red Second Front Led by He Long.
On the road of the Long March, the Red Second Front entered the meadow and was suddenly attacked by a large force of Kuomintang cavalry, and the division commander ordered Zhang Yixiang to resolutely block the attack of the Kuomintang cavalry and cover the main force at all costs to continue to advance.
The safety of the entire front was tied to Zhang Yixiang's shoulders, and he firmly told the division commander that he would guarantee the completion of the task. The task was very arduous, and ten minutes later, the Kuomintang cavalry rushed up with great force.
When they entered the range of the Red Army, Zhang Yixiang decisively ordered fire, and in an instant, the Nationalist cavalry fell to the ground. However, the front fell, and soon the rear swarmed from several directions, as if they had discovered that Zhang Yixiang's troops were not much, so they attacked even more frantically.
Zhang Yixiang led one of his battalions to resist desperately and fight bitterly. Short handovers, bayonets, slashes with large knives, smash with rifle butts, and even bite with teeth. Night was slowly falling, there were fewer and fewer Reds to fight, and the enemy's cavalry was still attacking vigorously.
At the moment of life and death, Zhang Yixiang suddenly found that a large area of gunfire came from behind the Kuomintang cavalry, and their camp was instantly disrupted. The scouts soon received heartening news, and the comrades of the Red Fourth Front sent troops to receive them.
Originally, Xu Xiangqian learned through reconnaissance that a rear guard battalion of the Red Second Front was surrounded by Kuomintang cavalry, and the situation was in danger, so he quickly sent troops to the rescue. With the response of the brother troops of the four fronts, Zhang Yixiang counterattacked and finally repelled the Kuomintang cavalry.
Xu Xiangqian saved Zhang Yixiang's life. At that time, Zhang Yixiang was only a small battalion commander, which was very inconspicuous in the Red Army. Xu Xiangqian estimated that he did not expect that Zhang Yixiang's later achievements would be so great.
When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, Zhang Yixiang went to the East China Battlefield, he fought very bravely, when he was the regimental commander, he personally went to the front, and as a result, he was seriously wounded, his chest was bleeding, and he lay on a stretcher and insisted on commanding the battle.
The East China Field Army had an ace of the first column, the commander was Ye Fei, and Zhang Yixiang was the deputy commander and chief of staff. Zhang Yixiang assisted Ye Fei and participated in a series of vicious battles in the East China Battlefield. Su Yu once said that the first column was the most arduous and should be counted as the first merit.
The Battle of Huaihai was imminent, Ye Fei unfortunately fell ill and could not insist on commanding the troops, zhang Yixiang led the first column to complete one combat task after another arranged by Su Yu. The 1st Column successfully encircled the enemy 63rd Army in the Kiln Bay area.
Su Yu personally called Zhang Yixiang, you have a column, destroy the enemy an army, are you sure? Zhang Yixiang replied confidently that he was sure. Su Yu said, "Well, I wish you success." Su Yu especially reminded Zhang Yixiang to combine military strikes with political struggle.
In this battle, Zhang Yixiang and his comrades-in-arms created a battle example of using a column to eat the enemy's army. In 1950, Zhang Yixiang served as the commander of the 20th Army, followed the Ninth Corps into the Korean War, fought in the Bloody Battle of Chosin Lake, and created a masterpiece in the history of human warfare.
In 1955, Zhang Yixiang was awarded the title of founding lieutenant general. After returning from Korea, he successively served as deputy commander of the Zhejiang Military Region, deputy commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, and commander of the Railway Corps. In 1969, Premier Zhou personally nominated and Chairman Mao approved, and Zhang Yixiang was appointed commander of the Second Artillery Corps.
The small battalion commander became the grand commander, which was really remarkable. If xu xiangqian had not sent troops to save each other, I am afraid that there would be no later Zhang Yixiang, who was very grateful to Xu Xiangqian for saving his life.