Chapter 9 Chapter 9

On May 3, 1949, the 23rd Army led by Tao Yong and Lu Sheng served as the guard of Hangzhou City after it liberated Hangzhou.In this beautiful "paradise on earth", Tao Yong couldn't be at ease. It can be said that he has never been calm since the start of the Shanghai Battle on May 12: he inquired about the battle situation for a while, asked for tasks for a while, and couldn't sit still. , restless sleep. Tao Yong was born in Huoqiu County, Anhui Province in 1912. He herded cattle for landlords since he was a child, and later worked as a kiln worker for several years. In 1929, when the storm of the Agrarian Revolution swept his hometown, he threw himself into the revolutionary torrent.Under the party's education and training, he quickly grew from an ordinary soldier to a warrior with both wisdom and courage.He has successively served as the head of the Red Army, the instructor and teacher; the head of the 4th regiment of the 2nd detachment of the New Fourth Army, the commander of the Jiangsu-Anhui detachment, the commander of the 3rd column, the commander of the 3rd brigade, the deputy commander and division commander of the 1st division; the commander of the 4th column of the East China Field Army, Commander of the 23rd Army.

In 1937, he was rescued by Zhou Enlai and released from prison. He went to Yan'an Anti-Japanese University to study. In 1938, he was assigned to work in the New Fourth Army.At that time, after the 1st and 2nd detachments of the New Fourth Army advanced into the south of the Yangtze River, under the leadership of Chen Yi, they implemented the Party Central Committee's policy of "independent guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines", established the Maoshan Anti-Japanese Base, and followed the instructions of the Party Central Committee, and began to develop toward Jiangbei.Tao Yong came to the enemy's rear and needed to change his name for the convenience of work.Tao Yong's original name was Zhang Daoyong, Chen Yi said: "Daoyong, a bit feudal, not good." Su Yu said: "Remove the surname and call him Tao Yong." He readily agreed.From then on, Tao Yong led his troops and brothers to gallop north and south, frightening the Japanese, puppet and stubborn.

In the army, there is a saying that Tao Yong has "three fronts" in battle, that is, the march follows the avant-garde regiment, the command post is at the front, and he goes forward bravely when attacking.His heroic deeds of taking the lead and charging forward, his indomitable fighting spirit of disregarding his personal life and death, showing dazzling brilliance throughout his decades of military career. Before the battle started, he changed into plain clothes and sneaked into enemy-occupied areas to scout out the enemy's situation; at the critical moment of the battle, he took off his shirt, raised his sword, and led the soldiers to fight; he also went deep into the tiger's den many times alone, Propagating the party's policies, persuading surrender or liaising with uprisings, incorporating and transforming various armed forces; he also rode a horse, risking enemy planes to track and shoot, and went to the front line to command operations.

In the early days of the Liberation War, he led the 1st Division of the Central China Field Army to Shandong for the first time. During a march, he encountered the 5th Army of the Kuomintang and was attacked by the opponent's tanks.At that time, the troops lacked experience in fighting tanks, so they were caught off guard and retreated while fighting. The formation was not in order, and they ran into Tao Yong who was rushing to the front. The soldiers shouted: "Teacher, the tanks are unstoppable, retreat quickly!" He listened, sat down firmly on the stone rollers on the roadside valley field, and shouted sharply: "I, Tao Yong, sit here, who dares to retreat? The soldiers immediately calmed down and encouraged each other: "Mr. Tao is here, what are you afraid of?" The soldiers turned around and rushed over, first blowing up the tank tracks, and then capturing the prisoners, destroying 3 tanks of the opponent in the first battle.

Tao Yong has such a character, he always likes to lead the battle. On May 20th, Tao Yong and Lu Sheng talked about the war in Shanghai again: "Old Lu, do you think we still have hope for this battle in Shanghai?" Lu Sheng also had no idea: "It's hard to say, I'm afraid it depends on the development of the campaign and the plans of the superiors." Tao Yong suddenly remembered something: "Hey, I'll call Commander Su directly, how about asking for instructions?" Lu Sheng: "This is a way." While Tao Yong and Lu Sheng were discussing, the deputy army commander and chief of staff Mei Jiasheng hurried in: "Army commander and political commissar, good news!"

"What good news?" Tao Yong looked at Mei Jiasheng's happy face, "Do you want us to participate in the fight against Shanghai?" "That's right, it's Shanghai!" Mei Jiasheng said: "Just now the head of the field army called and ordered our army, as well as the 25th Army, to go to the front line of Shanghai immediately, and be attached to the 9th and 10th Corps to participate in the general offensive in Shanghai." Now Tao Yong was happy, and he slapped his thigh: "Hey, we are looking forward to it, we are looking forward to it!" In order to strengthen the attack force and shorten the siege time, the head of the Third Field Army decided to increase the 23rd Army and other troops to participate in the attack on Shanghai. On the 21st, Sanye drew up a three-step general attack plan for Shanghai, which stipulated that the 23rd Army, together with the 27th Army and a part of the 20th Army, would jointly capture the urban area south of the Suzhou Creek in the second step of the operation, and strive to wedge into the enemy's In depth, divide and annihilate the defending enemy at various points.At dusk, the sound of gunfire on the Suzhou Creek became sparse, and occasionally there was a short and dull sound of heavy machine gun fire from the enemy's fortifications on the opposite bank.At 12 midnight, the 68th Division first concentrated a small number of troops, assumed an offensive posture, and fired fiercely at the enemy on the opposite bank with intensive firepower.This move aroused the enemy's reaction. Immediately, the enemy spewed out flames from bunkers, fortifications, and tall buildings.At the same time, Zhang Benke, head of the 202nd regiment, led the leading troops to advance rapidly to the West Station.

After the vanguard set off, Zhang Yunlong, the commander of the 68th Division, managed to find the manager of the transportation company, borrowed more than 20 buses, and transported a large number of troops to the West Station by car. It was dark, and when the troops walked near a spinning mill, they captured two Kuomintang sentries.According to the information provided by the sentry, there are more than 300 people defending the enemy at the West Station, all concentrated in the mill yard.The vanguard immediately took a sudden action and went straight to the enemy's lair in the spinning mill.The enemy, who was sleeping under the covers, was taken prisoner before he had time to figure out what happened.

