On June 26, 1948, after the victory in the Battle of Kaifeng, in order to lure the enemy to help, the 3rd and 8th Columns of the East China Field Army took the initiative to withdraw from Kaifeng. The arrogant Kuomintang Fifth Army actively invaded kaifeng and surrounded the East China Field Army in order to seize merit. The suspicious District Shounian Corps hesitated and hesitated in the Suixian and Qixian areas, and pulled away from the Fifth Army by 40 kilometers. When the fighters appeared, the 1st, 4th, and 6th Columns of the East China Field Army and the 11th Column of Nakano launched a fierce attack on the Ou Shou Nian Corps on June 27, and the 3rd, 8th, 10th, and 2nd Guangdong Columns of the East China Field Army formed a blocking group and heroically blocked the Kuomintang Fifth Army and its aid to the enemy with the cooperation of the Central Plains Field Army.
On June 29, the East China Field Army completely annihilated changguotun to defend the headquarters of the 6th Brigade of the 75th Division and its 18th Regiment; on the 30th, the East China Field Army captured qiutun village. At the same time, the 11th Column of the East China Field Army had annihilated the enemy of Chen Xiaolou in Sui County. On July 1, the 1st Column and the 3rd Division completely annihilated the enemy in Baiwa, and the 1st Division occupied the villages of Duan jitun and Wangzhuang, blocking the connection between the enemy's 75th Division and the 72nd Division, and fighting fiercely for one day and one night to annihilate the main forces of the District Shounian Corps, the reorganized 75th Division, and the District Shounian Corps. On the 3rd, it began to mobilize troops to surround and annihilate the 72nd Division centered on the Tiefo Temple. On the 4th, Chiang Kai-shek, who was trying to save the defeat, flew a large plane of "Air Fortress" to the battlefield of eastern Henan to supervise the battle, and urgently ordered the Huang Baitao Corps from Yanzhou to rescue the 72nd Division. On the evening of the 6th, after a fierce artillery fire of the East China Field Army hit Huang Baitao in a frenzy, he took the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield and enter the predetermined location in southwest Lu to rest. At this point, the Battle of Suiqi was victoriously concluded.
The Battle of Suiqi lasted 10 days and nights from June 27 when the East China Field Army Headquarters issued the operational order to attack the Shounian Corps in the attack area, and ended on the evening of July 6 when the People's Liberation Army voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield. In this campaign, the People's Liberation Army annihilated most of the Shounian Corps in the district, the Huang Baitao Corps and the Qiu Qingquan Corps, each with more than 50,000 people, and captured a large number of weapons and ammunition.
The victory in the Suiqi Campaign weakened the effective strength of the Kuomintang army in the central plains battlefield, brought about a major change in the balance of combat effectiveness, and laid a solid foundation for the smooth conduct of the Huaihai Campaign by the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Today, let us revisit the suiqi battle diary of Liao Zhengguo, then commander of the first division of the first column of Huaye, and review this precious beacon years together.
June 27, 1948
After crossing the Huiji River, it is the Suiqi area.
"Suiqi" (睢杞) is a county in Henan Province, located west of Shangqiu and southeast of Kaifeng, bordering the two counties. This area is an endless plain, and almost all the major villages and towns have earthen fences and moat ditches, so it has always been called "ancient war tide."
At dawn, the vanguard units of the first column of our East China Field Army had just crossed Hebei when they engaged the troops of the Shounian Corps in the enemy area. The warriors were very happy and said, "First eat small fish to supplement the body, grind your sharp teeth and eat big fish!"
Ou Shounian is indeed a small fish compared to Qiu Qingquan. At a meeting of senior cadres of the first, fourth, and sixth columns in Puyang, Commander-in-Chief Zhu De instructed the enemy to annihilate the enemy with the tactic of "playing with dragon lanterns and catching big fish." When we came to the Central Plains this time, we were preparing to deal with Chiang Kai-shek's trump card, Qiu Qingquan's reorganized Fifth Army, according to this method of operation.
