Chapter 43 Soldiers return to Suicheng

On September 21, our army crossed the ancient Great Wall, crossed the gap on the Shanxi-Sui border leading to the outside of the Great Wall - Killing the Tiger Pass, and entered the territory of Suiyuan. Suiyuan in September is the season when grass is fat and horses are strong, but what comes into view is a desolate and desolate scene.The grasslands are sparsely populated, and cattle and sheep are rare. On the broken walls of the village, the words "kill those who do not empty their houses and clear the fields", "kill those who do not know information", "kill those who provide supplies to the enemy", and "kill those who cooperate with bandits". Bloody and murderous notices and slogans.Along the way, the villages and towns were full of ten rooms and nine empty houses. Occasionally, I saw a few people, all of whom were old people and children.Seeing the suffering suffered by the people in the Kuomintang-ruled areas, the soldiers were filled with righteous indignation, which further strengthened their determination to march.

At 15:00 on the 24th, our 2nd Vertical and 5th Brigade received an order to attack Liangcheng, and the entire brigade galloped lightly, heading straight for Liangcheng at a speed of more than ten miles per hour.Liangcheng, located in the southeast of Guisui, is a small county with a population of only a few thousand. The enemy is the first part of the Third Security Regiment and the County Guard.The enemy was frightened out of his wits when he heard about our army's attack. Before I arrived, he abandoned the city and fled back to Sui. The people who didn't know the truth also ran away under the enemy's deception and coercion.When the troops entered the city, there was no one in the city, and it had become an empty city.The first battle of the Fifth Brigade into Sui was defeated without a fight.Immediately, according to the planned deployment, they went straight from Liangcheng to the Gaertu line in the southeast of Suicheng, and on the 26th they entered the Heihe River, 20 miles away from the city, and took control of the bridgehead of the Heihe River; Tao Sihao, Guojiayingzi, and Yanggaiban in the forty miles.The first column of the right wing marched westward along Pingsui Road. After occupying and controlling the 240-kilometer railway line between Zhuozishan and Baita, it continued to approach Guisui. Sui formed a battle encirclement situation.

At the same time, the Second Brigade of the First Column and the troops of the Hebei-Shanxi Military Region captured the two main points of Longshengzhuang and Fengzhen respectively on the 24th; the Eighth Column, the Second Brigade of the First Column and the Cavalry Brigade Started to launch a fierce attack on Jining, an important town in the east of Sui. After two days and nights of fierce fighting, they captured the fortified Jining County, causing Guisui to lose an important support point in the eastern section of Pingsui Road, and cutting off the connection between Guisui and Beiping. Rail link.

As soon as the three columns that I encircled Guisui arrived at the outskirts of Guisui, they immediately started various preparations for the siege. The troops actively attacked the enemy's outer support points, gradually cleared away obstacles, and approached the city wall. On the 8th, the southeast and west sides of Guisui City were besieged by our army, and the railway from Guisui to the west to Baotou was also cut off by our army.The enemy defending Guisui was terrified, except for a few cavalry left to harass the eastern suburbs, the rest were all huddled in the city, rushing to repair fortifications day and night, trying to resist stubbornly; martial law began in the urban area before dark.During the siege, the reconnaissance units of our army were very active. They used the dark to scout the enemy's situation, harassed the enemy, and captured the "tongue" to increase the panic of the enemy.At dusk on the 28th, I took a few comrades to the Xiaohei River, ten miles away from the city. In the night, the Daqing Mountain in the north of Guisui City was dark, and only a faint shadow of the mountain was painted on the sky. Suicheng is hidden under Daqing Mountain.Around the city wall, there were many enemy fortresses, almost all the houses in the nearby villages were destroyed, the trees were cut down to build fortifications, and the homeless people in the field cried to our army about the enemy's brutal crimes, which aroused the incomparable enthusiasm of our commanders and fighters. hate.The eyes of the soldiers were blazing with anger. Seeing me approaching them, several comrades excitedly begged me to issue an attack order as soon as possible and take Guisui City down.I was about to explain to them that Deputy Commander Han Wei sent someone to ask me to return immediately. I knew there might be new situations, so I hurried back to the station.Han Wei told me that after our army encircled Guisui, Fu Zuoyi panicked and hurriedly ordered the 35th Army in Beiping and Zhangjiakou area, the Temporary Fourth Army, the newly formed Fourth Cavalry Division and other ten infantry and cavalry divisions. Suilu starry night to aid the west, in vain attempt to fight the main force of our army.Relying on the favorable conditions of railways, highways and rapid cavalry maneuvering, the enemy came to aid with great momentum, and the forwards had reached the Maliantan and Roseyingzi areas in the northeast of Jining.The Corps and the head of the Shanxi-Sui Military Region decided to suspend the siege of the Guisui troops under siege. Except for one part to continue to monitor and defend the enemy, the main force quickly turned eastward to attack and aid the enemy first.According to the order of the Corps, our column arrived in the Tiancheng area of ​​Suidong on the 30th to stand by.

