Chapter 42 5. Blood-stained Wuquan Mountain

The time for the general attack has been decided, but Peng Dehuai's mood is still difficult to calm down. Judging from the situation of the trial attack a few days ago, the pretentious Ma Jiyuan is indeed not an idiot or a softie. He is young and vigorous, and he has made up his mind to defend Lanzhou. To deal with a stubborn person like him, only swords and guns can be used. He is just like his father Ma Bufang. , is not to give up until the Yellow River. A small victory made Ma Jiyuan complacent. On August 23, our army withdrew from the battle immediately after the attack was blocked.

After Ma Jiyuan reported his meritorious service to Chiang Kai-shek, he stood in the front command post, picked up the phone, and said to Liu Ren, the deputy chief of the Chief Executive's Office: "Deputy Chief Liu, our army has repelled dozens of communist charges in the Gouwa Mountain area, and the position is safe and sound. We have won a big victory. You should quickly organize people to promote it, and also organize some rewarding activities." Liu Ren sits in the chief executive's office and takes all orders from the commander-in-chief Ma Jiyuan. At this time, the Ningxia Corps had not yet dispatched, so he had to send someone to negotiate with Ma Hongkui according to Ma Bufang's arrangement.Ma Hongkui said to the visitor:

"It's not that we don't want to send troops, but that there are too many actual difficulties." The lobbyist Ma Ji and Ma Hongkui are of the same generation, so the language is more speculative. He said with a smile: "Brother Shaoyun! Zixiang asked me to persuade you to send troops to Lanzhou as soon as possible. This is a big deal, so just speak up." "Zixiang hid in Qinghai, and handed over the decisive battle in Lanzhou to his son. Let us send troops. Without money, the troops are not easy to move." When Ma Ji flew back to Lanzhou, Ma Hongkui called and said:

Our department has assembled in Wuzhong Fort, but cannot move because of lack of shoes and socks, please pay Dayang 100,000 yuan for shoes and socks. Ma Ji approached Liu Ren and asked what to do.Liu Ren shook his head and said, "It's not just about money. You can negotiate with the finance department. If you can get money, it's better. Ma Hongkui may send troops." Ma Ji went to the financial department, and people told him that he had no money, so he had no choice but to leave in despair. Liu Ren was very loyal to Ma Jiyuan. While organizing people to rush to write the news, he collected Bai Yang and drove up the mountain with a huge condolence team.

This condolence group is unusual, they are all prostitutes from Lanzhou city. Satisfied, Ma Jiyuan stood on a big rock and said to the frightened prostitutes: "Sisters, this is your chance to get rich. The officers and soldiers on the top of the mountain are full of oceans, even in dry food bags. They don't need anything but women. Don't miss your chance to get rich. .As long as you are capable, you can make a lot of money overnight, and when you win the battle, you will all become millionaires." Willingly or unwillingly, the group of prostitutes headed up the hill. Ma Jiyuan came to Gouwa Mountain and said to Ma Zhenwu, the commander of the 190th Division who was guarding here:

"Brothers have worked hard, you have to keep this for me." Ma Zhenwu said: "Please rest assured, sir, we are very secure here. It is not so easy for the communist army to attack. They were repelled by us the previous few times." "Very well, the Communist Army should not be underestimated. If you discover the situation, you must report it to me in time." The prostitutes were separated and left on various hills. This is just a temporary calm. This is already August 24th. The decisive battle in Lanzhou is about to start in full swing. Ma Bufang and his son felt that the future was not good.The Battle of Lanzhou they planned two weeks ago in Guangzhou became a dead letter. After the war was ignited, Ma Bufang and his son were in a situation where they were alone in defending Lanzhou City. The two regular armies did not listen to their command and did not move for a long time.

Ma Bufang had no choice but to send power to the Kuomintang government to ask for support.In his telegram he emphasized: "The 1st Army and 2nd Army of the Communist Army near Linxia on the west bank of the Tao River are attacking Yongjing and Xunhua. The situation is urgent! If the Shanxi Administration, Ningxia Allied Forces, and the Air Force do not move quickly to assist in the annihilation, it is feared that Lanzhou and Xining will be destroyed. It will vibrate. It’s a close call, I can’t wait! Please hurry up and dispatch without delay..." Dawn on August 25. Peng Dehuai's army has attacked across the board, and the Ma's army's positions outside Lanzhou City are in chaos. Shenjialing, Yingpanling, Majiashan, Doujiashan, Shilishan, and Guchengling are booming.

Half an hour after the shelling, the infantry attack began. Another hand-to-hand fight ensued. It was the 31st Regiment of the 4th Army that captured the main positions of Shenjialing and Gouwa Mountain in the southwest of Lanzhou. The head of the regiment is Wang Xueli, a young commander, and he won this mission from the division commander Guo Bingkun. Before the general offensive was launched, Wang Xueli said to Teacher Guo: "Our regiment is very strong, so let us take the task of attacking Shenjialing." Master Guo said: "Conquering Shenjialing is tantamount to making a great contribution. I let the 32nd and 33rd regiments assist from the left and right sides. Your regiment must take the high ground."

