Author: Tai Shi Xiaosheng
On the afternoon of June 24, 1946, on the playground of Baiqueyuan Middle School in Guangshan County, Henan Province, Fang Shengpu, deputy brigade commander of the First Brigade of the First Column of the Central Plains Military Region, stood in front of the team and practiced according to his password and movements. Everyone practiced very seriously, and all of them sweated like rain. Brigade Commander Pi Dingjun and Political Commissar Xu Zirong stood by and watched. The situation in the Central Plains is getting worse day by day, and they are stepping up their training of troops and preparing for a big fight.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the translator ran to the playground, stood breathlessly in front of Pi Dingjun, saluted, and handed Pi Dingjun a telegram with both hands. Pi Dingjun took the telegram, read it, and said to several brigade leaders present: "Special urgent telegram: Commissar Xu and I will arrive at the column headquarters before six o'clock!" After saying that, he shouted: "Guard, get ready to go!" ”
Pi Dingjun's guard Zhao Yuanfu and Xu Zirong's guard Wang Zhong quickly prepared what they carried with them. Duan Xiude, the old groom of Pi Dingjun, informed the cavalry platoon and sent two cavalry communicators to follow Pi and Xu. Two guards led the horses, things were taken out, two cavalry communicators also arrived at the playground, Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong were about to get on their horses, only to hear a sharp sound of horses' hooves coming from the streets of Baiqueyuan, Pi Dingjun and all the commanders and fighters on the playground all looked up, only to see a tall Japanese horse rushing into the playground. The horse's body seemed to have been washed with water, two white gases erupted from the nostrils, and the horse's chews were covered with foam.
Before the horse could stop, the messenger flew off his horse and reported to Pi Dingjun: "Brigadier Pi, Commander Wang Shusheng asked you and Political Commissar Xu to go to the column headquarters at once. ”
"Go right away!"
The cavalry correspondent at the column headquarters was sweating profusely and his clothes were all soaking wet. The civil servant brought a bowl of cold boiling water and a towel, and he drank a large bowl of water with a grunt, wiped a handful of sweat from his face, and galloped away on a prancing horse.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > first, just took a special express telegram, and sent a cavalry communicator to urge, obviously the situation is 100,000 urgent</h1>
Is the Kuomintang reactionaries about to launch an offensive? Or has there been a new change in the direction and plan of the breakthrough? These were not mentioned in the telegram, and the communicator did not bring written instructions from Commander Wang. But everyone realizes: the decisive moment has arrived, and a new storm is coming!
Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong led their entourage on the road. Pi Dingjun was in front, Xu Zirong was behind, first ran a small step on Baiqueyuan Street, and as soon as he got out of the street, he went up to the road to the Popi River, and the two horses stood side by side, and the two men looked at each other tacitly, and at the same time, they shook the reins of the horse, lifted their legs up, slammed the horse's stomach, leaned forward, and the two horses let go of their four hooves and flew forward, like two off-string arrows.
They ran fifty miles in one go and arrived ahead of time at the column headquarters. When they arrived at the Popi River, the direct subordinate organs and units of the column stationed on the street were cleaning up documents, tying backpacks, returning furniture, and some of them had already begun to walk towards the assembly site. Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong immediately realized: "It's time to break through!" "The headquarters of the First Column of the Central Plains Military Region is stationed in a compound. Commander Wang Shusheng and political commissar Dai Jiying came out of the big house sitting north to south, and when they saw Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong, they seemed relieved. Wang Shusheng said, "Well, you are coming, you are coming..." He said as he walked into the war room.
"Commander, have you decided?" Pi Dingjun asked eagerly.
Wang Shusheng nodded, took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it to them: "This is the instruction of the Central Committee and the Central Plains Bureau." ”
The gist of the telegram was that Chiang Kai-shek, in defiance of the ardent desire for peace of the people of the whole country, was determined to provoke a full-scale civil war and ordered a general offensive against our Central Plains troops on 26 June. In order to smash the "encirclement and annihilation" plot of the Kuomintang reactionaries, the Central Plains Bureau decided, in accordance with the instructions of the central authorities, to break through to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and leave a capable and strong force as a cover to ensure the safety of the rear side of the main force's breakthrough.
After they finished reading the telegram, Wang Shusheng said: "Your first brigade has been operating alone in western Henan for more than a year and has experience in independent combat, so it is more appropriate for you to carry out this cover mission." Therefore, the party committee of the column decided, and with the approval of the party committee of the military region, decided to entrust this task to you to complete. ”
"Rest assured chief, we will resolutely complete the task!" Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong said this sentence in unison.
At this moment, Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong's mood was very excited: thinking of the thousands of miles of roads where the main force broke through, there were not only heavy enemy attacks, but also a continuous stretch of mountains and mountains and a desolate loess plateau. The situation faced by the commanders of military regions and columns is more difficult, the burden is heavier, and the more they feel that their responsibilities are heavy.