After destroying the cotton factory and defending the enemy, the troops took advantage of the victory and marched straight to the north bank of Suzhou River.When the Kuomintang defenders on the opposite bank discovered the PLA troops, they were already close at hand. The opponent had no time to request reinforcements, and abandoned the formation and fled under the powerful artillery fire of the PLA.After the People's Liberation Army troops arrived at the river, they found that there was no bridge on the river.The quick-witted and nimble fighters quickly found two small boats nearby. The two boats joined each other, and the hulls just crossed the river, forming a "boat bridge". The troops of the two regiments went straight from the "boat bridge" to the opposite bank and quickly crossed the Suzhou River.

The Kuomintang defenders on the north bank suddenly fell into disarray.At this time, the neighboring units of the People's Liberation Army on the south bank also launched offensives one after another. In an instant, the Suzhou Creek defense line carefully deployed by the Kuomintang army collapsed, and the enemy guarding the river fled to Wusongkou in chaos. At dawn on the 27th, the 67th Division, together with neighboring troops, captured the Songhu Garrison Command of the Kuomintang Army. When receiving the order to go to Shanghai for reinforcements, the troops of the 23rd Army were serving as guards in the urban area of ​​Hangzhou and the areas of Laoshan, Shaoxing, Linping, and Haining.Tao Yong and other army leaders immediately held a combat meeting and made specific operational deployments: leaving the 204th Regiment of the 68th Division to continue guarding Hangzhou, with the 67th Division as the vanguard, the 68th Division led by the military headquarters as the main team, and the 69th Division as the rear guard , Immediately marched towards Shanghai.

Those few days were cloudy and rainy, and the roads were muddy, which brought many difficulties to the troops. The soldiers slipped and got up again, covered in mud. Some people's shoes sank and they simply went barefoot; Frayed, blood flowing; some people, due to excessive fatigue, walked, fell asleep, and fell headlong in the rice field... No matter how hard it is, the fighting spirit of the commanders and fighters is very strong, and everyone feels very honored to be able to participate in the battle to liberate Greater Shanghai.Some fighters from Shanghai are even more active. "Comrades, come on, I saw the door of Ala Shanghai's house!"

A soldier from Shandong joked: "Shanghai was liberated and we entered your house. What did you entertain us with?" The soldier from Shanghai replied: "I invite you to eat Yangchun noodles. Allah Shanghai's Yangchun noodles are famous far and wide!" A soldier from Shandong asked: "Does Yangchun noodles taste as good as my Shandong pancake roll with green onions?" There was a burst of laughter from the ranks. On the afternoon of May 23, Tao Yong took Mei Jiasheng to the headquarters of the Sanye 9th Corps in Songjiang County to receive specific combat tasks. The order of the 9th Corps required the 23rd Army to take over the Hongqiao and Qibao Townships of the 27th Army that night. From the east to Xinzhuang line of defense; then attack northward along both sides of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway, clear the enemies in the suburbs of Shanghai, and then attack the urban area to seize the core position. At dawn on the 24th, the 67th Division and the 68th Division rushed to the front line of Xinzhuang Town.The next day, the Kuomintang army was pursued to the Suzhou River. The Kuomintang army retreated to the north bank of the Suzhou River, relying on the river, desperately resisting, and for a while, the two sides formed a confrontation. On the afternoon of the 25th, the 23rd Army crossed the Suzhou Creek along the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway from Fanhuangdu to Zhouzhai Bridge, and cooperated with the 10th Corps to attack and wipe out the enemies in Jiangwan.The 199th Regiment of the 67th Division was successfully crossed by Cao Jiadu in one fell swoop. After that, the 200th and 201st Regiments of this division crossed the river one after another and took advantage of the victory to capture the false Central Mint. The 1st Platoon of the 7th Company of the 199th Regiment, under the leadership of the instructor Shen Mingzhang, penetrated deep into the enemy, and lost contact with the superior and the 2nd and 3rd Platoons during the pursuit. On the night of the 26th, the 1st platoon entered the corner of Dongdaming Road, and met the enemy with a squadron of resistance. The first row fought fiercely, captured one enemy, and the rest fled. The 1st row followed and chased, and the enemy fled into a 4-story building.The building is surrounded by walls more than 3 meters high, and the iron gate is closed tightly. The enemy inside the building blocked the gate with fierce firepower.From the interrogation of the prisoners, it is known that this building is the enemy's transportation equipment warehouse. The enemy in the building is 5 infantry companies and 1 firearms company of the Youth Army, with a total of more than 500 people, commanded by a deputy commander. In the face of a strong enemy, Shen Mingzhang was calm and calm. After researching with the 1st platoon leader, he believed that the opponent's strength was many times greater than mine, and there were buildings to rely on. Force the enemy to surrender.Therefore, the four light machine guns of the firearms squad were mounted on the front, and the infantry squad was deployed on both sides to block the doors and windows.After a burst of machine guns and submachine guns fired violently, they then shouted to the enemy to surrender. At this time, the enemy troops in the building were noisy, some