Chapter 256 8. Leaders of the field army spoke highly of the Tashan blockade

Tashan is not a mountain, it is named after a village called Tashan.Adjacent to the Bohai Sea on the east side, and to the west by Hongluo Mountain and the bare Baitai Mountain, Tata is a village of 100 households on the Beining Line. There is a hill running east-west in the north of the village.In the middle of Tashan Mountain is a narrow and long undulating area with a width of more than 10 kilometers. During the period when the Beining Railway runs through it, it is the main throat from Huludao to Jinzhou. Tashan is the only way for the Kuomintang Army's eastward marching corps to reinforce Jinzhou.As long as they break through Tashan, it will take less than two hours for the Kuomintang army to reach Jinzhou and encircle the besieging People's Liberation Army.

Dongye realized the importance of Tashan. Whether Jinzhou can be conquered depends on whether he can defend Tashan and win the time necessary to attack Jinzhou. Given that Dongshan Mountain to the north of Jinxi and Songshan Mountain to the south of Jinzhou are both positions of the Kuomintang army, and the distance between the two Jinzhou Kuomintang troops is only more than 30 kilometers, as well as the fact that the blocking forces have little room for maneuver, Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Liu Yalou launched a campaign in October. On the 4th, he instructed Cheng Zihua, commander of the 2nd Corps, and Huang Zhiyong, chief of staff: "Our army must not adopt mobile defense methods, but must adopt tenacious and courageous fortification defenses on Tashan, Gaoqiao and the west and north. The strength of a division, build fortifications, strengthen defensive military and political training, prepare to defend this line, consume a large amount of the enemy's vitality in front of the position, and prepare to resist dozens of fierce attacks by the enemy. The whole vertical and one or two divisions of the 4th vertical organized a counter-assault, and wiped out a large number of enemies outside our position." (Chinese People's Liberation Army Historical Data Series: "Liaoshen Campaign", p. 155, p. 156)

Accordingly, the 2nd Corps determined the defensive deployment in the Tashan area: The 4th column is located on the 12-kilometer front from Dayu Mountain in the east to Baitai Mountain in the west, and is responsible for the main defensive task.Among them, the 8 kilometers around Tashan is the key defensive area; the 11th column is located in Huaishugou on the right wing of the 4th column, and the north and south areas of Wangjiatun, serving as auxiliary defense tasks; the independent 4th and 6th divisions are located in the area south of Jinxi, The Independent 8th Division is located in the area near Shanhaiguan, and is active in containing the enemy.

According to the tasks assigned by the heads of the Field Army and Corps, Wu Kehua, the commander of the 4th Column, and Mo Wenhua, the political commissar, determined that the 12th Division and the 32nd Regiment of the 11th Division would be the first echelon to serve as the frontal defense mission; The main force of the 11th Division is the reserve team, which cooperates with the first echelon to fight in due course.Concentrate the use of artillery to form 2 artillery groups to support the eastern and western troops of Tashan respectively.The ministries occupied the positions from October 6th to 8th, quickly repaired the fortifications, built more than 2,600 bunkers of various kinds, dug 9,500 meters of traffic trenches, and 6,000 meters of anti-tank trenches within three or four days, forming a relatively complete blocking position.

On October 10, the Tashan blockade began.On this day, Que Hanqian commanded the temporarily organized 62nd, 8th, and 151st divisions. With the fire support of more than 40 heavy artillery pieces, 7 aircraft, and 2 warships, they divided their routes to fight Yushan in the east and Beishan in the west. At 4 o'clock, a part of the temporarily organized 62nd Division attacked and occupied the Dayushan position, and the main force attacked Tashan Bridge and the area to the east; the 8th Division attacked Tashan with all its strength;The main force attacked the Baitai Mountain position.The 4th Column and other departments fought tenaciously, and organized a powerful front counterattack in a timely manner, repelled the fierce attack of the Kuomintang army, and regained the once lost Dayushan position.On the first day, more than 1,000 people from the Eastward Advance Corps were wiped out, and more than 300 people were killed or injured.On the same day, the 95th Independent Division of the North China Kuomintang Army arrived in Huludao.

On the 11th, Que Hanqian put the 157th Division into attack again, and went to the Jilongshan position to supervise the battle with the 62nd Army Commander Lin Weichou.Under the cover of fierce artillery fire, the enemy's 8th Division stormed the Tashan position held by the 34th Regiment of the People's Liberation Army.In 30 minutes, more than 3,000 shells were fired, and four or five group attacks by the entire battalion and regiment were organized, all of which were repelled by the 34th regiment.Shi Youren, the deputy commander of the 8th Division, said in his account of the attack on Tashan: "Because the PLA concentrated its superior artillery firepower and carried out a surprise attack to block it, our artillery was greatly threatened and suppressed. What we can see. In our battles, we have always relied on the air force to suppress the enemy, and opened up the way forward with the absolute superiority of artillery fire. But now, for the first time, our artillery fire is at a disadvantage, and the morale of the troops has been greatly shaken. "(Memories of former Kuomintang generals), p. 274)

On the afternoon of the 11th, Hou Jingru, the commander of the Kuomintang Army's Eastward Advance Corps, led the 21st Division of the 92nd Army to Huludao, and convened a meeting of all armies, division commanders, and chiefs of staff overnight to discuss the next step of combat plan.Hou Jingru decided to take a steady and steady approach and use the main force to advance along the Jinhu railway and highway.Its deployment is: use the independent 95th Division with strong combat effectiveness as the main attack on Tashan; use the 62nd Army as the attack on the Baitai Mountain area; use the 8th Division as the attack on the railway bridgehead; use the 198th Division and the temporary No. The 57th Division served as the Jin and Hu garrison; the 21st Division and the temporary 62nd Division were the general reserve team. Prepare for a day on the 12th, and launch a full-line attack at dawn on the 13th.