Wang Xueli said: "Teacher, don't worry, as long as Shenjialing is captured, it will be honorable to meet Marx..." When he came to the forward position, Wang Xueli said to the commanders and fighters: "Our regiment is a unit that has made great contributions. Every battalion and every company has several big pennants. Arrived." As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the charge horn sounded. Wang Xueli jumped out of the trench with a big wave of his hand, and took the lead in rushing towards the enemy's position. The soldiers behind him shouted: "Conquer Shenjialing, liberate Lanzhou City!"

The first commando rushed up, and within a few minutes, they were scattered by the enemy. The Ma's army guarding the first line of defense were all desperadoes. They rushed out from the line of defense, rode horses, brandished knives, and fought hand-to-hand with the People's Liberation Army attacking the position. The sound of shouting and killing echoed on the top of the hill, and the enemies kept coming out of the bunker like flies. They managed to rush to a squad and were repelled within less than a bag of cigarettes. Wang Xueli stood in the tunnel less than 100 meters away from the enemy with his binoculars and said: "What's going on? Why are more and more enemies coming out? With the cover of heavy machine guns, the second reserve team is preparing to attack. At all costs, the mountain in front will be destroyed. I'll take it down!"

Another batch of commandos rushed out. Our army attacks, the enemy blocks.Our army retreated, and the enemy counterattacked. The two sides fought for a long time, and the blood flowed like a river on the ground, because Ma Jiyuan once said to them: "You all believe in Allah, and if you are alive, Allah will let your souls ascend to heaven and go to the kingdom of heaven to enjoy yourself." These Hui youths from Gansu, Qinghai, and Shaanxi have been subjected to this kind of propaganda for a long time, and many of them have become paralyzed, so that when the guns fired, they became nervous and took the lead. Climbing out again, they all became victims of Ma Bufang and his son. Our army suffered heavy casualties, and head Wang Xueli's eyes were red.Duan Zhongxian, the deputy head of the regiment, said to him: "Old Wang, I'm afraid it won't work if we fight like this! Our sacrifice is too great." Wang Xueli said: "No matter how much the price is paid, Shenjialing must be taken down. This is the order of Boss Peng. I have also expressed my opinion to the army commander and division commander." "Strong attack is not enough, there are too many enemies." "How many people are there in the first battalion now?" "Most of the battalion and company cadres died, and less than half of the battalion remained." "What about the second battalion?" "The second battalion is no good either, and there are very limited ones that can go into battle." "Pass my order, let this battalion retreat first, rest for a while, then you can command here, and I will take the third battalion up." After Wang Xueli finished speaking, he stood up and walked out. The deputy head was anxious, and he followed up and said: "This is not good, you are the head of the regiment, this battle has not yet reached the point where the head of the regiment must charge, let me go!" Duan Zhongxian, deputy head of the regiment, jumped out of the trench and rushed out waving his hands. The two companies of the third battalion followed.Under the enemy's powerful counterattack with heavy firepower, the soldiers immediately organized several echelons and advanced forward in waves, but they still failed to take down the hill. A big enemy slashed from behind and finally fell to the ground. Several soldiers hurriedly carried down the seriously wounded deputy head, his face was covered with blood.Wang Xueli grabbed his hand and said, "Old Duan, how is the situation ahead?" "The third battalion has gone up to two companies, but the enemy is very stubborn and keeps organizing counterattacks..." At this time, the teacher's call came from the telephone again. Instead of going, he held a submachine gun in his hand and said to the operator: "Tell the teacher that I have rushed up with my brothers. Shenjialing will go up after a while." It can be broken, so they can rest assured." Wang Xueli rushed forward. The soldiers were deeply encouraged and insisted on getting up from the position to attack again. Head Wang, who had died, organized the only one hundred people on the battlefield and said: "Comrades, avenge the comrades who died, and charge forward!" The soldiers rushed forward, and the enemy also got up from the trenches and shouted: "My God, protect us!" God did not bless them. Seeing that Shenjialing was about to be breached, a battalion of the 30th Regiment who came for reinforcements rushed up. Wu Zhisheng, the head of the regiment, said to Wang Xueli: "Old Wang, your injury is not serious. You should step back and bandage it. Leave it to me." "No, Shenjialing cannot be attacked, how can I go down?" Wang Xueli insisted on not retreating, and still stayed to direct the battle. After a night of fierce fighting, the enemy repelled more than 30 counterattacks and destroyed