It was only one day before the Kuomintang bandit army launched a general offensive, and the situation had reached an urgent point where it could not be delayed, so Commander Wang Shusheng gave only brief instructions: The main force will begin to move tonight, and you will hurry back to make arrangements, and you must use all means to drag the enemy down, confuse the enemy, and make sure that the enemy will not be able to find the direction of our main force in three days. When the main force crosses the Pinghan Railway, it is the initial victory of highlighting the heavy siege, and even if your cover task is completed, you will choose the direction of the breakthrough according to the situation at that time, or scatter the guerrilla attack on the spot, or follow the main force to the west, or return to western Henan, go to Taihang, or cross the river in the south, or go out of Suwan in the east...
Talking about the direction of the breakthrough after the leather brigade completed the three-day cover mission, Wang Shusheng's tone was not without hesitation.
Dai Jiying, the political commissar of the column, spoke: "You see, what difficulties are there? ”
Pi Dingjun said: "There are difficulties. We know that superiors are more difficult than we are. Rest assured, chief, that in order to crush the enemy's conspiracy, we can overcome any difficulty. ”
Wang Shusheng said: "Yes, the central authorities have given some money to the military region, and Commander Li Xiannian has given a special explanation to you to give you more." ”
When Wang Shusheng and Dai Jiying explained their tasks to Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong, the comrades of the logistics department of the column had already sent the money allocated to the first brigade to the headquarters compound and placed them on the back of several horses.
When Wang Shusheng and Dai Jiying sent Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong outside, their voices lowered and they said this sentence: Several brigade leaders, each prepared a set of plain clothes.
When they said this, they didn't look at each other's faces, as if there was a no match for the words. But this sentence was like a heavy piece of lead pressing on the hearts of Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong, and also on the hearts of their two personal guards. Pi Dingjun's guard was a very alert young man, and immediately understood the meaning of "preparing a set of plainclothes". At the thought of this, his heart trembled.
When Wang Shusheng saw the two guards standing solemnly, he took a few steps forward, grabbed the hand of one of the guards with one hand, and said solemnly and kindly: "Little devil, you must protect your chief!" ”
The two guards said excitedly, "Rest assured chief, we will definitely protect the chief's safety." ”
The commander smiled and said, "Well, I wish you victory!" ”
Wang Shusheng and Dai Jiying shook hands with Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong respectively to bid farewell. They have all been in the battlefield for a long time, and they are all as clear as a mirror in their minds about the current pattern. This is the strategic deployment of the lost pawn to protect the car. In order to preserve the main force, local sacrifice is necessary. Losing such a good army and losing outstanding cadres such as Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong, Wang Shusheng and Dai Jiying both felt distressed.
"We must get the job done!" Please take care of the chief, and see you again after victory! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > second, Pi Ding is not ready for plain clothes, and must be with officers and soldiers</h1>
At night, Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong left on horseback.
It was already midnight, but there were still many fellow villagers gathered on the streets of Popihe Town. Although they were not informed, they already felt the tension. Some of the garrisons were delivering door panels to their fellow villagers, and some were carrying water.
The night rain is sunny, the air is fresh, and the moon is pleasant. Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong walked side by side, exchanging views. The first thing they talked about was plainclothes.
"We're not ready for plainclothes." Pi Dingjun said.
"Yes. We want to be with our comrades. Xu Zirong said.
The tone of the two comrades-in-arms was very plain, but those words made a rumbling thunder sound in the heart of Zhao Yuanfu, the guard who was closely following behind them.
It was early the next morning when Pi Dingjun and Xu Zirong returned to the White Bird Garden.
Early in the morning, the party committee members of the brigade gathered in the conference room. The meeting was presided over by Xu Zirong, and Pi Dingjun conveyed the tasks entrusted by his superiors.
People don't feel surprised by this task. The main force wanted to break through, and a brigade acted as a cover, which was not just decided, and had already been greeted.
Under the circumstance that the Kuomintang bandit army could launch an offensive at any time, the First Brigade had already made preparations and adopted many measures to build positions, strengthen fortifications, allocate ammunition, store dry food and straw shoes, and also draw out a number of troops to secretly move westward at night and pull out endlessly to the east during the day, causing the momentum of large troops to assemble to the east, drawing the enemy's attention to the east, and facilitating the sudden breakthrough of the main force to the west without the enemy's surprise.
Although they were mentally prepared, everyone still felt too much pressure.
When the Central Plains troops first marched east to the west of dabie Mountain, the first brigade was avant-garde and received an "armistice order," so the Central Plains troops were stationed in the same place, and after half a year's encroachment and compression by the Kuomintang, they were left with such a narrow strip. The First Brigade was at the eastern end of this panhandle. The enemy judged that sooner or later this force would break through to the east into the Dabie Mountains, occupy the favorable terrain there, and establish a base area. In view of this judgment, the enemy transferred seven, forty-five, forty-ninth, and seventy-two four armies only to the east of Huangchuan to Shangcheng.
