Chapter 16 4. Famous General of the Central Plains - General Chen Xilian

Among the generals of the Second Field Army, 8 were awarded the rank of general in 1955, the youngest of whom was Chen Xilian, who was only 40 years old at the time. Among his peers, Chen Xilian was the first to serve as the commander of the Corps and the commander of the arms (artillery) of the People's Liberation Army. In the combat history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, there are several "first" battles achieved by Chen Xilian's troops.In the history of the Second Field Army, Chen Xilian participated in all major battles and achieved brilliant results. Some people say this: Chen Xilian keeps quiet, but fights beautifully.The night attack on the Japanese airfield at Yangmingbao was under the direct command of Chen Xilian.It was the first time that the Eighth Route Army destroyed enemy aircraft on a large scale during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and its brilliant record is well-known throughout the country.

In August 1937, the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.Chen Xilian, who was the commander of the Red Army at the time, was changed to the commander of the 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.That year, he was 22 years old. At that time, the Japanese army who invaded North China suffered a lot at Pingxing Pass, changed their combat deployment, broke through the northern Shanxi defense line from Ruyue Pass between Pingxing Pass and Yanmen Pass, and then went straight down to Taiyuan along Tongpu Road. The Kuomintang army is still retreating steadily.In the cities and in the countryside, soldiers in gray uniforms can be seen everywhere, in groups of three or four, with guns on their backs, dragging their tired legs and fleeing southward.

But the Eighth Route Army rushed to the battlefield without hesitation. One day in mid-October, Chen Xilian led the 769 regiment to Sulangkou Village, south of Dai County. Sulangkou is a large village on the east bank of the Hutuo River, and down the river is Xinkou.The battle was going on there, and the rumble of artillery was constantly coming from the south.The Japanese planes flew two at a time, and three at a time, flying over the village continuously, crazy to the extreme.The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army stomped their feet angrily and cursed: "Don't just act fiercely in the sky, if you have the guts, come down and compete with me!"

Judging from the law of enemy aircraft activity, the airport may not be far from here.Chen Xilianxiang inquired carefully, and sure enough, he learned that there was an airport in Yangmingbao Town, about ten miles across the river. To fight, or not to fight? Fighting planes on land seems to have never happened in Chen Xilian's past combat history, and now he is facing an airfield controlled by the Japanese invading army. How to fight this battle? On the way to the north, Master Liu Bocheng once conveyed to Chen Xilian the experience summed up in the Pingxingguan battle. Liu Bocheng repeatedly asked: The Japanese army is well equipped and well trained.After our army arrives in northern Shanxi, we should be more cautious in every battle.These words have always been in Chen Xilian's heart. He is a meticulous and steady general. He decided to carefully understand the enemy's situation before making a determination to fight.

There are Kuomintang troops stationed near Sulangkou Village.Chen Xilian found out that the head of the Kuomintang army had fought with the Japanese army, and he retreated from Datong with a small number of troops only two days ago.So Chen Xilian went to visit him. After searching all the nearby ravines, it was finally easy to find the leader at the foot of a remote mountain.Unexpectedly, as soon as Chen Xilian explained his purpose, the head of the regiment turned pale and said: "The Japanese army is really powerful! There are planes in the sky and cannons in the ground. Their bombs and shells seem to have eyes. As soon as our radio station was installed, it was attacked. It's bombing!" As he spoke, the sleepy chief actually started to tremble.

Chen Xilian suppressed the disgust in his heart, and asked him: "Then what method do you use to beat the enemy?" This dignified mid-level Kuomintang officer said without shame: "I haven't seen the Japanese army yet, the team collapsed, and now there is only one company left in our department!" There is no need to ask any further.Apart from spreading some fear of Japan, this guy won't talk about anything useful.So, Chen Xilian stood up and said goodbye. As soon as he turned around to leave, the head of the regiment said to Chen Xilian softly with a playful smile: "What kind of war are you fighting against? Fighting back and forth is nothing more than fighting against our small pot of food...Brother, please understand! Look at your equipment, If you really fight with the Japanese army, isn’t it a free gift?”

Chen Xilian didn't want to talk to such a fear of death anymore. It was useless to talk to him about the principles of anti-Japanese war. He could only use the record of the Eighth Route Army's anti-Japanese war to teach him a lesson. In order to try to find out the situation at the enemy's airport, Chen Xilian decided to go to the scene for reconnaissance the next day.He and several battalion commanders came to the Hutuo River along a ravine.Ascending to the peak, everyone is immediately attracted by the scenery in front of them: to the east is Wutai Mountain with overlapping peaks, to the north stands the majestic Yanmen Pass on the inner Great Wall; looking westward, Guancen Mountain flickers in the mist... Hutuo On both sides of the river, the land is fertile and the mountains and rivers are magnificent, but it is a pity that they are now suffering from the catastrophe of the Japanese imperialist invaders!Suddenly, the commander of the 2nd Battalion shouted: "Plane!"

