Chapter 47 Two, heavy burden

The Four Columns received the order on the afternoon of October 5th, and early the next morning all the troops of the three divisions of the whole column rushed to Tashan under the leadership of Commander Wu Kehua and Political Commissar Mo Wenhua, and wiped out the temporary Kuomintang troops who had been stationed here. A small number of units of the Sixty-two Division were formed.They will fight an unprecedented fierce battle in this small mountain village that they have never had in their many years of fighting career. Wu Kehua is a native of Yongfeng, Jiangxi. He joined the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1929 and joined the party in the same year.In the Red Army, he was gradually promoted from a soldier to a platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander, chief of staff of the Central Headquarters of the Young Pioneers, and head of the 37th regiment of the Fifth Red Army, and participated in the Long March.During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he worked in the Shandong Liberated Area for a long time. He served as the commander of the second detachment of the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army, the commander of the fifth brigade, the division commander of the fifth division of the Shandong Military Region, and the deputy commander of the Jiaodong Military Region.When the 100,000-strong army entered the Northeast, Wu Kehua led a total of more than 10,000 people from the sixth and fifth divisions of the Jiaodong Military Region and a part of the independent regiment into the Northeast from the sea, and organized them into the Second and Third Columns of the Northeast People's Autonomous Army. Fighting in southern Liaoning.Later, the second column and the third column were combined into the fourth column of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and Wu Kehua was still the commander and deputy commander of the Liaodong Military Region.Wu Kehua led the four verticals to fight the famous Anhai Battle and Xinkailing Battle in the Northeast Liberation War.

After Si Zong arrived at Tashan, looking at the terrain, he felt that it was difficult to organize a defensive position, so he could only take Baitai Mountain, the only commanding height, as the focus of defense.The terrain of Tashan Village is low, so it cannot be used as a focus, and the large troops can only be placed behind.With one order, the whole army began to dig fortifications in various places. It should be said that at this time the commanders and fighters of the four verticals were not fully prepared for the upcoming fierce battle.However, Lin Biao, who was on the front line of Maoer Mountain in the northern suburb of Jinzhou, knew that Tashan's defense was not optimistic.If the enemy's attack on this line cannot be repelled, and the position on this line cannot be defended, the attacking troops will be under great pressure.More importantly, our army has become accustomed to fighting mobile warfare in the past few years. Even in positional warfare, we must choose the most favorable terrain.But now it is necessary to fight unprecedentedly fierce positional warfare without being able to choose the terrain, and it is not allowed to move or retreat.

This requires that the commanders and fighters on the front line must be fully mentally prepared. In today's words, it is to let everyone "change their minds."So he sent several consecutive telegrams to Cheng Zihua, commander of the Second Corps, and Wu Kehua, commander of the Fourth Column: The distance between the two enemies is only more than 30 miles, so our army must not adopt the method of mobile defense. Instead, we must deploy a stubborn and brave offensive line of defense on Tashan, Gaoqiao and the west and north. Defend on this line and fire at close range in front of the position, consuming a large amount of the enemy's vital forces; prepare to resist dozens of violent attacks, and when the enemy is exhausted and tired, then concentrate all the eleventh column and one or two divisions of the fourth column to organize Counter-assault, wiped out a large number of enemies outside our position.

You must use the area of ​​more than 20 miles from the sea in the east to the lower line of Hongluo Mountain in the east to conduct a heroic and tenacious offensive and defense. glorious defensive battle. It is completely a regular war, absolutely opposed to guerrilla habits, and must be fought recklessly. Victory should not be counted by its own casualties and captures, but victory should be judged by completing the entire campaign mission. At present, it is necessary to build a position with a very formal and tense spirit... Prepare to destroy it during the day and build it immediately at night.

In addition to instructions by telegram, Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan also sent Su Jing, the chief of staff of the headquarters, to Tashan to convey the instructions of the headquarters again to check the preparations of the four verticals.Luo Ronghuan said something like this to Su Jing: Comrade Su Jing, I have decided to send you to the Four Columns, where there will be a fierce battle.The task of the Fourth Column, the Eleventh Column, and the two independent divisions is to separate the enemy to the south of Tashan, so as to ensure that we can successfully capture Jinzhou.Make it clear to Wu Kehua and Mo Wenhua that the task of the four verticals may be more difficult.Your task is to serve as their staff, advise, and assist them in commanding troops to resolutely defend Tashan.If you are not afraid of sacrifice, at any cost, you cannot be shaken under any circumstances.You are clear about the strategic intention of the headquarters, but the troops may not be able to understand it for a while.You have to explain the headquarters' intentions to the commander many times and repeatedly, and you must stand up to the enemy. If you stand up to it, you will win.