more than 200 enemy fortresses and bunkers. Shenjialing was finally captured when the sun set on the west mountain the next day. But head Wang Xueli sacrificed. Both the enemy and us suffered heavy losses in this battle. Decades later, Zhang Zhongliang, the former political commissar of the 4th Army who commanded the battle, wrote: On August 25, 1949, the battle lasted 13 hours from the dawn of the charge to the capture of Shenjialing.The 190th Division defending the enemy, the Cavalry Regiment of the 100th Division and a regiment of the 129th Army successively reinforced, together with the enemies at Gouwa Mountain, totaled more than 9,000 people, and more than 3,800 people were killed or injured by our army.Our army also paid a high price, with 3,000 casualties, including 13 regiment-level cadres.The three regiment-level cadres who died in the battle to capture Shenjialing were: Wang Xueli, head of the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division, Li Xigui, political commissar of the 30th Regiment of the 10th Division, and Ma Kezhong, deputy head of the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division...they and many Together, comrades shed the last drop of blood for the liberation of Lanzhou! It was the 50th Regiment of the 6th Army that attacked Yingpanling. The battle went on quite fiercely. As soon as the guns rang, the position was full of flames. In this sea of ​​fire, the enemy desperately resisted with various fortifications, and the charge and counter charge continued. The 50th Assault Company was the seventh company. The casualties were heavy at the beginning. The soldiers rushed through the enemy's first line of defense. The main task was to destroy the enemy's bright and dark fortresses. The blasting teams went up one after another, and the passage was opened, but only 20 soldiers were left in the end of a company. many people. The troops are coming up. The enemy on the top of the mountain is still counterattacking, and there are still many hidden bunkers that have not been blown up. The company commander Chen Quankui gathered all those who can fight, and then said to the instructor Cao Derong: "Old Cao, there are only so many people left in our company right now, and the explosive packs and grenades are limited. The frontal position is so wide, and it is impossible to open a small opening. This time I will be in the front and you will be in the back. We must save ammunition and troops. what." Instructor Cao looked at Company Commander Chen and said, "It is very important to organize and command in the future. You have rich experience, so you should stay. This time I will lead a small group to charge." "No, I'll go up, and the remaining people will be divided into several combat groups and attack according to the situation." "You are already injured, let me go." Company Commander Chen turned over with a kite, pulled out of the trench, and rushed out with 5 demolition team members. When rushing forward under enemy fire, he also said to the instructor: "You must persevere until the end..." The two soldiers who rushed forward with explosive packs in their arms saw one of the enemy's firepower points, but fell down one after another. At this time, the enemies on the left and right sides began to cross fire again. Bullets fell like raindrops. This blasting team suffered more and more casualties, and the remaining soldier and company commander had no choice but to lean up from the right side of the enemy's firepower point, and used a few grenades to blow up an enemy's heavy firepower point on the high ground in front of them. The second group and the third group also rushed out under the organization of the instructor. Cannonballs rang non-stop on the ground. Another gap was opened, and at this time there were only a dozen people left in the whole company. The head of the regiment, Liu Guanghan, called the 7th company from the radio. The company commander, Chen Quankui, was covered in blood. He took the microphone and said, "Commander Liu, we have suffered a lot of casualties, and we need reinforcements." Head Liu asked: "How many people do you have now?" "12." "Please hold on for a while, the second commando team will come up soon." "How do you persist? It's not easy to take down this position, and we urgently need someone to come!" "Don't stick to that position, retreat one after another!" "Can't withdraw! It will be very difficult to attack again." "Then how long can you last?" "About half an hour?" "Then hold on, the reinforcements will rush up soon." "Yes, please rest assured, Captain!" Before the talker was put down, the enemy's heavy machine gun rang again. A grenade fell behind Company Commander Chen. He turned around abruptly and picked up the smoking grenade from the ground and threw it towards the enemy's position. A dozen enemy cavalry came out, and they charged at them with guns, and kept shouting: "Catch those alive, the head of the regiment said, catch a communist army and reward Dayang 100." The cavalry dispatch also has its weakness, the target is too large and easy to be eliminated.Company Commander Chen said to the soldiers: "Don't fight indiscriminately, let them get close before