said they would surrender, and some said they would stick to it.Shen Mingzhang asked everyone to create false appearances, as if preparing for explosions and attacks, in order to deter the enemy, and at the same time further shouted to the opponent: "You are surrounded, and surrender is the only way out. The People's Liberation Army treats prisoners leniently!" After a while, the Kuomintang army sent a message from the door: "Soldiers subordinates obey their superiors. We are the deputy commander of the regiment. We want to invite your regiment commander to come for an interview." Instructor Shen Mingzhang believed that the enemy was already in a difficult situation, and the soldiers had no fighting spirit, so he decided to act as the "regiment leader" to go deep into the enemy's den and negotiate with him.While making preparations, he asked the soldiers to shout: "We have reported to the commander, and we will be here in a while!" After a while, the cultural teacher stepped forward and shouted: "Our commander is here, come out to negotiate." The enemy opened the door, and Shen Mingzhang led the messenger , cultural teachers and several soldiers, carrying carbines and submachine guns, walked into the gate calmly. After entering, the enemy pointed their guns at them.Shen Mingzhang shouted: "Hurry up and put down your weapons, don't sacrifice your life for Chiang Kai-shek. Put down your weapons, the People's Liberation Army will treat you leniently!" A Kuomintang battalion commander wanted to delay the time and said, "Please give us 2 hours to prepare." Shen Mingzhang said sharply: " If you surrender, you will live, and if you resist, you will die. You must put down your weapons within 15 minutes. Otherwise, you will be responsible for all the consequences!" The battalion commander entered the building.Shen Mingzhang waited out the door, and while he sent messengers to find the superiors, he asked the soldiers to continue to prepare for battle. Not long after, the correspondent brought back instructions from the deputy battalion commander, saying that the troops he was leading were dealing with another group of enemies and could not draw any troops for the time being. He asked the first platoon to force the enemy to surrender quickly to ensure the safety of the battalion's rear.Instructor Shen and the platoon leader studied together, and thought that our troops were insufficient, and the time delay was not good for me, so they led the messengers and entered the gate again.At this time, the enemy was still aiming at the gate with all kinds of firearms, and Shen Mingzhang shouted angrily: "Why don't you put down your weapons? I have talked with your commander, come down and assemble!" The enemy battalion commander replied: "We will be ready soon, I beg your pardon." The People's Liberation Army was urging, and the Kuomintang Army was delaying. After more than an hour, the enemy in the building still did not surrender.At this time, the deputy battalion commander brought a few soldiers over.Shen Mingzhang acted accordingly and shouted loudly: "Deputy division commander, deputy division commander!" The deputy battalion commander heard the voice, and also asked loudly and alertly: "What's going on here?" "Report to the deputy division commander, the enemy here is willing to surrender. Please inform the 7th and 8th regiments to suspend their advance, and the artillery should not shoot for the time being." Shen Mingzhang replied. As a result, the Kuomintang army thought that there was a large army of the People's Liberation Army coming up. Fearing that they would die under the strong attack of the People's Liberation Army, they all scrambled to come out with their hands raised, and obediently became prisoners of the People's Liberation Army. The 68th Division opened the gap from the enemy's weak link and broke through the Suzhou Creek defense line.They rely on the masses and conduct extensive investigations.With the help of the Shanghai People's Security Team, they got in touch with the underground party on the north bank of the Suzhou River, and from the information they provided, they found a specific location where the People's Liberation Army could easily break through the defense line of the Suzhou River.Near the West Station on the upper reaches of the Suzhou River, the river is only a few feet wide. Although there are also enemy guards there, they set up their forward positions on the south bank of the Suzhou River. The 68th Division grasped this reliable situation and made up its mind to cross the river from the West Station by detour. The 26th Army led by Zhang Renchu ​​and Wang Yiping, as a follow-up force to cross the river, stepped onto the south bank of the Yangtze River on the night of April 22 and 23. In the ensuing pursuit battle, the troops were invincible and marched forward bravely.Especially the reconnaissance unit, which traveled 130 miles a day, appeared suddenly on the front lines of Tianwang Temple, Caixiang, and Shangxing Port, like soldiers from heaven, and cut off the rear-tail troops of the fleeing south.The enemy, who was drying clothes by the fire in the house, suddenly heard the sound of gunshots, and before he came to his senses, he was taken prisoner. After the troops arrived in Suzhou, their superiors instructed that the next task was to advance to Shanghai and annihilate the Kuomintang troops in the Songhu area.To strive for Wenjin, we must also prepare for Wujin; we must win both military and political victories. In those days when the bow was ready to go, the name Shanghai almost attracted everyone's body and mind.The troops seriously discussed the favorable and unfavorable conditions for attacking Shanghai, and especially focused on how to "catch mice in the porcelain shop", which is to eliminate the enemy and preserve Shanghai.Everyone believes