Chapter 13 Section Thirteen: Defeat of Meng Lianggu

Defeat Meng Lianggu Occupying Menglianggu, Zhang Lingfu thought, would attract the main force of the communist army After Lianshui fell, Shuyang also changed hands.In view of the different actions of Huaye and Dongye and the disadvantages of scattered troops, in January 1947, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China organized two field armies and formally formed the East China Field Army. The leading members were the commander and political commissar Chen Yi, and the deputy Commander Su Yu has 9 columns under him. Almost at the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also changed his war strategy, abandoning his all-out offensive and focusing on attacking the People's Liberation Army in northern Shaanxi and Shandong.

In late February, Xuzhou Appeasement Director Xue Yue formulated a battle plan for southern Shandong, mobilizing 23 reorganized divisions and 53 brigades to attack southern Shandong on two fronts, in an attempt to fight the East China Field Army in the Linyi area.On the southern line, eight reorganized divisions, including the 74th Division, commanded by the 19th Army Commander Ou Zhen, were divided into three groups along the Yihe River and Shubei River; Army, 73rd Army, and Reorganized 46th Division committed crimes through Laiwu and Xintai South.Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek also flew to Xuzhou to take command. Suddenly, the south of Shandong was covered with clouds of war and the sound of artillery was rumbling.

At the beginning of the war, the East China Field Army planned to focus its operations on the southern front. The Central Military Commission also telegraphed: "At present, in addition to one unit attacking Zaozhuang, the main force is immediately ready to attack Ouzhen, with the goal of annihilating the eight European brigades." The Lixianzhou Group on the northern line went straight in, from Mingshui and Boshan to Laiwu in the south, almost invincible. In this regard, the East China Field Army aimed at the 200-mile-long flaw in the north-south line of the Li Xianzhou Group, and immediately adjusted its deployment. With 5 columns of troops, they traveled northward under cover, and immediately launched the Laiwu Campaign.

From February 21st to 23rd, at the same time that the PLA's southern troops fell to Linyi, the northern troops wiped out more than 56,000 members of the Li Xianzhou Group after three days and three nights of fierce fighting. Li Xianzhou himself was captured. Li Yan, the commander of the 51st Division of the Army and the current deputy commander of the 73rd Army (from Wuhan, Hubei), was also captured alive. Hearing the news of the failure of the Northern Front, Zhang Lingfu scolded Li Xianzhou as an asshole, "Such an idiot, tens of thousands of people have been swallowed up by the Communist Party and still have the face to live in the world. How can this be the principal's disciple, a student of Huangpu? Damn it!"

However, the defeat in Laiwu did not seem to hurt Chiang Kai-shek. In early April, Gu Zhutong, the commander-in-chief of the army, was stationed in Xuzhou and mobilized three corps to attack the East China Field Army: Tang Enbo's 1st Corps from the south line, Wang Jingjiu and Ou Zhen's 2nd Corps , The 3rd Corps fought steadily from the west, pressing east and north, pushing forward step by step, trying to solve the Shandong problem in one fell swoop. Tang Enbo, a close student of Chiang Kai-shek, was quite disapproving of Gu Zhutong's "steady and steady" tactics: "Advance more than ten miles a day, crawl like a tortoise, and fight a bird fight?" He ordered his troops to let go, Drive the communist army to Jiaodong as soon as possible to encircle and annihilate them.

The Reorganized 74th Division was under the 1st Corps at this time, and was naturally the pioneer among them.In order to ensure the safety of the 74th Division's operations, Tang Enbo also placed the Reorganized 25th Division and the Reorganized 83rd Division at his left and right to protect them. The 74th Division soon occupied Tancheng, Xintai, and Mengyin, while the East China Field Army fought side by side. Withdraw, keep retreating.And this just made Zhang Lingfu even more arrogant, thinking that it was a clear proof that the Communist Army was afraid of him reorganizing the 74th Division.Therefore, Zhang Lingfu ignored even the 25th and 83rd Reorganized Divisions that were advancing on the same line. On May 10, he alone occupied Huangluzhai, Sanjiaoshan, Yangjiazhai, and Menglianggu from Duozhuang. Refers to the south of Tanbu.

The conflict between Zhang Lingfu and Li Tianxia, ​​commander of the reorganized 83rd Division, is no secret in the former 74th Army. Bi Li's character and military ability. Zhang Lingfu didn't pay attention to Huang Botao, the commander of the reorganized 25th Division.When the reorganized 74th Division gathered around Huangluzhai and Yangjiazhai, and several columns of the Communist Army seemed to be heading south, Huang Botao called Zhang Lingfu and said, "Brother Zhong Lin, don't rush so fast! If you retreat One point, control Tianma Ridge, I, you, and Xia Gong (Li Tianxia) will form a line at three points, and the Communist bandits will bite the hedgehog with nowhere to bite, and there is nothing they can do about us."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lingfu said with a look of disdain: "Brother Huanran, we are looking for the Communists to fight everywhere now. If the Communists can be attracted by my 74th Division, it will be a great achievement!" Not only that, but he also gave up Tianma Ridge to occupy Menglianggu, which is full of strange rocks. Huang Botao couldn't stand it anymore, so he called Zhang Lingfu again: "Brother Zhong Lin, your division has heavy equipment and many vehicles, how can you How about going to Menglianggu?Meng Lianggu has no shelter, no water and no grass, what should the troops do? "

Zhang Lingfu burst out of his nostrils with a burst of courage, "This is called death and rebirth!" Huang Botao was so choked that he couldn't say a word for a long time! The commanders and fighters of the East China Field Army were very angry at the arrogance of reorganizing the 74th Division.Chen Yi protested at a meeting of senior cadres: "You son of a bitch, his 74th division thought that with American planes, tanks, and cannons, we would be invincible to him? Then he could run amok in our Shandong liberated area? I don't believe it." This evil! Today I want to smash him into a pile of scrap copper and iron, which was raised in the United States!"

