Wang Liusheng recalls the battle of the Nationalist 72nd Division at the foot of Mount Tai in 1947

In April 1947, the wheat had just blossomed, and before the troops could change their clothes, they greeted the spring breeze and drove from south to north to the foot of Mount Tai.

At this time, the national war situation is continuing to develop in our favor. From July last year to March this year, our army wiped out a total of sixty-five brigades of Chiang Kai-shek's army on various battlefields, greatly weakening the enemy. At the same time, the struggle of the people in the Jiang-guan district is unfolding in a stormy manner. The revolution is about to enter a new phase. In order to save their dying fate, the Kuomintang reactionaries, on the one hand, intensified the suppression of the people's revolutionary movement in chiang kai-shek's areas, and on the other hand, openly declared the breakdown of the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations and were determined to fight to the end. However, due to the military inability to carry out an all-out offensive, we had to change to carrying out the so-called "key offensive" in our two liberated areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Shandong.

The enemy's ambition for a key offensive against Shandong is to first open the Road from Xuzhou to Jinan and from Yanzhou to Linyi on the Jinpu Road, and then push the main force to the tai'an, Laiwu, Xintai, Mengyin, and Yishui lines, forcing our army to fight a decisive battle. The enemy adopted a dense flat push deployment, starting from the Jinpu Line in the west to Linyi in the east, and with the cooperation of aircraft and tanks, shouting to shake us to "jump the Yellow River" and pressing north day and night. That formation, that fierce flame, was really like pushing Mount Tai down and flattening Mount Yimeng. As we walked all the way north, the cadres and soldiers muttered, "How did you do it, do you really want to cross the Yellow River?" "After crossing Mount Tai, go north to Jinan Province, that is, the Yellow River" Until they stopped at the foot of Mount Tai, some people said with a smile: "We have to open a knife from Tai'an!"

"Will you cut from Tai'an?" At dinner, several leading comrades of our division were speculating and talking, and the column came with instructions: The division commander and the political commissar went to the headquarters of the tenth column to receive combat tasks. Master Wang Jiwen has always been funny, he put down his chopsticks and said to me: "Political Commissar, go fast, you are going to attend the conference meal." ”

The headquarters of the Ten Columns, in a village about thirty miles south of the city, close to the road. Arriving on horseback, we saw that the commander of our third column had also arrived, and was talking and laughing with the commander of the tenth column, and it seemed that a campaign deployment had been determined. In the East China Battlefield, our third column and the tenth column often fought side by side, and not only did the chiefs of the column have a particularly close relationship, but the commanders of the two columns and divisions were also familiar with each other. Everyone gathered around the map and talked cordially with each other. The commander of the Tenth Column briefly conveyed the instructions of the commander of the East China Field Army: In order to disrupt the enemy's key offensive position, seek greater fighters, adopt the means of quick battle, and eat the reorganized Seventy-second Division in Tai'an City. The specific deployment of the campaign was: the Tenth Column attacked from the north, east and southeast of Tai'an; the Eighth Division of our Third Column attacked from the southwest and northwest directions of the West Gate. In order to unify our actions, our division came under the command of the commander of the Tenth Column. After the assignment of tasks, the commander of the Tenth Column also stressed that the Battle of Tai'an had a bearing on the overall situation. The Seventy-second Division is a spearhead on the leftmost wing of the enemy's key offensive front, and cutting off this spearhead will disrupt the enemy's entire front, and the enemy's footsteps will be chaotic, and the next "program" will be even more exciting. We immediately indicated to the commander of the column that we must cooperate with the fraternal troops and fight this battle well.

Accepting the task, Master Wang and I went all the way back together, and the two of us were in a good mood and felt that this battle was very certain. The enemy's Seventy-second Division is not a strong hand, and it is in our inner line. We are taking the absolute superiority of four divisions and fighting one division. The conditions of the masses are good, and the troops are good at fighting tough battles and mountain warfare. Master Wang said confidently, "No problem, the battle will be resolved within three days." He suddenly twisted his round and chubby face and asked me: "What is the next show when you beat Tai'an?" "This comrade fights like a good chess player, good at thinking about the next step before taking this step.

I smiled and said, "Sport warfare, where it is advantageous, where to start." To know what the next 'program' is, ask Chairman Mao, ask Chief Huaye. ”

"That's not my business." He also laughed, pondered for a moment and then said, "The enemy's tricks are almost over." I think that after the capture of Tai'an, there will definitely be another bigger annihilation war!" His tone was confident and full of strength.

Returning to the division command post, a small village south of Tai'an City, the regimental commanders and political commissars of each regiment came one after another. Everyone wants to fight for a main attack. Before the specific tasks had been assigned, the cadres of several regiments "fought."

