Many friends who are familiar with military history know that Founding Lieutenant General Wu Kehua was a "professional household" who served as commander; in addition to being a commander at the column and corps levels, he also served as an artillery commander of the People's Liberation Army, a commander of railway troops, a commander of the Chengdu Military Region, a commander of the Xinjiang Military Region, and a commander of the Guangzhou Military Region. Wu Kehua's experience as commander is unique among the many generals of our army.
Wu Kehua
Wu Kehua was born in December 1913 to a poor peasant family in Fangdun Village, Yiyang County, Jiangxi Province, and attended a private school for three years as a teenager. When Wu Kehua was 13 years old, his father died, in order to maintain his life, he herded cattle for the landlord during the day, worked as a handyman in the paper mill at night, and his mother made needlework for others.
At the end of 1927, the communists Fang Zhimin and Shao Shiping led the vigorous peasant Nianguan Rebellion in Wu Kehua's hometown, and Wu Kehua, who was only 15 years old, with bitter hatred for the old society, threw himself into the revolutionary torrent with enthusiasm and became a "little red devil".
In the spring of 1929, the CPC's Gandong Northeast Special Committee decided to organize a Xinjiang Military and Political School to train the military and political backbone of the troops, and Wu Kehua was recommended to study at the school because of his bravery in battle and the foundation of several years of private school. But after enrolling in school, Wu Kehua had some regrets, the school instructor was particularly severe, he ate slowly, stood in line badly, and was always reprimanded by the instructor, so he had the idea of being a "deserter".
At that time, Fang Zhimin often came to the school to give lectures, and his speech was very passionate, and he told the students that the work we were doing was not for the interests of anyone, but for the interests of the class, for the liberation of all China and all mankind, and encouraged everyone to exercise to become red commanders.
Fang Zhimin
In January 1930, the school sent Wu Kehua to train the peasant team, and when he demonstrated to the peasants, his movements were skillful and accurate, which stunned the peasants. Just like that, Wu Kehua understood that he was a piece of "material for being a soldier", and his confidence was even stronger.
But not long after, Wu Kehua lost the gun, at that time the gun and bullets were like the treasures of the Red Army soldiers, very expensive, some people suspected that Wu Kehua secretly sold the gun, Fang Zhimin also personally came to ask him: "Where did the gun lose?" ”
Although Fang Zhimin believed that Wu Kehua would not sell guns, but the gun was lost, indicating that he lacked vigilance, so he locked Wu Kehua up for a month, and after a month, he was released, and the matter of losing the gun was also clearly investigated. Fang Zhimin said solemnly to Wu Kehua, "You must kill the enemy in battle and make meritorious contributions." ”
After Wu Kehua graduated from school, he stayed in the school as a detachment leader, and in July 1930, the Red Tenth Army was established, and Wu Kehua was transferred to the special agent company commander.
When Chiang Kai-shek launched the first "encirclement and suppression," Wu Kehua's mother, Luo Xianglian, was unfortunately caught by the enemy, who forced her to write a letter to Wu Kehua and ask wu Kehua to lead the Red Army fighters out of the revolutionary ranks, but Luo Xianglian refused: "I can give birth to his body, but I can't control his heart, don't say that I can't read, even if I can't write this letter." My son followed Chairman Fang (Fang Zhimin) to make a revolution, and I am happy. ”
The enemy was furious when he heard this, and killed Luo Xianglian that night. Two days later, when the Red Army had beaten away the enemy, Hu Qi saw his mother's body, and suddenly felt that his liver and gallbladder were torn, and he threw himself at his mother's body and cried loudly. Due to the urgency of the military situation, Hu Qicai could only hastily bury his mother on the hill next to the village, and he swore in front of his mother's grave: "When the enemy is killed, he will come back to accompany your old man." ”
On October 7, 1934, Wu Kehua, then chief of staff of the 63rd Regiment of the Red 21st Division, received an order from Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Red Army: "Order your unit to depart on the evening of the 8th and reach the Gulonggang area before dawn on the 9th." After Receiving the order, Wu Kehua took his troops and officially began the Long March with the Central Red Army.
Wu Kehua (left)
After the Central Red Army and the Red Fourth Front joined the Maogong Division, Wu Kehua was promoted to the commander of the 37th Regiment of the Red 5th Army. After that, the Red Army decided to divide the left and right routes north, and Wu Kehua and the 37th Regiment were assigned to the Left Route Army and placed under the command of Zhang Guotao.
