Among the founding generals of the glorious galaxy of New China, there was such a "one-armed general" who dared to skim people and was brave and good at war, and led the hundred and ten people to dare to break into the airfield guarded by the heavy troops of the Japanese army and stage a "big fuss in the Heavenly Palace." After burning down four Japanese planes, he was able to retreat with his whole body, and once became a hero who was reported by major newspapers.
In a battle, he unfortunately lost his right arm, but he was not depressed, but constantly learned to eat, write, and shoot with his left hand, becoming a famous "one-armed general" in the army.
He is the founding major general - General Liao Zhengguo!
In this article, let's talk about the legendary deeds of General Liao Zhengguo; if you are also interested in history, you may wish to calm down and read it, maybe there will be different gains!
Liao Zhengguo, formerly known as Liao Guangqing, was born in 1913 in Xi County, Henan. In 1930, at the age of 17, Liao Zhengguo joined the Communist Party of China, joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the same year, and successively participated in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" operations in the Eyu-Anhui Soviet Region, the anti-"Three-Way Siege" and the anti-"Six-Way Siege" in the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Region, and made outstanding achievements.
In 1934, after the defeat of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, Liao Zhengguo followed the troops to participate in the 25,000-mile Long March.
After the victory of the Long March, Liao Zhengguo entered the Yan'an Kang Da to study, and after graduation, he was ordered to follow General Yuan Guoping to work in the New Fourth Army, and was appointed deputy battalion commander of the second battalion of the sixth regiment of the third detachment.
As one of the anti-Japanese armed forces directly led by our party, the New Fourth Army has extremely strong combat effectiveness and super high military quality, and is known as the "Iron Army"; and it can be said that Liao Zhengguo has always dreamed of working in the New Fourth Army.
Liao Zhengguo's mood was extremely comfortable, and he had a good eye for his work, and because of his outstanding performance in his work, he was soon promoted from deputy battalion commander to second battalion commander.
At that time, in order to open up a new anti-Japanese base area under the eyes of the Japanese army, from May 1939, the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Detachment of the New Fourth Army, to which Liao Zhengguo belonged, was ordered to advance from Maoshan to the outskirts of Shanghai under the name of "Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army (referred to as 'JiangKang')", and Liao Zhengguo was reappointed as the leader of the second detachment of "Jiangkang".
Shanghai was an important stronghold of the Japanese army invading China at that time, and the Japanese troops stationed here were not only numerous but also well-equipped, and it was difficult to fight the Japanese army in this area.
Nevertheless, Liao Zhengguo and all the comrades of the "Jiang Kang" were fearless and bravely marched forward, vowing to compete with the Japanese army entrenched in Shanghai.
During this period, Liao Zhengguo led the second detachment to break through the heavy blockade line of the Japanese puppet army, directly into the Jiangyin and Wuxi areas, and fought the first battle with the Japanese army at the Loess Pond in Jiangyin.
During the battle, Liao Zhengguo picked up his machine gun and charged forward, firing fiercely at the Japanese army, and hundreds of Japanese soldiers were beaten to the ground, and they were suddenly confused and had to flee for their lives.
After this battle, Liao Zhengguo's second detachment was expanded from three companies at the time of departure, with hundreds of people, to six companies, plus two machine gun platoons, totaling more than 1300 people, and the combat effectiveness was greatly improved.
After that, Liao Zhengguo led his troops to continue eastward, running towards the outskirts of Shanghai. At that time, because there was no military map, Liao Zhengguo could only organize the march on a pocket-sized map used by middle school students.
On this day, after a full night of rapid marching, crossing several rivers and crossing the Nanjing-Shanghai Railway, the team came to a riverside.
However, Liao Zhengguo could not find the name of this river on the map, and finally asked the local fishermen to learn that this was the "Wusong River".
Arriving at the Wusong River means that you have reached the boundary of Shanghai!
However, it was still daylight, and the troops could not cross the river, so Liao Zhengguo, after reporting the situation to Wu Kun, the deputy commander of the "Jiang Resistance", decided to hide the troops in the nearby bamboo forest and wait until late at night to cross the river.
At nine o'clock in the evening, on the road behind the hidden bamboo forest of Liao Zhengguo's troops, large trucks and armored vehicles full of Japanese soldiers continued to appear, and there were Japanese patrol boats on the river.
At this time, Liao Zhengguo had a deep premonition that the troops had fallen into the encirclement of the Japanese army!
In order to help the troops break through, Liao Zhengguo hurriedly reported to the deputy commander Wu Kun and requested that he quickly lead the troops across the river.
Subsequently, the warriors found five small boats, and Liao Zhengguo took the initiative to lead the water-aware warriors to take the lead in crossing the river to cover the warriors behind them.