After a brief discussion with Han Wei, Zhao Guanying, and Liu Guoliang, I withdrew from the siege and returned to Sui, and marched eastward.At that time, the Suidong area was raining continuously.When the troops set off, it rained even harder. The soldiers marched in the rain, but the rain gear was insufficient, and the backpacks were all wet by the rain, which increased the load.Since entering Suiyuan territory, the cadres and soldiers have been marching and fighting for days, and they are very tired. But hearing that the enemy army has moved westward to Suiyuan according to our intention, and sent them to our door, so that we can destroy it in mobile warfare, everyone is in high spirits , Inspired by the slogan "Chop off the bones and eat the fat, annihilate and aid the enemy and return to Sui", he traveled across mountains and rivers, waded through water, day and night, and rushed eastward at a speed of more than a hundred miles per day.In order to compete with the enemy for time, comrades neglected cooking and boiling water, ate food when they were hungry, drank cold water when thirsty, and kept moving forward; along the way, there were very few camps, and sometimes they stayed for a few hours and took a nap Going forward again, Sandman became everyone's main "enemy". The cadres and soldiers took a nap while marching. At dawn on the 30th, our column arrived at Maihu Cave, Silt Beach, and Sanyi Spring near Tiancheng as scheduled; The column arrived at the designated area at the same time; our Eighth Column, which originally occupied Jining, also voluntarily withdrew from the city on the morning of the 30th, and transferred to the southwest line of Guancun to join the ranks of reinforcements.The Corps and the head of the Shanxi-Sui Military Region decided to use one part to keep in touch with the enemy, lure the enemy to go deep, force the enemy to disperse and wipe out all the way.However, the cunning enemy was aware of our army's intentions and was afraid of being wiped out, so he adopted the method of advancing in groups, so that I could not get a fighter for a while.

When the Third Corps of ours confronted the enemy forces in Jining and Tiancheng, the Second Corps of our army on the eastern front and the troops of the Jirecha Military Region responded to the actions of the Three Corps and further mobilized the enemy. A fierce attack was launched on the east section of Pingcheng Railway and Pingsui Road.Within a week, they successively conquered Chongli, Shangyi, Guyuan, Shangdu in Chabei and Zhaochuanbao east of Xuanhua, cut off the Pingzhang Road between Beiping and Xuanhua, and directly threatened Zhangjiakou.Fu Zuoyi was forced to give up his plan to aid Sui, and ordered the western aid enemy troops to rush back to rescue Zhangjiakou.On October 4th, the aid enemy turned around and returned to the east. Our Second Column and the Friends of the Neighboring Column took advantage of the momentum to recover Jining, Xinghe, Laopingdiquan, Roseyingzi and other key points.In this eastward advance, although our army did not get a fighter, it echoed with the Second Corps and posed a great threat to the enemy.Since then, the Fu Zuoyi Group has shrunk most of its forces on the flat line, falling into a greater passivity.