Who knew that the cunning Qiu Qingquan found out that we had the idea of beating him, and acted very carefully, always avoiding us. Therefore, the head of the East China Field Army decided to launch the Kaifeng Campaign and mobilize the Fifth Army to annihilate it when it came to its aid. After the start of Kaifeng, Qiu Qingquan really came to the rescue, but I was blocked by me and was in a difficult situation.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered Ou Shounian to lead the reorganized Seventy-second Division, the Reorganized Seventy-fifth Division, and the New Twenty-first Brigade to attack the Suiqi area, detouring from the left flank to Kaifeng to support Qiu Qingquan. Since he is willing to take the bait, we certainly won't let him go easily. Therefore, the head of the East China Field Army decided to annihilate Ou Shounian in the Suiqi area.
Commander Ye Fei of the column instructed us: "The task of your division is to penetrate deep into the enemy along the west side of Sui County, split the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-second Divisions, and point the spearhead at the Dragon King Shop to disrupt the enemy's deployment." "We immediately followed the determination of the column commander and opened the prelude to the battle!
At dusk, with the strong cooperation of the vanguard battalion of the Second Regiment, the division's reconnaissance company, with the momentum of a fierce tiger swooping down on the sheep, first captured Sanlizhuang and Duan Qitun in the northwest of Sui County, captured more than 200 enemy soldiers in one fell swoop, and opened up a road to penetrate deep into the enemy. Immediately afterward, my two regiments and one regiment unfolded one after the other, forming a sharp steel drill, which alternately inserted forward with the favorable conditions of the green gauze tent and the cover of night. Overnight, sixteen Zhuangzi were seized and a large opening more than ten miles long and three or four miles wide was torn open.
At about ten o'clock, the first regiment reported that the captured prisoners were from the Seventy-fifth Division; the second regiment reported that the enemy was from the Seventy-second Division; and the second battalion of the second regiment reported that an adjutant of the regimental headquarters of Ou Shounian had been captured north of the Shuangmiao Temple, and confessed that Ou Shounian was in Longwangdian. Good! We were poking at the junction of the enemy's Seventy-second and Seventy-fifth Divisions, and the Ou ShouNian Corps had already been split in half by us.
At about twenty-one o'clock, I, Political Commissar Zeng Ruqing, Deputy Division Commander Chen Ting, Director Zhang Gumei, and others led the division command post into the torn mouth. In this narrow area, flares hung in the sky, planes circled and strafed in the night sky, and guns and shells flew through the air from time to time, emitting a violent roar. At a glance, I knew that the panicked Ou Shounian was doing his best to pounce on me, pinch me, try to eat us, or squeeze us out of this area.
But "if it comes, it will be safe", we installed a command post in the gap between the enemy's Seventy-second Division and the Seventy-fifth Division, and immediately ordered the first and second regiments to attack the enemy back-to-back and defend the existing positions; at the same time, we also pulled up the only reserve troops, the first and third battalions of the three regiments, and the special service battalion of the division headquarters, and launched a fierce counterattack against the enemy who was attacking us. Only in this way was the breakthrough point and the position was consolidated.
After midnight, the fighting intensified. The ten miles of narrow space was almost filled with smoke from shells and bullets, and the air seemed to heat up. In this case, no matter how experienced you are, it is difficult to distinguish between the enemy and us from the sound of gunfire. Such a laughing and rare thing happened: the shells of the enemy's Seventy-second Division in the east flew over our heads and landed right in front of the positions of the enemy's Seventy-fifth Division in the west; the Seventy-fifth Division, not willing to show weakness, hurriedly concentrated its fire to return fire. As a result, I don't know how many shells were swallowed by themselves. Later, the fighting was inextricable, and they also asked their planes to help in the battle, and the chaos could be imagined.
Under such circumstances, we were surprised by the enemy and boldly completed the task of interspersing and dividing the enemy. Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, he took advantage of the enemy's confusion and counterattacked on the one hand, and on the other hand, he built fortifications and gained a foothold in the narrow strip between the enemy's two divisions, thus creating conditions for continuing the fighting.
June 28
The sky was clear, the sun was shining, there was no wind in the wilderness, and the earth was hot. Growing sorghum and corn curled up in their leaves, freshly drawn ears hunched over their heads as if they had been roasted by fire. The air around them was dry and scorched, stuffy and hot, and people seemed to be out of breath. The hot summer arrived prematurely.
Yesterday there was a day and night of melee, and it seems that today is relatively quiet. However, neither the enemy nor we will let go of the precious moment, actively reconnaissance, judgment, planning, deployment and mobilization of troops, and each is buying time to capture the fighter plane and decide between male and female.