After successfully crossing the river, Liao Zhengguo's troops suddenly encountered a sweeping Japanese puppet army, Liao Zhengguo commanded the battle heavily, led the troops to strike hard, and led the troops to pursue for tens of kilometers until all the enemy forces were annihilated.
After the battle, Liao Zhengguo led his troops to a "strange" place: there was a large open space, surrounded by barbed wire, and no one was seen except for a few lonely bunker bungalows.
When I inquired, I learned that this was the Hongqiao airport occupied by the Japanese army!
"Hongqiao Airport? This is the first stop for senior Japanese generals and field commanders to fly from Japan to the Chinese battlefield! If only I could take it off..."
The more Liao Zhengguo thought about it, the more excited he became, and at this time, a bold idea had already appeared in his mind - to sneak attack Hongqiao Airport!
At that time, the puppet army responsible for guarding the airport was sleeping soundly in the bunker, and Liao Zhengguo took the opportunity to command the troops to quietly copy the airport, cut the barbed wire fence outside the airport, and enter the airport covertly.
Originally thought that they would encounter fierce resistance from the puppet army during this period, they advanced all the way without the slightest resistance.
It seems that the puppet army has regarded the Hongqiao airport as impregnable, simply believing that it is impossible for anyone to attack it, so they sleep peacefully in the bunker.
Then, Liao Zhengguo ordered the soldiers to sneak into the room where the puppet soldiers lived, lifted them out of their nests, and drove them to a house where they were detained.
"Why don't you see Japanese devils?" Can't there be no Japanese garrison in this airfield? Liao Zhengguo's heart could not help but be filled with a series of questions.
In order to avoid being wrapped in dumplings by the Japanese army, Liao Zhengguo immediately ordered the troops to search separately! Suddenly, a scout excitedly ran to report: "Detachment leader, planes, there are really planes, or four!" ”
Led by the investigators, Liao Zhengguo hurried to a corner of the airport to check, and sure enough, there were really four planes.
Seeing the four planes parked at the airport, Liao Zhengguo and the fighters were immediately excited, but Liao Zhengguo considered that there were probably Fire Points arranged by the Japanese Army around him, so he ordered the fighters to quietly touch it and then burn it.
But the soldiers could not suppress their inner excitement, and the noise of the noise exposed their target, and in an instant, a series of piercing alarms suddenly sounded, and the Japanese began to shoot fiercely from the tall bunker.
After the gunshots rang out, Liao Zhengguo finally understood that the reason why the Japanese army was assured to let the puppet army guard the airport was because they had built bunkers near the airport, and they were also equipped with heavy weapons, fierce firepower, and in the event of an emergency, they could completely control the airport.
The Japanese fire was becoming more and more intense, and Liao Zhengguo knew very well that the troops must retreat immediately, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
But if he really retreated like this, Liao Zhengguo's heart would be very unhappy, so he shouted at the soldiers: "Burn the plane!" ”
The fighters immediately unveiled the gasoline barrels next to the plane, and then poured them on the fuselage, and in a few moments, the airfield was in flames.
At that time, after hearing the gunshots at Hongqiao Airport, the Japanese command immediately dispatched troops to support, but when they arrived, except for the four planes that had been burned into scrap iron, they did not even see the shadow of the New Fourth Army.
The next day, many newspapers and periodicals published in Shanghai successively reported the news of the New Fourth Army's night attack on Hongqiao Airport, which not only greatly encouraged the confidence of the broad masses of the people in the enemy-occupied areas to resist Japan, but also aroused great repercussions in the international community.
After this incident, Liao Zhengguo became famous in world war I and once became an anti-Japanese hero who was reported by major news media.
However, the "night attack on Hongqiao Airport" was only a "small test" in General Liao Zhengguo's combat career.
One day in October 1940, in a peasant compound in Huangqiao Town, northern Jiangsu Province, a group of cadres and fighters of the Fourth Regiment of the First Column of the New Fourth Army were sitting around and listening to the director of the ordnance repair department explain the knowledge of weapons.
Just as everyone was fascinated, a loud noise suddenly came from a small bungalow on the north side of the patio, followed by a thick plume of smoke.
Suddenly, a soldier shouted, "Isn't that the regimental commander's room?" After the crowd heard this, they were shocked and quickly ran to the house of the regimental commander Liao Zhengguo.
When the warriors rushed into the house, they saw Liao Zhengguo lying on the ground covered in blood, and his right arm had been blown up into a blur of flesh and blood.
The soldiers in the house began to shout to the outside: "Military doctor, what about military doctors?" Hurry up and call the military doctor..."
It turned out that after the Battle of Huangqiao, the New Fourth Army had captured a large number of weapons from the enemy, including a new type of grenade.
