Chapter 20 5. The Courage of Zaidao——Admiral Chen Zaidao

At the end of June 1947, Liu Deng's army broke through the natural barrier of the Yellow River in one fell swoop, which opened the prelude to the strategic offensive of the People's Liberation Army. Faced with the People's Liberation Army's slash in the chest, Chiang Kai-shek was anxious, Chiang Kai-shek panicked, and Chiang Kai-shek was also angry.He personally flew to Zhengzhou to hold a combat meeting.His generals Bai Chongxi, Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi, Sun Lianzhong, Wang Jingjiu, Hu Lian, Qiu Qingquan, Sun Yuanliang... were all called to the meeting. Chiang Kai-shek ordered: the reorganized 55th Division will stick to Yuncheng, the reorganized 63rd Division and the 153rd Brigade will stick to Dingtao, and attract the People's Liberation Army; and the reorganized 32nd Division and other 4 divisions will attack the flanks of Liu Deng's army; Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places urgently dispatched 20 brigades to the southwest of Shandong, forcing Liu Deng's troops to fight back and put them to death.Chiang Kai-shek handed over all the "advance and suppression" troops to the command of Wang Jingjiu, commander of the 1st Corps of the Kuomintang Army.

Wang Jingjiu was no match for Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping.Liu Deng commanded troops to take Yuncheng first, Dingtao second, and Yangshanji third. The main task of attacking Yangshanji was the second column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Field Army, and the commander was Chen Zaidao. Yangshanji is a large town in the northwest of Jinxiang City, with more than 1,000 households.The villages and towns are backed by Yangshan Mountain.Yangshan is about 5 Li long from east to west.Looking from a distance, it looks like a sheep lying there.The easternmost hill is called Yangtou; the middle row of taller hills is called Yangshen; there are many small hills on the slopes on both sides, and the common people call it Yangwei.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army once set up a stronghold here and built many solid fortifications on Yangshan Mountain.When Liu Deng's troops attacked Yuncheng, the 66th Division of the Kuomintang Army rushed north to help.After Yuncheng was conquered, Song Ruike, the commander of the 66th Division, led the division headquarters, the 158th Brigade, and the 13th Brigade, and stopped at Yangshanji, using the strong fortifications left by the Japanese to stand firm and wait for help. The 66th Division was reorganized into a division from the original 66th Army.This army is the direct line of the Kuomintang.Chen Cheng, the chief of the general staff of the Kuomintang Army, used to serve in this unit and took special care of this unit.The entire division is equipped with American equipment, and the battalion and company officers are all graduates of military schools, with good military quality.Division Commander Song Ruike is a student of the third phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and has also studied in the class of generals in Lu. Song Ruihe is considered an outstanding figure among the generals of the Kuomintang army. In June 1946, when the Kuomintang troops besieged our Li Xiannian troops in the Dabie Mountains, it was Song Ruike who led his troops to fire the first shot of a full-scale civil war.

After Yangshanji was surrounded by our army, several brigade commanders under Chen Zaidao demanded to launch an attack on the enemy immediately, and all offered to take on the main attack task.These brigade commanders yelled: After crossing the river, the 1st and 6th verticals have wiped out 3 enemy divisions, while our 2nd vertical is just a small fight, with little success.The soldiers all held back their energy and demanded to fight quickly. Chen Zaidao didn't want to call quickly, and said: "Okay! You go back and make preparations!" At that time, the 3rd vertical was also fighting with the 2nd vertical, and the commander of the 3rd vertical was Chen Xilian.After discussing with Chen Xilian, Chen Zaidao decided to launch an attack on the enemy at Yangshanji on the evening of July 16. The 2nd column would attack from the west; the 3rd column would attack from the east;

On the 16th, it rained heavily and the attack was delayed for a day. On the evening of the 17th, various assault forces launched attacks on Yangshanji and Yangshan at the same time.Cannon fire, gunshots, and explosions of grenades all rang out. However, the resistance of the enemy's 66th Division was extremely tenacious.Every step forward, our army has to pay a heavy price.After a night of fierce fighting, the 2nd Zong only captured some houses at the west end of Yangshanji, and the 3rd Zong only occupied some hills east of Yangshan Mountain and some houses on Yangshanji East Street.