that to achieve the best of both worlds, it is necessary to closely combine bravery with tactics, closely combine military pressure with political offensive, and closely combine military operations with policy implementation. Be responsible and correct mistakes. After the battle for the liberation of Shanghai began, the 26th Army was assigned to the 10th Corps to wipe out the enemy along the Suzhou Creek in the south and Kunshan and Taicang in the north, and was responsible for guarding the occupied cities and stations. In the early morning of the 13th, the affiliated 78th Division liberated Kunshan County, and part of the defending enemy was intercepted while fleeing.The 76th Division liberated Qingyanggang and Lujiabang stations on the Beijing-Shanghai Railway. The fiercest battle took place on a section of railway near West Lane. In the middle of the night, the 2nd Company of the 226th Regiment of the 76th Division, led by the deputy company commander Bao Hongsheng, led the 2nd Squad as a sharp knife, inserted it near the West Alley, and ran into two behemoths coming west along the Beijing-Shanghai Route. The two armored trains were later found to be carrying more than one regiment of the enemy. Yin Taifeng, the deputy squad leader of Class 2, immediately led the soldiers to put two packs of explosives on the rails.With two loud bangs, the two behemoths who were about to flee—the enemy's armored train fell down like a beast that had been hit in the head. After the Kuomintang army woke up from the roar, more than 30 people jumped out of the carriage and rushed towards the 2nd company.Bao Hongsheng fired at the opponent with a shell gun, and at the same time directed the 2nd squad to fire at the same time.After a while, more than ten people fell down.The Kuomintang army refused to give up, and put together more than 200 people to counterattack.At this time, other comrades from the 2nd company and 1st row also came up.As a result, the machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles of the People's Liberation Army beeped like the autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.Bang Yongsheng, the deputy squad leader of the machine gun squad, destroyed the two searchlights on the armored train with a shuttle of bullets, making the enemy "blind". At this time, the 2nd company and 3rd platoon attacking the enemy from the flank were overwhelmed by the firepower of a heavy machine gun on the enemy's armored train.Seeing this scene, the soldier Liu Anren was heartbroken, and volunteered to rush towards the armored train holding the explosive package.He quickly approached the armored train and put the explosive package under the nest of the enemy's heavy machine gun.However, the explosives did not go off, but the enemy's heavy machine guns yelled even more frantically.Liu Anren was quick to wit, picked up his rifle and fired at the explosive bag.In an instant, with a flash of fire and a loud bang, the carriage of the armored train was engulfed in fireworks, and the enemy's heavy machine guns became "dumb". The remnant enemy is still fighting a trapped beast. More than 60 officers and soldiers of the Kuomintang army approached in two ways from the left side of the railway.Don't you know that the commanders and fighters in the third row have already arranged a "pocket" and are waiting for them!After a fierce exchange of fire, the 3 rows occupied 4 compartments in one go and captured more than 200 enemies alive.At this time, the remaining enemies shouted in panic: "Communist commander, don't fight, we surrender our guns and surrender!" The two armored trains were lying in a pool of bullet casings, debris and blood like poisonous snakes that had been severed in half. On the 14th, the 26th Army captured Anting, Huangdu, and Nanxiang stations, defending the enemy and fleeing. After the initial battle, the officers and soldiers of the 26th Army studied and summarized their combat experience.To deal with the enemy who sticks to the fort and the water network area, the method of fighting in the field and chasing the fleeing enemy cannot be used.It is necessary to fight steadily and step by step; close operations, anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft; boldly insert, divide and encircle; small group actions, fight alone;At the same time, it is also necessary to master the law of tides and the techniques of mine clearance and barbed wire cutting. The commanders and fighters looked at the terrain, set up a sand table, held a military democratic meeting, pooled their efforts, and offered advice and suggestions.Some liberation fighters who had worked as engineers volunteered to cut barbed wire and remove landmines.Some also researched using bamboo poles to tie hand grenades and stabbing them into the enemy bunker holes to blow them up. Starting from May 18th, the 26th Army launched a "peeling bamboo shoots" and "peeling radish" battle against the defense system of the Kuomintang army with a pincer-shaped offensive along Liuxing, Dachang, and Zhenru's outskirts. On the night of May 23, the 76th Division and the 77th Division separately launched an attack on the enemy guarding the north and south of Tangqiao and the east of Nanxiang.Among them, the 6th company of the 227th regiment attacked a reinforced concrete bunker group of the enemy, and fought particularly bravely and resourcefully. The soldiers of the 7th Squad of the 6th Company used 9 packs of explosives in a row against the enemy's secondary fortifications. They only blasted a Luzhai, and the explosives were used up, and 4 comrades were killed or injured.Liberation soldier Chen Guoshi saw this scene, and looked at the few electric lights in the downtown area of ​​Shanghai, and thought: Liberating a big place like Shanghai, as long as you can do meritorious service for the people, it is very honorable