After that, Zhang Guotao insisted on going his own way, ignoring the advice of the central authorities, insisting on leading the army south, and was strangled by the superior strength of the Kuomintang army, and the left route army was sharply reduced from 80,000 to 40,000. Wu Kehua resolutely resisted Zhang Guotao's separatist behavior, so he was retaliated against by Huang Chao, a close confidant of Zhang Guotao and the new political commissar of the Fifth Red Army, who labeled Wu Kehua as a "remnant of right opportunism" and wanted to remove him.
However, this incident caused the dissatisfaction of Xu Shiyou, deputy commander of the Red Fourth Army, and in the previous battles, Wu Kehua's troops and Xu Shiyou cooperated well, and the two formed a deep friendship. Xu Shiyou then personally found Huang Chao to fight for Wu Kehua. However, Huang Chao said: "Wu Kehua has resistance to Chairman Zhang's southward campaign and has shaken the hearts of the army; this is a concrete manifestation of the remnants of right-leaning opportunism, and he must also bear certain responsibility for the failure of this operation." ”
Xu Shiyou was furious after hearing this, and he said: "Fart, Wu Kehua fought bravely, the whole army knows, if he had not desperately resisted the enemy's attack, our fourth army would have been wrapped in dumplings." ”
Xu Shiyou
In the end, under the protection of Xu Shiyou, Wu Kehua was transferred to the Red Army University of the Red Fourth Front. Since then, Wu Kehua and Xu Shiyou have become friends of Mo Rebellion.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wu Kehua successively served as the commander of the 2nd detachment of the Shandong Column, the commander of the 5th detachment, and the commander of the 5th Brigade. In 1942, Xu Shiyou served as the commander of the Jiaodong Military Region, and after his application, Wu Kehua was also transferred to the Jiaodong Military Region as a deputy commander.
At that time, the headquarters of the Jiaodong Military Region was stationed in a small mountain village, and there were only about 60 households in the village, and once the enemy wanted to sneak attack, the headquarters immediately decided to send some troops to help the villagers evacuate. When the villagers learned of this news, they were very moved, and on the same day, 16 mothers came to the headquarters with their sons to ask to send their sons to the Eighth Route Army.
Xu Shiyou and Wu Kehua were very touched, and they held a solemn welcome meeting for the 16 young men. After the meeting, Wu Kehua said to Xu Shiyou: "When I saw these 16 mothers, I remembered my own mother. I am an only son, since joining the Red Army, I have not been able to take care of my mother, after she was killed by the enemy, so far I have not burned the pillar incense in front of my mother's grave, I am really ashamed of my mother! If I am glorious for the revolution, I beg the organization to bury me by my mother's grave and accompany my mother well! ”
Xu Shiyou was also a great filial piety, and after listening to Wu Kehua's words, he said with emotion: "Revolutionary soldiers, born loyal to the state and thieves, buried themselves next to their parents after death to fulfill their children's filial piety, which is also the common sentiment of people." In the history of our Chinese nation, how many loyal and good generals, when their parents died, the emperor also let him go back to keep filial piety for three years! ”
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Wu Kehua led his troops to the northeast. In January 1948, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army was renamed the Northeast Field Army, and Wu Kehua was appointed commander of the 4th Column. Under his leadership, the 4th Column fought many major battles, the most famous of which was the Tashan Blockade Battle in the Liaoshen Campaign. The Tashan Blockade Battle was a defensive battle, creating the "three bests" in the history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army: the largest, the longest, and the most brutal.
On September 12, 1948, the Northeast Field Army launched the Liaoshen Campaign, the first of which was to attack Jinzhou. In order to relieve the siege of Jinzhou, Chiang Kai-shek came to Huludao by cruiser, ordered 5 divisions drawn from north China and 2 divisions drawn from Shandong to rush to Huludao, together with 4 divisions stationed on the island, a total of 11 divisions with more than 100,000 people, under the command of Hou Jingru, commander of the 17th Corps, attacked Tashan from Jinxi and rushed north to aid Jinzhou.
Tashan, located between Jinzhou and Jinxi, is a village with only more than 100 households, the terrain is flat and there is no danger to defend, but its importance lies in the fact that it is the only way for the Jinxi Nationalist army to reinforce Jinzhou. In order to ensure the capture of Jinzhou, the Northeast Field Army designated the 4th Column to serve as the defense of the main position on the front of Tashan.