Yes! Last night's action was like a sharp knife inserted into the enemy's heart, dividing the enemy apart. However, this is only the first step in annihilating the enemy. The next step is how to cut the heart out of the heart and eat the enemy, it will be a hard battle!
June 30
The intense battle began again last night. If I hadn't looked at my watch, I really wouldn't have known that time had entered a new day.
After the melee, the enemy seemed to be a little soberer. After dawn, enemy planes and artillery continued to attack our division's positions. After a while, something nerve-wracking happened: all the telephone lines to the regiments were blown up, and several rush repairs were not completed. The whole division was in a narrow position, facing the enemy on three sides, and it was necessary to be vigilant and constantly confront the enemy, and the battle situation was changing rapidly, but we lost contact with the upper and lower levels, which was really anxious. Fortunately, at this time, you can also listen to and judge some situations from the enemy's roar in the radio. "Hey! Hear that? Hear that? You are limited to converging before noon and doing your best to break the heart-digging tactics of the communist army!" It was clear that the enemy corps headquarters was giving orders to the two divisions.
"Please report to the commander, the enemy in front of you is menacing, the defense is strong, the tactics are elusive, and the noon close is a lot of difficulties!" There are many difficulties!" I don't know whether the enemy Seventy-second Division or the Seventy-fifth Division is crying bitterly.
You can also hear some indistinguishable reprimands and shouts:
"Tell you regimental commander that the Double Temple is a village on the outskirts of the Corps Headquarters and must be taken back." Now attach the tank to you and strengthen the offensive. If you can't take it down again, the military law will be engaged!"
"Talk to the battalion commander!...... If You Can't Take It, Watch Out for Your Head!"
"No, no! The top can't stand it, where can you fight back!?"
"Bastard, it is the duty of a soldier to obey orders. This is Chairman Jiang's order!"
“……”
Enough is enough, and this is enough to show that the soldiers of our army have stood up tenaciously, fought bravely, and the positions that have been obtained are still in our hands. Since the enemy is so afraid, my hanging heart is also fulfilled.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, as soon as the telephone was repaired and connected, the column informed the enemy of the situation, saying: "In the midst of the chaos, Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered Qiu Qingquan and Huang Botao to attack the Suiqi area from the east and west in an attempt to actively support The District Shounian. In addition, Hu Lian, Wu Shaozhou, Yang Gancai, and other troops were mobilized to rush to the scene. He threatened to 'fight in the Yellow Pan Area and eliminate the Communist Army in the Central Plains'. At present, the brother troops are blocking the attack; the attack of the brother division on Qiutun south of Changlangtun is still deadlocked, and your division must hold the position and strangle in the heart of the enemy. ”
Listening, I think that Chiang Kai-shek's big words are certainly commonplace to us, but this time he made such a big bet, but it is very noteworthy. It can be seen from the entire situation of the enemy and us that if I cannot quickly annihilate the District Shounian Corps, it will be extremely unfavorable to the Central Plains battlefield. Moreover, at present, our division is placed between the enemy's two divisions, and if it is attacked on all sides, if it is not done well, there will be a danger of being "wrapped in dumplings" by the enemy. When I think of this, I feel that my shoulders are much heavier.
Just then, the phone rang. The column reported: "Did you find it?" There was a big plane with five heads in the air, and it was Chiang Kai-shek's special plane! Chiang Kai-shek personally came to supervise the battle!...... "I turned around and walked out of the command post, and looked up, and sure enough, there were three large planes with five black heads in the sky, and about seven or eight fighter bodyguards around me.
Immediately there was a commotion in the command post, and all the telephones were transmitting an order downwards: "All regiments, except for not relaxing their vigilance and attacking the enemy in front of them, all the firearms, are firing at the air in unison to shoot Chiang Kai-shek down!"
We have fought with this traitorous chiang kai-shek for more than twenty years, and we have never been so close to him! The soldiers were so indignant that they almost all jumped out of the trenches and scattered pits to "greet" Chiang Kai-shek's "coming." Some were on the roof, some were next to the mound, some were under large trees or on the edge of sorghum and corn fields, ignoring the enemy's artillery bombardment, sitting or standing, and shooting at three five-headed planes. Suddenly, the big plane that "honored" Chiang Kai-shek flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and finally fled in a hurry. The soldiers cheered: "Chiang Kai-shek slipped away with his tail between his legs!"
