Chapter 61 8. The fireman and horseman also joined the battle

On the afternoon of September 3, Zhao Xitian's 3rd Division entered Da and Xiaoyang Lakes to build fortifications.That day and night, Liu Bocheng commanded the troops to quickly return to the division, and immediately formed an encirclement circle. At 23:30 that night, he launched an attack on the entire 3rd division.The focus of the campaign was to first annihilate the 20th Brigade, the main force of the 3rd Division, that had entered the Dayang Lake area. The entire battle of Dingtao was extremely tense. From September 3 to 4, the entire 3rd Division, with the cooperation of aircraft and tanks, resisted tenaciously. The PLA only wiped out about 3 battalions of the enemy. On the evening of the 5th, Liu Bocheng and Li Da took the American jeep they had just seized to the front-line command post of the 6th Column Headquarters of the Field Army, and called a meeting of the leaders of each column to readjust the combat deployment.Liu Bocheng decided to launch a general attack on the entire 3rd Division that night.He emphasized: tactically, our army must concentrate its forces, attack fiercely, and not give the enemy a chance to breathe.

The 6th Column, commanded by Deputy Commander Wang Jinshan, mainly attacked the 59th Regiment of the 3rd Division, commanded by Deputy Commander Wang Jinshan, the 3rd Column, commanded by Commander Chen Xilian, encircled and wiped out the enemies in Shennizhai, and the 7th Column, commanded by Commander Yang Yong, surrounded and wiped out the enemies of Fang Chewang , Commander Chen Zaidao commanded the 2nd vertical block that may reinforce the 41st and 47th divisions of the Kuomintang Army, and is also responsible for alerting and intercepting enemies who may break through and escape. All the generals immediately raised their whips and urged their horses to return to the army, adjusted their deployment according to Liu Bocheng's order, and prepared for a general attack.

In order to command the troops to fight without losing the opportunity, Liu Bocheng stayed at the front command post of the 6th Column Headquarters after the meeting. The phone rang.Staff Officer Wang immediately picked up the microphone, handed it to Liu Bocheng and said, "Commander! Commander Wang of the forward command post invites you to speak." After Deputy Commander Wang Jinshan arrived at the command post which was only 1 mile away from Dayanghu Village where the enemy was stationed, he called to report the situation to Liu Bocheng. He said: "Everything is ready."

"Okay! I want to tell all the commanders and fighters that this enemy who wants to occupy our Hebei-Shandong-Henan Liberated Area is now bitten by us, and we must resolutely eat him!" Then, Liu Bocheng said humorously: "If the enemy cannot be eliminated in this battle, Jiluyu will be occupied by the enemy, and we will have great difficulties in future operations. You still have to carry small burdens to the Taihang Mountains!" Wang Jinshan replied very excitedly: "Please rest assured, Chief, we will definitely complete the task!" The news that Commander Liu personally went to the front line to command quickly spread among the frontline troops, which greatly encouraged the fighting spirit of the commanders and fighters.The soldiers said excitedly: "Master Liu is here. This time, the enemy has ordered the 3rd Division to drive donkeys in the mill road—he didn't run away!"

At 12:30, the sound of artillery suddenly broke the silent night sky, followed by the sound of machine guns and explosions of grenades resounding through the night sky. At dusk, fierce village battles started in Dayang Lake. 6 verticals have already scored 6 regiments into Dayang Lake.The 59th Regiment, the main force of the 3rd Division, was compressed by our army into a corner of this village with only 400 households.The enemy is already in a panic.However, our army has run out of bullets, grenades are almost gone, and some cadres and soldiers have suffered casualties. In addition, the dying enemy continues to carry out counter-assaults, and it is very difficult for our army to move forward.

Liu Bocheng followed up the phone calls one after another, and then told Wang Jinshan, who was commanding the battle at Dayang Lake, what he had learned about the enemy's situation: "Zhao Xitian has no strength, and his division at Tianye Temple can only send Two infantry companies and several tanks reinforced Dayang Lake in an attempt to cover the retreat of the enemy at Dayang Lake. The situation of the enemy's entire collapse has arrived. This is the moment of our final victory. The enemy's casualties are also very large, and the bullets must be used up. Yes. Wu Yaodong, the acting head of the 59th Regiment of the enemy at Dayang Lake, asked his brigade headquarters for help, saying that he could only hold out for another 15 minutes, and if reinforcements were not available within 15 minutes, he would commit suicide. This shows that the enemy's commanders have already Lost the confidence to keep fighting."

Hearing the enemy situation reported by Liu Bocheng, the fatigue and all difficulties of our soldiers who had fought hard all night were immediately thrown out of the blue.Wang Jinshan organized the last attack on the still stubborn enemy. The cooks, breeders, and government cadres all organized and went into battle. The commanders and fighters rushed to the enemy's position swiftly and violently with hand grenades, bullets picked up from the enemy's corpses, and bloody bayonets. 5 minutes, just 5 minutes, the enemy succumbed, disarmed and surrendered.Before Wu Yaodong had time to obey his master's order, he was pulled out from under the table by a soldier of our army and made a prisoner.

In the early morning of September 6, the sun gradually rose, dispelling the vast morning fog that filled the land. At 9:30 in the morning, 4 American bombers flew slowly, hovered over the command post of our army for reconnaissance, and suddenly swooped down to Dayang Lake, dazedly shooting at the captured Kuomintang soldiers who had put down their weapons. Slipped away in a hurry. After the enemies in Dayang Lake were eliminated, Liu Bocheng immediately instructed all troops to pay attention to the movements of the remaining enemies. At 10 o'clock in the morning, intelligence came: the enemy of Tianye Temple was trying to break out under the cover of the plane, and the enemies in other villages also showed signs of fleeing.

Liu Bocheng immediately issued an order to the troops to pursue the enemy. Tianye Temple is next to Dayang Lake.After the enemies in Dayang Lake were wiped out, the 3rd Division of the Kuomintang Army stationed in Tianye Temple was directly exposed to our army.The division headquarters wanted to flee, which reflected the panic of the enemy after its main force, the 59th regiment, was wiped out. The enemies who had become frightened by showing off their power and arrogance finally failed to escape from our army's encirclement. Under our army's pursuit and encirclement, they were all caught, and even Zhao Xitian was taken prisoner.

When Zhang Jingxiao, secretary of the party branch of a company in the 3rd column, caught Zhao Xitian in Tianye Temple, he saw that his face was covered with black ash, and he claimed to be the "Ordnance Director". However, other prisoners exposed this fake and pointed out that He is the teacher Zhao Xitian.This past "hero" has now become a bear, his legs trembling like chaff. Now that the enemy's 3rd division had been wiped out, Liu Bocheng immediately directed the main force to turn to the southwest, and attacked the enemy's 47th division sideways. The enemy immediately collapsed and was mostly wiped out.