Early the next morning, the enemy began to counterattack.Because our army was exposed to the enemy's firepower net and the formation was dense, it suffered heavy casualties.More than a dozen brigade cadres were injured.Helpless, most of my attacking troops withdrew. The first attack did not work, mainly due to insufficient preparations before the battle.The progress of the troops after the battle was launched was not accurately grasped.Not long after the attack began, the 5th Brigade reported that it had captured the tail of the sheep and was moving towards the body of the sheep. Chen Zaidao ordered the 4th Brigade to attack Yangshanji.In fact, the 5th Brigade did not capture Yangwei, nor did it occupy the commanding heights, but only captured some small hills.

After hearing the news, Liu Bocheng drove to the front line.Chen Zaidao hurriedly made a self-criticism: "Commander, I am responsible for not fighting well." Liu Bocheng said: "Is it a bit paralyzed after winning several battles in a row? Remember, don't fight unprepared battles, this is our combat principle!" Chen Zaidao's face was hot. He is a brave warrior, and sometimes he will make mistakes when his head is hot. Having learned the lesson of the heavy casualties in the first attack, Chen Zaidao became steady and steady when he attacked again. On the evening of the 20th, 2nd Zong and 3rd Zong continued to attack Yangshanji. The 2nd and 5th Brigade attacked the mountain from Yangwei; the 6th Brigade replaced the 4th Brigade and attacked from the west to Yangshanji;

Although Chen Zaidao's deployment was careful this time, his opponent was "hard stubble". The 66th Division of the Kuomintang Army is worthy of being a "direct line". The slaves serve their lives, but the master naturally refuses to abandon them. On July 19, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Kaifeng to call a meeting of his front-line generals.Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wang Jingjiu to lead his troops from Jinxiang to Yangshan for reinforcements; he ordered Wang Zhonglian to lead his troops to Yangshan via Cao County to gather reinforcements to relieve Song Ruike's siege and rescue the 66th Division.

Wang Jingjiu and Wang Zhonglian did not dare to delay, and led their subordinates separately to gather and kill Yangshan.However, under the tenacious resistance of our blocking troops, not only did they fail to reach Yangshanji, but they even failed to capture Shidian to the south of Wanfu River.This village is more than ten miles away from Yangshanji! On July 22, Wang Jingjiu ordered Lu Daoyuan's 58th Division and 199th Brigade to resolutely attack Yangshan.It is also attached to its tank and howitzer battalion, and it is limited to arrive at Yangshanji at 12:00 on the same day, otherwise it will be engaged in military law. After the 199th Brigade crossed the Wanfu River, it was surrounded by our 4th Brigade and the Independent Brigade. Not only did it fail to save the 66th Division, but the 199th Brigade itself also became prisoners of our army.When Lu Daoyuan saw it badly, he led his troops back to Jinxiang.

However, the Yangshanji side is still fighting fiercely, and the defending enemy still refuses to lay down their weapons. The fierce battle at Yangshanji attracted the attention of Mao Zedong and others as far away as northern Shaanxi. On July 23, the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Liu Deng, reminding them: "...for the enemies at Yangshan and Jining, if they judge that they are sure of attacking and annihilating them, they will be annihilated; For about ten days, except for clearing out the small enemies and militia groups passing by, we will not attack the Longhai Road, the east of the New Yellow River, or the Pinghan Road. Dozens of counties cleared militia groups, mobilized the masses, established base areas, attracted the enemy to attack us, and waged mobile warfare.”

