Chapter 280 4. The commander of the 358th brigade did not agree with the combat plan

Peng Dehuai's plan for the battle of Libei is that the 1st column will attack the enemy's front along the Dali Highway in Chengcheng, the 2nd and 3rd columns will be on the left, and the 4th column will cooperate on the right. With this deployment, the task of the 1st Column is: first, to detour behind the enemy through Siqian Town and Daigo Town, cut off the connection between the 48th Division and the 12th Division of the enemy's 17th Army, divide and annihilate the enemy's 48th Division and its 142nd Regiment in the north and south. The 143rd regiment and other departments then cooperated with the 4th column to encircle and wipe out the enemies of Weizhuang.

The 1st column is determined to advance in parallel to the enemy's defense with the two marching columns of the 1st Brigade and the 358th Brigade. According to the predetermined plan, Mr. Peng ordered the 1st column to pass through a hole and attack the enemy's front. The 2nd and 3rd columns were on the left, and the 4th column was on the right to cooperate. Liao Hansheng, the political commissar of the 1st column, assigned the task to the brigade commander Huang Xinting of the 358th brigade according to Mr. Peng's instructions.As soon as he heard that the 1st column was required to attack from the front, Brigadier Huang immediately expressed his disagreement with this decision.He told Commissar Liao: "In this area, if the enemy fires a machine gun, it will be difficult to rush through. I suggest entering from the side of the 3rd column. In this way, we can reduce casualties and surprise the enemy."

When Liao Hansheng heard that Huang Xinting had a different opinion, he hurriedly explained: "This is the order of Boss Peng, and we cannot change it casually." However, Huang Xinting still stated his reasons.The two were at a stalemate, and neither could convince the other.Finally, political commissar Liao Hansheng rode on his horse and ran to the field army headquarters to report to Mr. Peng.After listening to Mr. Peng, he bowed his head and pondered for a while, and said: "The purpose of war is to destroy the enemy. Whoever proposes a good plan will use his plan. The dignity of generals cannot be respected on this important issue. Comrade Huang Xinting's opinion is very important. Okay, let’s do it according to this idea.” Then he changed the battle plan and won the victory of annihilating more than 25,000 enemies.

Liao Hansheng was deeply moved by Mr. Peng's democratic style.Immediately flew back to the column command post and said to Huang Xinting: "Mr. Peng approved your plan. Come, we will redeploy right away." According to the new deployment, the 358th brigade quickly inserted in from the right side of the 3rd column, and fought all the way to the headquarters of the enemy's 48th division, destroying the enemy's division headquarters.