shooting, hit the horse first, and then hit the people." They overturned several cavalry successively. The enemy's arrogance was suppressed, and the hand-to-hand combat continued, the battlefield was in chaos, and dead bodies were like mountains. At this time the second batch of commandos came up. Company Commander Chen was already covered in blood and fell in front of a mountain bag.The position is still in hand.He held the commander of the reinforcement company by the hand and said: "It's good that you come, you must hold this position, it will not be easy for us to attack!" The 50th, 51st, and 46th regiments attacking on the front line of Yingpanling finally conquered this position after a day of fierce fighting, and the enemy fled in a hurry. When the flag of our army was fluttering on the main peak, the sun had set behind the opposite mountain, sporadic gunshots were still ringing out from the position, and the gunpowder smoke had not yet receded. It is very heavy, because too many people sacrificed here. Launched the general attack from dawn, fought fiercely for more than ten hours, and wiped out more than 1,700 enemies.Our army suffered more than 1,500 casualties. The enemy's strength was less than two regiments, but our army invested nearly a division of troops in a storm. The 50th regiment lost nearly a thousand people. personal. Two of the enemy's main positions have been conquered. Commander-in-chief Peng Dehuai stood in the command post all day without moving. Before the general offensive was launched, he had issued military orders to Chairman Mao Zedong and Commander-in-Chief Zhu. He was not completely sure whether the Lanzhou campaign could end as scheduled.Judging from the progress of the various battlefields that day, the Battle of Lanzhou is already a sure thing. Let's go back to the Doujiashan position to see the situation. The fighting here is as fierce as the other hills.It was the 63rd Army that specifically attacked here. Army commander Zheng Weishan and political commissar Wang Zonghuai set up the command post in a ravine less than 500 meters away from the enemy's main force.The details of the progress of the 566th regiment, the main attacking force, can be clearly seen from the telescope. Less than 10 minutes after the general offensive was launched, the soldiers attacked right under the nose of the enemy, and the two armies quickly formed a confrontation.When the good news came, they were all very happy. Commander Zheng, holding a telescope, said to the operator: "Tell them the commander, the momentum is very good, we must keep it going, as long as we open a breakthrough, our large troops will be able to move forward smoothly." Political Commissar Wang turned around and said: "Our commandos also suffered heavy casualties. Can we let the rear artillery fire a few more times?" Commander Zheng said: "Yes, the time should not be too long, at most 5 minutes, and tell him to try to extend 2 to 500 meters forward, so as not to affect the actions of our main attacking troops." The chief of staff immediately gave the artillery the order to continue the attack. The opposite hill was billowing with gunpowder smoke, and the enemy quickly retreated into the trench. Commander Zheng turned around and asked, "Which company is the commando on the opposite mountain?" The combat staff officer replied: "It's the 3rd Company of the 566th Regiment." "What's the company commander's name?" "Zhou Wanshun." "Is it the company that made great contributions in Taiyuan?" "Exactly." "This Zhou Wanshun is an old soldier who can fight tough battles. I know him well. Every time he performs a mission, he rushes to the front. Tell him, as long as he puts the red flag on the main peak of Doujia Mountain this time, I, Old Zheng, will give it to him personally." He wears big red flowers." Two hours later, this assault streak opened a bloody path, the entire company suffered more than half of the casualties, and finally took control of the commanding heights. After a while, the enemy launched a counterattack from the left and right sides. The commando was unable to gain a firm foothold and could only defend. After several rounds in succession, the position was still in hand. A soldier named Li Xiaohu climbed up from the position, held a blasting tube in his hand and rushed towards an enemy fire point that just appeared in front of the left. He fell down after not running far. Several enemy dark fire points suddenly appeared, shooting frantically, the commandos could not get close, and saw that the positions they had obtained were about to be lost. The instructor was in a hurry, he rushed out of the trench and said: "The third platoon leader, you stay in command, the second squad leader, you bring a few people to go with me!" The second squad leader gathered five soldiers and divided them into explosive packs and blasting tubes. The platoon leader Su took the instructor's hand and said: "Now the company commander and deputy company commander have died. You are the supreme commander. You can't leave here. I'll take them up." As soon as the words fell, Platoon Leader Su rushed out. The instructor had no choice but to stay in command. The several blasters who rushed