The CCP Military Commission attaches great importance to the war situation in East China.In response to the aggressive situation of Tang Enbo's corps, the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong called Chen and Su: You should concentrate your main force and wait for the enemy to advance to an appropriate location. When the time is not right, launch annihilation. First, deal with one or two divisions. The best way to attack is up to you. Decision-making is implemented immediately, and we do not use remote control. Chen Yi read this instruction and said: Chairman Mao's instruction came very timely and very wise!It strengthened our determination to fight the 74th Division!

6 Zong took Duozhuang and cut off the only exit for the reorganized 74th Division to flee south On May 11, the East China Field Army decided to use the 1st and 8th columns to wedge into the left and right adjacent joints of the reorganized 74th Division, interspersed roundabouts, and seized Lushan. 4. The 9th Column carried out a frontal assault, while the 2nd, 7th, 3rd, and 10th Columns were used to block respectively, restraining the Laiwu 5th Army, Xintai Reorganized 11th Division, Heyang 7th Army and Reorganized 48th Division. The battle started on the morning of May 13, and all ministries blocked Jiang's army according to the plan drawn up in advance. The reorganized 74th Division was quickly surrounded by me in an area of ​​50 square kilometers centered on Menglianggu. After Chiang Kai-shek learned that the reorganized 74th Division was surrounded by me, he felt happy for a while.He said: The 74th Division has been in battle for a long time, with excellent equipment, and the reinforcements on the left and right are relatively close. This is an excellent opportunity for a decisive battle with the Communist Army!On the one hand, he ordered Zhang Lingfu to stand firm and attract the main force of the communist army. On the other hand, he strictly ordered the 10 reorganized divisions around Meng Lianggu, especially the troops of Li Tianxia and Huang Botao, to do their best to support the reorganized 74th Division. Chen Yi came to the front line in person to boost morale.He said to the commanders and fighters: "To win this battle, we will stand firm on the rocks in Shandong, go uphill, go up the mountain, and sit north to south; Chiang Kai-shek will go downhill and go down the mud pit. If we can't win, we will go uphill." We have to face south and cross the Yellow River. This is what war is like. Either we destroy the enemy, or the enemy destroys us. We must overcome all difficulties and annihilate the enemy in the Menglianggu area with a fearless spirit." "Attack Meng Lianggu and capture Zhang Lingfu alive" became the loudest slogan at that time. Commander Wang Bicheng of Lu Zong received the extremely urgent telegram issued by Chen and Su at 6 o'clock on May 12. The telegram ordered Lu Zong to go north immediately, occupy Duozhuang, an important town in Yimeng 240 li away, within two days, and encircle and wipe out the reorganized 74th Division. Going to fight the 74 division!Wang Bicheng couldn't restrain his excitement, the opportunity for revenge finally came! Originally, Lu Zong was carrying out missions in the south of Shandong, and the three divisions were still active in several places. After receiving the order from the field army, someone proposed to call the heads of the divisions for a meeting. Wang Bicheng waved his hand and said, "No, it's too late!" Send people on horseback to convey orders to each division, and at the same time urge the column authorities to pack up and set off immediately. After a day and night of urgent marching, the advance troops of the 6th Column arrived near Duozhuang 8 hours earlier than scheduled. "Division Zhang (Zhang Yunlong, commander of the 16th Division) seized Huangya Mountain and blocked the enemy's 25th Division; Division Liang (Liang Jinhua, commander of the 17th Division) controlled Niutou Mountain and Dachao Mountain, and blocked the enemy's 83rd Division; Division Rao (Rao Shoukun, commander of the 18th Division) ) to capture Duozhuang with all its strength, and grab the enemy's neck!" Once at the concentration point, Wang Bicheng issued the combat tasks of each division in a few words, and the commanders of each division immediately rushed back to the troops to implement the combat plan urgently. After the 1st and 8th columns completed the interspersed tasks, Duozhuang was the only exit for the reorganized 74th Division to guard the Yimeng Highway and flee south. Zhang Lingfu left 2 battalions here to guard this important town. The 4th Company of the 53rd Regiment of the 18th Division was a vanguard unit that captured Duozhuang in the 6th column. On the night of the 13th, when Company Commander Yu Haihai of the 4th Company led his men to a highland in Pengjialanzi, the roar of the enemy suddenly came from the opposite highland. : "Who? Which part?" Company Commander Yu didn't speak. He raised the carbine in his hand and shot a swarm of bullets. The soldiers behind him rushed towards him, and quickly wiped out a row of enemy patrols under the cloudy moonlight. At dawn the next day, the 4th company arrived at the Daishan Temple area, which is the central stronghold of the enemy's defense in Duozhuang. The fortifications on the mountain are all built of stones, which are extremely strong. .In order to