Chapter 36 36. Conquering Lazikou

Fighting the natural danger Lazikou is a crucial battle to enter Gannan.Lazikou, located in the northeast of Diebu County, Gansu Province, south of Minxian County, is the throat from the northwest of Sichuan to the south of Gansu. The Kuomintang set up heavy guards here in an attempt to prevent the Chinese Red Army of Workers and Peasants from entering the Shaanxi-Gansu area.Thus, at this dangerous pass in northwestern China, a battle that is quite famous in the Red Army's Long March broke out. On the evening of September 15, 1935, the Fourth Regiment of the Second Division of the Red First Army received an order from the division headquarters: "Continue to advance northward immediately, with the Fourth Regiment of the Second Division as the vanguard, specifically heading towards Minzhou in southern Gansu. Seize the dangerous Lazikou within three days, and wipe out the enemies who stand in the way!” The heroic soldiers marched to Lazikou 200 miles away with loud bugles.

The night is dark without stars; the mountain road is rough and difficult to walk.The soldiers climbed mountains, crossed single-plank bridges, walked through old forests, and advanced in the dark.There is no road on the mountain, only follow the footsteps of the vanguard.Dense fog and rain shrouded the whole mountain again, and the height of the mountain was immeasurable.The soldiers entered the mountain forest less than 10 miles away, it was already dark, there was no road and no fire, one after another, leading them forward like blind men.The comrades who carried the radio station and the burden of food fell into a mess.If the road ahead is blocked, the back cannot keep up.The company lost contact with the company, and when they lost contact, they lost their direction, so they fumbled for each other, and the valley was full of people.Here they called: "Where is the headquarters?" There they called: "Where is the telephone team?" "Where is the radio team?" "Where is the engineer battalion?" "Where is the artillery regiment?" You ask me to answer, the voice is very noisy.The headquarters probably saw that it was impossible to march in this situation, so they issued an order to stop the march on the spot.After everyone heard the sound of the stop marching horn, they found a tree on the spot and sat down against it.Sitting until dawn, I opened my eyes and saw that the people in the same team were next to me, not a short distance away, but I didn’t know where they were after sitting all night. Everyone thought it was a bit funny when they thought about it.

On September 17, the Red Army arrived at Lazikou, a natural danger.The uncanny workmanship of nature amazed the soldiers, and Lazikou is well-deservedly called a natural danger. This area is surrounded by mountains and forests.From Dalaliang in the north to Bailongjiang in the south, there is a canyon more than 30 kilometers long, called Lazigou.The Lazi River flows in the ditch, and the right bank of the river is a cliff, rising from the ground.Man can't climb it, not even goats can get in, only birds can find a foothold.On the left bank of the river, there is a winding path leading to the city of Min County.The hilltops on both sides of Lazigou, as if a mountain was split by a giant axe, are both high and steep.The cliffs tens of meters high on both sides face each other toweringly, and the distance between them is only a few meters wide. The Lazi River, which flows all year round, flows out from the bottom of the ditch.A small east-west wooden bridge spans the river, connecting the two mountains together.If you want to cross Lazikou, you must pass this bridge, there is no other way.

People say: "Passing through Taomin Mountain is like passing through the gate of ghosts; walking through Lazi River is like crossing the mouth of a tiger." The enemy deployed heavy troops to defend the wooden bridge and mountains and rivers.At the foot of Qiaodong Mountain, there is an enemy battalion stationed.On the cliff at the top of the bridgehead, there are several strong bunkers built. The enemy has a machine gun platoon stationed inside, and 4 heavy machine guns are lined up inside the bridgehead, blocking the 30 to 40 meters wide that the Red Army must pass through when attacking the wooden bridge. A small piece of open land one hundred and ten meters long.Because the viewing distance is very close, the barrel in the nozzle can be clearly seen.Under the bunker, the enemy still has fortifications.In the triangular valley behind Lazikou, there is an enemy camp and fortifications.Lazi Mountain behind the mouth is born out of the sky, with a layer of white snow on the top of the mountain, and the mountains are vertical and horizontal.According to accurate information, the enemy led three regiments of heavy troops with one brigade headquarters, guarding the canyon between the entrance and the high mountains behind, forming a cross-fire network, tightly blocking the way of the Red Army.The enemy's Lu Dachang Department tried in vain to block the Red Army's way to the north by virtue of this dangerous pass.In the eyes of the enemy, this stronghold is impenetrable.

The Red Army commanders conducted a meticulous reconnaissance of the terrain and enemy situation in this area.They found that the enemy's defense at Lazikou was not without weaknesses. Its weakness was that the enemy's bunkers were not covered, and as long as they were condescending, they were easily breached; , The enemy's fortifications are weak, and there are no enemies on the top of the mountain.If you turn around to the enemy's side, climb up the mountain, throw grenades at the bunker from top to bottom, and cooperate with the frontal attack, the enemy's defense line in Lazikou can be broken.

But how can we climb the steep wall on the other side?This stone wall is about 80 meters high and almost 90 degrees to the ground. It is straight and steep, and it is difficult for monkeys to climb up. There are a few twisted ancient pines sporadically crooked from the cracks in the stone.At this time, a young soldier of the Miao nationality who joined the army in Guizhou recommended himself, saying that he could climb up.Everyone looked at him in amazement.This kid is only sixteen or seventeen years old, not tall, very thin, with a dark face, but his big eyes are dark and energetic, exuding a kind of mountain and wild spirit.