up this time, under the cover of the rear machine gun, attacked separately, and blasted three enemy bunkers one after another. That afternoon, the 565th and 566th regiments captured the main positions of Doujiashan. At this time, Ma Jiyuan felt that the end was coming. The main positions on three sides of Lanzhou were basically breached by Peng Dehuai's troops. : "When will the Air Force arrive?" The army was defeated like a mountain, and Ma Jiyuan once made a wish to his subordinates that as long as they persisted for a while, Hu Zongnan would send a squadron of planes to reinforce them. Liu Ren replied: "Commander Ma, Hu Zongnan didn't listen to our dispatch at all. The government called him many times to urge him, but he refused to allow the plane to dispatch because of bad weather." Ma Jiyuan scolded: "Hu Zongnan is such a son of a bitch. Has Ningxia moved?" Liu Ren said: "Lu Zhongliang led an army and disappeared halfway. I heard that they were blocked by Wang Zhen's corps." "This is impossible. Wang Zhen's corps has already withdrawn to the front line of Lanzhou. Ma Hongkui doesn't want to cooperate with us. This is obvious. Without them, Ma Jiyuan and I can still defend Lanzhou City." "Of course, without them we would not have lost Lanzhou to the communist army." Ma Bufang, who had fled to Qinghai, was restless after learning that Lanzhou was in an emergency.He called the Lanzhou Governor's Office, and it was Liu Ren who answered the phone. Ma Bufang asked, "Where is Jiyuan?" Liu Ren said: "He went to Wuquan Mountain to see the position." "I heard that the communist army has broken through several lines of defense?" "Yes, sir, the main position on the three sides of the mountain has been basically broken by the communist army." "Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui are nothing. They stand still and don't consider the interests of the party and the country at all. You tell Jiyuan that you should preserve your strength now. Don't fight recklessly. Let's withdraw and move closer to Qinghai!" Liu Ren was originally a very incompetent senior general. He had no determination to fight, and he was greedy for life and afraid of death. Ma Jiyuan, a newly promoted lieutenant general, was asked to command the Lanzhou campaign. Although he was not convinced, he still pretended to be working hard. Hearing that Ma Bufang wanted to retreat, he said, "Mr. Ma, I'm afraid it's not good to ask everyone to retreat now." "why?" "First of all, your son won't execute it. He told me on the phone just now that he must persevere to the end and live and die with Lanzhou. You know his temper!" "You are the old officer, you have to persuade him." "I can try it. Besides, if the central government knows that we have given up Lanzhou, it will be blamed." "Don't mention the central government anymore. We are worthy of the central government. The central government is sorry for us. Before the decisive battle, Yan Xishan, on behalf of the government, has not fulfilled any of the promises made to me. We have insisted that we have done our best until now." "Then what about our executive office?" "Retreat with the troops." "Withdraw to where?" "The mechanism is very large and it is inconvenient to move. First retreat towards Zhangye in Hexi." "Okay, I will obey your orders." Ma Bufang finally said to Liu Ren: "Military and political officials at all levels in Lanzhou must mobilize and retreat together. Everything that can be transported away should not be left to the Communist army. Those large factories must be bombed if necessary." Lose." "It is very difficult for people to leave now, and it is even more impossible to transport large quantities of supplies." "It's fine if you can't transport it, people will withdraw first." Liu Ren said: "I can be in charge of the magistrate's office, but I cannot be in charge of your son." "You tell him that the retreat of the troops is my order, I only have one son, and I will leave it to you..." Ma Bufang put down the phone, took his family and fled to Chongqing on the plane of Chennault of the American Flying Tigers. His son did not want to carry out his order, and still insisted on sticking to the endgame in Lanzhou. Liu Ren said to him: "Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. As long as we preserve our strength, we will win. This is what you told me." Ma Jiyuan said with a sad face: "We have grown from dozens of people to hundreds of thousands of people, and now we have returned to dozens of people. We are doomed to fail. I don't accept it. It's not that we can't beat Peng Dehuai, but that we are not united. We should do our own thing. If the Ningxia Corps dispatched an army to defend Lanzhou with us, and Hu Zongnan responded near Tianshui, we wouldn't lose so quickly!" He burst into tears after speaking. The Kuomintang troops inside and outside Lanzhou City began to retreat in an all-round way. So far, all positions on Lanzhou Nanshan have been occupied by the People's Liberation Army. The enemy retreated to the bank of the Yellow River overnight to prepare to escape, and the city of Lanzhou was also in chaos. People who did not know the truth followed the soldiers and ran towards the iron bridge of