gain time, Company Commander Yu led the team to launch an upward attack without thinking too much.The enemy on the mountain was still sleeping soundly in their dreams. They never expected that a surprise Communist Party soldier would fly from the south of Meng Lianggu. Therefore, the 4th company's development was very smooth, and it took less than a bag of cigarettes to hit the enemy's barracks nearby.It was at this moment that a machine gun barrel suddenly protruded from a bunker, knocking down all the more than 20 soldiers of the 4th company rushing to the front, and the people behind were crushed in several trenches. I can't move. "Demolition team, go!" Taking advantage of the interval between the enemy's machine guns changing bullets, Company Commander Yu raised his hand, and five demolition fighters jumped up, picked up the explosives and ran towards the bunker. "Da da da da", before they approached the bunker, the enemy's machine gun rang again, and the 5 people were beaten and fell to the ground again. "Damn it! Throw a grenade!" Yu Lianchang was originally dark-skinned, but when he was in a hurry, his face flushed, just like Guan Gong.After a row of grenades exploded, except for a cloud of dust, the bunker was still the same, and the machine guns were still screaming. The machine guns together form a three-dimensional firepower network, and the 4th company is in a situation of being beaten!The follow-up troops of the 53rd regiment who followed closely also rushed towards the enemy's barracks, and they were all under fire.There were only 4 wounded soldiers left beside Company Commander Yu. Seeing that the entire company was sacrificed and the attack of the large force was blocked again, he was filled with grief and indignation. pounce.After some rolling and jumping, Captain Yu finally approached this nasty bunker.Looking at the screaming machine guns, he tried several times to insert the explosive pack into the hole of the gun, but he failed because the hole was too small, and the outer wall of the bunker was well bonded, so nothing could hang on it. What to do.what to do?Comrades are bleeding and sacrificing every moment, and every minute of delay means more danger and casualties! Damn it, I'm going to fight it out!This man from Xian County, Hebei took off his shirt, wrapped it around the enemy's red gun barrel, and hugged the gun barrel spewing bullets into his broad chest! There was another version of Huang Jiguang's feat 6 years ago! "Revenge for Company Commander Yu, go!" With a shocking cry, the follow-up troops of the 53rd regiment braved the bullets sprayed from the mountain and rushed into the enemy's barracks in one go.Duozhuang was finally taken down by the 53rd regiment. Of course, Tang Enbo also knew the strategic significance of Duozhuang to the reorganization of the 74th Division. As early as before the 6th Column went north, he wanted Zhang Lingfu to increase his troops to defend this place, but the front of the 74th Division was constantly attacked by the 4th and 6th Columns of the East China Field Army. He couldn't get away at all, so Zhang Lingfu didn't care about the safety of Duozhuang for nearly three days.It was Tang Enbo's turn to intervene again, and he gritted his teeth and assigned his transportation team leader to lead more than 1,000 people down the mountain and rush to Duozhuang. The head of the transportation team did not expect that there were already Communist Party troops in Duozhuang. As soon as his troops set foot on the Mengyin Highway, they were beaten to pieces by the 18th Division, and he himself was taken prisoner. In this way, the East China Field Army surrounded Zhang Lingfu's reorganized 74th Division in the Menglianggu area. The 16th Division occupied Huangya Mountain 1 minute earlier, choking God of War by the throat! Even at this time, Chiang Kai-shek believed that his "heart-grinding tactic", that is, using the reorganization of the 74th Division to attract the main force of the Communist Army, and then surrounded and wiped it out, was still successful. He personally flew to Xuzhou to supervise the battle. On the one hand, he ordered the 74th Division to stand firm 3 days, one hand supervised The ministries actively reinforce. The reorganized 83rd Division stationed in the southeast Shuanghouji of Menglianggu had some gloat about the siege of the 74th Division. Under Chiang Kai-shek's urging, they had to send a regiment of troops to attack north.Li Tianxia fought the Communist Party in northern Jiangsu many times, and also missed many times. For this reason, she was dismissed and stayed in her post. After the fall of Duozhuang this time, he was even more afraid of the current Communist army. When Luo Wenlang, the head of the 57th Regiment, led his troops northward, Li Tianxia said with a smile on his face: "You should prepare more guides for night combat, pay special attention to the roads to and from, and control a few more." And said: "You are very alert." It implies that Luo Wenlang preserves his strength and does not need to fight to the death.As a result, on the night of the 14th, when the Luo Department and the 17th Division of the 6th Column were caught up in the fire, their 2nd and 3rd Battalions immediately collapsed, leaving only a few hundred people who were brought into Menglianggu by Luo Wenlang, while most of the 83rd Division Retreat to Qingtuo Temple, away from Meng