Chapter 153 6. Fierce battle against Meng Lianggu, encircling and annihilating the 74th Division

At 13:00 on the 15th, after the various units of the East China Field Army launched a general attack from all directions, the 74th Division of the Kuomintang Army fought back with powerful artillery fire.The commanders and fighters of the East China Field Army were not afraid of sacrifice, fought bloody battles, became more and more courageous as they fought, successively captured key points such as Diaowo and Da Nian, and approached Meng Lianggu.After the resistance failed, the reorganized 74th Division tried its best to break out of the siege. It first went south and was beaten back by the 6th column, then went west and was held up by the 1st column, and then went east and was intercepted by the 9th column.The 74th Division went on a rampage and hit a wall everywhere, and was forced to gather on several hills such as Menglianggu, Lushan, and 600 Highland on the evening of the 15th.

Mengliang Gu is one of the famous 72 Gu in Mengyin Mountain, surrounded by steep walls and steep terrain.The 74th Division's defenses were all in rocky mountains, and it was difficult to build fortifications. The troops, horses, and luggage were piled up on the hills and exposed to the outside; it was the scorching sun in summer, the streams were dry, the water was short of food, and the ammunition was insufficient. Most of the airdropped materials fell outside the position.The soldiers were hungry, thirsty and waterless, their morale was shaken, and there were complaints everywhere, but Zhang Lingfu still organized troops in an attempt to stand firm and wait for reinforcements.

In this regard, the 1st Corps of the Kuomintang Army believed in the "Review" after the war that it was a big mistake to gather the army in the Menglianggu area. , so that the battle cannot be sustained. Therefore, it is advisable to limit the occupation of such positions to small troops as security positions or to rely on one wing." ("Detailed Report on the Battle of the First Corps in the Southeast Region of Mengyin") On the night of the 15th, the head of the East China Field Army, after learning of the above-mentioned attempt of the 74th Division and the imminent approach of reinforcements from all walks of life, ordered the attacking troops to resolutely and continuously attack, and must completely wipe out the 74th Division before the enemy reinforcements arrived.In his post-war summary, Ye Fei, who was then the commander of the 1st Column, specifically talked about the severe situation he faced at that time. He said: "If the problem cannot be solved on the 16th, we have no choice but to retreat; I was exhausted, Yishui and other places would be lost, and there might be a long march; therefore, the headquarters had strictly ordered all levels to strictly supervise and eliminate the 74th Division on the 16th. Even if two columns were sacrificed, the problem must be solved quickly .”

In accordance with the above order, the various ministries immediately concentrated powerful artillery fire and violently bombarded the positions of the 74th Division. The organizational system of the 74th division was completely disrupted, the command failed, the troops were mixed, and they trampled on each other.The East China Field Army took the opportunity to break into the position of the 74th Division and started hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. At 6 o'clock on the 16th, the chief of staff of the 74th Division reported to Tang Enbo: "On the 15th, we fought all night. The casualties of the enemy and ourselves were extremely heavy. Please drop food and bombs by air, and hope that the reinforcements will advance quickly." Detailed report")

After fierce fighting until 8 o'clock on the 16th, the 9th Column and other troops captured Diaowo again, and then successively captured the 520 and 540 highlands, and captured Lushan at 13:00.Regarding the gains and losses of Diaowo, the 9th Column wrote in the post-war summary: After the column captured Diaowo at 11 o'clock on the 15th, it sent a deputy battalion commander and 2 squads to defend it, but when the enemy came to this When counterattacking at the point, he withdrew without tenacious resistance; after organizing powerful artillery fire to coordinate with the infantry onslaught, he captured the point at 8 o'clock on the 16th.

Although Chiang Kai-shek and Gu Zhutong ordered to send a large number of planes to drop supplies to the 74th Division for several days, by the morning of the 16th, the division's supply of food and ammunition was in a desperate situation.It turned out that the 1st Corps had telegraphed the division to "lay cloth boards to indicate the position, and burn fireworks to indicate the wind direction" as a way to indicate the airdrop.However, this contact symbol was quickly learned by the East China Field Army from the prisoners, and it was also fabricated in the same way. In addition, the enemy's position was extremely narrow, so nine out of ten of the airdropped materials were obtained by the East China Field Army.The soldiers laughed loudly as they ate: "Chiang Kai-shek, the captain of the transportation team, is really good, and the supply is very timely!"

Seeing this scene, the officers and soldiers of the 74th Division were filled with resentment and could only curse the Air Force for being incompetent. At 11 o'clock on the 16th, Zhang Lingfu saw no reinforcements, no food and ammunition, and the direct contact with the 1st Corps had been interrupted. He was anxious and angry, so he told the 1st Corps through the radio station of the 25th Division: "There is no need to send food and ammunition again." Airdropped!" ("Detailed Report on the Battle of the Southeast Region of Mengyin, First Corps") In the "Review" after the disastrous defeat of the 1st Corps in this battle, only three reasons were listed. Except for the first one, the terrain is unfavorable, and the other two are about airdrops: "The troops expected to rely on airlift relief must occupy a flat area. In obvious areas, throwing is easy and can be received reliably. Otherwise, it will be enough for the enemy and let the enemy know that we are short of food and ammunition, which will increase their determination and courage to attack." At present, our army lays boards as symbols, because the method is simple and easy to be imitated by the enemy, and it is difficult for the air force to judge, so it seems that a more complicated method should be made.” ("Detailed Report on the Battle of the First Corps in the Southeast Region of Mengyin")

At noon on the 16th, the sky was overcast with low clouds, the mountains were full of smog, and visibility was poor.After the capture of Lushan, the various units of the East China Field Army had been fighting for 3 consecutive days and nights. The troops were extremely tired and mistakenly believed that the 74th Division had been wiped out.Some went to find supplies, some went to capture prisoners, and some withdrew to rest.When the commanding organization of the field army discovered that the reported total number of wiped out enemies was far from the original total number of enemy troops, it ordered all departments to conduct a rigorous search. As a result, it was found that there were still more than 7,000 remnants of the enemy. The valleys in between.

At 14:00 on the 16th, the East China Field Army organized troops to attack the remnants of the enemy's 74th Division for the last time.The troops pressed down on the valleys from all sides with overwhelming momentum.Zhang Lingfu still commanded the remnants and fought hard to resist.When the special task force of the 6th column rushed to the command post of the 74th Division in the cave, Zhang Lingfu hurriedly ordered his chief of staff Wei Zhencheng to lead more than 1,000 people to the mountainside, desperately blocking.The secret service team rushed up and was pressed down, rushed up again, and was pressed down again. After many attacks and fights, they finally wiped out the enemy and captured Wei Zhencheng alive.

Zhang Lingfu also ordered the captain of the guard to lead more than 100 people to rush out of the cave, occupy the cave and rock crevices, and fight trapped beasts.The People's Liberation Army, regardless of their own safety, annihilated the enemy with close-range shooting and hand-to-hand combat, and controlled the entrance of the cave.Immediately concentrated firepower and shot fiercely into the cave, taking advantage of the smog, rushed into the command post, only to see the messy corpses, blood stains everywhere, Zhang Lingfu had been shot dead, still holding the communicator tightly in his hand.

At 16:00 on the 16th, the 74th Division of the Kuomintang Army and the 57th Regiment of the 19th Brigade of the 83rd Division were all annihilated.Immediately, "Zhang Lingfu was killed by us!" "The red flag has reached the highest peak of Menglianggu!" Cheers filled the mountains and plains, shaking heaven and earth.