Everyone raised their binoculars in unison.Looking in the direction of the 2nd Battalion Commander's finger, he found a group of gray-white enemy planes neatly arranged in the open space in the southeast of Yangming Fort on the opposite bank. The aircraft shone dazzlingly under the sunlight. Chen Xilian carefully observed every target inside and outside the airport, and suddenly found a person walking from the river.Seen through the binoculars: This man is unkempt, ragged, and barefoot. He looks like a farmer, but his expression is very nervous. When he got closer, Chen Xilian hurriedly went up to him and shouted: "My fellow, where are you from?" The man was startled when he heard the shout, and immediately stopped in his tracks. Panic and restless, it took a long time to utter two words tremblingly: "Boss... President..."

Chen Xilian said kindly: "Don't be afraid, fellow, we are the Eighth Route Army, here to fight devils." Hearing the word "Eighth Route Army", the fellow immediately said "Ah!", rushed forward and grabbed Chen Xilian's hand, angrily telling what happened to him. It turned out that he lived in a small village near the airport. Since the Japanese army invaded Shanxi, the Kuomintang army looted and the Japanese soldiers burned and killed his family. There were three members of his family, and he was the only one left.Later, the Japanese soldiers arrested him to do hard labor, forcing him to carry gasoline and bombs to the airport all day long.Tired from morning to night every day, I often work hungry and have to be beaten.He couldn't bear the torture of the enemy, so he sneaked out from the airport.Finally, he pointed at the enemy's airport and said fiercely: "Go and deal with them, I will guide you!"

After listening to this fellow's complaint, everyone became even more angry. The 3rd Battalion Commander Zhao Chongde held the fellow's hand and said earnestly: "My fellow, we will avenge you and all the suffering fellows!" Then, the fellow gave Chen Xilian and others a detailed introduction to the situation inside and outside the enemy's airport. After reconnaissance, what Chen Xilian learned was roughly the same as what the fellow villagers introduced: there were a total of 24 planes at the airport, which took turns to bomb Taiyuan and Xinkou during the day, and stopped here at night.Most of a regiment of the enemy's Xiangyue Division was stationed in Yangmingbao Street, and there was only a small guard at the airport.It seemed that the enemy was busy capturing Taiyuan, and never thought that the Eighth Route Army would come around and beat it up.