This episode makes us feel even more at home. Although Chiang Kai-shek was dispatching troops and killing Ben Suiqi, the trepidation in his heart was difficult to conceal. Not long ago, he also triumphantly shouted that "the Central Plains should be purged within three months." Once upon a time, he could not sit in the "Golden Ruan Hall" of Nanjing Province, and personally went out to supervise the battle. Isn't this a sign of a tragic situation in which Chiang Kai-shek is deteriorating?
July 1
The battle against Chang Lang Tun began yesterday evening. We had another unusual night.
Changlangtun, located in the northwest of Sui County, is perpendicular to the north with Longwangdian, south by Qiutun, west by Yuxiangpu, and east by the troops of the enemy's Seventy-second Division, like a big tooth directly threatening us. There were only about twenty households in this tun, but it was crowded with the brigade headquarters of the sixth brigade of the enemy's Seventy-fifth Division, the engineering battalion, the artillery battalion, the communication battalion, and the reinforcement battalion, as well as the reinforcement battalions newly sent by the Eighteenth Regiment and the district Shou Nian, totaling more than 5,000 people. Outside the tun, there are earth fences and moats that circle the tun in half a circle.
In the northeast corner of the tun, there is also an inner fence. Except for a mass graveyard in the northeast corner, there is a flat river everywhere else. Relying on this terrain condition, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the enemy has formed an unprecedented defense system of so-called "three-layer three-layer three-layer planes" and has huddled up all the soldiers, held a point, strictly guarded the surrounding areas, and implemented the tactical means of pincer counterattack to prevent our army from attacking.
In order to effectively cooperate with the brother troops in annihilating the enemies of Yuxiangpu, Qiutun and Jiangangji, we, in accordance with the determination of the column, attacked the enemy on three sides on the one hand and held the existing positions; on the other hand, we took the attack as a defense and organized our troops to launch an attack on Changlangtun.
From the point of view of Chang Lang Tun, the enemy is outnumbered, and it is very difficult to break through the tun in a very short period of time. More importantly, we were always unclear about the enemy situation in Tunnei beforehand, and the so-called "flat three-layer three-layer three-layer" defense system had never been touched. So, after several hours of fierce fighting, it was still not successful.
Fang Ming, commander of the Second Regiment, reported by telephone: "The breakthrough point to the east of Changlangtun has been blocked by the enemy, and although a multi-battalion led by Comrade Hu Yunbiao, chief of staff of the regiment, has broken through, it is all stuck in the tun, and now it is fighting with the enemy, and the situation is very critical!" At the end, he said bitterly: "Comrade Tan Zhong, deputy regimental commander, has been seriously injured, and Comrade Tang Helin, the combat staff officer, has died!"
Every word and sentence of Commander Fang's report was very heavy, and my heart was tightly clasped. I replied, "Don't panic! Stand firm and fight again!"
It's been a few minutes since the call ended, but I'm still clutching the earpiece, my heart is surging with heat, and beads of sweat are dripping down. The former political commissar next to me noticed that I was abnormal, so he asked, "Division Commander, what's wrong?" I didn't answer, and the contemplation overwhelmed everything.
I am thinking that the first regiment is an old heroic unit tempered since three years of guerrilla warfare, and one of the companies, in the well-known Battle of Laiwu in February 1947, insisted on the small concave position, successively withstood the continuous attacks of one or two brigades, and won the glorious title of "People's Meritorious Company"; the third company is the company (that is, today's Yang Gensi Company) where the platoon commander of the "Demolition King" Yang Gensi is located, and from three years of guerrilla warfare and eight years of war of resistance to the present, it has always been a strong company that can live hard. But today they were all frustrated and resisted by the enemy.
The second regiment, which is also able to defend and attack well, is also in an unfavorable situation at present, and the cadres suffered heavy casualties... The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became, and there was an unspeakable feeling of regret and anxiety in my heart, and I was eager to jump out of the command post and immediately swallow the enemy of Chang Langtun alive. Now, however, there were no mobile units under his command except for one company of the only special service battalion. I thought, at this time, if I could allocate a little reinforcement, even if it was a company, I would quickly solve the battle!