to shed blood and sacrifice. Chen Guoshi was thinking about how to fight the bunker group, when he suddenly heard the platoon leader tell him to bring a mutual aid team and take a small group action to touch the bunker.He thought about it, and then whispered to the platoon leader: "I don't need a team, it's safer for me to go alone." After that, he handed the gun and satchel to the platoon leader, and picked up a few bamboo grenades.Seeing his resolute attitude, the platoon leader said, "Okay!" considering that few people approached the enemy more quietly, and ordered his squad leader to cover behind with a submachine gun. Chen Guoshi crawled forward with a bamboo grenade.When he encountered the enemy's barbed wire, he fiddled with it a few times, and then got under the net.There were piles of grass on the flat ground in front of the bunker, and when he touched it, there were threads one by one under the grass.I understood in my heart: it turned out to be a landmine!So, he took out the scissors and cut off all the surrounding live wires, turning more than a dozen landmines into scrap iron eggs.At this time, the squad leader said anxiously from behind: "It's almost dawn, we have to do it quickly!" Chen Guoshi replied quietly: "It's okay to panic. If there is any movement, it will be even more disadvantageous to be discovered by the enemy." He crawled barefoot again Crawling around, pulled out a large piece of bamboo sticks. When Chen Guoshi climbed over the last barbed wire fence, he heard a platoon leader who was probably the enemy shouting, "Squad leader, pay attention."He sneaked into the outer trench quietly, then quickly climbed to the side of the bunker, and stabbed the bamboo grenade into the gun hole of the bunker, hitting an enemy.I only heard someone shouting inside: "Who? Who? Don't make fun of the grenade!" As soon as the shout fell, there was a "boom", and the bamboo grenade exploded in the bunker.The remaining enemies screamed, rushed out of the bunker and ran towards the traffic trench. At this time, all the comrades from Class 6 came up.They set up light machine guns on the bunker they had just occupied and fired fiercely at the enemy.Riding on the smoke from the grenade explosion, Chen Guoshi leaned close to the big bunker. He stabbed the bamboo grenade into the hole of the gun, only to hear a "clang" sound, and then, it was like a burst of "crack" coming from an urn. Boom" sound.Then, another bamboo grenade was stabbed in.An enemy platoon leader hastily opened the iron gate of the bunker and got out, begging tremblingly: "Don't fight anymore...let's surrender our guns..." He unbuttoned his clothes while talking, and asked the PLA soldiers to search him.Chen Guoshi immediately said: "As long as you put down your weapons, we will not search the pockets of prisoners!" He ordered the enemy platoon leader to hang the turned on flashlight around his neck and raise his hand.Afterwards, those battered Kuomintang soldiers crawled out of the bunker one by one, and lined up along the torch light under their long necks.At this time, Chen Guoshi was still a little angry, so he pointed to the platoon leader among the captives and said, "You just laid down your first bunker, why did you ask the people below to resist?" The platoon leader hurriedly argued, "I don't want to fight either. It's just that the superiors supervise the battle fiercely, and whoever retreats will kill his head.Therefore, apart from surrendering, we have no choice but to stick to it..." On the 25th, while the troops of the 9th Corps liberated the urban area south of the Suzhou Creek, the troops of the 26th Army also advanced step by step to the north bank of the Suzhou River and the west bank of the Huangpu River.In the afternoon, the 77th Division attacked Zhenru's defenders and liberated Zhenru at 2 am the next day; the 78th Division surrounded the enemy at Dachang at night, annihilating part of the enemy, and the remnants of the enemy fled to the northeast. The field was occupied.Then, the 78th Division took advantage of the victory to seize Jiangwan; the 76th Division took advantage of the darkness to sweep away the enemies on the front line of Lijialou in the southeast of Tangqiao. On May 8, Nie Fengzhi, the commander of the 27th Army, rushed back to the military headquarters after attending the combat meeting held by the wild division in Suzhou.He conveyed: "The head of our Third Field Army, in order to implement the operational intention of the General Front Committee's "Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign Implementation Outline", decided to use the 7 armies of the 9th and 10th Corps to capture Shanghai. The operations instructed by the Central Committee and the headquarters The deployment is: first, we should turn around from the two wings, pincer Wusongkou, cut off the retreat route of the Jiang army in Shanghai, and prevent the enemy from escaping from the sea. Then force the enemy in Shanghai to surrender under the encirclement situation, and liberate Shanghai in one fell swoop." Then, Nie Fengzhi explained the mission of the army to the troops. He said: "The mission of our 27th Army is to start from Wuzhen, along the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway between Jiaxing and Songjiang, and march towards Shanghai from the south to participate in the liberation of Shanghai's urban area." On May 9, three divisions of the 27th Army set off from Wuzhen and headed for Shanghai.Although the weather is not beautiful and the rain is endless, the whole army still travels day and night, traveling hundreds of miles a day. One evening, the troops rested on the spot, and the cooking team hurriedly buried the pot for cooking.As soon as the porridge was cooked, the correspondent Pegasus came to order to move forward quickly. As soon as the soldiers heard this, they