the Yellow River... It was expected that the enemy would flee. Peng Dehuai handed over the task of preventing the enemy from fleeing westward to the Third Army of the Second Corps. When he called the Third Army, he said: "Your department should immediately cooperate with the Fourth Army to clean up the remnants of the Gouwa Mountain area first, and then quickly attack in the direction of the West Qili River in the city, seize the Yellow River Iron Bridge, and cut off the enemy's rear. Get away from here." When the enemy retreats, the battle for the Yellow River Iron Bridge will also be a very difficult task.As the saying goes, a dog jumps over a wall in a hurry. As the enemy's only escape route, iron bridges will naturally be defended heavily at all costs. They will not easily lose their hands unless it is a last resort. It was late at night on the 25th when Liu Ren ordered the troops to retreat under the order of Ma Bufang. At this time, Ma Bufang had already arrived in Chongqing. The Kuomintang government officials who had fled here blamed him for losing Lanzhou. Chiang Kai-shek was even more angry. He said to Ma Bufang: "Northwest could have been our anti-communist base. If you weren't in command there, what were you doing here?" Ma Bufang was in distress. He said: "It's not that my troops are weak in resistance, but that since the decisive battle in Lanzhou, there has been no one to support us from the neighboring troops. Peng Dehuai's 300,000 troops are approaching steadily, and half of my hundreds of thousands of people have been lost. There are many more, there is really no way to continue the fight, the central government has said that it will send aircraft reinforcements, but it has not been dispatched so far, how can this be explained?" Chiang Kai-shek didn't know much about some situations. He first fled from his hometown to Taiwan, and then went to Chongqing in an attempt to personally lead the remnants of the defeated army to a decisive battle with the People's Liberation Army. Li Zongren was besieged on all sides. His confidant Bai Chongxi had pulled the troops to the Guangxi area and parted ways with him, so he had to flee to Hong Kong.In his words, Jiang Gong has come forward again, so what's the use of my staying?Our government wouldn't have come to an end so quickly if he hadn't been behind the scenes. Chiang Kai-shek could not control Ma Hongkui and Hu Zongnan, and Ma Bufang's army suffered a crushing defeat. His dream of preserving the Northwest was shattered.He said to Ma Bufang: "Li Zongren and Yan Xishan are also responsible. The plan for the decisive battle in Lanzhou was made with you. Don't be angry. It doesn't matter if Lanzhou is lost. You can also pull the troops to Qinghai to join Ningxia and Xinjiang. The geography there advantage, it is impossible for the communist army to break in." Ma Bufang said: "When I passed by Lanzhou, I found that the city was in chaos and the Communist army was everywhere. If the government sends planes to bomb now, my team can still resist." Chiang Kai-shek nodded and said, "I'll send a plane right away, don't stay here anymore, go back to Qinghai as soon as possible, try to contact Tao Zhiyue in Xinjiang, and stop the advance of the Communist army in Jiuquan and Jiayuguan in Hexi." Ma Bufang was still unhappy. After he left Chiang Kai-shek, he called Liu Ren to inquire about the situation in Lanzhou. Liu Ren, who had fled to Yongdeng County, and dozens of people in the executive office felt that his future was hopeless. Say: "Lanzhou has been given to the communist army, I really can't stand it!" "Where's my son?" "At the beginning, he didn't advocate the retreat of the troops. I sent people to urge him again and again, and then he withdrew from the Baitashan command post. He is now on his way, and he will arrive here in a while." "You must send someone to respond!" "I have sent the cavalry to look for him." "Has Ma Chengxiang's cavalry from Xinjiang come?" "No." "Chongqing will send planes to Lanzhou to bomb. Is the airport on the outskirts of the city still in our hands?" "It's still there, but the command staff has basically withdrawn." "You have to try to send people to the airport to meet the plane and blow up Lanzhou for me." "I'll call someone to pick it up. We'll all be waiting for you when you come back." "I'll be right back. Please tell everyone that you have to retreat to Qinghai as soon as possible. That's my hometown. I can't leave everyone alone!" Ma Bufang spoke very seriously on the phone, but when he learned that Chiang Kai-shek only sent a small plane to Lanzhou, his heart was completely cold. Coming out of Chiang Kai-shek's mansion, he found Chennault, rented a plane with a lot of money, went to Hong Kong, and then flew to Taiwan. Let us go back to the iron bridge on the bank of the Yellow River in Lanzhou in the middle of the night on August 25th. It was another grim battle. The Lanzhou Iron Bridge was designed and built by British experts in the late Qing Dynasty. It is made entirely of steel and is the only traffic artery connecting the two banks of the Yellow River.It is located in the northwest corner of the ancient city of Lanzhou, with Baita Mountain in the