This kind of high demand for war is completely understandable. Since the Battle of Lunan, our third column has mostly played "supporting roles". Not long ago, the Battle of Laiwu was again served as a blockade on the southern front, and from cadres to soldiers, their hearts were full of strength. In particular, after the great victory in Laiwu, in accordance with the instructions of the PARTY Central Committee entitled "Greeting the New Upsurge of the Chinese Revolution," the Liberated Areas of Eastern China generally launched the campaign of land reform, review, and surprise production, and the broad masses of the people actively participated in the front of the support. The troops also carried out a stage of rectification and training, studied in depth "Greeting the New Upsurge of the Chinese Revolution," further clarified the situation of the struggle, and strengthened their confidence in victory. Under the call of "fighting a battle and going further," the whole army summed up three months of military work experience and pushed our army's fine traditions of "combining wisdom with bravery" and "combining technology with bravery" to a new peak through activities such as mass talking about battles and experiences, evaluating command, and evaluating technology. There was also a grievance education, a solidarity and mutual assistance campaign, and a meritorious service campaign— then known as the three keys to the company's political work— and the soldiers were in a high mood and looking forward to a big victory.

According to the instructions of our superiors and the enemy situation and terrain, we discussed them and assigned tasks to three regiments: the twenty-third regiment attacked the commanding heights of the southwest corner of the city, The Artemisia Hill and the railway station; the twenty-fourth regiment first cleared the enemy at the city pass west of the south gate; and the twenty-second regiment prepared to take on the task of siege. Commander Wang Jiwen finally raised his voice and said, "Comrades, this battle cannot defeat the enemy's key attack, this is just an opening gong, and the good drama is still a mile away!"

The cadres were particularly interested in the phrase "good drama is behind." This can be seen from their pair of surprised eyes.

At dusk on the twenty-fourth day, the majestic Mount Tai had just hung up at night, and the battle of the Twenty-third Regiment to attack Mount Artemisia began. The division's command post was located at the foot of Mount Artemisia, and we could see without using a telescope the movements of the troops attacking Mount Artemisia. The troops seemed to be flying, and in the blink of an eye, they climbed the south slope. A report from the commander of the Twenty-third Regiment came from the telephone: breaking through the deer, crossing the trench, blowing up the barbed wire, and seizing the mountain saddle fortifications,...... The progress is smoother.

Artemisia Mountain, the only commanding height of the enemy in the southwest corner of the city, overlooks Tai'an City and guards the Jinpu Road. Before our assault troops could reach the main peak, the enemy used intensive artillery fire to block it, and then desperately organized a counterattack. In the middle of the night, the enemy repelled countless counterattacks and many strong attacks, but none of them occupied the position, and the main hills and some of the forts were still in the hands of the enemy. Seeing that the east was clear and the casualties of the troops were relatively large, we considered that the casualties would be even greater after dawn, and decided to scatter the troops under the mountain and reorganize the attack at night.

Drumming up and down, I unexpectedly kicked my head to the stone, and I was a little anxious. We were studying how to organize a new offensive, and the commander of the Twenty-fourth Regiment reported by telephone that they had laid several bunkers west of the South Gate, that the assault company had suffered few casualties and was developing smoothly. Guo Jisheng, commander of the first company, commanded the soldiers to take small groups of actions to hit the bunkers, and in the battle to attack the enemy's core strongholds in Daimiao, the second and sixth squads continuously shot down more than a dozen bunkers without any casualties.

"Well, this is called the combination of wisdom and courage!" Master Wang Jiwen cried out happily.

"Guo Jisheng, the company commander, command is creation!" I don't know who interjected.

Excitement and enthusiasm enveloped the command post again. I picked up the phone and said to the political commissar of the Twenty-fourth Regiment: "You will soon sum up Guo Jisheng's command experience!"

"Chief of the Operations Section," Commander Wang shouted, "Take a staff officer and go to the Twenty-fourth Regiment and a Company to sum up the experience!"

Soon, the experience was found. Guo Jisheng's pre-battle preparations were meticulously grasped and deeply; during the battle, small group movements were fully used so that the assault squads were not rushed up, but divided into combat groups, and the fighters of each group covered each other and alternately advanced. This tactic is very effective against the enemy's sub-mother-based fortress group. Several cadres of our division immediately went down separately and personally organized the troops of the Twenty-third Regiment to practice the action of small groups of people who hit the bunker. An upsurge of "training troops in front of the enemy" was launched at the foot of Mount Tai, and the assault squads and demolition teams of each company held seminars and conducted small exercises in combination with their own tasks and terrain.

