Chapter 398 4. The "Siberian Tiger" went to sea to create a miracle

The 40th and 43rd armies entered the Leizhou Peninsula in late December 1949, and prepared for cross-sea operations in the areas west and east of Lingao respectively.The anti-aircraft artillery regiment is located in Santang Port and Hai'an Port, covering the fleet and the ferry.The Cannon Regiment is located in the coastal area south of Xuwen County, covering the training of the troops.The Qiongya column went all out, ready to meet the army to fight across the sea.The Guangdong Military Region established the Front Support Committee, which consisted of three committees: ship planning, counterinsurgency work, and material supply, which were specifically responsible for organizing and leading the preparations for crossing the sea.

In order to make preparations, the 15th Corps issued instructions on preparations for operations on Hainan Island on December 22 and 26, specifying in detail the main content of preparations for the campaign. First, recruit ships and hire boatmen; second, carry out ideological and political work in a targeted manner; third, conduct military training at sea; fourth, investigate the enemy's situation and sea conditions, and prepare for smuggling.In addition, the cross-sea combat corps rushed to repair the roads between Guangzhou and Haikang, Wuzhou to Lianjiang, and Xuwen to various crossing sites, so that combat materials and equipment could be transported to the front in time.

During the training at sea, facing the turbulent waves and the boundless sea, the "Siberian tigers" who once swept across the entire continent felt trembling.There are giant iron-clad ships of the enemy on the sea, and planes fiercer than birds of prey in the sky. Look at the wooden sailboats driven by the fishermen. They are lifted up into the air by huge waves for a while, and fall into the trough for a while with only half of the mast tip exposed. Is it okay to force a struggling wooden sailboat to cross the strait? The "Siberian tigers" who are not used to water have some ideological problems.

"We will take the lead when we go south, and we will be the last in the national victory. Life is really hard!" "This time it's a narrow escape, the revolution is over (at the bottom of the sea)!" The best way to solve ideological problems is to make soldiers familiar with the sea, from fear of the sea to loving and embracing the sea, so as to build up the confidence to fight and win. An unprecedented large-scale military training at sea began. The Corps and various armies put forward the slogan of "Brave men with high skills", calling on cadres and soldiers to actively learn maritime knowledge, practice tactics and skills, and carry out the military democracy movement of "making ideas and finding ways".So the cadres led the soldiers to learn sailing skills such as swimming, walking on wave bridges, paddling, and sculls, collected and studied information and experience on sea crossing operations at all times and in all over the world, and carried out various scientific experiments such as preventing seasickness.Through practical training and experience, cadres and soldiers gradually mastered the performance of sailboats and navigation techniques, adapted to life at sea, enriched their knowledge and experience of navigation, and gradually eliminated their ideological concerns.

The Spring Festival is approaching, and the boatmen go home for a reunion. The "Siberian Tigers" who have been thumping in the sea for a month have become addicted.Without a boatman to steer the boat, they rolled the boat into the sea by themselves. At that time, in order to avoid air strikes by enemy planes, "sea training" was generally carried out at night.One day, eight people including Lu Xiangyun, the deputy platoon leader of a certain unit of the 43rd Army, set sail for the sea. Soon, the wind stopped, the ship lost power, and had to anchor at sea. The eight soldiers had a good sleep in the cabin. Just after dawn, a northeasterly wind blew on the sea. Lu Xiangyun woke up the soldiers and prepared to return to the team.

"Look, what is that black guy?" A soldier pointed to the southwest and said, "I didn't find it when it broke down last night!" Lu Xiangyun's heart skipped a beat. It might be an enemy ship. He said calmly, "Everyone, take off your military caps and observe carefully." The black shadow became bigger and bigger, and it really was a warship approaching at high speed. "Take out your weapon and prepare to fight!" Lu Xiangyun's eyes spewed fire, "You can't hide, so you have to fight hard." There are 5 party members among the 8 people, and the other 3 people are also actively moving closer to the party organization. The soldiers said one after another: "Fight with the iron guy!"

There was a machine gun, 4 submachine guns, 3 rifles, 1 rifle grenade cartridge, 12 rifle grenades, a dozen hand grenades and two explosive packs on board. "Tell the enemy to taste the power of the wooden boat!" Lu Xiangyun said calmly, "Don't worry, everyone, wait for the iron guy to approach, and it will be caught off guard." The warship circled the wooden boat and confirmed that it was undoubtedly the "communist army", so it adjusted its naval guns and fired violently.The gunfire snapped the sail rope, and the white sail slipped from the mast with a splash, pushing the ship to one side.

The enemy wanted to catch them alive, so they stopped shooting, and they left their positions and stood on the deck shouting: "Brothers in the Communist Army, surrender! You can't run away!" The enemy ship was gradually approaching, and when it was about 100 meters away, the soldiers couldn't help it, "Deputy platoon leader, fight!" Lu Xiangyun waved his hand to stop, "Come closer, the machine gun is aimed at the fat guy on the podium, and the rest are aimed at the enemy on the deck." When the warship was 50 meters away from the wooden boat, Lu Xiangyun yelled "fight", and 8 men opened fire at the same time.The fat officer on the bridge was shot and killed, and the sailors in boat caps on the deck fell.

The enemy was suddenly attacked and rushed into the cabin one after another. The warship turned around and sailed away from the wooden boat, and then stopped and fired outside the range of the wooden boat's firepower.The cannon was fired for 20 minutes, but the effect was not good. The wooden boat was too small to jump up the wave sometimes and fall into the valley of the wave sometimes.The unskilled enemy saw that the cannon could not hit, so he tried to smash the wooden boat with full power. Lu Xiangyun saw through the enemy's plot, and said to the soldiers at the helm: "The enemy ship wants to sink us, so be smart and pay attention to the direction."

The moment the ships were about to collide, the soldiers at the helm turned the rudder hard to the right, and the warships passed by.Lu Xiangyun and others took the opportunity to throw grenades on the warship one after another. Amidst a series of explosions, the warship fled away with billowing smoke. The wooden boat defeated the warship and created a miracle in the history of naval warfare!This successful battle greatly enhanced the confidence of crossing the sea with wooden sailboats.Isn't there nothing scary about an ironclad battleship? A few grenades can knock it away. The tactics on land are also effective at sea!