This is a good time to annihilate the enemy.If you give it a sudden attack by surprise, victory is sure. Chen Xilian immediately decided to act immediately. The task of attacking the airport was given to the 3rd Battalion, and the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion were used to destroy the road and bridge between Nao County and Yangming Fort, and blocked the enemy who might come to aid in Nao County and Yangming Fort; The company and the machine gun company occupied positions on the east bank of the Hutuo River, ready to support the 3rd Battalion at any time. On the afternoon of October 19, the entire Sulangkou Village was boiling.All battalions and companies held branch meetings and military meetings to mobilize; the cadres and soldiers were all high-willed and determined like steel.When the villagers heard that the Eighth Route Army was going to fight the devils, dozens of stretchers were set up within a few hours. In the evening, Chen Xilian and several regiments arrived at the 11th Company of the 3rd Battalion.When the Zhan Ten saw the head of the regiment, they all surrounded him, vying to express their determination. "How are you getting ready?" Chen Xilian asked everyone. "No problem, Commander, as long as you touch the airport, I promise to knock Guizi's plane to pieces!" The soldiers replied one after another. Chen Xilian pointed to a little soldier in front of him and asked again: "The whole body of the plane is covered with aluminum skin, bullets can't penetrate it, what should I do?" Without hesitation, the little soldier raised his right fist and shook it a few times in the air, and replied crisply and loudly: "We have studied it, hit it with a grenade!" At this time, Zhao Chongde, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, said to the soldiers: "Comrades, some people in the Kuomintang army said that we used these weapons to fight the enemy as a 'free gift'. This time we must fight a good battle and show them!" A stout young man came out from the crowd, holding a machine gun in his hand, and said in a loud voice angrily: "They themselves have grown rabbit legs, they ran away when they heard the gunfire, and they have the face to laugh at others? I must surrender the plane Come back and show them!" Chen Xilian saw that it was Lao Li, the well-known leader of the machine gun squad in the regiment. Someone smiled and asked, "Can you carry such a big guy?" He argued: "If you can't carry it back, you can just smash your tail!" The soldiers laughed loudly at him.This is really a newborn calf not afraid of tigers. Although it was the first time to fight against the 4th Army that invaded China, and it was to fight an aircraft that had never been fought before, no one took these difficulties seriously. At night, the troops set off quietly. The soldiers were all lightly dressed, with cotton-padded clothes and backpacks put down, bayonets, shovels, grenades, and any equipment that was prone to noise were tied tightly.The long team marched along the dark valley, swiftly and solemnly. The guide is the old fellow Chen Xilian met earlier.He knows the roads in this area like the back of his hand.Under his guidance, the troops quickly crossed the Hutuo River and came to the outside of the airport. The airport was dead silent.The devil is dreaming a sweet dream. The 3rd Battalion climbed over the barbed wire fence and entered the airport without anyone noticing.Zhao Chongde led the 10th company to move towards the northwest corner of the airport, preparing to attack the shelter of the enemy guards. The 11th company rushed towards the fleet in the center of the airport. The soldiers in the 2nd row of the 11th company were the first to see the planes, and they were parked neatly in three rows.For so many days, everyone has been looking forward to fighting devils day and night, and now they suddenly see the plane right in front of them, and they are really pleasantly surprised and resentful.Someone cursed in a low voice: "Turtle son! You are playing prestige in the sky, now it's time for us to deal with you!" As he said that, he was about to approach the plane. Suddenly, an enemy soldier in the northwest called out, followed by a series of crisp gunshots, and the 10th company encountered the enemy sentinel.The gunfire was an order, and at this moment, the 10th and 11th companies launched attacks in two directions at the same time.The soldiers rushed forward bravely, shouting the sound of charging and killing.Machine guns and grenades poured down, and clusters of flames lit up the night sky. The enemy sentinels who were patrolling around the aircraft fleet came in a hurry and competed with our soldiers rushing forward around the aircraft; the pilots on duty in the cabin were awakened, they fired blindly in panic, and the machine gun bullets on the aircraft behind Scored into the front fuselage. The fighters fought harder and harder, and some shouted: "This one is mine!" Some people hurriedly climbed onto the fuselage.Old Li, the machine gun squad leader, climbed onto the tail of an aircraft, raised his machine gun and swiped at the fuselage. As the battle was raging, the enemy guards rushed towards our army howling.Our army fought back fiercely, and the two sides fought fiercely. Commander Zhao Chongde of the 3rd Battalion ran back and forth to command the troops. Suddenly, he saw an enemy open the engine room, jump down and hug a soldier. The soldier turned around with a bayonet, killing the enemy.Zhao Chongde shouted loudly: "Quick! Throw the grenade into the belly of the plane!" There were only a few loud noises, and two or three planes caught fire.The fire took advantage of the wind, and the wind helped the fire. For a moment, the billowing smoke filled the entire airport with raging fire. At this moment, Lao Li's machine gun stopped firing.It turned out that he was smashing the plane with a shovel.He really wanted to smash a piece of the tail of the plane and take it back!Zhao Chongde hurriedly ran over and shouted: "Hurry up! Hit what!" Lao Li picked up his machine gun and fired again. The counterattack of the enemy guards was killed and retreated.Zhao Chongde commanded the soldiers to blow up the enemy plane.Suddenly, a bullet knocked him down.Several soldiers ran up to help him up, and he shouted with all his strength: "Leave me alone, go blow up the plane..." Before he finished speaking, the excellent commander closed his eyes.His sacrifice made the officers and soldiers of the battalion extremely sad. The soldiers chanted the slogan "Avenge the battalion commander!", grabbed the grenade, and rushed towards the enemy plane against the dense bullets... Ten minutes later, 24 enemy planes were completely engulfed in raging flames.By the time the armored vehicles of the Xiangyue Division stationed in the street rushed over for reinforcements, these planes had already been burned into black iron lumps, and Chen Xilian had already led the troops to transfer. The victory in the night attack on Yangmingbao Airport caused the Japanese army to temporarily lose the air support force to attack Xinkou and Taiyuan, and was forced to call back a large number of troops to defend the rear.This victory of the Eighth Route Army was quickly spread throughout the country by radio, and won praise from anti-fascist forces at home and abroad.The Kuomintang officials didn't believe it at all at first, saying: "You can still shoot planes with the broken weapons of the Eighth Route Army? Impossible!" But since October 20, Xinkou and Taiyuan have not been bombed by Japanese planes for several days in a row. , those officials shut their mouths.