north and Lanzhou City in the south. When Ma Jiyuan let the troops escape, he said to Liu Ren: "It is better to act at night. If it is during the day, the communist army will pursue and cause more losses." Liu Ren said: "If so many military and government personnel want to retreat from this road, the communist army will definitely pursue them. It is better to send a division to cover it." So Ma Jiyuan sent another division to guard the iron bridge. After Peng Dehuai handed over the task of attacking the iron bridge to the 3rd Army of the 2nd Corps, Zhu Ming, the political commissar of Huang Xinting, the commander of the army, came out of the Gouwa Mountain Front Command Post and said to Zhang Kaiji, the commander of the 7th Division: "Now all the highlands in Lanzhou have been occupied by our army. Ma Jiyuan is desperate and has ordered the remnant soldiers to retreat. They will pass through the Yellow River Iron Bridge. Mr. Peng instructed us to stop them. Now we have decided: you will transfer two regiments to the first echelon. Cooperate with the 4th Army to clear away the remnants of the first line of Gouwa Mountain, and then quickly attack Qili River and Lanzhou City to take back the Yellow River Iron Bridge from the enemy; Launch an attack in the direction of Quanshan, to wipe out all the enemies standing there." Commander Zhang Kaiji said: "Please rest assured, Commander, I will organize my troops now." The 19th Regiment was the first echelon. They chased nearly a thousand remnants from Gouwa Mountain down the mountain. It was already late at night, and the city of Lanzhou was in chaos. A company of remnants running in the front came to the gate and hit the gate with their rifle butts. The guard at the top of the city asked, "What are you doing?" The deserters under the city shouted: "I retreated from the opposite mountain, and the communist army has come after us. Quickly open the city gate and let us in." The city gate opened, and the soldiers swarmed up and squeezed in with great strength. The soldiers were pushed to the ground, and the soldiers yelled. . The 4th Company of the 19th Regiment, which was in charge of the pursuit, had already approached the city gate. On the mountain and below the mountain, the enemy was routed. The enemies who had already entered the city began to plunder people's property again. There were gunshots and screams. The third squad leader of the 4th company ran to the company commander Jia Qiuzhong and said: "Report to the company commander, the enemy has fled to the city in large numbers, and we request to enter the city to pursue." Company Commander Jia said: "Okay, you guys go after them, you can't let them run away, wherever there are enemies, there is a battlefield, you must fight with the prestige of a sharp knife company." Dozens of soldiers chased hundreds of fleeing enemies. The enemies only cared about running for their lives and didn't care about fighting back. After a while, they attacked the city. The enemy found that the People's Liberation Army had come up, and fled one after another... The 9th and 7th companies of the 19th regiment hit Lanzhou City successively. The enemy fled towards the Yellow River Iron Bridge again. Shen Wenfan, the deputy head of the regiment, said to Yang Wengui, the deputy head of the third battalion: "The enemy is trying to slip away from the iron bridge. You should immediately turn around there and take back the iron bridge." Deputy Battalion Commander Yang led the seventh company and ran straight to the iron bridge. The enemy guarding the bridge began to resist. The two sides fought for several minutes. Because the enemy's fortifications were strong and it was difficult to approach, a large number of deserters squeezed across the bridge. Deputy battalion commander Yang said to the deputy company commander of the company: "You lead a commando to attack from the right flank, and I will organize heavy machine guns to cover it, and we must blow up those hidden bunkers on the bridgehead." The deputy company commander rushed out with a reinforcement squad.The enemy's firepower became stronger and stronger, and almost all the people who rushed up fell down. At this time, enemy cars appeared on the bridge. The already not-so-spacious bridge deck was even more crowded, and everyone was scrambling to escape.Deputy battalion commander Yang turned around and said to Zhang Jinsheng, the deputy commander of the 8th company who had just caught up: "The situation ahead is very urgent. You should organize small artillery reinforcements immediately, and you cannot let the enemy run away." Several small cannons began to fire on the bridge, and a soldier asked: "It's so messy, what should we fight first!" "Hit the car first!" The cannon rang, and the enemy cars that had driven onto the bridge were overturned.The commando had already approached the bridgehead, and the enemy guarding the bridge saw that the situation was not good, and they wanted to escape, and the machine guns in the hidden bunker had stopped firing. The 9th and 7th companies are about to occupy the commanding heights at the east end of the bridge. An enemy lieutenant colonel raised most of his head from the bunker and