Lin Biao told Su Jing not to return to the headquarters until the Tashan blockade was over, nor to participate in the command of the four verticals. His main task was to use the radio to report the situation to the headquarters at any time. Cheng Zihua, the commander of the Second Corps, also came to Tashan in person to mobilize and inspect again. On October 7, Lin Biao summoned Mo Wenhua to the temporary headquarters of the Northeast Field Army, more than ten kilometers northwest of Jinzhou. Lin Biao told Mo Wenhua: In order to eliminate the Jiang army in the Northeast, we must first open the knife from the west of Liaoning, and close the passage to the pass, so that the enemy cannot escape from the Northeast.If you want to take Liaoxi, you must take Jinzhou, and if you want to take Jinzhou, you must block the Jin and Huyuan enemies who are close at hand.Therefore, whether the enemy can be blocked to the south of Tashan has become the key to whether Jinzhou can conquer it.When you go back, you must clearly explain the meaning of blocking aid to all commanders and fighters, so that everyone understands that this blocking aid is by no means easier than a siege mission. It is necessary to fight big, tough, and evil battles. , Can't stand it.The success or failure of the attack lies in Tashan, and this heavy burden will be entrusted to you.

In order to ensure victory on the battlefield, so that there is no shortage of food for people and ammunition for guns, President Dong specially replenished a large number of grenades for the four vertical organizations based on what Su Jing learned after he went to the four verticals.The Northeast Bureau mobilized a large number of migrant workers from the rear to use camels and mules to carry various supplies. Xiao Xiangrong, the Propaganda Director of the Northeast Bureau, led a team to detour from Tongliao to the front line through the desert area. In this atmosphere, the commanders and fighters of the four verticals became tense from top to bottom, and various political mobilization work was carried out. On the afternoon of October 8, Wu Kehua and Mo Wenhua held a cadre meeting in Tashanbao. After serious discussions, everyone agreed that although the terrain here is relatively flat, it is near the sea and mountains, and the enemy cannot make a detour; There is more than 12 kilometers of open land, but the terrain that is easy for the enemy to attack is only 8 kilometers, and it is difficult to deploy more troops.Based on this analysis, the party committee of the column decided on a tactical plan: use the 12th division to deploy all the frontal defenses from Dayu Mountain in the east to Baitai Mountain in the west; These three support points of Taishan.Among the three supporting points, Tashan Fort is the center, and the railway bridge and Baitai Mountain are the two flanks.Commander Cheng Zihua said: "At least one battalion must be fortified in the village of Tashanbao, and Tashanbao must be turned into a steel fortress. As long as Tashanbao cannot be breached, the enemy will not be able to drive straight into Jinzhou. Tashanbao must become the focus of the entire defense. "The other two regiments of the 10th Division and the 11th Division are arranged behind the front-line troops and deployed in depth. Whenever there is an opportunity, they will serve as the second echelon to counterattack the enemy.In such unfavorable terrain, it can only be offensive and defensive.In offensive defense, continuous attacks are particularly important.

According to Lin Biao's instructions, Hu Qicai, the deputy commander of the Fourth Column, had to go to the front line during the entire battle. On the one hand, he assisted the front line in commanding operations. Another important task was to send four telegrams to the headquarters every day to report the specific situation on the front line. According to Hu Qicai's later recollection, Lin Biao was planning to defend Tashan at the cost of 10,000 casualties.When fighting at Tashan was the most difficult, Lin Biao once asked Chief of Staff Liu Yalou to tell Cheng Zihua, commander of the Second Corps: "I only want Tashan, not the number of casualties." From this we can see the importance of the Tashan blockade and Lin Biao's determination at that time.

On the position where the fortifications were excavated, the party committee of the column held a soldier representative meeting, and the party committee issued the "Letter to All Commanders and Soldiers" and "Letter to All Communist Party Members", calling on all commanders and fighters to "fight for every inch of land, and live and die with the position."Looking around, slogans such as "fight hard, people are in the ground" are all over the ground.Jiang Xieyuan of the Twelfth Division pointed to the command post and said to the officers and soldiers: "My position is beside the comrades. In order to ensure the victory of the Jinzhou battle, I am ready to sacrifice my last drop of blood at any time!" Commander Wu Kehua said To be more clear: "As long as you defend Tashan, withstand the enemy's attack, and knock down half of the four verticals, you can close the door for Jiang's army to aid Jin, and it is worth paying the price."

The officers and soldiers of the four columns greeted the coming of the war with such a spirit.