immediately poured the porridge back into the pot and left.It was useless for the cook to be anxious, so he hurriedly picked up the marching pot with a pole, and stirred the porridge with a stick as he walked to let it cool faster.Then, a bowl was served for everyone, and the soldiers drank while walking. At that time, the enemy's situation was an order, and even if they didn't eat or sleep, they had to fight for victory. At this time, the Kuomintang defenders in Songjiang, Qingpu, and Sijing were retreating to Shanghai in a panic.The 27th Army was ordered to advance into Sijing and Qingpu. After clearing out the remnants of the peripheral enemy, on the afternoon of May 24, the 27th Army occupied Hongqiao Airport in the western suburbs of Shanghai, and attacked the urban area from the west and south. In order to "preserve the world-famous big city of Shanghai intact" and "return it to the people", the military department stipulated that when attacking urban areas, only light weapons are allowed, and artillery and explosives are not allowed. The advance guard of the 27th Army was the 79th Division.Division Commander Xiao Jinghai is above average in size, educated, and has a good brain. He is usually strict with the troops, but has a gentle personality. His characteristic is that he makes quick determination to fight. The reason why Nie Fengzhi used the 79th Division as the army's vanguard is because the 79th Division has a tradition of using its brains in battle.Hitting Shanghai is not easy, and it cannot be done with brute force.The 79th Division has fought so many battles, and has never had a big ups and downs. "Stability", this is what Nie Fengzhi needs most at this time. On the night of May 24, troops from the 79th Division entered downtown Shanghai.Among them, the 235th regiment, led by regiment leader Wang Jingkun and political commissar Shao Ying, went north from Chengjiaqiao, from Beixinjing to the east at Fanhuangdu intersection; the 237th regiment was led by regiment leader Zhang Wen and political commissar Ding Rui , heading south from Chengjia Bridge, heading east along Hongqiao Road to Linsen Road. At 9 o'clock that night, Nie Fengzhi heard intense gunfire in the city, picked up the phone, connected to the command post of the 79th Division, and found the division commander Xiao Jinghai. Nie Fengzhi: "How is the army doing?" "Rush in, Commander!" Xiao Jinghai's voice changed with joy. "Did you rush in?" Nie Fengzhi asked again. "We rushed in, and the enemy retreated. We are chasing towards the city center. The lights on the road are still on for us!" Xiao Jinghai replied firmly. "Okay!" Nie Fengzhi demanded: "Cross the Suzhou Creek before dawn and force the enemies in the north of Suzhou to surrender!" Immediately afterwards, the 80th Division, 81st Division and other units also successively called to report the progress to the military headquarters.The troops of the 27th Army have broken through into the city from Xujiahui and Hongqiao, and the situation in Suzhou and Henan has been brought under control. The 237th Regiment of the 79th Division searched along Linsen Road (now Huaihai Road) towards the Bund. This is an old road with a history of one hundred years. In 1849, Shanghai Daotai Lingui signed an agreement to open up concessions with the French consul Mintini.Later, a road was built across the border here.At that time, the dirt road was very deserted, with no houses on the side of the road, only rice fields and burial mounds, and occasionally a horse-drawn carriage passed by.With the development of Shanghai, this road is gradually prosperous.After the Sino-French War, this road was renamed Joffre Road in memory of the French General Joffre who had made great achievements in the war.After the October Revolution, Belarus gathered in Shanghai and set up shops here, which was renamed Luosong Avenue.During the Japanese occupation, it was once renamed Taishan Road.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang returned to the capital and changed its name again, after Lin Sen, chairman of the National Assembly of the Kuomintang. The commanders and fighters of the 237th Regiment, like the commanders and fighters of the entire 27th Army, are mostly children of Jiaodong, living and fighting in the countryside for a long time.Walking in the middle of the wide road, I feel that the tall buildings on both sides are crumbling and falling down. How can there be such a tall house? At that time, Ai Xuan, an army reporter from Xinhua News Agency, wrote a field newsletter that recorded the advance and search of the 237th Regiment: "The team moved forward while searching. Soldiers with submachine guns leaped forward silently on Linsen Road. ... There was silence on all sides. The commanders and fighters of the Zhang and Ding regiments knew that on our sides and behind our buttocks, There are also two corps of traffic police with the most automatic firearms in the Kuomintang army. However, ignore him, and the troops still go straight in. Thanks to the bravery and hard work of the power plant workers, the quiet road is illuminated by warm electric lights. This is It is a symbol of the emotional exchange between the working class in Shanghai and the People's Liberation Army when they met... In the marching queue, there was a slight laughter from time to time, although the commander in front often issued commands such as 'take off the gun cap' and 'don't talk', although we still There is a serious combat mission, but the eagerness to meet the people of Shanghai cannot be concealed. The citizens are all in a peaceful sleep, and occasionally they stick their heads out of the windows of the buildings to look at this extraordinary procession. We really want to shout: 'Here we come, the People's Liberation Army!' But the fighting situation immediately suppressed this excitement, and