It just so happened that Commander Ye called and inquired about the battle. He asked me, "How's it going?" I immediately replied, "The situation is neither good nor bad, we may be here, or the enemy may be there!" At that time, I thought that the Second Division was still in the mobile position of Sui County, and under the control of the mood of victory, I made a request to Commander Ye to send a regiment to the aid of the Second Division.
Commander Ye seemed to have a clear idea of my mood, so he said to me in a serious tone: "So far, the battles of the brother column and the brother division have not made much progress, and the second division has surrounded the Twenty-seventh Division." If Chang Lang Tun can quickly attack, it can disrupt the enemy's entire defense system, which is a pivotal move! You should be desperate to open the war! In times of emergency, we always have to overcome the enemy in determination, tenacity and tactical technology in order to achieve victory! Now I'll let the column guard battalion run and put it under your command!"
We are familiar with commander Ye's habits. He always had few troops around him, and whenever there was an emergency, he often took out the only guard unit and used it in the most critical places. Now that he is going to send us the guard unit, it can be seen that the situation is critical. In this way, I was both encouraged and ashamed to regret that I should not have made such a request to the commander at this time. So I said to Commander Ye in unison, "Don't! Guard battalion don't come! We will find our own way and resolutely complete the task!"
"No! I immediately told them to rush there!"
I put down the earpiece and immediately conveyed Commander Ye's instructions and determination to the former political commissar and Director Zhang next to me.
Commissar Zeng said, "Yes! If we don't eat the enemies of Chang Lang Tun, we just can't withdraw if we want to!"
Director Zhang said, "Yes! But now the only thing is the question of troop strength..."
I threw away my cigarette butt and stared fiercely at the map that had been scratched, and Chang Langtun strongly attracted me: for the sake of victory in the battle, it was worth it to put all my belongings together! We discussed it and decided to do it to the end!
Political Commissar Zeng and Director Zhang hurriedly went separately to mobilize new fighting forces. At this time, Deputy Division Commander Chen and the principal leading cadres of the three regiments came to the command post. After a short discussion, everyone further clearly understood the importance of taking Chang Lang Tun and redeployed, determined to fight with the enemy
As soon as the meeting dispersed, Director Zhang hurried back to the command post, wiping his sweat and saying, "Division Commander! We organized all the messengers, cooks, stretcher bearers, able-bodied wounded, and artillerymen without shells in the division headquarters and formed a large battalion. They actively sought war and were highly motivated, saying: As long as there are cadres, they will fight wherever they want!"
I hurriedly and affirmed: "Cadres are easy to handle, and the section chiefs, staff officers, and officers of the headquarters and political departments, as well as the staff officers and officers in the regiment, if necessary, can follow the head of the second regiment and be assigned to the second echelon as cadres." ”
Before the words could be heard, a representative from the stretcher and migrant workers battalion of the Jiaodong region of Shandong Province sent a representative and asked: "Division commander and political commissar, the battle is tight, we cannot be idle, please give us guns and participate in the battle of Changlangtun!" Eighty percent of us are militiamen, and we can do it!"
The stretcher workers accompanying the army, in their arduous combat life, not only actively supported the front, but also accompanied the army to the north and south, carrying the wounded and delivering bullets, but today they must bravely pick up guns, step in the footsteps of soldiers, and fight with the enemy. We are all excited and excited about it!
However, considering that they were civilian workers and were not always combat troops, it was decided to arm them and replace them with the first and second companies of the special service battalion to strengthen the attack on Chang Lang Tun.
The battle against Chang Lang Tun was reorganized and the situation soon changed.
At about three o'clock, the Second Regiment reported: "The troops fought bravely and tenaciously, the original breakthrough points were all restored, one-third of the whole zhuang area was already in our hands, and the troops were moving forward." ”
A small number of people also came to report: "The north of Changlangtun has been occupied for me..."
At about nine o'clock, all the attacking troops rushed from the open mouth, and with the momentum of a fierce tiger descending the mountain, they pounced on the tunnei, and the enemy and we were killed in a group. The sound of gunfire and shouts of death mixed together, shaking the earth and the smoke rising into the air. After fighting for a long time, some of the enemy died inside the tun, some were compressed in the inner circle of the northeast corner, stubbornly resisting; the other part fled to the outside of the tun, was attacked twice by our army, and was wiped out in the field.
