Zhou Xihan was a famous founding lieutenant general, and in order to kill his pride, Deng Xiaoping once suppressed him for 10 years without promotion. Xu Shiyou was a famous founding general who shocked the world's Xu monks, and could be described as well-known to women and children. One is a lieutenant general, the other is a general, and in the revolutionary war years, Xu Shiyou's position has always been above Zhou Xihan.
It is reasonable to say that no matter where he went, it was Xu Shiyou who commanded Zhou Xihan, and there was no reason for Zhou Xihan to command Xu Shiyou. However, in early 1939, in the 386 Brigade led by Chen Geng, Zhou Xihan actually commanded Xu Shiyou, could Xu Shiyou obey the command?
The 386th Brigade was known as the best brigade of the Eighth Route Army, with the brigade commander Chen Geng later becoming a general, the brigade political commissar Wang Xinting later becoming a founding general, the deputy brigade commander Chen Zaidao, and the chief of staff Li Jukui later becoming a founding general. This leadership lineup is really quite strong.
By 1939, deputy brigade commander Chen Zaidao and chief of staff Li Jukui had been transferred, and they had gone to open up another base area. Han Dongshan took over as deputy brigade commander, Han Dongshan's position was not long, and when he was about to be transferred, Xu Shiyou also came to the 386 Brigade as a deputy brigade commander.
(Zhou Xihan and Chen Geng)
The chief of staff of the 386th Brigade was replaced by Zhou Xihan. That is to say, at the beginning of 1939, the brigade commander of the 386 Brigade was still Chen Geng, the political commissar was Wang Xinting, there were two deputy brigade commanders, namely Han Dongshan and Xu Shiyou, and the chief of staff was Zhou Xihan, with Xu Shiyou joining, and this leading lineup was even stronger.
The 386th Brigade came to the Ji'nan Plain, where the terrain is open, the trees have no leaves, and there are no crops on the ground. Looking at such terrain, Chen Geng was worried, this terrain was extremely conducive to the deployment of the enemy's mechanized troops, and it was extremely unfavorable to the Eighth Route Army to fight an ambush battle.
On such terrain, how to fight an ambush battle? Where to find the fighter? Zhou Xihan did not believe in evil, and together with Deputy Brigade Commander Han Dongshan, he personally went to reconnoiter the terrain and really found the ideal ambush location. About 1500 meters northeast of Xiangchenggu, the two villages are far apart, sandwiching a depression in the middle.
If the enemy can be lured to this depression, a victory will be basically locked. Where do the enemies come from? Zhou Xihan had already made plans, 15 kilometers north of Xiangchenggu, in wei county, where the Japanese army often came out to sweep and lure them out.
The calculation had been decided, and Zhou Xihan made a report to Brigadier Chen Geng. Chen Geng felt that this matter was reliable, and said to several brigade commanders, let's walk to see how the terrain is? Deputy Brigadier Xu Shiyou was the first to respond, well, I just want to see it for myself.
A group of wind and dust servants came to the vicinity of Xiangchenggu and carefully inspected the terrain, and Xu Shiyou, who was windy and fiery, took the lead in saying that the north of Xiangchenggu is an ideal pocket position, a good place to fight an ambush battle, and I think this battle can be fought. Political Commissar Wang Xinting also said that I agree with Chief of Staff Zhou's plan and that it is safe to fight an ambush here.
Of course, Chen Geng also agreed, and he summoned the regimental commanders, assigned combat tasks, and dispatched troops and generals. After the arrangement, Chen Geng wanted to leave with the political commissar Wang Xinting, and they had to personally rush to the headquarters of the 129th Division to report to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping.
(Admiral Wang Xinting)
The brigade commander and commissar are gone, who will command the battle? Chen Geng decided to put Zhou Xihan in charge of overall command at the command post and give command to Zhou Xihan. There are two deputy brigade commanders, why let the chief of staff command it? Chen Geng can be described as a unique insight, first, before and after this battle, Zhou Xihan was planning, and he knew the overall situation best.
Most importantly, Chen Geng has always admired Zhou Xihan very much and has been deliberately cultivating him. When the Eighth Route Army was established, Zhou Xihan was only the chief of the operations unit of the 386 Brigade, and a few months later, Chen Geng asked him to become the head of the supplementary regiment, and in June 1938, Chen Geng transferred Zhou Xihan to the chief of staff of the 386 Brigade.
At that time, Zhou Xihan was only 25 years old. In less than a year, Zhou Xihan was promoted from the chief of the operations unit of the 386 Brigade to the chief of staff, and the promotion rate was very fast, which was the result of Chen Geng's hand. Chen Geng promoted Zhou Xihan because he favored his military talent.
However, whether Zhou Xihan could do it or not, he still had to be tested in actual combat. If Chen Geng wanted to prove that his vision was not wrong, he had to give Zhou Xihan a chance to display his military talents. The Xiangchenggu Ambush was a great opportunity.
The question is that Zhou Xihan is only the chief of staff, can the chief of staff command two deputy brigade commanders? Xu Shiyou was very interesting and said, I have just arrived at the front, I need to be familiar with the troops, this battle, I went to the new regiment, to ensure that the mouth of the north side of the depression is tightened.