"Learning from war – that's our main method." This is what Chairman Mao taught us long ago. Through on-the-spot study and training troops in front of the enemy, we have understood these words at a deeper level.

After a day of organizational preparation, at dusk, the smoke of artillery fire rose again on the hill of Artemisia, and a new attack began. The troops used were still the Twenty-third Regiment. Because we accepted the lesson of yesterday's nail encounter, conducted training in front of the enemy, absorbed the experience of Guo Jisheng's command, and combined with the effective cooperation of the mountain artillery battalion of the column, from launching the charge to occupying the artemisan mountain, a total of thirty minutes, the defending enemy battalion was completely annihilated, and we suffered very few casualties. This is not to say, only to say that on the hill of Artemisia, a moving heroic story has been handed down. This also starts with the defeat of the attack on the first day:

...... As the troops retreated down the hill, three soldiers in a company of two platoons, acting as cover in the rear, lost contact with the company and retreated to a bunker between the two hills. The enemy spotted them, attacked from all sides, and shamelessly shouted at them: "Surrender, give you white-faced rice to eat!" "Surrender, each person three levels in a row!" You can't take Tai'an!" Our three warriors were as steady as Tarzan, leaning on a machine gun and two rifles, stubbornly and unyieldingly holding on to the bunker. They firmly believe that our army will attack again. They shouted to the enemy soldiers: "Don't be cannon fodder for Chiang Kai-shek!" Persuade the enemy to surrender. Every attack of the enemy was crushed by them with machine guns and grenades. Again and again, tired enemy corpses, fell in front of the bunker. When the bullets ran out, they crawled to the enemy's corpses to pick them up. The roof of the bunker collapsed, and they held on to the ground floor. With no food to eat and no water to drink, they were surrounded on all sides and held out all day until our troops hit them again, and they jumped out of the bunkers, joined the assault troops, and rushed to the main peak of Mount Artemisia. ......

At the foot of Mount Artemisia, I met these three warriors. Their cotton coats revealed cotton, and a triumphant smile flashed on their faces. Comfort is unnecessary for them; praise, there are Xinhua news agency reporters around, preparing to take pictures, write articles. I shook hands with the three warriors one by one and said the most ordinary words: "Comrades, let's go down and rest, tonight we will attack the city!"

"Commissar, we are not tired!" The three warriors spoke almost in unison. They were going to take part in new battles, carrying machine guns, rolling up their rifles, and running towards the company.

The three tall and short figures quickly disappeared into the ranks of the forward moving troops. At this time, the cadres of the first battalion told me that two of the three fighters were peasants who had turned over, and the other was liberated from the Kuomintang army not long ago. As I walked, I thought: What are the factors for these three ordinary warriors to fight so bravely under unfavorable circumstances? ...... Of course, there are many factors, I think: one of the most important points is their political awareness. The spirit of the instructions of the Party Central Committee "Greeting the New Upsurge of the Chinese Revolution" inspired them and shone in their hearts.

The Twenty-third Regiment captured Mount Artemisia and then occupied the railway station, and the Twenty-fourth Regiment also eliminated the enemy in Chengguan, and the enemy in Tai'an Became the Turtle in the Urn. The whole division was actively preparing to attack the city, and Commander Wang and I, together with the commander of the Twenty-second Regiment and the political commissar, went to the front to see the terrain, and by the way, we went to see the first company that served as a surprise attack tonight. Lin Maocheng, the commander of the youth company, is leading the assault squad to carefully study the tactical movements. He was a famous combat hero of our division, and today is the seventeenth time he has led the commando team. We asked him how he was, and if he was sure, he said heroically:

"Division commander and political commissar, rest assured, don't talk about climbing this city wall, even if you climb the top of Dengtai Mountain, we can also go up!"

Master Wang said, "Good! It's about having that. Be well prepared, explode quickly, attack fiercely, and hit it like a nail, nailed to the castle tower!"

At nine o'clock in the evening of the twenty-fifth day, we began our attack from the west gate. The heroic company under the command of hero Lin Maocheng only took fifteen minutes to blow up the city gate blocked by the enemy with large sandbags, climb the city wall, and open the door to victory for the whole division. Then came the news: the tenth column of the brother troops had also broken through the east gate. ......

The division command post followed outside the West Gate. Gunfire rang out in the city, explosives and grenades exploded in the city, and the Twenty-fourth Regiment and other follow-up troops entered the city one after another. By dawn, with the gradually sparse sound of gunfire, more than 10,000 people of the enemy's reorganized Seventy-second Division were reimbursed. Yang Wenquan, the commander of the Seventy-second Division, who had "promised" his master two days earlier to defend the city on the Jinpu Line, was now also a prisoner with his head down.