Lianggu. Huang Botao's reorganized 25th Division spared no effort to carry out Jiang's orders.Relying on the advantage of their weapons, by the morning of the 14th, they had pushed the front line to the front line of Huangya Mountain and Langhu Mountain, thus putting great pressure on the 1st Column of the East China Field Army, which was responsible for blocking the mission. Huangya Mountain is 12 miles away from Menglianggu, and the two places face each other across an open area. This mountain naturally became the last obstacle to the reorganization of the 25th Division leading to Menglianggu. It can even be said that whoever occupies Huangyashan will control the battle. Whoever holds the initiative of Huangya Mountain will hold the God of War by the throat! A thrilling battle fell on the 6th Division 16th Division! Therefore, at the same time as the 18th Division seized Duozhuang, the 16th Division began to seize Huangya Mountain. The 48th Regiment, as its vanguard, overcame fatigue and hunger, marched and slept at the same time (this is a special ability cultivated in a special environment); while running, chewing fried rice, and finally grabbed Huangya Mountain at dawn on the 15th At the foot of the main peak, at this time, an advance troop of Huang Botao just arrived at the foot of the west mountain. Winning or losing is a matter of a hair's breadth! "Come on!" Zhai Zuguang, the commander of the 3rd Battalion and 9th Company, led people up from the east slope without hesitation, while the enemy advanced from the west slope!than speed!Than endurance!Than perseverance! 50 minutes later, when Zhai Zuguang and the others climbed to the summit and seized the commanding heights, the enemy was only 30 meters away from the summit, a 1-minute journey! "Fight!" Zhai Zuguang gave an order, and a hundred Tom guns and rifles swept towards the enemy group. The enemy cried out, left their bodies, and rolled down the mountain in panic. The main peak of Huangya Mountain was thus controlled by the 48th Regiment, and the rest of the 16th Division successively occupied key points such as Tiger Mountain and Wanquan Mountain near Huangya Mountain. But the disadvantage of the terrain made all his efforts in vain. He could only listen to the reorganized 74th Division falling to perish amidst the sound of guns and guns, and "love" could not help! Thirty-two years later, when Wang Bicheng recalled this period of history in Wuhan, he was still deeply moved by the battle to snatch Huangya Mountain: If the enemy reached the top of the mountain one minute before me, the battle to stop the 25th Division, and even the entire Menglianggu battle would be a different scene! Have!Use a flamethrower!Sun Tongsheng patted his thigh, and his brows stretched all of a sudden. When retreating to Menglianggu, Zhang Lingfu put tanks and American mountain artillery at the foot of the mountain because of the high and steep slopes, and most of the mules and light weapons he brought up the mountain were mules and light weapons.Zhang Lingfu said: "Even these things are cast iron eggs, and the communist army can't chew them!" After being surrounded on all sides, the reorganized 74th Division stood by and waited for help. All they could see were bare rocky mountains and stones. The people in the mountains had already fled to the sky. up.It was early summer, the sun was hot, and drinking water for humans and animals became a big problem. Lu Xing, the commander of the 58th brigade, saw that many soldiers were killed because they went down the mountain to grab water. The wounded officers and soldiers suggested to Zhang Lingfu: "Master, we have to find another way to solve the water problem. I'm afraid it won't last forever." Zhang Lingfu laughed after hearing this, "Why can't it last? It's hard to die in battle, why don't you try your best to kill the bandits?" Lu Xing smiled wryly and was speechless. In order to solve the problem of food and drinking water, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wang Shuming, the deputy commander of the air force, to organize planes from Nanjing and Xuzhou to airlift emergency relief, but many of these pancakes, bread, steamed buns, and rice fell on the positions of the People's Liberation Army.Some captured soldiers of the 74th Division told the People's Liberation Army that if the word "工" was written on the white cloth, the plane would drop items by air. Of course, the ammunition and supplies of the nine columns of the People's Liberation Army mainly depend on the support of the people in the liberated areas.Zhucheng, Binhai, Mengshan, Yizhong, Jiaonan, Wuqiao and other places organized hundreds of grain transportation teams and stretcher teams to participate in this battle of encirclement and annihilation. The wheelbarrows of the grain transportation team each carry more than 200 catties of grain, and it takes four to five days to go back and forth, seven to eight days.Everyone prepares their own dry food, and no matter how hungry they are, they will not use military food; they prepare their own coir raincoats and mats to protect food in case of rain.Regardless of the weather, the grain transportation teams from all over the country are almost impossible to complete the task regardless of the enemy's strafing. Stretcher teams and nursing teams entered and exited the battlefield to rescue the wounded, and their deeds were equally touching.After