Mao Zedong's opinion is obvious: If the Yangshanji cannot be taken down for a while, the fight will not be stopped; adjust the troops to go south as soon as possible. Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping were very clear about Mao Zedong's opinion. They didn't want to delay the plan of the army's southward march, but they didn't want to give up destroying Yangshanji to defend the enemy either.At this moment when a decision was urgently needed, the two seemed very calm and cautious, and they decided to consult the opinions of the front-line commanders again. Liu Bocheng called Chen Zaidao: "You tell the truth: Do you want to continue fighting? Or do you want to withdraw?" Chen Zaidao replied decisively: "Beat it down, and you can't throw away the fat that is brought to your mouth!" Liu Bocheng said: "Okay! Political Commissar Deng and I will be here soon." Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping visited the front line of Yangshanji in person, carefully inquired about the enemy's situation and terrain conditions, and said to Chen Zaidao and others: The more victorious, the more careful and cautious, not negligent, let alone impatient.You have to go to the frontier to see the terrain for yourself, and understand why you can't take it down.We must study the tactics with the commanders and fighters below, and annihilate the enemies of Yangshanji as soon as possible! Chen Zaidao and several leaders of the column went down to the forward position. After observing the fire line, they found that the previous few attacks did not resolve the battle. The main reason was that the commanding height of Yangshan Mountain was not captured. It will be easy to take down the main peak of Yangshan Mountain in the general attack. Chen Zaidaoyi came to the position of the 3rd Battalion of the 13th Regiment. This battalion, the 14th Regiment and the 15th Regiment each held their positions on the hill at the tail of the sheep.When Chen Zaidao came to the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion, the company commander shouted: "All stand up and salute!" Immediately hula la stood up a group of soldiers.Chen Zaidao took a closer look, and saw that some of these soldiers were only wearing a vest, and some were only wearing a pair of shorts, and their bodies were covered in mud.Chen Zaidao knew in his heart that due to the hot weather and the poor conditions of the positions, the soldiers simply took off their coats.Chen Zaidao's heart felt hot, and he said, "You have persisted on these small hills for seven or eight days, do you want to go down and have a rest?" Before he could finish speaking, a soldier with a wounded arm jumped out and handed Chen Zaidao a letter of invitation to fight with bloodstains on it, saying: "We assure the chief that no one will retreat next time, and we request to serve as a surprise attack." Team, attack as soon as possible!" A little soldier also stood up and said to Chen Zaidao in a tearful tone: "In order for my battalion commander to be the battalion commander, I can't withdraw either!" Chen Zaidao was surprised: "Why, why can't you be the battalion commander?" The little soldier replied: "My battalion commander wrote a letter of determination, saying that he can't beat Yangshanji, so he will not be the battalion commander! We have to withdraw Come down, won't he be unable to be?" Chen Zaidao felt hot again, what a soldier!He said emotionally: "Your battalion fought well in the past. Both your battalion commander and your company commander have attended the Hero Model Conference. This time, you have stood on the hillside for so long. You are really a hero who can attack and retreat. Troops. I won’t replace you this time, I hope everyone is ready and ready to attack!” The soldiers suddenly cheered. Back at the headquarters, Chen Zaidao reported the inspection situation to Chief Liu and Deng, and also reported to Chief Liu and Deng the plan for the next general attack.Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping quickly issued an order for a general offensive. On July 27, the fiery red sun rises in the east.The weather was clear and cloudless, and the rain that had lasted for several days ended.The heavens are angry with the people, and the Kuomintang troops guarding Yangshanji are really exhausted, and God is no longer on their side.At 6:30 in the afternoon, our armies from all walks of life began to launch a general attack on Yangshan. Howitzers, field artillery, mountain artillery and mortars bombarded the top of Yangshan Mountain continuously, and the whole Yangshan Mountain was filled with gunpowder smoke and thunderous cannons.With the extension of the artillery fire, the soldiers attacked the main peak of Yangshan Mountain and Yangshan Street.At 22 o'clock in the battle, our army conquered Yangshan and occupied the commanding height of Yangshan.Although the Kuomintang army made counterattacks many times in an attempt to recapture the main peak of Yangshan Mountain, they were all repulsed by our troops who captured the main peak. At the same time, the 3 regiments of the 6th Brigade of Chen Zaidao's column rushed into the West Street from Xiguan, and moved eastward from house to house. The troops of the 