From the official start of the battle to the end of the victory, it was two days and two nights. Capturing a city so quickly and eating a division is something the enemy could never have imagined. As we cleaned the battlefield, an American-built plane was buzzing over the city. It's like looking for something, seeing something. Before it could see and find it, it only heard a cheer at the foot of Mount Tarzan, and this unfortunate "hanging machine" was hit by my machine gun and rifle, and it was planted next to our command post, burning with black smoke. Master Wang Jiwen lifted up a newly surrendered camera and said to everyone, "'Eat roast chicken' go!" Laughing loudly toward the burning enemy plane.

The red sun rises on Mount Tai, illuminating it even more majestically and majestically. Some of our troops grew up at the foot of Mount Tarzan. Everyone talked about Tarzan with great interest, saying that when you climbed the top of Mount Tai, you could watch the sunrise in the morning. Naturally, no one has the leisure of "climbing the mountain and looking at the scenery". What everyone is most concerned about is what the next "show" is, and where the other "stage" is. Is it on the Tsuura Line? Is it in the Yimeng Mountains? Or somewhere else?

Twenty days later, an even more splendid "program"—the battle to annihilate the reorganized Seventy-fourth Division, one of the five main forces of the Kuomintang army—was staged on the high "stage" of Meng Lianggu.

Comrade Wang Liusheng Profile:

His original name was Wang Shengqi. Born in May 1917, a native of Pingxiang, Jiangxi. In July 1930, he joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, joined the Communist Youth League of China in December of the same year, and became a member of the Communist Party of China in July 1932. He successively served as a commander of the L Division of the Red 5th Army, the commander of the 10th Regiment of the Red 4th Division, and the political instructor of the 12th Regiment Company of the Red 4th Division. He participated in five anti-"encirclement and suppression" and long marches in the Central Soviet Region. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he served as the commander of the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, a company political instructor, and a battalion organization officer. Participated in battles such as Pingshiguan. Later, he served as a political instructor for the 2nd Battalion and L Battalion of the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. In March 1939, he entered the anti-Japanese base area in Shandong and participated in the Battle of Fanba. In September of the same year, he arrived in the Baoligu Mountains of Lunan Province. Since 1940, he has served as the political commissar of the 2nd Brigade of the Lunan Detachment of the 115th Division, the political commissar of the Yixian Detachment, the political commissar of the Lintan FeiyiBian Joint Detachment, and the chief of staff, deputy regimental commander and regimental commander of the 5th Regiment of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. In 1943, he was appointed political commissar of the 5th Regiment of the Lunan Military Region and political commissar of the 3rd Military Subdistrict of the Lunan Military Region. In August 1944, he was appointed secretary of the 4th Prefectural Committee of the Rebuilt Lunan District Party Committee, and still served as the political commissar of the 3rd Military Subdistrict of the Lunan Military Region and the head and political commissar of the 5th Regiment. In September 1945, he was appointed political commissar of the 23rd Regiment of the 8th Division of the Shandong Military Region. He participated in the successive anti-"sweeping" and anti-"encroachment" struggles in the Lunan Anti-Japanese Base Area, and made important contributions to consolidating and developing the Lunan Anti-Japanese Base Area. During the Liberation War, he served as the political commissar of the 8th Division of the 3rd Column of the East China Field Army of the People's Liberation Army and the political commissar of the 65th Division of the 22nd Army of the 3rd Field Army. He led his troops to participate in the battles of Tengxian, Zaozhuang, Subei, Luoyang, Jinan, Huaihai, Crossing the River, and liberating the Zhoushan Islands. In January 1950, he was appointed director of the Political Department of the 22nd Army. In July 1960, he was appointed political commissar of the 20th Army. In July 1964, he was appointed as the second political commissar of the Shanghai Garrison District. In May 1965, he was appointed director of the Political Department of the Nanjing Military Region. In August 1969, he was appointed deputy political commissar and director of the political department of the Nanjing Military Region. In November 1971, he was appointed as the first political commissar of the Wuhan Military Region. From February 1972 to May 1975, he was also the Second Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. From August 1975 to September 1982, he was the political commissar of the Engineering Corps of the People's Liberation Army. He was awarded the rank of Major General in September 1955. He was awarded the Order of August 1 of the Third Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom of the Second Class, the Liberation Medal of the First Class, and the Medal of Merit of the Red Star of the First Class. He is a delegate to the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, an alternate member of the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Central Committees, and a member of the Central Advisory Committee. He died in Beijing on December 22, 1995.