a wounded person was injured, he had trouble urinating and his lower abdomen was swollen like a drum. Niu Yongrong, a female member of the Yizhong Nursing Team, sucked out the bloody urine of the wounded one by one, despite his shyness and fear of dirt.As for those who were wounded to save the wounded, there were many cases where they used their own food bowls to catch urine for the wounded. Pi Xuanyou, the deputy brigade commander of the 51st brigade, said something thought-provoking after he was captured: "During the Anti-Japanese War, the people protected us, and we were relieved to hand over the wounded soldiers to them. Why do they fall to you now?" Yes, this It is really a big question worthy of people's reflection, but it seems more appropriate for him to ask Chiang Kai-shek about it. After two days of frontal strikes, the 74th Division was compressed in Lushan, Menglianggu and other areas with a radius of more than 10 square kilometers. Highlands 520, 540, and 600 became the only hills they controlled. On the morning of May 14th, after capturing the 520 Heights, the 9th Column used the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division as the main force to attack the 540 Heights in cooperation with the brother columns. The 540th highland is a mountain that stands side by side with the main peak of Menglianggu. The many assaults organized by the 73rd regiment during the day were all beaten down by the enemy, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. Everyone, including the regiment leader Sun Tongsheng, felt anxious. Nie Fengzhi, the deputy commander of the 9th Zong, called to encourage Sun Tongsheng after learning about it: "Now the whole Zong is looking at the 73rd Regiment, anxious not to solve the problem, the first condition to defeat the enemy is to face it calmly. We have difficulties, and the enemy is more difficult than us. ; We have casualties, the enemy has more casualties than us, grit your teeth and hold on for the last 5 minutes, the victory will definitely be ours!" At the end, Nie Fengzhi also sent someone to take the two flamethrowers that the column had just confiscated, together with four The captured soldiers of the 74th Division who would use this American weapon were sent together to support the 73rd Regiment in combat. After nightfall, there was silence all around.The soldiers of the 51st Brigade, who had just made some cheap money during the day, hid behind the big rock and shouted loudly: "Come on! Kill! The American guns are here, come and get them!" "Aren't you called the People's Liberation Army? Come on, Let's see who liberates whom?" The brother troops at the foot of the mountain were angrily silent, and intense anger was burning in everyone's hearts. "Grandma, if you don't wipe out these stubborn troops, I, Sun Tongsheng, will die here!" Sun Tongsheng clenched his fists and swore. On the eve of dawn, when people were most sleepy, all the vertical troops attacking the 540 Heights launched an attack on the mountain at the same time. All of a sudden, bullets from the 51st Brigade's Burlen machine gun and Tom gun shot down the mountain like fireworks, and the tracer bullets flew and drilled randomly among the rocks like fire snakes, and the splashed stone flakes and iron flakes filled the mountain with sparks. Jumping and jumping, they also directly pushed the boulder, smashing down the mountain... Crowds of fighters were killed and wounded, and hundreds of people crowded behind the huge boulder and could not move, and the momentum of the attack was suppressed. "Each company organizes an action team and must suppress the enemy's firepower! Height 540 must be captured before dawn!" Sun Tongsheng gave the order to die. Charge, charge again; push in, push in again.When the 73rd regiment launched the seventh charge, its nearest advance group had penetrated behind the stone less than 20 meters away from the enemy. In the east, the sun has been shining for half a day. If the 540 highland is not captured at this time, the enemy planes will attack after dawn, and the attacking troops will encounter even greater troubles. The closer the two sides were, the fiercer the enemy's firepower was, and the next few charges of the 73rd regiment were suppressed by the enemy.what to do?Seeing that victory is in sight, it is difficult to break through the obstacles of tens of meters.Mortars are not good, the distance is too short; machine guns, rifles, and grenades are not good, the enemy is hiding behind the stone; grenades are good, but they are not very powerful, and many unexploded grenades are thrown back by the enemy to injure our own people, what should we do? ?Sun Tongsheng searched his brains in the command post at the foot of the mountain, thinking urgently about ways to defeat the enemy. Have!Use a flamethrower!Sun Tongsheng patted his thigh, and his frown suddenly relaxed. It worked. The four captured former soldiers of the 74th Division swept across the top of the mountain, and the 540th highland immediately burned down like torches. The officers and soldiers of the 51st Brigade in groups of three and four threw away their guns and ran out from behind the boulders, some like fireballs. Some rolled down the mountain, and more raised their hands and knelt down in front of the soldiers of the 73rd regiment! The sun, like a blood-soaked man poking his head out from the horizon, Zhang Lingfu finally