More than 100,000 people formed a blockade area with a depth of 20 to 30 kilometers. The defensive area of our brigade centered on the White Bird Garden is surrounded by hills sandwiched by rice fields and rivers to the east, and the terrain is not conducive to the enemy's attack, but to our defense. It is estimated that the enemy is likely to advance west along the north and south flanks of the White Sparrow Garden, relying on the hilly mountains, and forming an encirclement of the White Sparrow Garden. We have already built a series of fortifications in the Shuanglun River area north of Baique garden, from xiyuji ----- shawo area southeast of the bird garden.
The party committee of the brigade decided to entrust the task of blocking the attack to the first and second regiments, and asked them to send strong small troops to take advantage of these fortifications and the favorable terrain such as hills, ravines, fields, and rivers to resolutely resist and resist step by step, turning these two units into bones stuck in the throat of the enemy, making it impossible to swallow and spit out, and making it pay a heavy price for every step it took. And we must also let the enemy, in accordance with our command, lead the spearhead of the attack in the wrong direction. This will not only deplete the enemy's living forces, slow down the enemy's pursuit to the west, and buy time for the main force to break through, but also create favorable conditions for our next plan, our own breakthrough action after the completion of the cover mission.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > three, the time to block the enemy is three days, but after completing the three-day cover mission? </h1>
At that time, the main force crossed the Pinghan Road, and there was no longer any support behind the first brigade, and there were enemies on all sides, in which direction would it break through? This question was not decided by the superiors, and the leaders of the First Brigade chose it themselves.
"Go west and catch up with the main force!" Someone said that.
But this opinion was quickly rejected. The reason for the veto is that if you follow the main force to the west, you are bound to lead the enemy all to the west, which is extremely unfavorable to the main force, and it will put itself in the encirclement and interception of 300,000 enemy troops, and there is a danger of being caught between the front and the rear.
"Break through to the northwest and go back to the old base area in western Henan!" The motion was proposed.
This plan was also quickly rejected, as it was largely consistent with the direction of the main breakout.
To the south, there is a vast Yangtze River graben, a lone army to break through it is absolutely impossible, in order to cross the Yangtze River, the Red Army in order to cross the Yangtze River, all the way upstream around the Jinsha River, losing most of the troops.
To the northeast or north? The Huanghuai Plain and the crisscrossing rivers are now the rainy season, and the water is deep and rapid, and it is unimaginable to cross the river continuously.
It is not possible to go west, it is not possible to go south, it is not possible to disperse and flee for life, only one aspect is left to the east, which runs counter to the main force, so as to attract the pursuing troops to the east and reduce the pressure on the main force to the west, but there are four armies in the east, and there is the reactionary armed forces of Gu Jingzhi, an anti-communist veteran. Hundreds of thousands of troops, which lasted for half a year, hit several iron hoops there, and broke through such a pass with thousands of tired lone troops, which was undoubtedly a pebble.
Nevertheless, in order to actively tear apart the enemy, disperse the enemy, mobilize the enemy, and make the enemy lose sight of one another, the first brigade should not hesitate to choose the most effective and difficult side: to march east!
Pi Dingjun said loudly: "In order to obey the overall interests and cover the main force to successfully complete the breakthrough task, even if we have to pay a major sacrifice, we will not hesitate!" ”
Several participants did not raise any objections. Only then did they feel that it was already noon.
After noon, the leaders of the regiments and political commissars attended the meeting. Pi Dingjun announced the decision to break through to the east, and Pi Dingjun said: "After many aspects of research and analysis, we decided to break through the Dabie Mountains to the east! Because only by breaking through to the east and running counter to the main force can we clamp down on the enemy, attract some of the enemy's forces to our side, and reduce the pressure on our main force. Although on our road to the east, there are also high mountains and dangerous roads, full of difficulties, and the enemy's strength exceeds our strength by more than ten times, but we also take into account the favorable side of the eastward advance: The Dabie Mountain is thick and easy to conceal; our first and second regiments were trained in the Taihang Mountains, Song Mountains, Funiu Mountains, and Tongbai Mountains, and the three regiments are the disciples of the Dabie Mountains, all of whom are good at mountain marching and fighting;
Dabie Mountain is also the cradle of feeding the Red Army, and the mass base is very good; Comrade Fang Shengpu, deputy brigade commander and I, are both Dabie Mountain people, who have made revolutions in Dabie Mountain, carried red guns, fought guerrillas, and are familiar with the terrain and people's feelings. Therefore, the party committee of the brigade decided to break through all difficulties and break through to the east! Our goal is to meet the division in the Liberated Areas of Suzhou and Central China! ”
Everyone fully agreed with Brigadier Pi. Next, we discuss the breakout scenario. This is a real problem. Break through to the east, attack hard position after position, break through thirty miles, how many people and horses can be left? The title was on the table, but no one dared to touch it, as if it were a hot piece of iron, and it would be hot when touched. These dozen or so people are all veterans of the Red Army, all veterans of the battlefield, and their experience can be described as many, but no one has ever encountered such a tricky subject. What a mouthful!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" >, the whole afternoon was almost silent, and everyone was thinking</h1>
The colors of dusk penetrated the cabin through the window paper. The sound of rain outside the window is like a spring silkworm eating mulberry leaves. The sound of gunfire rumbled from the west. The sound of the cannon was telling them that the main force had begun to cross the Pinghan line strongly. "Boom!" "Boom!" A sound echoed in each of their chests. The sound of the cannon also reminded them that after the main force crossed the Pinghan Road, it was time for them to carry out a breakthrough. However, they could not think of a good strategy that could preserve their strength and highlight it.