shouted to the soldiers who were about to flee: "Brothers, you can't put down your weapons! The Communist army kills people without blinking an eye. If they are caught by them, they will kill them all. You can't be taken as prisoners. You can hold them back and you can't retreat." There were gunshots everywhere, and the flames reflected the surging Yellow River red. The enemies at the bridgehead were already in disarray, and not many people dared to resist. Some put down their guns and jumped into the Yellow River to escape. At this time, Ma Jiyuan was still commanding the remnant enemy to fight on Baita Mountain, and the iron bridge was tight, so he ordered Liu Ren to transfer the security brigade in Lanzhou City. The battle for the iron bridge went on all night.Dawn breaks in the east, and the remnants of the enemy are basically wiped out. The Yellow River Iron Bridge is in the hands of the People's Liberation Army. When Ma Jiyuan fled to the bank of the Yellow River with the remnants of the 100th Division, he was unable to get on the bridge. He said to the division commander Tan Zhixiang: "Now we have no retreat. The Communist Army's strength at the bridgehead is less than one regiment. You are responsible for the attack. We to pass." "Then what shall we do?" "You can go through the water!" The two sides started fighting again, and Ma Jiyuan escaped the Yellow River in chaos under the cover of a battalion. Because the battle in the city has been fully launched, all the remnants of the enemy are rushing towards the iron bridge.There were dead bodies on the bridge, and the remnants of the soldiers in the water struggled desperately like drowned chickens. Many people who could not swim were swept away by the waves... In the early morning of August 26th. Commander-in-chief Peng Dehuai listened to the victory reports from various battlefields at the command post on the outskirts of the city. He didn't close his eyes all night, and those big eyes were bloodshot. The simple war room seemed very lively, and the voice of the code and the voice of the operator intertwined and echoed. There was still no smile on his face, and the combat staff organized the battle report and prepared to show it to him.He didn't stretch out his hand, but asked instead, "How's the battle ahead?" The staff officer said: "Very good, the progress is very fast!" "I don't look at these things, I want to talk to the front line command post." The operator quickly called out the frontline commanders of the armies and divisions. Peng Dehuai said with his hands behind his back: "Find me Commander Zhang of the 7th Division of the 3rd Army." Mr. Zhang Kaiji's voice came from the microphone: "Mr. Peng, I am Zhang Kaiji." "How's the situation there?" "Report to President Peng that our division has occupied the Yellow River Iron Bridge. A regiment has already entered the Gansu Provincial Government Hall." "Really? So fast?" "Yes, our vanguard has entered the city." "Very good, the remnants of the city are easy to fight, you must defend the Yellow River." Other troops reported that the positions on the three hills outside Lanzhou City had been breached. At this time, Mr. Peng had a smile on his face. He said to everyone: "Ma Bufang and his son are vulnerable! In just one day, we captured Lanzhou City. I didn't expect it to be so fast!" Someone asked: "Mr. Peng, do you want to send a report to the Central Committee?" "Hurry up, Chairman Mao and Boss Zhu are waiting for the good news of our victory." He said to the people in the command post: "Get the cook to make a pot of noodles, and we will go to the city after eating!" At ten o'clock in the morning, Lanzhou City was declared liberated. The ancient city of Lanzhou has returned to the embrace of the people.Peng Dehuai came out of the command post, looked at the smoky Lanzhou City and said: We have won, and the people look forward to us, so we must hold a grand entrance ceremony... at noon on the 26th. 彭德怀从城郊的一个小村里骑马出来，没有直接进城，而是来到了南山。 这里停放着上千名烈士的遗体。 硝烟还没有完全退去，风不停地吹着，光秃秃的山顶上到处都弥漫着血腥气味，彭德怀来到草丛旁凝望着已长眠在这里的战友们，他的那双大眼湿润了。 这场战斗虽将马步芳的十几万残敌打垮了，但我军也为此付出了很大代价。 彭德怀对身边的工作人员说：“黄河可以作证，兰州，是我们无数战友用鲜血和生命换来的啊……” 这些烈士彭总是熟悉的。 他认识突击队员李小虎。 他认识英雄团长王学礼。 还有许许多多连排干部……作为一名高级指挥员能叫出这么多基层战士的名字，这说明了彭德怀平时的工作作风和长者风范。 他对人们说：“要在这儿建一个烈士陵园，让我们的英雄在这里安息吧，要让后人永远记住他们是为了大西北的解放而牺牲的！” 一个年轻的女兵带着孩子来了。 他就是王学礼的妻子苏维仁。 她怀中的这个小婴儿是兰州战役打响之前出生的，那时王学礼正率部队朝兰州开进，他顾不上看一眼孩子，只在行军作战中，坐在马背上给妻子写了一封信，苏维仁没有想到这竟是永别呀……彭总当然也认识她。他还清楚地记得他俩结合的新闻，那时在抗战刚刚结束之时，内战已经爆发了，离家十几年的王学礼已是一个营长了，他本想回家探望父母，可是战事紧张，他离不开部队。 后来他的父亲，一个标准的中国农民，却来到部队，让他回家成亲。 父亲说：“你这么大年龄了，还是光棍一条，再不说个亲事，就不好办了。” 王学礼说：“现在正在打仗，我怎么能回去成亲呢？” “打仗咋了？打仗就不能成亲了？” 他父亲很固执，告诉他说已经在村里用一头毛驴订了亲，万事俱备，只等他回去了。 父亲不走，他实在没有办法，就让别的参谋带着一个短发女军人来见老人。这个女军人就是后来成为他妻子的苏维仁。她当时与王学礼只见过一面，这次是为了完成组织交给的光荣任务临时充当他的女朋友来劝老人回家的。 没有想到老人一见到这个漂亮女军人，就笑着对儿子说： “你呀！已经有了嘛，怎么不早告诉我们呀？” 老人对她很满意，第二天就离开了部队。 王学礼带着部队上前线时，又找到苏维仁说： “你为我背了一次黑锅啊，实在对不起。” “没有关系，你放心去前线吧！” 就这么简单，一点浪漫情调都没有，他们就分手了。后来见面，别人提议，他俩就结了婚。 彭德怀很赞成这种婚姻，他曾说，“战争年代没有那么多礼节，只要双方同意就是好事，这样对革命有利嘛！” 今天在这种场合，他见了苏维仁却感慨颇多，他走过去抱起那个孩子说： “跟伯伯回去吧。你的父亲是我们的英雄啊……” 彭德怀一行从山上下来，入城式已准备就绪。 兰州人民笑容满面，举着标语，呼着口号，列队欢迎子弟兵进城。 这是一个喜庆的时刻。 这是一个非同寻常的日子。 中国人民解放军第一野战军3个兵团浩浩荡荡进了兰州城。 走在队伍中间的彭德怀司令和张宗逊副司令，向人群挥手致意。 当天下午，党中央就向他们发来了贺电。 兰州仍很混乱，青海、宁夏、新疆尚未解放，彭德怀当即下令成立了兰州军事管制委员会，着手管理这个城市。