lost his last barrier at the 540 height! After losing all the wing guards, Zhang Lingfu and his only force, the 58th Brigade, gathered on the main peak of Menglianggu, Highland 600, trying to fight desperately to buy time and wait for foreign aid to wait. "Principal, the sacrifice is at the last moment, and it's time for us to 'serve the country with all our loyalty'!" On the morning of May 15th, the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th verticals of the East China Field Army devoted their final blow to the 600 Heights, except that each used one to block the enemy.But seeing tens of thousands of guns firing together and shouting like a tide, Zhang Lingfu and the reorganized 74th Division have fallen into the vast ocean of liberation. There was chaos everywhere on the bare mountain.Since there was no shelter, the people and horses were crowded together again, and the artillery of the People's Liberation Army bombarded, killing and injuring dozens of people in one cannonball.Zhang Lingfu didn't seem to see it, but hid in the command post in the cave and asked Chiang Kai-shek for help. "Principal, if the reinforcements don't come in, it will be difficult for the 74th Division to get out of Meng Lianggu." Zhang Lingfu, who was full of confidence before, has already wailed at this time. Chiang Kai-shek was still cheering him up: "Zhong Lin, hold on for three hours, I will definitely order all ministries to break through the bandit army's blockade and enter Menglianggu!" Putting down the phone, Chiang Kai-shek's 19th telegram was also sent to Tang Enbo: "Wang Yan All the troops in charge are trying their best to save the siege at all costs, and those who hesitate to go forward and fail to come to the rescue, you can take the opportunity to severely punish them!" Chiang Kai-shek gave Tang Enbo the sword of Shangfang, but in front of those real and fake rescuers and the tenacious resistance of the People's Liberation Army, how could Tang Enbo distinguish whose "rescue is not effective"?Therefore, until the evening of the 15th, the reorganized 5th Army was restrained in Laiwu; the reorganized 65th Division and the reorganized 25th Division were blocked in Caozhuang, Hama Gu, and Jiepai; "It seems that asking for help is worse than asking for yourself. Reinforcements can't come, so we can only organize a breakout." Zhang Lingfu, who had always believed that through the reorganization of the 74th Division to attract the Communist army and seek to annihilate Meng Lianggu, thought only of escaping. Huang Botao's Reorganized 25th Division was closest to Meng Lianggu in the west, and Zhang Lingfu chose the breakthrough point there. He mobilized nearly 3,000 people to break out in the west, and organized 1,000 suspects in the east and south to disperse the attention of the People's Liberation Army. force. On the night of the 15th, the three teams set off separately. Two hours later, the remnants of various ministries returned with wounds.The People's Liberation Army at the foot of the mountain defended and blocked at every level, and the breakout failed!Zhang Lingfu sat down on the rock, his head drooping. On the morning of the 16th, after the artillery bombardment, various units of the People's Liberation Army rushed up the mountainside one after another and started a tug-of-war with the soldiers of the 58th Brigade.The six fighter planes flying from Xuzhou were originally here to aid in the battle, but seeing that the two sides were strangled together on the battlefield, they had to drop bombs at the foot of the mountain and then flew back. When the 4th Company of the 75th Regiment of the 25th Division of the 9th Vertical was confronting the enemy, the enemy behind the rock suddenly shouted: "Don't fight! We surrender!" He said and threw two carbines. Chen Yaoli, the leader of the 3rd platoon, didn't know what to do, and ran over with more than 20 soldiers shouting: "Pay your guns and don't kill me!" No one expected that the enemy suddenly opened fire from the side of the stone at this time, and more than 20 people in the platoon leader Chen died heroically! This incident made the commanders and fighters of all ministries heighten their vigilance: the enemy in front of them is indeed different from the opponents in the past! At 3 o'clock in the afternoon on the 16th, various units of the People's Liberation Army had attacked near Guding. The top of the 600 highland is about 10 meters high from the mountain, surrounded by cliffs, like a huge stone pillar hanging in the air. The remnants of the 74th Division took advantage of this favorable terrain to make a desperate fight. Outside the cave, guns and guns were thundering, and the sound of killing shook the sky. Zhang Lingfu already felt that the end was coming, and his terrified subordinates gathered around him.He picked up the intercom for the last time and called Nanjing. "Principal, the sacrifice is at the last juncture. We have reached the time to 'serve the country with loyalty'! This defeat, non-ranking non-fighting, non-74th division can't fight, the fact that all departments are greedy for life and afraid of death, abandoning people to protect themselves. The result, Huang Botao Li Tianxia didn't do his best, and Li Tianxia didn't do his best. He was jealous of my military achievements, and he didn't follow Jun's orders. This is what I feel the most sad and deeply painful