Schematic diagram of the Tower Hill Blockade Battle
After receiving the task, Wu Kehua deeply felt a heavy responsibility, and whether or not he could hold Tashan had a bearing on whether he could completely annihilate the Kuomintang troops in the northeast. Although the troops had fought many victorious battles, they had never fought such a large-scale defensive battle, and tashan was not in any danger to defend, but he still resolutely expressed to his superiors: "The leading comrades of our column have made up their minds that even if we are defeated by half or three-quarters, we must resolutely fulfill the tasks entrusted to us by our superiors." We vow to coexist and die with the positions and never let the enemy move forward! ”
On October 9, Wu Kehua and political commissar Mo Wenhua led the commanders of the fourth column to swear an oath to the soldiers at Tashan: "The position of our commander and political commissar is right next to the comrades, sharing life and death with the troops, and vowing to advance and retreat with everyone." In order to crush the enemy's attempt to reinforce Jinzhou, be ready to sacrifice your last drop of blood! ”
Stills of Wu Kehua (right) from Armageddon
At 3:00 a.m. on October 10, the enemy took advantage of the fact that our position was not yet consolidated, and with the fire support of more than 40 heavy guns, 7 aircraft, and 2 warships, dispatched the strength of 4 divisions to launch an all-out attack on the Tashan position, opening the curtain of the Tashan blockade battle.
The first day of fighting was very brutal, the Kuomintang Army's "East Advance Corps" suffered 1174 casualties, while the 4th Column also suffered 319 casualties. Wu Kehua once recalled in his memoirs the tragic scenes of the battle at that time:
Attack after attack followed, and it was impossible to fight or block. The enemy who rushed forward desperately and the soldiers of our army twisted together, grabbed their hair, tugged at their ears, wrestled, rolled, and worked hard. My forward bunkers, bunkers, communication trenches, trenches, gain and lose, lost and regained, showing a state of tug-of-war...
The next day's fighting became more intense, with several positions changing hands and further expanding casualties on both sides, with more than 1,300 casualties of the "Eastern Advance Corps" and 563 casualties in the 4th Column.
On the fourth day of the battle, the Kuomintang army was still unable to advance, and Chiang Kai-shek scolded the general for being incompetent, so he decided to transfer the independent 95th Division, known as the "Zhao Zilong Division", to attack Tashan. Wu Kehua knew that although the independent 95th Division charged fiercely and was not afraid of artillery fire, it was afraid of white-knife warfare, and he instructed the soldiers to put on good bayonets and prepare to fight a white-knife battle with the enemy.
At dawn on September 13, the Kuomintang army sent the independent 95th Division to take the lead and rushed to the position of the 4th Column, but the officers and men of the 4th Column bravely resisted the enemy's countless group charges, and also engaged in white-knife battles with the enemy, and never moved. The corpses of the enemy troops were strewn across the field, and they were still at a loss.
On September 14, when the battle entered a white-hot phase, Liu Yalou, chief of staff of the Northeast Field Army, called Wu Kehua in the early morning and told him that our army would launch a general attack on Jinzhou at 10 a.m. and sent a 152 cannon company to strengthen the 4th Column. Chiang Kai-shek also gave Hou Jing the following death orders: take Tashan at dawn, enter Gaoqiao at noon, and reach Jinzhou at dusk.
The battle was the most fierce on this day, and the commander of the 1st Column, Li Tianyou, called Wu Kehua: "We are ordered by the commander to be your reserve, and we have arrived at Takahashi on standby, and we can reinforce at any time." ”
Li Tianyou
But Wu Kehua refused, he said: "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 4th Column, I salute the 1st Column Big Brother, thank you!" But we can hold the position. Definitely! ”
On the evening of October 15, our army conquered Jinzhou, and the tashan blockade was victorious. In the fierce battle of 6 days and 6 nights, the 4th Column annihilated 6117 enemy soldiers, and paid the price of 3145 casualties, of which 767 soldiers died in the land of Tashan.
In this battle, the 4th Column fought three heroic regiments: the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division was awarded the "Tashan Hero Regiment", the 36th Regiment of the 12th Division was awarded the "Baitaishan Hero Regiment", and the 28th Regiment of the 10th Division was awarded the "Garrison Hero Regiment". Wu Kehua himself is also known as the "Famous General of Tashan Mountain".
In Armageddon, the "Tower Hill Heroes" flag was awarded
After the Liaoshen Campaign, Wu Kehua led 4 arsons withdrawn from the Tashan position to quickly enter the pass. On the way to the pass, the whole army unified the names of each unit, and the 4th column was renamed the 41st Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with Wu Kehua as the first commander.
On January 18, the Pingjin Front Command sent a telegram to Wu Kehua and Mo Wenhua: "Fu Zuoyi has agreed to accept the peaceful reorganization, and the 41st Army is responsible for handing over the city defense with Fu Zuoyi's troops." The Central Military Commission and Chairman Mao demanded that the troops defending the city absolutely not allow violations of mass discipline. ”
On the same day, the 41st Army convened a party committee to study countermeasures, and Wu Kehua set a 24-character requirement for entering the city: only allowed to guard, not to use; only to protect, not to destroy; to go in empty-handed, empty-handed to come out.
