Chapter 47 Fight Beixinqu

After the enemy's 35th Army fled eastward, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Mao analyzed that Zhangjiakou's defending enemy might escape to Suiyuan, that is, they ordered the Third Corps to surround Zhangjiakou with all their strength to defend the enemy, and must not let the enemy escape; and emphasized that "if the enemy flees, then resolutely annihilate them."Accordingly, on December 7, the Corps adjusted its deployment again: the second column was deployed in the southwest area of ​​Zhangjiakou; the sixth column was deployed in the north and west of Zhangjiakou; The main force is deployed in the southeast of Zhangjiakou.The Corps requires all troops to build more than three blocking positions, control key points, block roads, and form a comprehensive encirclement of Zhangjiakou.In addition, the Corps also deployed Beiyue Wangping Department and Chahar cavalry troops to stand by in the Zhangbei and Gaoyi areas.

According to the combat plan of the Corps, our Second Column quickly adjusted its deployment: the 13th Regiment of the 5th Brigade was in the Xujiazhuang area, the 14th Regiment was in the Jijiafang, Chenjiafang, and Yaojiafang areas, the 15th Regiment was in the Ningyuanbao area; the 16th Regiment of the 6th Brigade was in Xin, In the area west of Jiuyaozi and south of Shangbaosi, the 17th Regiment occupied positions in the East and West Hongmiao areas, and the 18th Regiment occupied positions in the Kongjiazhuang area. The party committee of the column issued a call in due course to "surround Zhangjiakou with all its strength and prevent the enemy from escaping."All the troops organized oaths of positions, launched vigorous challenge activities, and set off a climax of killing the enemy and making meritorious deeds.At the same time, all troops seized the time to scout the enemy's situation, inspect the terrain, draw up a battle plan, and build blocking fortifications day and night.

Zhangjiakou defended the enemy and learned that the 35th Army was besieged by me in Xinbaoan, like ants in a hot pot, eager to break free from the siege. Starting from December 8th, with the strength of seven regiments, the five brigades and ten The Fourth Regiment attacked desperately, trying to seize the road to Xinbaoan, joined the 35th Army and fled to Peiping. At 1:00 p.m. on the 8th, the enemy attacked the Jijiafang and Beixinqu positions of our 14th regiment with a regiment of the 258th Division. Several strong attacks were repelled by our army.At dusk, the Fourteenth Regiment organized a counterattack, recaptured the Jijiafang position, and drove the enemy back to Laoyazhuang and Gaomiao.

The trapped beast is still fighting.On the morning of the 9th, the enemy's 258th Division, 210th Division and a part of the cavalry attacked our 15th Regiment's Ningyuanbao position three times, but failed to move forward, and turned back to the 14th Regiment's Beixinqu position to carry out a key assault. Beixinqu is located on the east bank of the Tongqiao River, five kilometers south of Zhangjiakou. The terrain is low in the south and high in the north. In front of the position is a piece of farmland with few trees.And not long after my 14th regiment occupied this area, except for the frozen Beida Canal and Beixin Canal extending eastward from the Tongqiao River, which can be used as trench support, they are all simple field fortifications built in a hurry, which is hard to defend. The position poses serious difficulties.Lei Yilong, the head of the 14th Regiment, concentrated the main forces and weapons to guard the Beidaqu. The third battalion and the strengthening of the second battalion's fourth and fifth companies were the first echelon, and the first and second battalions (the fourth and fifth battalions were missing) company) as the second echelon, sticking to the second-line positions of Chenjiafang and Yaojiafang.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, under the cover of artillery fire, the enemy attacked our 14th regiment with two regiments.The enemy first attacked the outpost platoon of the Seventh Company of Jijiafang with one battalion, and then surrounded Jijiafang with two battalions from three sides; My main position.The commanders and fighters of the third battalion were on standby. When the enemy entered our fire net area, the commander Lei first commanded the artillery and heavy machine guns to hit the enemy head-on. Then, the infantry firearms on the position fired violently, killing and wounding the enemy in large numbers, delaying the enemy's attack.The enemy officers and the supervisory team saw their soldiers crawling on the ground under the threat of my firepower and dared not move. They were so anxious that they waved small flags and blew whistles. Soldiers rushed towards my position.

The commanders and fighters of the third battalion faced the enemy clusters that were several times larger than mine and assaulted our position in multiple routes and multiple echelons, but they still responded calmly and fought very tenaciously.When the enemy besieged the outpost of Qilianji's house from three sides, the company commander Huang Shutian led the whole company to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy several times. Take the initiative to withdraw to both sides of the North Canal.The fourth, ninth, and eighth companies in the main position of the third battalion repelled the enemy for many times. When the enemy approached our main position, under the order of the battalion commander to counterattack, the cadres and soldiers jumped out of the trench with bayonets in their hands, like a tiger pounced. Food, rushed straight to the enemy group.The enemy was startled by our army's majesty and murderous aura, and they turned their backs and ran for their lives. No matter how howl the supervisor team howled, they couldn't stop the tide of defeated soldiers.

The enemy was not reconciled to defeat, and at 12 noon, they increased their troops and adjusted their deployment. Two regiments attacked from the front, and the other regiment detoured to the side of the third battalion to attack the Eighth Company's position.The Eighth Company's position was broken through under the siege of the enemy.At this critical moment, the fifth company launched a counterattack against the enemy with the support of brigade and regiment artillery fire.Feng Caizi, the commander of the fifth company, led the whole company to rush into the enemy group bravely, fighting hard, and wiped out most of the enemies who broke into the eighth company's position on the ground.At the same time, our third battalion took advantage of the momentum to counterattack the enemy who broke into our position in the direction of the bridge. The instructor Huang Guomin took up the bayonet and led the troops to fight the enemy hand-to-hand. After a bloody battle, the enemy was finally repelled.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy put all their eggs in one basket and made a bigger bet. They concentrated the strength of four regiments, attacked from the front with two regiments, and turned around from the west to our position with the other two regiments.Due to the disparity in the strength of the enemy and ourselves, in order to preserve our vitality, our first echelon took the initiative to withdraw from the front line, temporarily retreated to the second line of Yaojiafang, and continued to fight against the enemy tenaciously. At 4:55 p.m., the fifth brigade commander Ma Long and political commissar Li Shuiqing decided to take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold and organize a counterattack across the board.With an order, the brigade and regiment artillery concentrated their manpower and violently bombarded the positions seized by the enemy.The five-minute artillery attack left the enemy nowhere to hide and caused heavy casualties.Then, the 14th Regiment counterattacked the enemies on the front line of the Turks. The sound of gunfire and shouts of killing shook the sky. The battle lasted for an hour. By 6 o'clock in the evening, the enemy retreated across the board. The position wiped out more than a thousand enemies, completely shattered the enemy's attempt to flee south, and surrounded Zhangjiakou more closely to defend the enemy.

Chairman Mao sent a telegram on December 10 to commend: "A few days ago, our Yang Li Corps wiped out a large part of the enemy's division between Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua and occupied Xuanhua (a column); yesterday (9) we bravely repelled the enemy's main force in Zhangjiakou. Make multiple assaults to ensure that you surround the position (second column)".The heads of the corps and columns issued an order to commend the 14th regiment, and gave special merit to Huang Shutian, the commander of the seventh company.The victory of this blocking battle greatly encouraged the commanders and fighters of the whole column, and they all expressed that they would learn from the 14th regiment and Huang Shutian, and strive to make new contributions in the battle of liberating Zhangjiakou.