At the same time, Wu Kehua, the commander of the 4th column, and Mo Wenhua, the political commissar, based on the frequent mobilization of troops of the enemy's eastward marching regiment and the analysis and analysis of intelligence obtained from reconnaissance, believed that the enemy's next step might be to carry out the main attack in the direction of Tashan and the railway bridgehead to the east. And according to the casualties of our blocking troops, the defensive deployment has been adjusted accordingly.In view of the large casualties of the 12th Division in recent days, it was decided to reduce its defensive front, and the 28th Regiment of the 10th Division was drawn from the column reserve to take over the defensive position east of Tashan, the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division; The first line of defense of the 31st regiment was handed over to the 11th column. After the regiment was transferred to the side of the 12th division, the depth configuration was strengthened; the 32nd regiment withdrew from the front line and moved to the vicinity of Wangshantun as the column reserve team.

At dawn on the 13th, the Kuomintang Army Eastward Corps, supported by dozens of heavy artillery pieces, cruiser "Chongqing" guns and air force firepower, launched a pincer offensive centered on Tashan.The independent 95th and 8th divisions stormed Tashan and the railway bridgehead, and the 151st and 157th divisions attacked the southeast position of Baitai Mountain.The 95th Independent Division took the "Death Squad" as the vanguard, and the entire battalion and regiment as the wave, and launched 9 consecutive "wave-style" attacks on the position east of Tashan held by the 28th Regiment of the People's Liberation Army.The 1st Company of the 28th Regiment had only 30 people left. Under the command of the seriously injured instructor Cheng Yuanmao, they still stubbornly held their positions.On this day, the 4th Column of the People's Liberation Army suffered 1,048 casualties, and the Kuomintang Army's Eastward Corps suffered 1,245 casualties.Mo Wenhua believes that this day "is an earth-shattering day that is decisive for the survival of Tashan" ("The Battle of Liaoshen" (Volume 1), People's Liberation Army Publishing House, October 1988, p. 380).

In order to support the blocking operation in the Tashan area, the 1st column of the General Reserve of the Northeast Field Army entered the Gaoqiao area on the night of the 13th.On the evening of the same day, Hou Jingru convened a combat meeting among the three armies of the Eastward Corps, and decided that at 7:00 a.m. on the 14th, land, sea and air would bombard the Tashan position, "with a view to entering and occupying Tashan at noon" ("A Brief History of Fighting the Rebellion", p. 253). At this time, Jinzhou was at stake, and Chiang Kai-shek strictly ordered the Eastward Corps to "capture Tashan at dawn, occupy Gaoqiao at 12 o'clock, and arrive at Jinzhou at dusk" on the 14th ("Enemy Information in the Liaoshen Campaign", p. 26).The Nanjing Ministry of National Defense also ordered "the Jinxi Corps to defend with the minimum force, and the main force of the Jinhu gourd to advance to Jinzhou regardless of everything" (KMT government: "Summary of the Northeast War in the Autumn of the 37th Year of the Ministry of National Defense (1948)").Based on this, the Dongjin Corps launched a series of attacks with 4 divisions at 5 o'clock on the 14th, focusing on Tashan. It broke into the Tashan position 9 times, but was repelled by the PLA. At 2 o'clock in the morning on the 15th, Hou Jingru gathered 5 more divisions and used sneak attacks to attempt to break through the PLA positions from Changjiagou to Gaojiatan, but failed again.In the evening of the same day, all Fan Hanjie's troops in Jinzhou were wiped out, and the Eastward Corps was still blocked in the area south of Tashan.Under the tenacious resistance of the People's Liberation Army, they could only look at Tashan and lament that "it is easy to shake Mount Tai, but it is difficult to shake the People's Liberation Army" ("The Personal Experience of the Liaoshen Campaign" (Memories of the former Kuomintang generals), p. 286).Chiang Kai-shek cursed: "Our generals are really useless. With 3 armies and superior air force artillery fire, Tashan was leveled, and we couldn't get in. It's a pity that I wasted 20 rounds and 24 rounds of shells." ("Liaoshen Campaign." Personal Experience" (memoirs of the former Kuomintang generals), p. 18), while the commanders at all levels of the Eastward Corps "blamed Chiang Kai-shek for not knowing the enemy's situation and terrain, and forced him to attack Tashan, resulting in meaningless sacrifices." ("The Personal Experience of the Liaoshen Campaign" (memoirs of the former Kuomintang generals), p. 18) On the 16th, in view of the destruction of Jinzhou City, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Eastward Corps to withdraw to Jinxi.The Tashan blockade ended in victory.

With the cooperation of the 11th Column and other departments, after 6 days and nights of fierce fighting, at the cost of more than 3,000 casualties, the 4th Column stubbornly resisted the land, sea and air three-dimensional attack of the Eastward Army Corps, annihilating 6,500 Kuomintang troops, and effectively guaranteed the main battle. victory.Leaders of the Northeast Field Army spoke highly of the Tashan blockade, calling it a "model heroic and tenacious defensive battle" and "playing a decisive role in my attack on Jinzhou at that time, and the time to adjust deployment and prepare for the attack" (Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, Telegram from Liu Yalou and Tan Zheng to Mao Zedong on "Summary of the General Situation of the Battle in February 1994", November 8, 1948).The Tashan blockade fully embodies the heroic and tenacious spirit of the People's Liberation Army, and created a glorious example of defending the field position.After the war, the 4th Column awarded the 34th Regiment the title of "Tashan Hero Regiment", the 36th Regiment the title of "Baitai Mountain Hero Regiment", the 28th Regiment the title of "Defense Hero Regiment", and the Column Artillery Regiment the title of "Megatron Enemy Courage".