On January 31, Wu Kehua officially led his troops into the city to take over the defense of Peiping, and he formulated a detailed security plan, strictly ordering the troops to abide by discipline and make no offenses against the people. The common people specially presented the 41st Army with a pennant that reads "Division of Benevolence and Righteousness".
The 41st Army took over the defense of Beiping
On March 25, Mao Zedong and other central leaders entered Beiping City, and they inspected the Beiping garrison at Xiyuan Airport, and Wu Kehua led officers above the 41st Army Company and 3 heroic regiments to be inspected. When Mao Zedong's car passed the hunting and hunting battle flag of the "Tashan Hero Regiment", it slowly stopped, and his eyes stayed on the blood-stained battle flag for a long time.
After the founding of New China, Wu Kehua successively served as deputy commander of the 15th Corps, chief of staff of the South China Military Region, and commander of the Hainan Military Region. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of founding lieutenant general and was awarded the Order of August 1, 2nd Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom 1st Class, and the Liberation Medal 1st Class.
After the Outbreak of the Cultural Revolution, Wu Kehua was persecuted, and in September 1967 he was illegally detained until the end of 1974, when he was rehabilitated.
In April 1975, the Central Military Commission ordered Wu Kehua to be the commander of the Railway Corps of the People's Liberation Army. In August 1976, at the age of 63, Wu Kehua decided to take a trip to kunlun mountains along the Qinghai-Tibet line, which is more than 3,000 meters above the coast.
On August 22, Wu Kehua arrived at the headquarters of the 7th Division of the Golmud Railway Corps, and when he heard that the 11th Company of the 31st Regiment of the 7th Division was conducting permafrost engineering experiments in Coco Siri on the kunlun side of the Mountain, he immediately said that he wanted to take a look.
Wu Kehua (front right)
Before Wu Kehua set out, the division commander specially informed the 11th Company that the meal must be prepared and that Commander Wu should eat delicious meals in the life forbidden area.
After Wu Kehua arrived at the 11th Company, the company prepared him very few meals, only kelp shreds, dried spinach, potatoes, cabbage, egg powder and a small amount of pork. After reading this, the division commander was very angry and criticized the instructor: "The commander has come, you have made such dishes, shame me, shame the Iron Seventh Division!" ”
The instructor said aggrievedly, "Commander, this is the best dish in our company." We've brought all the pork and eggs, what else can I come up with? These are all pieces of love dedicated by the commanders and fighters of the whole company to the commanders! ”
After Wu Kehua heard this, he fiercely criticized the division commander: "The soldiers can eat, why can't I eat!" It is my responsibility that the supply on the mountain is not good, and I am sorry for the warriors who are fighting in the Kunlun Mountains. Before going to the dinner table, he gave an apologetic military salute to the soldiers.
In January 1979, Wu Kehua was appointed commander of the Xinjiang Military Region, when the Sino-Soviet border was thick with war clouds, the situation was on the verge of breaking out, the situation in Xinjiang was very tense, and a large number of residents moved inland.
After taking office, Wu Kehua first moved his entire family to Xinjiang and sent his only son to a border defense infantry company for training; he also took his family and his family members to walk and shop in the streets with other leaders of the military region, which played an important role in stabilizing the situation in Xinjiang.
In February 1980, Wu Kehua was transferred to the commander of the Guangzhou Military Region. It was his last time as commander, and more than two years later, at the age of 69, he took an honorable second-line retirement as a member of the Central Advisory Committee.
Wu Kehua shook hands with Deng Xiaoping
In February 1987, Wu Kehua was seriously ill, and he left a will: "Whenever I think of my comrades who died in the Tashan Blockade War, my heart is very sad, and after I die, I will scatter my ashes to Tashan and be a companion with my comrades-in-arms." ”
On February 13, 1987, Wu Kehua died in Guangzhou at the age of 74.
On August 1, 1988, in accordance with Wu Kehua's last wishes, his ashes were personally scattered by his wife Zhang Ming and his children to Tashan, a land stained red by the blood of martyrs, and laid a long rest with the martyrs who died in the Tashan Resistance War.
After the people of their hometown learned that Wu Kehua's ashes were scattered on Tashan Mountain, in order to let future generations remember him forever, they specially built a "General Wu Kehua Memorial Pavilion" on the top of Wu Kehua's mother cemetery, and sculpted the full-body portrait of General Wu Kehua so that he would always accompany his mother.