about. Principal, as revolutionary soldiers, we only have the ambition to become benevolent at this time. I have no intention of living and being humiliated, but this is the only way I can repay your kindness of cultivation. Now, I will report to you the names of the officers and assistants in the command post below the deputy division commander and above the regiment leader..." The People's Liberation Army has already attacked the stone flat outside the cave by using adult ladders. Wei Zhenyue, Chief of Staff of the Reorganized 74th Division, led more than 1,000 people to fight back desperately, and the captain of the guard led more than 20 guards to join the battle outside the cave. "Comrades, since entering Whampoa, Zhong Lin, like everyone else, has been determined to serve the party with the determination to be a member of the party and die as a ghost of the party and the country, and to be loyal to the country with the ambition of driving out foreign enemies and calming civil strife. We have already accomplished the latter goal. It seems that the latter goal is hard to pay for, but the revolutionary soldiers will be benevolent if they are not successful. Do it yourself and thank the country!" Zhang Lingfu said angrily and coldly. There was another commotion and panic in the cave. Li Yunliang, deputy chief of staff, took out a pistol at the entrance of the cave, and shot his cheeks, and fell down with blood on his face. Deputy commander Cai Renjie and brigade commander Lu Xing took out photos of his wife and children and cried at each other; Zhang Lingfu glanced at them with some disdain, and then walked towards the entrance of the cave.At this time, a team of People's Liberation Army rushed over and swept a barrage of bullets into the cave. Cai Renjie and Lu Xing were killed, Zhang Lingfu was shot in the heart, and immediately fell down in a pool of blood. "Stop fighting, our teacher was killed by you!" During the fierce battle, a cry came from the cave. The gunfire stopped suddenly, but it was followed by a louder sound! It turned out that when the killing sounds in the valley stopped, suddenly the sky was overcast, the wind was strong, the thunder was rumbling, and a heavy rain came! For this storm, there are two very different perceptions. The Kuomintang said: "At this time, the sky is gloomy, the wind is blowing rocks, and the rain and hail are falling suddenly. If you are loyal and unyielding to our teacher, all the tragic and passionate battle sacrifices are the same as those who weep, and the sky will look different." But ordinary people don't see it that way.Many years later, people in Yimeng Mountain are still talking about the storm, thinking that the storm was God's will!If the storm comes a few days earlier, the reorganized 74th Division will not be cut off from water supply, and the machine guns will not fail to fire. It was the 6th Vertical Special Agent Regiment that attacked Meng Lianggu. The head of the regiment, He Fengshan, did not enter the cave. It was the instructor of the 3rd Company who entered the cave. "This is our teacher." The telegraph operator pointed to a corpse and said. The body was lying prone next to the radio, which stood on a folding table.The soldier turned over the corpse, took off the chest amulet, and saw the words "Lieutenant General Zhang Lingfu" written on it.The watch on Zhang Lingfu's left wrist was still ticking, and the pointer pointed to 5:02. A war that shocked China and foreign countries came to an end! Another version of Zhang Lingfu's death Recently, there has been a new version of Zhang Lingfu's saying that he was "killed by our army".It is said that the commando of the 23rd Division of the 8th Column and the 23rd Division of the 8th Column attacked the headquarters of the 74th Division together with the 6th Column Special Service Regiment. Ge Zhaotian, who was the squad leader of the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company of the 69th Regiment of the 23rd Division, was in this commando .When Ge Zhaotian and others attacked the entrance of the cave where Zhang Lingfu was, only him, the deputy company commander and one soldier were left in the commando, and the enemies in the cave were still resisting tenaciously. In the east, the 2nd Battalion is in the west, and the 3rd Battalion is blocking the front, tell them to hand in their guns and not kill, whoever moves will be killed!" At this time, someone in the cave shouted: "Stop shooting, we surrender!" A group of officers and soldiers walked out of the headquarters.Unexpectedly, an officer walking in the front saw that there were only 3 PLA soldiers, so he picked up his submachine gun and swept away. Ge Zhaotian's deputy company commander was seriously injured immediately.Seeing this, Ge Zhaotian was furious, and picked up the submachine gun and swept over with a "beep beep", the officer and a group of enemy soldiers fell to the ground in response, and the rest of the enemy hurriedly shouted: "Don't fight, don't fight, we Really surrender!" All of a sudden, 83 enemies obediently became prisoners!Ge Zhaotian turned around to look at the officer who was killed, but saw that he was tall and tall, with general stars on his shoulders, and a medal on his chest. The mountain wind blew by, and a rubber artificial leg was exposed from his trousers. Ge Zhaotian couldn't tell who he was , I thought that this person is not a small