let the blood of joy flow all over my body." "The soldiers pay attention to catching the enemy, and curiously appreciate the road scenery that has never been seen in this countryside. The beautiful walls of Julu Road are stained with animalistic and crazy slogans. This is the desperate wail of Chiang Kai-shek, Tang Enbo and other gangsters. When the Weihai Wei Road, which was lit like daylight, was resting, the soldiers read aloud the slogans celebrating the victory of the Shanghai Defense War, which was still wet, and this was the last farce played by the Kuomintang reactionaries.” At 11 o'clock in the evening, the 3rd Battalion of the 237th Regiment passed the Eight Immortals Bridge in the city center and arrived at Dashijie.At this time, the battalion headquarters notified that they had gone too far and had lost contact with the main force, and all companies stopped on standby on the spot. Mou Qijia, the commander of the 7th company, ordered the 3rd platoon to go to the big world to be alert, and the rest of the troops entered the surrounding alleys to rest. In the alley, the soldiers sat on their backpacks and dozed off. One hour later, the 3rd platoon, which was performing the security task, sent back to report: "The enemy is found ahead." "Continue to observe!" Mou Qijia ordered. After a while, the third platoon came to report again: "There are more than 100 enemies in the alley ahead, and there is no follow-up force. It may be a search team." Mou Qijia decided to let the troops hide in the alleys on both sides of the street. "Listen to my whistle!" he said. After a while, there were indeed hundreds of enemy search teams walking towards the Great World.When they approached, there was only a whistle, and all the commanders and fighters of the 7th company ran out of the alley, and the bolts of the guns rattled. "Give up your guns!" "Everyone sit down!" Mou Qijia interrogated and knew that it was a unit of the 37th Army of the Kuomintang.Immediately asked: "What are you doing here?" A leading company deputy replied: "Commander Luo told us that the communist army is still in the Hongqiao area. He ordered us to search and prepare to occupy Suzhou and Henan." These more than 100 enemies were all disarmed by the People's Liberation Army before they could reach the Suzhou River. At 1 o'clock in the morning on May 25th, the 237th regiment arrived at the designated location west of the racetrack. The regiment command post is located on the road at the intersection of Chongqing. An American jeep came speeding from the east, and a soldier of the regiment's reconnaissance team raised his shell gun: "Which part is it?" A broad-hatched head poked out of the car window: "From Garrison Command!" At this moment, the driver and the two soldiers in the car were startled when they saw the red-bordered black characters on each other's badges - "Chinese People's Liberation Army". "Get out of the car!" the PLA soldiers shouted angrily. Half an hour ago, Chen Daqing, the Kuomintang Songhu garrison commander, ordered from the headquarters on North Sichuan Road to send several documents to several military headquarters and two traffic police headquarters on the line from Henan Nanshi to Hongkou in Suzhou.But he didn't expect that the People's Liberation Army had already entered, and entered so deeply. The cadres of the reconnaissance team took out a document package from the jeep, opened it and found that it contained the enemy's confidential documents-"Enemy Situation Bulletin" and three documents signed by Chen Daqing just an hour ago about the "Implementation" from May 25th. The "martial law" of blocking traffic day and night. A soldier of the reconnaissance team playfully said to the Kuomintang signal soldier: "Your mission of sending letters has been completed very well, you can rest now." On the afternoon of May 24th, the 235th Regiment arrived at the intersection of Fanhuangdu via Hami Road. The next marching route was to develop towards the Bund via Yuyuan Road and Beijing Road.The most important commanding height of this route is the 24-storey International Hotel on Nanjing Road. Before the army marched into Shanghai, the soldier Xiao Huang once asked: "How big is Shanghai and what does it look like?" Everyone was stunned.The army has been fighting and living in the north. How many people know Shanghai or have been to Shanghai?Lao Pan, a liberation soldier who joined the company after crossing the river, said: "Shanghai is huge. It is the largest city in China and the largest in Asia. It is famous in the world and has a population of more than 5 million." Xiao Huang smacked his tongue: "My mother!" Lao Pan also said: "The road is wide, there are electric lights, there are buses, there are boats in the Huangpu River, and there are buildings, the tallest one is the International Hotel, with more than 20 floors." "Is it okay to go there?" "You can go up, but you have to take the elevator." "What does the elevator look like? Such a tall house, people live on it, what should I do if I want to take a shit?" "There's a flush toilet in the house." "What's a flush toilet?" "It's just for defecation. When you turn on the machine, your defecation will be washed away." Xiao Huang said: "I will definitely try it when I get to Shanghai, just don't wash me away!" At that time, everyone laughed when they heard it.But now, they are about to enter the international hotel, and everyone feels a little nervous. The party committee of the regiment decided that the director of the Political Department would lead the 3rd Battalion to take down the nearby Jing'an Temple Police Station, the regiment leader and political commissar would lead the 1st Battalion directly to the International Hotel, and the 2nd Battalion would follow up as the second echelon of the regiment. Under the leadership of the battalion