At ten o'clock, the long-awaited and exciting news finally arrived: the remnants of the enemy who were compressed in the northeast corner were all annihilated! All the people breathed a long sigh of relief. Chang Lang Tun! Chang Lang Tun! Finally taken down, the enemy succumbed before us!
The victory in the battle of Chang Lang Tun was the second victory that we penetrated deep into the enemy, and it was a victory for the heart of the heart; it laid a favorable foundation for attacking the Dragon King Shop and the Iron Buddha Temple, and capturing Ou Shou Nian alive, we all said excitedly: "The district shou nian has become a turtle in an urn, and the life of 'Yi Shou Nian' has now become the tail of a rabbit!"
In the afternoon, the brother troops took over our division's position and launched an attack on the Dragon King Shop. Our division was transferred to the northeast of Suixian County overnight, preparing for a little reorganization, and then cooperating with the brother troops to encircle and annihilate the enemy's Seventy-second Division in the area of the Tiefo Temple.
For three days and three nights, I didn't close my eyes, and I was tired and unbearable. I dozed off on horseback all the way, eager to reach my destination for a break. Who would have thought that we had just arrived at Zhao Lou, and before we could stop, the shells exploded next to us, the enemy planes attacked in the air, and the sound of tank engines could be faintly heard. We couldn't help but be stunned and thought: Isn't there no enemy here? The situation is really unpredictable!
After interspersing, dividing and attacking Chang Lang Tun, we were indeed exhausted, and some companies were no longer formed, and although they had brought a large number of captive soldiers, they urgently needed to be replenished and reorganized; the backbone of the battle and the guns also needed to be adjusted. The reason why the column asked us to come to this area is because the situation here is relatively stable, and we can rectify it a little and continue to fight again. However, like magic, the situation suddenly changed, and it was even a great enemy of the present! The mood that had not yet relaxed was inevitably tightened again.
July 2
The encounter began again. The warriors rushed into battle despite days of fatigue.
In the early morning, chen Changsheng, deputy commander of the third regiment, reported: "The Twenty-fifth Division of Huang Botao's corps has occupied Diqiudian and is attacking us..."
"Huang Botao's corps? No, it won't!" I wondered.
"The situation is true, the prisoners we captured were from the traffic police corps and the Twenty-fifth Division. Division commander, they also have a lot of tanks grinning !...... "Deputy Commander Chen seemed to see that I had doubts, and tried his best to confirm it."
Before he could finish speaking, I told Political Commissar Zeng and Deputy Division Commander Chen about this situation. Deputy Division Commander Chen said, "Huang Botao's legs and feet are so fast!" Diqiu store is only a few kilometers away from the Iron Buddha Temple. Comrade Mao Jun, chief of the operations section who ran in from outside, interjected: "The enemy is attacking a regiment in the direction of my Horse Pass and a regiment in the direction of Wang Laoji Dong Lou, and is only one zhuang away from the Seventy-second Division of the Iron Buddha Temple." If they were allowed to continue to commit crimes in the west, not only would the Seventy-second Division be saved, but Ou Shounian would also be able to escape. Division commander, political commissar, make up your mind quickly. ”
The situation was so sudden and urgent that it was too late to even think about it. The telephone with the column had not yet been set up, and it was impossible to wait for the orders of the superiors. However, to be responsible for the victory, at the moment, only by preventing Huang Botao's corps from joining the Seventy-second Division can we consolidate the existing combat achievements and strive for victory in the battle. The situation requires us to fight continuously, and victory attracts us. So, casualties, fatigue ... Everything seems to have been trampled under our feet.
It is often the case that in a hurry, the thoughts of several of us always coincide, and we immediately decide: Fight!
The three regiments held the first line of Dongdian, the second regiment was on the first line of Tianlou, and the first regiment was fighting the enemy at the front of Makou and Liu Lou; and the seventh regiment of the third division was holding Chaizhai. The special agent battalion flew away to seize Wang Laoji, north of the Zhao Lou, but because of the slight delay, the enemy and we arrived at the same time, so we had to divide the autumn and autumn equally according to each other. Despite the fierceness of the enemy's attack, none of our troops took a step back. Only Wang Laoji, I took the initiative to withdraw.