official anyway. Soon, Dai Wenxian, the deputy commander of the 23rd Division, led the follow-up troops to the entrance of the cave. When he saw the enemy officer lying on the ground, Dai Wenxian asked, "Who killed this man!" Ge Zhaotian thought he was going to be praised, so he replied proudly "I beat him to death!" Dai Wenxian opened his eyes wide and roared, "Why did you beat him to death! I want to punish you!" Ge Zhaotian felt wronged, and became stubborn. He twisted his neck and said, "He hit me. , I won’t hit him? If Chiang Kai-shek hits me, I dare to shoot!” Dai Wenxian couldn’t say anything more, but ordered Ge Zhaotian to escort the prisoners. After the Battle of Menglianggu, Zhu Fanyou, who was Zhang Lingfu's guard, was captured by Ge Zhaotian and joined the People's Liberation Army, and became Ge Zhaotian's close comrade-in-arms. He later said to Ge Zhaotian: "The man you killed that day was Zhang Lingfu! Why didn't you report it to your superiors? For a while?" Ge Zhaotian's heart trembled, but when he thought of Deputy Master Dai's words about punishing him, he suppressed his thought of reflecting upwards.This "press" lasted 58 years. Ge Zhaotian joined the army in 1944. He was awarded second-class merit and third-class merit twice, and was rated as "Model Combat", "Model Discipline", "Model Worker" and "Model Party Member". Chen Yi once awarded him a medal.After liberation, he returned to his hometown to work in agriculture. Now 82 years old, he settled in Gejiazhuang, Dongzhuang Township, Ningyang County, Shandong Province, and spent his old age peacefully. Chen Yi approved the burial of Zhang Lingfu in a good nanmu coffin.The heartbroken Chiang Kai-shek wanted to execute Huang Baitao and Li Tianxia, ​​who were unable to rescue them, to vent their anger, but both of them cleverly escaped the heavy punishment.After Mao Zedong learned that the 74th Division had been wiped out, he ate a bowl full of braised pork that night. 57 years later, Zhang Lingfu's spiritual seat was placed in Shanghai. The Battle of Menglianggu began on the evening of May 13, 1947 and ended on the afternoon of the 16th. The People's Liberation Army annihilated the 74th Division of the Jiang family's "Royal Forest Army" at the cost of more than 12,000 casualties, killing and capturing more than 32,000 people. It set a record for annihilating Jiang's "ace" troops. In this fierce battle, General Su Yu "wrote a wonderful article". On the 16th, after the columns of the East China Field Army that captured Menglianggu collected their troops and counted the spoils, they called Su Yu and Chen Yi one after another to report the situation of the annihilation of the enemy.The staff officers of the headquarters were too busy to breathe. The combat staff officer asked Su Yu to sign and sign the number of enemy annihilations that had been checked repeatedly and the telegram reporting the victory to the Central Military Commission. Su Yu waved his hand to signal that the dispatch of the victory telegram was postponed, and at the same time instructed: "All troops should re-report the results of the battle, and the number of enemies wiped out must be accurate. Order all participating troops to continue the search and not relax their vigilance, especially the more hidden ravines must be searched carefully. Don't stop without an order." After listening to Su Yu's instructions, the staff officers all gathered around.Seeing that everyone was puzzled, Su Yu went on to explain: "There is a saying in the art of war that the poor should not be chased, but we advocate fighting a war of annihilation, and insist on chasing the poor. Just now, I compared the number of annihilated enemies reported by each unit with the number of the reorganized 74th Division.编制数作了核对，还差7000多人。这7000多人不是个小数目，弄不好，会给我们带来不必要的损失。” 参谋们立即重新核对歼敌数。结果发现：上报的歼敌数为2.5万余人，整编74师编制为3 .26万人，差七八千呢！ 在各参战部队严密搜索下，果然发现在孟良崮、雕窝之间的山谷中，有7000余残敌隐藏在这里，正在集结。粟裕当机立断，命令华东野战军4纵、8纵、9纵三个纵队立即出动，就近兜剿。各纵队指战员不顾疲劳，英勇奋战，将残敌全部肃清，无一漏网。 狂风暴雨中，野战军主力带着整编74师的美械装备，押着2万俘虏，跳出了敌人的包围圈。浩浩荡荡的队伍里有一副担架，抬的是张灵甫的尸体。 抬担架的是特务团的几个战士。取得了空前的大胜利，大家走起路来显得格外有力。两天后，他们来到了沂水县一个叫野猪旺的村庄，放下了担架。抬了两天，那尸体已经有点异味了。经向上级请示，特务团花400元大洋从一个地主家里买来一口上好的楠木棺材，把张灵甫埋在了野猪旺的村边上。 整编74师被全歼的消息传到南京后，震撼了整个国民党统治中心。黄埔大哗，蒋介石更是痛心疾首，黯然神伤。“以我绝对优势之革命武力，竟为劣势乌合之匪众所陷害，真是空前大损失，能不令人哀痛！”他说。 为鼓舞士气，鼓励更多的人给他卖命，蒋介石对整编74师和张灵甫给予了高度评价：“我陆军整编74师全体官兵，在最近鲁南一役之壮烈殉职者，实为国军剿匪以来，最悲壮光辉之史诗。” 不仅如此，蒋介石还将山东蒙阴更名为灵甫县，将一艘巡洋舰命名为“灵甫号”，以表彰张灵甫的忠勇。张灵甫、蔡仁杰、卢醒等人的遗族也得到了蒋介石的厚抚。1949年逃到台湾后，蒋介石又建“军人魂”祠堂以昭“英烈”事迹，列张灵甫为“烈士”第一人。 有趣的是，在蒋介石所作的《痛悼74师》一文中，57旅少将旅长陈嘘云赫然列在其所举的“烈士”名单之中，而实际上呢，陈嘘云在张灵甫号召“集体成仁”时溜出了山洞，自寻生路，不料被一颗飞弹击中左肩，后被华东野战军4纵11师的政治部副主任陈茂辉救起，捡回了一条性命。 6天后，伤势渐愈的陈嘘云接受了新华社前线记者的采访。当记者告诉他：国民党中央社报道说，共军的17个旅被歼于临沂地区，你对此有何看法时，陈嘘云满脸涨得通红，气愤地说：“那是放大屁！中央社一贯造谣，是个出了名的谣言公司。” 不久，陈嘘云被送到华东军区解放军官训练团学习改造，全国解放后被特赦，回到南京安居，1980年当选为南京市第6届政协委员。 更具讽刺意味的是，蒋介石本欲处死黄百韬、李天霞两人以平愤恨，但黄百韬一肩担起汤恩伯在此战中的责任，使汤大受感动，遂使汤在军事检讨会上大力为黄疏通辩解，把失败责任一股脑地推到了死去的张灵甫身上。黄还哭诉所部伤亡达1.6万人，听者无不动容。蒋于是给他以撤职留任的处罚，后来黄在淮海战场上还担任过第7兵团司令一职。李天霞虽然被撤职并被押解到徐州“剿总”军法处审判，但他花钱自赎，以几十根金条买了个无罪释放，后来还担任过73军军长的职务。张灵甫若地下有知，不知会作何感想？ 整编74师的覆灭当然给中共中央，给东北、陕北、山东的解放军以极大的振奋，据说毛泽东得悉这一战果后，当晚即吃了满满一碗红烧肉！ 陈毅司令员兴之所至，挥笔写下了气壮山河的诗篇：“孟良崮上鬼神号，七十四师无地逃。信号飞飞星乱眼，照明处处火如潮。刀丛扑去争山顶，血雨飘来湿战袍。喜见贼师精锐尽，我军个个是英豪。” 余音 张灵甫杀死原配之后，又续娶了两任夫人，但均因故仳离。1945年，芳龄不足20岁的长沙姑娘王玉龄与张灵甫结婚，2年后，张灵甫死，遗腹子不久出世，现在，王玉龄及其子均定居美国，从商为业。 2004年元月，王玉龄将张灵甫的灵位迁至上海浦东“天逸静园?玫瑰园”二楼的“室内葬纪念区”。在那里，一块纯白的玉晶石上刻着张灵甫的名字，姓名左侧为其戎装肖像，下方是其生年与卒年，石上并留有旧体诗一首：“当年有幸识夫君，没世难忘恩爱情。四七硝烟伤永诀，凄凄往事怯重温”。下面是诗作者，也是“立碑人”的姓名： 王玉龄