The main force began to break through from the time Pi and Xu went to accept the task, and the western cannon rumbled, but the east was watching.
Finally, someone proposed: "Concentrate the firepower of the troops, choose the gap between the enemy's two armies to force a breakthrough, split a passage, and insert it east along the ridge of dabie Mountain." ”
As soon as this plan was proposed, some people put forward a negative opinion: "In this way, our attempt to break through to the east was immediately exposed, and it was difficult for us to get out." ”
Another plan was proposed: "To the southeast, from the middle of Yuji and Shawo, straight into the hinterland of Dabie Mountain." Taking this route, you can also avoid the stubborn forces of Gu Jingzhi, the county magistrate of the pseudo-shangcheng County. ”
This road, Piding has considered. Before he accepted the task of covering the breakthrough of the main force, he also sent Yang Binlian, chief of the reconnaissance section, the former reconnaissance staff officer of the Western Henan Detachment, with two scouts, to do on-the-ground reconnaissance in the southeast direction. Xu Dehou, chief of the operations section, was also sent to the south of Yuji to inspect the construction of fortifications by the Second Regiment. That mountain is the commanding height that controls the east, and for the sake of its own maneuvering, it must control that high ground. However, you also need to avoid the real and the virtual, as long as it is a hard breakthrough, the enemy hundreds of thousands of people and horses, how can you block you.
Another person proposed: "Multiple arrows break through and meet at the designated place." ”
This proposal was rejected by Pi Dingjun.
The meeting continued after dinner. After repeated discussions, opinions have gradually been unified, and a complete action plan has been formed. That is: when the main force crosses the railway, we first swing a false shot, pretend to follow the main force, walk it for a day or half a day, and then quickly hide, flash the enemy's sharp edge, and then unexpectedly return the horse gun and rush eastward. By the time the enemy figured out where we were moving, we were already hundreds of miles away. Fang Shengpu pointed to the map and added: "Due to the main force's breakthrough action, the enemy may pay the least attention to this aspect, we jump to its rear at once, play hide and seek with the enemy, and when the enemy attacks to the hinterland and there is no time to turn back, we will turn around and go east." ”
After many considerations, Piding believes that this scheme is feasible.
For, in this way, it is possible for us to take the initiative and disrupt the enemy's deployment. If we concentrate our forces on breaking through directly to the east or southeast, we are bound to encounter the enemy's blockade; entangled with the enemy's large troops, we will have to pay a considerable price, even a very high price, to break through the enemy's twenty or thirty miles deep fortifications. Therefore, this action plan is more realistic.
According to the current situation, it is particularly important that the first and second regiments do their utmost to attract the largest number of enemies, to restrain the enemy from advancing westward, and to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy. The main forces of the regiments must quickly make preparations for the extremely arduous march and act at any time. Special emphasis should be placed on the absolute and strict observance by the forces of all operational discipline. If you want to assemble covertly in the gap of the enemy's large troops, you cannot do it without a high degree of organizational discipline!
It was twelve o'clock in the morning when the meeting was over.
Before the battle began, it was the most exciting and tense moment for the commanders. The plan for breaking through was there, but the difficulties in implementing that plan were very clear in his heart.
Although he didn't close his eyes for a day and a night, he didn't sleep at all. He returned to the dormitory, and the guard Zhao Yuanfu lit a lamp for him and said, "Chief, you haven't slept all day and night, so hurry up and sleep for a while." He only "hummed", did not go to bed, sat down in front of the stubble table without drawers, opened the diary, and began to keep a diary...
About the author: Taishi Xiaosheng, a lover of history, is especially passionate about reading and writing party history and military history. I have always wanted to look back at history more clearly, look at history more rationally, and write history more fluently.
The majority of history buffs are welcome to exchange axes.