Chen Geng said with a smile, "You are familiar with what troops, you are not unable to squat in the command post, we have a word first, you can go to the new regiment, but you are only allowed to stay in the regimental command post, and you are not allowed to go to the front. Xu Shiyou smiled and said, look at the situation.
Deputy Brigade Commander Han Dongshan was also very interesting, and he said that after fighting this battle, I would have to report to the Eastward Column, and I would still return to my old unit supplementary regiment to fight this last battle. Han Dongshan had previously been the leader of the supplementary regiment, and this request was reasonable and reasonable, and Chen Geng had no reason not to agree.
Both deputy brigade commanders asked to go to the front-line troops, and the command could only be handed over to Zhou Xihan. Chen Geng said to Zhou Xihan that the political commissar and I should report to Chief Liu Deng on our work, a distance of several hundred miles, and we may not be able to rush back before the battle starts, the battlefield is chosen by you, the plan is set by you, you will command it.
(Xu Shiyou)
Zhou Xihan felt too bold and said, Let Deputy Brigadier Xu stay at the command post. Zhou Xihan retained Xu Shiyou because Xu Shiyou's prestige was high, and his position was always higher than his, so he asked Zhou Xihan to command Xu Shiyou, and Zhou Xihan was really a little embarrassed.
Han Dongshan and Zhou Xihan were more familiar, they were working together in the supplementary regiment, one was the regimental commander, the other was the regimental chief of staff, but there was nothing, could Xu Shiyou command the movement? Xu Shiyou immediately replied that the gentleman's words were difficult to chase, and the brigade commander had already ordered me to go to the new regiment, but I could not change the order.
Chen Geng smiled and said, "You Xu Shiyou want to seal my mouth, afraid that I won't let you go to a new group?" Xu Shiyou replied, I see that you have been looking at me, I am afraid that you will change your mind, you are my old chief, once you change your mind, I can only obey the order.
This is true, in the Red Fourth Front, when Chen Geng was the commander of the division, Xu Shiyou was the commander of his regiment. Xu Shiyou had great respect and admiration for Chen Geng, and Xu Shiyou did not dare not listen to Chen Geng's orders.
Xu Shiyou also understood Zhou Xihan's thoughts, and he said, What kind of fame do you zhou Xihan do? When the chief of staff twisted and pinched up, I was afraid that Old Han and I would not listen to your greetings, thinking that when I was in the Red Ninth Army, you were the chief of the operations section, I was the deputy commander and division commander, didn't you also command us?
This is not false at all. In the Red Fourth Front, Zhou Xihan's position was always not high, and he would serve as a staff officer next to the commander-in-chief Xu Xiangqian, and on the other, he would be transferred to the Red Ninth Army as the chief of the operations section, and later he would serve as the chief of the operations section of the entire Left Route Army. The Left Route Army has 5 armies.
On the orders of the commander, Zhou Xihan, the chief of the operations section, was often responsible for directing the entire battle, and when he was in the Red Ninth Army, Xu Shiyou took a division on the front line, and Zhou Xihan ordered him to come here, and when he got there, Xu Shiyou did not once disobey the order.
This next week Sheehan has no worries. Whether it was Chen Geng, Wang Xinting, Xu Shiyou, or Han Dongshan, they all fully trusted Zhou Xihan and believed in his ability, so they left the command post and handed over the command to Zhou Xihan, letting him show his fists and let go of the command.
(Zhou Xihan as a combat mobilization)
Zhou Xihan sat down at the command post, first lured the Japanese troops out, put them into the pre-set pockets, and then ordered several regiments to fire together, the Japanese army found the plan and wanted to escape, but Xu Shiyou blocked their retreat to death. The Japanese army struggled to the death and released poison gas. Zhou Xihan ordered the poison gas to be blown up with a cluster grenade.
At this moment, Chen Geng rushed back to the brigade command post, learned about the battle process, he was very satisfied, praised Zhou Xihan for his good command, and then said, Xihan, I think I can launch a general attack. Under the order of Zhou Xihan, the troops of the 386th Brigade rushed to the Japanese army from all directions.
The Xiangchenggu ambush ended perfectly, annihilating a total of 250 Japanese troops, taking 8 prisoners, and capturing a large number of weapons and ammunition. When the good news came, Liu Bocheng said that this was a model ambush battle in the plains. Zhou Xihan was indeed good.
Soon after the battle was over, Han Dongshan left and went to the EastWard Column as a deputy commander, and Xu Shiyou was also transferred away, and he was going to Shandong to open up a new base area. After that, Xu Shiyou and Zhou Xihan, one in East China and one in the Central Plains, never had the intersection of fighting, and it was difficult to even meet each other. But their revolutionary friendship lasted for life.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Shiyou served as the commander of the Grand Military Region for a long time, and Zhou Xihan served in the Navy for a long time, serving as deputy commander of the Navy. As long as Zhou Xihan arrives at the location of Xu Shiyou's military district, as long as Xu Shiyou is at home, he must personally go to the station to greet him, preferring to take a jeep by himself or giving up the sleeping car to Zhou Xihan.