In order to help the soldiers of the troops fully understand the structural performance and use of this new grenade, Liao Zhengguo took the initiative to take it back to his residence for careful study.
At that time, the director of the repair department wanted to dismantle it and see the structure inside, but Liao Zhengguo refused, because he did not want the director of the repair director to do such a dangerous thing, and he insisted on bringing it back to study.
Since it was the first study, when Liao Zhengguo disassembled the grenade, a wisp of white smoke suddenly appeared from the grenade.
Liao Zhengguo, who had been in the battlefield for a long time, knew very well that this grenade seemed to be about to explode!
In fact, he could have thrown the grenade out at that time, but he thought that the cadres and soldiers in the patio were seriously learning the knowledge of weapons, so he did not hesitate to stand up and hold the grenade high with his right hand...
It is worth mentioning that on the way to the military doctor, Liao Zhengguo woke up, at this time he had realized that he had lost an arm, he looked at the soldiers around him, and said very calmly: "I don't matter, it just doesn't matter... How about everyone? Injured without..."
Before he could finish speaking, Liao Zhengguo passed out! When the soldiers present heard the words of the regimental commander, they shed tears one after another!
The general was bold and loyal, and the first thing that came to mind in times of danger was the safety of his comrades-in-arms, and he disregarded his own life and death.
Despite the great efforts of the military doctors, there was a shortage of medical treatment in the New Fourth Army, so in the end they failed to save Liao Zhengguo's right arm.
His comrades-in-arms lamented this, but Liao Zhengguo himself, like no one else, was calm and relaxed, and as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, he immediately returned to the army.
At that time, due to the harsh conditions of the New Fourth Army, there were generally no guards for regiment-level cadres, but considering Liao Zhengguo's special situation, his superiors decided to send him a guard, but he was politely rejected by Liao Zhengguo, and he did not want to make "special" because of this.
But after all, what is missing is the right hand that is used to use, so when doing things with the left hand, it is inevitable that it will be a little uncomfortable. But Liao Zhengguo did not think so, he firmly believed that what others could do with two hands, he could also use one hand.
At first, he felt very awkward to eat with chopsticks in his left hand, and the sandwich dishes were always not clipped, so he switched to a spoon, and when the spoon was skilled, he ate it with chopsticks.
In addition, he learned to wash his face, wash his clothes, write, and shoot with his left hand, and it was no worse than with his right hand.
Words are always pale, and the general has paid unimaginable hardships to achieve living and working with his left hand, and these are probably only known to the general himself!
In 1948, Liao Zhengguo, then commander of the First Division of the First Column of the East China Field Army, led his troops to implement bold interspersing and using mobile and flexible tactics to defeat the Kuomintang army in the vast land of eastern Henan.
On June 17 of the same year, the "Battle of Eastern Henan" began, and the Kuomintang Qiu Qingquan Corps frantically rushed to Kaifeng to help, and Liao Zhengguo was ordered to lead his troops to block the attack.
After receiving the order, Liao Zhengguo, considering that the enemy army was strong and well-equipped, decided to block the two banks of the Yellow River in the northeast of Lankao.
The reason why Liao Zhengguo chose the blocking position here is because the terrain here is open and flat, and there is a lot of wind and sand, and once the wind rises, it is often flying sand and stones, and the sky is dark.
According to the art of war, such terrain is not suitable for carrying out blockade warfare, because it is very likely that the enemy will exploit the loophole. However, Liao Zhengguo knew that under the circumstance that the disparity in strength between the enemy and us was relatively large, it was undoubtedly the best choice to choose to block the enemy in such an environment.
Therefore, when someone reminded him, he suddenly smiled: "I just want the enemy to exploit the loophole!" ”
In the early morning of the 21st, the two banks of the silted Yellow River suddenly blew a strong wind, and the rolled yellow sand covered the sky! The Nationalist army began to fire a large number of shells at the blocking positions of Liao Zhengguo's troops, and then rapidly advanced under the cover of armored vehicles.
Under the cover of yellow sand and powerful artillery fire, some Kuomintang troops have already attacked the command post at the company level of our battalion, and the sound of bullets whistling can be clearly heard above the command post of the division headquarters.
But all this is exactly what Liao Zhengguo wanted to see, and he calmly shuttled through the command post and the forward position to observe the battle situation.
Originally, Liao Zhengguo knew that the weapons and equipment of his troops could not compete with the heavy weapons of the enemy, so he deliberately introduced the enemy into this natural "barrier" and made his heavy weapons useless, thus providing favorable conditions for our army's counterattack.
Since the enemy's attack relied entirely on the heavy weapons in his hand, he did not think about melee combat at all, let alone fight with bayonets, so when facing the sudden killing of the People's Liberation Army, he was suddenly confused and quickly crushed.