It turned out that he joined the army from the Miao area of ​​Yunnan and Guizhou. He was oppressed by ethnic groups and class oppression since he was a child, and he was very resistant. After joining the army, he was educated and fought very bravely.The soldiers nicknamed him "Yunguichuan". "Yunguichuan" said that he collects medicines and firewood at home, and often climbs mountains and steep walls. For this cliff, he only needs to use a long pole with a strong hook tied to the end of the pole, and use it to hook the tree roots on the cliff. , cliff crevices, and stone mouths, if you climb up section by section, you can climb to the top of the mountain.

Everyone pinned their hopes on this little Miao soldier. As long as he can climb up the mountain alone and tie a rope on the top of the mountain, he can go up to a company and a battalion. The water in Lazigou is too fast to wade in vain.Everyone found a tall horse to carry him across the river. "Yunguichuan" sneaked under the cliff by taking advantage of the blind angle formed by the protruding rocks that the enemy could not see.I saw him barefoot, with a long rope made of soldiers' leggings wrapped around his waist, holding a long pole, and using the iron hook on the pole's head to catch a tree root with a crooked neck that was as thick as an arm, and grasped it vigorously with both hands. Hold on to the pole, climb up one by one, use your toes to dig the stone cracks and slabs, and climb to the top of the pole.He crouched there like a monkey and took a breath, then looked up for a stone mouth that could be hooked...

The comrades-in-arms were all worried and held their breath, for fear that he would fall.Finally, the little ghost climbed to the top and stood firmly in the bright red light of the setting sun.He held a long pole in one hand, and waved the other hand to this side, as if to say that his self-recommendation was not in vain.Then, in the same way, he slid down the cliff step by step along the pole. The problem was solved, and the staff office ordered that all the leggings of the commanders and fighters of the regiment be collected and twisted into thick ropes, and brought up to the top of the mountain by "Yunguichuan".The head of the regiment, Wang Kaixiang, personally led the detour troops composed of the first and second companies, the reconnaissance team, and the signal team to climb up the mountain with "Yunguichuan".The soldiers were full of energy, with submachine guns on their backs and more than a dozen grenades around their waists, ready to send a "big gift" from the "sky" to the enemy's bunker.

The detour troops went up.While the detour troops climbed the cliff, the soldiers of the second battalion who were in charge of the frontal attack also launched a fierce attack on the enemy.The sixth company was the main attack company. Under the command of Yang Chengwu, the political commissar of the fourth regiment, Yang Xinyi, the commander of the sixth company, and Hu Bingyun, the political commissar of the sixth company, 20 commandos moved quietly towards the single-plank bridge at the pass under the cover of intensive firepower, holding broadswords and grenades.The cunning enemy, relying on the dangerous terrain and strong blockhouses, hid in the fortifications without fear. When the Red Army approached the bridge, they dropped a lot of hand grenades, and balls of flames billowed and danced in the pass.The Red Army did not succeed in charging several times, and some people were killed or injured successively.

"Fight, don't let the bastard look up!" The Red Army further strengthened the offensive firepower.All the light and heavy machine guns roared like rolling thunder, and the bullets hit the stones on the enemy's position to burst into sparks, and the surrounding trees were burned to charcoal.However, the enemy still couldn't be suppressed. The machine guns in the enemy's bunker were like poisonous snakes spitting out flames, and the enemy threw bunches of grenades, which continued to explode on the road where the soldiers assaulted.Attacking from dusk to midnight, the soldiers still couldn't get close to the bridgehead.The shrapnel from the exploding grenades thrown by the enemy laid a thick layer on the mountain road within 30 meters of the bridge head, and in some places, a thick layer of unexploded grenades had already been piled up. The night was dark, and the enemy thought that the Red Army was powerless to attack, so they all retreated into the bunkers and took a nap.Unexpectedly, the Red Army organized commandos again, each of them with a big knife in their back, a grenade on their body, and some with a short gun. Taking advantage of the darkness, they divided into two groups, marching along the cliffs of the river bank, and touched the belly of the bridge. Underneath, climb the bridge piles and move to the opposite bank to attack the enemies on the bridge. The other line moves to the bridge head first, and when the first line starts, they will join the first line to attack the enemies on the bridge from both sides. The frontal battle of the commandos was going on, and suddenly from the enemy's back mountain, one red and one green signal flares rose one after another, which was a signal for the detour troops to reach the predetermined location successfully.Then, three more red flares rose from behind the front commando.This is the signal to launch a general attack.Before the signal flares were extinguished, the charge, light and heavy machine guns, mortars and shouts rang out from all directions. The soldiers in front of the enemy swung their swords and rifles, and swung and slammed among the enemies.The detour troops on the cliff on the right, condescending, aimed at the enemy in the unroofed bunker below, threw grenades, and fired machine guns, and bravely attacked the enemy's position on the back mountain. They fell into the abyss of the canyon on the rocky cliff, some were hanging upside down on the cliff, holding branches and screaming wildly, some were hit to the point of bleeding, and hissed and cried. ... The enemies in front of the battle at Lazikou heard the chaos behind the battle and knew that the Red Army had taken their rear route.The Red Army attacking from the front had already crossed the river one after another, continuing to rush and kill. The enemy knew that they were in a pincer attack from front to back and surrounded on all sides, so they threw down their guns and fled desperately. The natural danger Lazikou was breached.The exhausted publicity team members excitedly sang the triumphant song with their already hoarse voices: The battle at Lazikou was one of the rare tough battles of the Red Army during the Long March, and it was also a surprisingly successful battle.This battle demonstrated the prestige of the Red Army, showing the bravery and wisdom of the Red Army soldiers, who are not afraid of hardship and death. The long team of the Red Army is rushing from Lazikou to the north, and this iron flow has been extending forward. Yang Chengwu, political commissar full of emotions, wrote an impromptu poem "Breakthrough the Natural Danger Lazikou":