13th Regiment also rushed into Yangshanji from Yangwei.Chen Xilian's 3rd vertical troops attacked Dongdajie from the east.The entire Yangshanji enemy was divided and surrounded by our attacking troops. But the enemy is still stubbornly resisting, and the street fighting is fierce.Every time our army occupies a bunker, it has to go through fierce struggle. The 18th Regiment of the 6th Brigade attacked the center of the street, and a solid bunker appeared in front of us. 4 machine guns in the bunker blocked the way forward for our army.The head of the regiment Li Kaidao immediately ordered Liu Maosheng, the commander of the 1st company, to kill the bunker. Jiang Jincheng and Yu Shuzhen, the combat team of the 2nd squad, rushed to the bunker with many grenades.At first they snatched the enemy's machine gun from the firing port, but because the barrel of the gun was hot, they snatched it several times without success.Finally, they bundled 8 grenades together and stuffed them into the bunker through the firing port. After a few explosions, the machine gun in the bunker stopped firing. In such a battle, both the enemy and the enemy suffered heavy casualties.Only cadres above the 18th regiment battalion suffered several casualties, and the battalion commander and deputy battalion commander of the 1st battalion all fell down. Many years later, when Chen Zaidao looked back on the past, he said with great emotion: "The battle of Yangshanji was the hardest battle I fought! There were also the most sacrificed soldiers!" A brigade chief of staff put it this way: "It was a bad battle. I have never fought a few battles like that in my life." When the battle was over, Song Ruike, the commander of the enemy's 66th Division, was escorted out of Yangshanji. A cadre of Chen Zaidao's column looked at the fallen comrades beside him with tears streaming down his face. He rushed forward and beat Song Ruike. It's time to draw the gun. Later, this cadre was criticized by Chen Zaidao.The policy of our army is not to kill prisoners. Although this prisoner has killed someone before, he has already put down his arms, so we have to implement the captive policy. This is what makes the People's Army respectable. On the morning of July 28, the sound of guns and artillery in Yangshanji gradually faded away.Chen Zaidao came out of the bunker, wanted to see the situation on Yangshan Street, and the combat staff officer stopped him and prevented Chen Zaidao from going out.Because the howitzers of the Kuomintang army in Jinxiang City were firing blindly at Yangshanji.As soon as Chen Zaidao returned to the bunker, the shell outside exploded, and dust splashed all over him. From the launch of the attack on July 17 to the end of the battle on July 28, the battle of Yangshanji was fought for 12 days!Although the fight was tough, it ended with our army winning.More than 14,000 enemies were wiped out in this battle, and a total of more than 23,000 enemies were wiped out in the Yangshan peripheral operations.Liu Deng's army mobilized 17 and a half brigades of 7 reorganized divisions of the Kuomintang Army to aid the Southwest battlefield with their own sacrifices, thus effectively supporting the PLA's operations on other battlefields. After the battle of Yangshanji, Liu Bocheng, who did not often compose poems, was happy and glad to write a poem: After the battle, Chen Zaidao took a special look at Song Ruike, his opponent who had become a prisoner of war. Song Ruike's appearance was somewhat beyond Chen Zaidao's imagination. Song Ruike was not tall, in his 40s at the time, fair-looking, and looked quite elegant, not like a general.Chen Zaidao patted Song Ruike on the shoulder heavily, and said, "I didn't expect you to be really good at holding on!" A real soldier is eager to fight a strong opponent. Song Ruike proposed to Chen Zaidao: His troops suffered too many casualties, and asked the People's Liberation Army to treat the wounded. At this moment, Chen Zaidao's face became serious. He stared at Song Ruike for a while, and said, "If you had put down your weapon two days earlier, you wouldn't have caused such heavy casualties on both sides!" Song Ruike lowered his head, and said after a while: "I am a soldier, and I was ordered to fight. Of course, I am also responsible." Chen Zaidao gasped for a few breaths, and then said calmly: "We will treat all of your wounded, so you can rest assured." Song Ruike was later sent to the North China Liberated Area to study, and was later pardoned. In June 1984, the 60th anniversary commemorative meeting of the Whampoa Military Academy was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and Chen Zaidao was invited to attend the meeting.After taking his seat, he heard that Song Ruike had also come, so Chen Zaidao asked the people around him: Where is Song Ruike sitting?When Song Ruike heard that Chen Zaidao was coming, he walked up to Chen Zaidao with a glass of red wine and toasted him.Chen Zaidao raised his glass to toast Song Ruike.Seeing that Chen Zaidao was serving white wine, Song Ruike went back to his seat, put down the red wine, poured a glass of white wine, clinked glasses with Chen Zaidao, and drank it all in one gulp.Neither of them mentioned the battle of Yangshanji.