I was about to report the situation to the head of the column when several shells exploded nearby, and the enemy found the door of our command post and came up. Therefore, I asked Deputy Division Commander Chen to contact the column by telephone, turn around and run out with Commissar Zeng, observing the battle situation in person and arranging the garrison troops on the other.
As soon as I went out, several shells fell from the command post and the house collapsed. Then, shells flew everywhere, and the whole house collapsed, and the smoke filled the air. Chiang Kai-shek's plane appeared again to supervise the battle. The tanks were only one open field away from us, and the enemy rushed in like a tide. The situation is urgent. At this time, I pulled up the second company of the special service battalion and quickly explained the task to them: "The position is your rear, and only by advancing, there is nowhere to retreat, and only by repelling the enemy who has attacked can we turn the danger into safety!" The second company was ordered to immediately counterattack the enemy.
When we returned, the house at the command post had collapsed in half, and it looked completely different. I couldn't help but feel nervous and hurried inside. Fortunately, Deputy Master Chen was unharmed, lying in the corner of the wall, twisting his neck, blushing, and shouting hard into the phone. At the same time, Commander Ye's voice came from the earpiece: "You have to hide!" You can't stay under the enemy's gun emplacements! Wait a minute and then contact us!
After finishing his phone call, Deputy Division Commander Chen said to us: "Commander Ye said that we can block correctly, that is, we should fight when we see a battle, take into account the overall situation, and advance in spite of difficulties." He also said that Huang Botao must not be allowed to pass. Otherwise, a few days of bitter fighting will be a failure and the situation on the battlefield will be reversed. ......”
Anyway, a few more shells came, and the command post with a broken wall could no longer stay. Suddenly, there was a scream of slaughter outside. I went out with Commissar Zeng to take a look, the section chiefs, staff officers, officers, clerks, sending and receiving of the division headquarters... All loaded guns to the west. It turned out that the enemy Seventy-second Division had taken the opportunity to come to us from behind us.
A rush of killing killed and knocked down this enemy.
At this time, a staff officer said to me: "Division commander, is the command post moving?"
Where to move? Now that the whole division is unfolding, the enemy is suffering from the belly and back, and it is useless to move. I waved my hand, still concentrating on this decisive battle.
In order to strengthen the battle and crush Huang Botao's western prisoners, the column sent a mountain artillery regiment, and the East China Field Army sent a field howitzer regiment directly under it; after dusk, the fourth regiment of the second division also arrived; the seventh regiment of the third division that was originally holding out in Chaizhai was also ordered to be under the command of our division. In total, we had seven regiments of troops facing the enemy.
Time passed by second by minute, and unconsciously the battle was until midnight, although the main position was in my hands, the enemy was still frantically counterattacking, the pressure was getting heavier and heavier, and the commanders of the first, seventh, and third regiments, political commissars, etc., all led the various departments and attacked the enemy fiercely, but there was no satisfactory progress. In particular, the seven regiments that insisted on staying in the village were fighting with tanks rushing from the source, and the casualty statistics of each regiment were constantly reported, and the main firearms, including heavy machine guns and light machine guns, were few and far between ammunition. The artillerymen who had finished firing the shells had already picked up their rifles. ......
Despite this, our determination to defeat the enemy has not wavered in the slightest.
July 3
On July 2, the regimental headquarters of the District Shounian Regiment, as well as the reorganized 75th Division and the New Twenty-first Brigade, were annihilated by the brother troops, which was a crucial victory in the Battle of Suiqi. However, under chiang kai-shek's strict orders, Huang Botao still attacked westwards desperately in an attempt to rescue the besieged Seventy-second Division. The enemy's Seventy-second Division, also struggling desperately inside, launched several attacks to the east yesterday, and today from dawn onwards, with the cooperation of aircraft and armored vehicles, they launched a fierce attack on our advance detachment.
At about six o'clock, I came to the position and found that although the troops were not damaged, they were very short of personnel. There were only five or six people in almost every squad, and the vast majority of them were newly liberated Kuomintang soldiers dressed in gray uniforms. In successive battles, the troops took prisoners while fighting, that is, capturing and compensating, and through the education of grievances, the liberation fighters soon became conscious, turned their guns, and dealt with the enemy. At that time, I came to the conclusion that the battle can still be sustained, and this battle will certainly be won!