commander and instructors, the 1st Battalion moved forward rapidly. When the troops marched to the front of the Daguang Theater, they couldn't move.The situation came from the front. The enemy on the International Hotel did not surrender, and cold shots appeared in the small vegetable market behind the Daguang Theater.The battalion commander immediately ordered the troops to disperse and prepare to fight. When the enemy noticed this posture, they immediately ran away. The commander of the 1st Battalion issued an order: "Bypass Nanjing Road and continue eastward." On May 5th, dawn was approaching, and the sky was covered with misty rain, which obscured the lights on the roads in Shanghai hazy.The cold guns fired from the International Hotel from time to time added a bit of fierceness to the quiet streets around.The troops are expected to arrive at the Bund Road before dawn and enter the starting position for the attack on Suzhou Hebei. At dawn, the 235th Regiment Headquarters set up camp under the large gas package of Tibet Middle Road Gas Company.When the military headquarters accepted the task, the army commander Nie Fengzhi instructed more than once that after entering the city, these "round cans" must not be hit. 根据新的情况，2营奉命到国际饭店接受敌人投降，1、3营在大新公司前的马路上分路继续向苏州河前进——1营顺南京路向东，直插南京路外滩外白渡桥；3营顺西藏路向北，直插西藏路桥。 第235团的领导预先设想，3营在天亮前首先突破西藏路桥，打乱敌人苏州河北岸防御体系。西藏路桥又称新垃圾桥，是第79师和第80、81师西端的战斗分界线，桥对面是上海“八一三”抗战著名的四行仓库。 打开上海地图，从总体上扫视，人们可以看到，上海分为两部分——浦东和浦西。浦西市区又可分为两部分，中间的界线就是苏州河。苏州河呈现东西走向，自东向西有十多座桥梁，依次为：外白渡桥—江西路桥—四川路桥—河南路桥—山西路桥—老闸桥—浙江路桥—西藏路桥—恒丰桥—江宁路桥—叶家宅桥—江苏路桥—铁路桥—中山北路桥…… 西藏路桥是一座坡度不大、路面较为宽阔的马路桥。 凌晨，团长王景昆带领参谋人员察看地形，只见桥面上敌人戒备森严，河南岸通往桥面的马路上放着菱形拒马，拉着带刺的铁丝网；桥北岸敌人的火力点除灰黑色的七层楼的四行仓库外，还修有牢实的水泥地堡。 3营发起第一次攻击，未能取得明显战果，王团长决定部队转移，准备打河南路桥。 在3营行动的同时，1营于25日清晨到达外滩。 天气还凉，1营官兵反穿着棉衣——这样便于伪装。刚到外滩，就有十多辆卡车的国民党士兵从苏州河北过来。 “你们是哪个部分的？”有一个军官模样的人问。 侦察分队的战士将棉衣一翻，露出军装上佩带的陶章：“你看看老子是哪部分的？！” 国民党官兵一看，个个面面相觑，车上的人员很快全部缴枪。 1营3连在连队指导员和副连长的带领下，跑步向外滩进发。跑在最前边的是7班，一色的大个儿。部队跑出南京路口，连队干部下令：“利用江堤地形掩护！” 7班长带领全班飞快地冲了上去，他们顺着江边一跃上了平地。 这时，就像是噩梦，敌人的火力迎头倾泻，成一道完整的扇面席卷而来，7班14名战土全部牺牲在外白渡桥下。 25日上午，1营在外滩与河对面百老汇大厦的敌人激烈地对峙，3连官兵看到7班的14名战友的尸体还躺在外白渡桥下，怒火中烧。 很快，部队接到转移命令：“外白渡桥的百老汇大厦里有外国人，为避免外事纠纷，先打四川路桥。” 四川路桥又称三白渡桥，位于外白渡桥、江西路桥和河南路桥之间。 这座桥的重要性在于它直接联结北岸的四川北路，而路的底端就是汤恩伯的总司令部，再往下直插虹口、江湾，顺公路直达吴淞港。 正因为如此，四川路桥是苏州河北岸的敌防御重点。年初，国民党军进行的几次演习，坦克与部队都是从这座桥通过，并以这座桥为轴心展开反击攻势。桥上最危险的火力点不算桥头桥中的地堡、拒马和铁丝网，还有桥北堍那座高耸的舰船式钢骨水泥大厦——上海邮政总局大楼。 鸦片战争后，设立了上海英租界，英国人指定专人办理英国侨民的信件寄送业务。随着英国对华政治、经济的深入及英国侨民的增多，于1861年在博物院路(今虎丘路)创立了”大英书信馆”。1878年，海关总税务司赫德在上海创办第一家邮局，发行了中国历史上的第一套邮票。1896年，清政府颁布上谕，将海关邮局正式命名“大清邮政局”，归总理衙门节制。上海邮政局最初设立在三马路(今汉口路)，几经搬迁，1924年在四川北路桥北堍建造起这座坚固的大厦。 1营从外白渡桥往四川路桥转移时，遇到了敌人的火力封锁，部队被压制在四川路的各个横路口。 当部队指战员奋不顾身，突破敌人的火力点抵近四川路桥时，邮政总局的窗口又喷射出道道火舌，冲锋的解放军战士一下就倒下了十多个。 营领导确定组成突击排。3连的突击排由1排组成，紧跟其后担任特殊爆破任务的是3排。 3连的突击排飞快向桥头扑去，其中包括2班——“渡江第一船”的全部战士。他们端着枪，以战术队形前进：一组跃起，一组掩护，一组再跃起，一组再掩护，交替掩护冲上桥去。 眼看着突击排渐渐接近四川路桥的拱形处，已经冲到了一堆沙袋前，突然一排人冲着冲着就骤然“停住”，然后在硝烟中软软地倒下再没有起来。 有着“渡江第一船”声誉的2班勇士全部阵亡。 第27军的部队在苏州河沿线各桥行动受阻，对军部压力很大。 军长聂风智急急赶到苏州河边。 摆在聂风智面前的事实的确是触目惊心的。敌人利用北岸的高楼大厦，部署了稠密而强大的交叉火力，桥头、路口又都筑有坚固的碉堡，配以坦克和装甲巡逻车，把河面、桥面、路面封锁得严严实实。聂凤智看到，南岸的河面、桥面、路面几乎都一览无余地暴露在敌人密集有效的强大火力之下。自己一方由于“禁止”用炮，无法有效地摧毁敌人的火力点，无法有效地压制对方和掩护自己，进攻的部队几乎成了敌人的活靶子。 他还得知：最先突破长江天堑的“渡江第一船”的战士全部牺牲在四川路桥头，部队内部反应极为强烈，有的部队已准备将待命在郊区的榴弹炮营拉上来。 聂风智的心像被压上了一座大山，沉极了，重极了，闷极了。实实在在，不用炮火，这样的火力点是难以摧毁的；而不摧毁这样的火力点，要想过河过桥是十分困难的。 “军长，就让我们打几炮吧，保证一炮消灭一个火力点，决不多放一炮；保证几炮就把对岸的敌人火力点干掉！” “军长，就同意吧。3包，就3包！3包炸药一拉，保管把他妈的那幢劳什子大楼炸飞上天！” “军长！……” 战士们的请求，把聂凤智推到了极为艰难的选择境地。他何尝不知，如果准许使用大炮、炸药，部队早就跨过苏州河了。比起烟波浩淼的长江来，30多米宽的苏州河不就等于一道小小的水沟？比起以往攻克过的无数坚城堡垒来，几辆坦克、装甲车和机枪组成的“桥头堡”，不也如蒿墙纸壁？一炮消灭一个火力点，他的部队有这个本事；3包炸药把百老汇大厦或邮政总局大楼送上天，他的部队也有这个把握。敌人想借一条小小的河流和一座座楼房阻挡27军的进攻，那是根本不可能的。 Can…… 看着战士们一批批倒下，看着大家激动的情绪，打炮与不打炮，在聂风智的心理天平上，几乎难分轩轾了。 “不打炮，”聂凤智后来极动感情地说：“工厂、仓库可以保住，楼房也可以保住，干部战士的伤亡却要增加。论价值，有什么高楼大厦，哪怕它是黄金铸造的，能比我们干部战士的鲜血和生命更可宝贵？大楼炸塌了，可以重盖；干部战士牺牲了，纵有回天之力也无法让他们复生。他们中，有参军不久的翻身农民，有弃暗投明的解放战士，有满腔爱国热情的热血青年，也有身经百战的英雄模范。他们跨过了长江，跨进了上海，几乎可以说已看到了胜利的曙光，却在一条苏州河畔倒下了，在跨入新中国的'门槛'边倒下了！这怎么能不叫出生入死、情同手足的战友们，深深感到难以忍受的揪心和痛苦呢？” “可打炮吧，”聂风智说着，几乎流出眼泪来，“干部战士的伤亡肯定可以大大减少，苏州河北岸也可指顾之间就拿下；可炮弹一炸，一些楼房就没有了，一些工厂、仓库也炸平了，更重要的是，河对岸密密匝匝的房屋里，住着那么多和平居民，一炮下去不知要伤亡多少？炮口可以瞄准，弹片却不长眼睛呀！而且，现在干部战士都已打红了眼，'禁令'一旦解除，谁还控制得住？那就不是一发二发、三发、五发的问题了，也不仅仅是一个百老汇大厦或者邮政总局大楼的问题了，只要有一炮在苏州河北岸炸开，接着就会有上百炮、上千炮接踵而至，无数普通市民就将不可避免地会在我们的炮火中丧身，整个北上海就有可能在我们的炮火中被夷为平地……上海没有在国民党的暴政下毁灭，却在解放军自己的炮火中遭受损坏，那么，这是——功耶？罪耶？历史，将怎样记下这一笔？” 聂风智还记得，两天前，也就是5月23日，他本人接到陈毅亲自从丹阳打来的电话： “聂风智吗？你们马上就要攻打市区了，一定要军政全胜，一定要把人民的损失减少到最低限度。这是上海啊，晓得吗？毛主席和中央看着你们啦！” ... 但是，部队早已被打得哇哇叫了，不但战士，许多干部的情绪也很激烈。回到虹桥路军指挥所，聂凤智看到下属部队对禁止使用炮火很有意见，话说得很尖锐： “我们是在打仗，不是在演戏，打仗哪有不准用炮的道理？” “部队已经付出了伤亡代价，不能再让战士们作不必要的牺牲！” “是爱无产阶级的战士，还是爱官僚资产阶级的楼房？” 聂凤智的心被深深地震动着，汗水湿透了衣服。他只觉喉咙发干，一杯杯不停地喝水，但仍觉得浑身像烧着似的焦渴。 思来想去，聂凤智平和地对军部的同志说：“战士和楼房，我都爱！我跟大家一样，爱惜战士的生命，大家也跟我一样，爱惜人民的财产。现在那些楼房还被敌人占领着，再过几个小时，我们从敌人手里夺过来，它就不再属于资产阶级，而是属于人民的财产。我们没有任何权利毁坏它，必须尽最大努力去保全它。” 考虑再三，聂凤智只好决定，也只能决定，“禁令”不能解除，炮弹仍然一发也不准打！ 为减少在不使用重武器情况下的牺牲，聂风智在重申“禁令”的同时，与军部的其他同志一道研究决定：各部队白天继续在苏州河正面进攻，牵制敌人兵力，等天黑后，一部分主力拉出市区，在西郊一带涉水过河，沿苏州河北岸从西向东攻击，抄敌人的后路。并与上海地下党组织取得密切联系，发动政治攻势，分化瓦解敌人，争取他们放下武器，力保城市完好。 苏州河以北市区大部被解放军占领后，一部分国民党残军盘踞在杨树浦发电厂和自来水厂。要用武力解决这股敌人，并不困难。问题在于，双方一旦交火，水电设施肯定会遭到破坏，那将严重影响全市的生产和市民的生活。而且，早有情报说，汤恩伯撤退时就已命令守敌到时候炸掉电厂，即使上海落到“共军”手里，也要让它变成一个死上海。显然，如果派部队硬打，那结果也会如汤恩伯所愿。 正在这时，陈毅等人来到了第27军军部。 聂凤智简要汇报了情况。当说到杨树浦发电厂还未解决时，陈毅的浓眉渐渐锁紧了。 “杨树浦的守敌是哪一部分的？”陈毅问。 聂凤智立即告诉他守敌是哪一部分，师长叫什么，副师长叫什么，现在师长不在家，由副师长负责等等。 “什么？副师长叫什么？叫许照？再说一遍！”陈毅的话音充满兴奋。聂凤智于是又重复了一遍。 “那你赶快找一下蒋子英的下落。”陈毅既兴奋又着急地说，“蒋子英曾经担任过国民党陆军大学的教授，一直住在上海。许照是他最得意的学生，关系极深。请蒋子英出面做许照的工作，让电厂守军放下武器。” “啊呀，我的妈呀！老总怎么那么熟悉呀！”聂凤智情不自禁地说道。 “别我的妈了，快去办吧！” 听完陈毅的嘱咐，聂凤智高兴地应了一声，转身吩咐一名师的政委立即去办。 果然，通过向起义军官打听，有了蒋子英的地址；再一查，电话号码也到手了。聂凤智立即抓起电话，挂进了蒋子英的寓所。 接电话的恰好是蒋子英本人。 “请问，您是蒋子英先生吗？” "Yes, may I ask if you are..." “我是中国人民解放军第27军军长，上海前线的指挥官，叫聂凤智。” “啊呀，久仰久仰！长官好！” “我们不称长官，称同志。我们想请您帮助我们做一件事。” “好好好，尽力而为，尽力而为。” “陈毅您认识吗？” “啊呀，那太熟悉了！我们是老交情了！” “那好，这件事是陈毅司令员交代的，他刚才打电话告诉我，说杨树浦驻军的一个师，师长跑到香港去了，现在由副师长许照代理师长负责。我们想借重蒋先生劝告这位副师长放下武器，保护好发电厂，为上海人民立个功。蒋先生，您这一功，我们党和人民会永远记住的。” “那没问题，那没问题！我一定尽力，一定尽力！” 就这样，通过蒋子英的关系，解放军方面顺利地说服发电厂的守敌放弃固守的阵地，全部缴械投诚。 终于，大上海保全了！