Until the next day when Kaifeng was liberated, Qiu Qingquan's troops still could not advance half a step, let alone go to reinforcements!
However, as soon as the Battle of Kaifeng ended, the head of the East China Field Army decided to voluntarily abandon Kaifeng and organized the "Suiqi Campaign" on June 27.
According to the deployment, Liao Zhengguo's troops were ordered to form a assault corps, commanded by Ye Fei, the commander of the first column, whose purpose was to encircle and annihilate the Shounian Regiment in the area.
At that time, in addition to the District Shounian Corps, the Kuomintang troops directly participated in the battle, as well as the Qiu Qingquan Department and the Huang Baitao Department, a total of 3 corps and 12 integrated divisions, with a total of more than 270,000 people.
The only units of our army participating in the war were 10 columns belonging to the two major field armies in the Central Plains and East China, totaling 200,000 people.
200,000 to 270,000, in the case of a huge disparity in troops, if you want to win more with less, you must adopt the correct strategy and tactics.
To this end, the superior ordered Liao Zhengguo's first division to implement interspersing along the west side of Sui County to divide the defense system of the Shounian Regiment. You know, this is the most dangerous and arduous task, and if you are not careful, you are likely to be in danger of being completely annihilated.
That night, the Nationalist reorganized 75th Division began to attack Liao Zhengguo's troops from the east and west, and the situation was extremely critical.
However, Liao Zhengguo was not in danger, and he skillfully ordered his troops to strike the enemy back-to-back, and even repelled more than twenty enemy attacks in succession, blocking the enemy's Seventy-fifth Division on the east and west sides of our army's position, forcing it into a dilemma.
Subsequently, in the case of heavy casualties among the troops, Liao Zhengguo resolutely ordered the troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy, and the battle was extremely fierce.
Figure | General Liao Zhengguo and his family
By the afternoon of June 30, the Sixth Brigade of the Enemy's Seventy-fifth Division was completely annihilated by our army, capturing more than 1,500 officers and men of the enemy brigade commander and below, and winning a great victory.
The entire Suiqi campaign lasted for 10 days, and our army completely annihilated more than 50,000 people in the enemy area Shounian Regiment and most of the Huang Baitao Corps, and captured the commander of the corps, Ou Shounian.
The reason why our army was able to encircle and annihilate the Shounian Corps in the area was also due to the fact that Liao Zhengguo led the troops to open up the situation, and in this battle, Liao Zhengguo and his first division contributed indispensably!
After that, Liao Zhengguo successively served as the chief of staff of the 20th Army of the Third Field Army, and the deputy commander of the 20th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army!
After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1950, Liao Zhengguo, as the deputy commander of the 20th Army of the Volunteer Army, led his troops to the Korean battlefield and participated in the Second and Fifth Campaigns.
In the face of a strong enemy he had never encountered before, Liao Zhengguo calmly commanded the battle, and in the case of backward weapons and equipment, used explosives tactics to blow up the mechanized troops of the US army and throw away their armor, thus making great contributions to the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
After returning from Korea in 1953, Liao Zhengguo became the commander of the 20th Army, and later led his troops to participate in the liberation of Iljiangshan Island.
In September 1955, Liao Zhengguo was awarded the rank of major general and was awarded the Order of August 1, 2nd Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom, 2nd Class, and the Liberation Medal, 1st Class.
Figure | General Liao Zhengguo
In 1960, after graduating from the Higher Military Academy of the people's liberation army in Chinese, General Liao Zhengguo successively served as deputy commander of the Shanghai Garrison District, commander of the Zhousheng Fortress District, commander of the Shanghai Garrison District, and commander of the artillery of the Nanjing Military Region.
During his term of office, the general often went down to the forward posts and grass-roots companies, gave specific guidance and great concern to the living security of grass-roots officers and men, as well as education management, and was deeply loved and respected by the vast number of commanders and fighters.
However, such a brave and rigorous tiger general did not escape his doom in the end.
In those dark years, the general was treated unfairly many times, and finally tortured to the point of illness, although he vowed to fight to the death many times, but the day did not go according to people's wishes.
On April 16, 1972, the tortured General Liao Zhengguo officially completed his legendary and tragic life in Nanjing, at the age of 59.
At that time, when General Xu Shiyou learned the news of Liao Zhengguo's death, he looked up to the sky and sighed: "Why don't good people last long?" ”
But history is just, and the party and the people will never forget this "one-armed general" who made great contributions to the cause of the Chinese revolution and liberation -- General Liao Zhengguo!
Where there are good years, it is just someone who carries the weight for us! Finally, let us pay high tribute to the "one-armed general" and the founding major general Liao Zhengguo!