At this moment, the mimeographed report of "Conquering the Dragon King Shop, The Birthday of the Capture Zone" was reported to the position. A newly liberated soldier reads to his comrades. He humorously read the impressions of Ou Shounian, commander of the Seventh Corps of the Kuomintang Army, to this reporter twice, and as he read it, he waved the newspaper and said: "Where is the soldiers not moving, it is hard to attack!" I was from the Seventy-second Division, and I was taken prisoner at the first stroke! Everyone laughed.
I don't know what kind of feelings the poor "commander" had to say to the reporter when he heard this.
July 6
In order to gain the initiative and more effectively strike at the crazy westward advance of Huang Botao's corps and crush its attempt to rescue and rescue the Seventy-second Division from the west, our division was ordered to launch an attack on Wang Laoji yesterday dusk. The battle began in the second half of the night and ended in the early morning, completely annihilating the zero two companies of the 324th Regiment of the 25th Division of the enemy, and in the fierce battle, the troops gave full play to their brave and tenacious style and showed the heroic nature of daring to fight and dare to win.
The regimental commander of the Seven Regiments, which was under the command of our division, had only a few artillerymen and seventeen soldiers with guns and bullets, but their bones were hard, and in the face of the recalcitrant enemy, they always flashed their bayonets and rushed to the front, and the other units hastily replenished a group of liberation fighters, and threw themselves into battle without waiting for mutual understanding. During the battle, the liberation fighters were mostly confused with the captives. At this time, the only people who fought with the enemy's white blade relied on a few old warriors, these old warriors, really one for ten, hundred for thousands, where the most tight, where there are always them...
At the same time that we captured Wang Laoji, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized Hu Lian, Liu Zhi, Wu Shaozhou, Yang Gancai, Qiu Qingquan, Ou Shounian and Huang Botao, totaling 200,000 to 300,000 heavy troops, and painstakingly planned the so-called "Battle of the Central Plains and Purge the Communist Army" plan to completely collapse.
The battle to destroy the enemy's might and grow his own ambition has declared victory to the people of the whole country. In this campaign, more than 90,000 enemy troops were annihilated, which was the largest number of enemy annihilations since our East China Field Army advanced into the Central Plains.
In the afternoon, the battle line shifted. The troops of our division escorted five or six thousand prisoners, drove livestock full of weapons and ammunition, and rushed out of the battlefield and left the Suiqi area. The joy of victory eliminates the fatigue of day and night of hard work.
July 11
Today, I saw the Telegram of Blessing Jie taken by the Central Committee. There is a passage like this:
“...... This brilliant victory is giving Chiang Kai-shek a head-on blow to the rhetoric of 'purging the Central Plains'; at the same time, it has also enabled our army to enter more favorablely the third year of the Chinese People's Liberation War..."
This congratulatory message inspires all commanders and fighters to bravely move forward with confidence to meet the battle of the decisive battle year!
Liao Zhengguo (1913-1972) was a native of Xixian County, Henan. Born in 1913. In August 1930, he joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and joined the Communist Party of China in the same year. He served as deputy commander and acting regimental commander of the 4th Front. He participated in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" and long marches in the Eyu-Anhui and Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet regions. After the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Anti-Japanese War, he entered the Yan'an Anti-Japanese War in 1937 to study. Later, he served as the deputy battalion commander and battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Detachment of the New Fourth Army, the commander of the 2nd Detachment of the 2nd Road of the Jiangnan People's Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, the chief of staff of the 1st Regiment of the New Fourth Army Advancing Column, the commander of the 4th Regiment of the 1st Column of the Northern Jiangsu Command, the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the New Fourth Army, the commander of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division, and the commander of the 4th Column of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military Region. He led his troops to attack Shanghai Hongqiao Airport at night and participated in the battles of Guocun, Huangqiao, Cheqiao, and Tianmu Mountain. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he served as the commander of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Column of the Shandong Field Army, the commander of the East China Field Army Division, and the chief of staff of the 20th Army of the 3rd Field Army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1952 and served as the deputy commander of the Chinese Volunteer Army. After returning to China, he served as a military commander. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1960. Later, he served as the commander of the Zhousheng Fortress District, the commander of the Shanghai Garrison District, and the commander of the artillery of the Nanjing Military Region. He was awarded the rank of major general in 1955.
![Modern figure of Henan Province - Liao Zhengguo[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)