Founding General Chen Xilian recalled the bloody battle at Yangshan Collection

The bloody battle at Yangshan Ji

According to the instructions of the Central Military Commission, Commander Liu and Deng launched the Battle of Southwest Shandong on the evening of June 30, 1947. The 1st, 2nd, and 6th columns, which served as the first echelon, broke through the enemy's Yellow River defense line with sudden and brave movements on a wide front of 300 miles from Zhangqiuzhen to Linyingji. Our third column was the general reserve team, and we followed up later. On July 3, we marched to the Zhencheng area to gather our troops to cross the Yellow River, and stared at the left flank and rear of the enemy's 100,000-strong army in the East China battlefield. Chiang Kai-shek was greatly shocked. In order to block this gap, he urgently ordered the main force of the 55th Division of Liu Ruming's group to retreat to Dancheng. The 68th Division and the 18th Brigade of the 55th Division were stationed in Heze, and the 58th Division was deployed from Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Northern Henan. , 32nd Division, 66th Division and Jiaxiang's 70th Division formed a heavy group under the command of Wang Jingjiu, trying to ambush my flank and force me to fight against the water.

Based on the instructions of the Military Commission, "The more our troops annihilate the enemy on the inner lines, the easier it will be to develop on the outer lines." Commander Liu and Deng determined to take advantage of the enemy Wang Jingjiu Group's movement and dispersion of troops to divide and annihilate them. Of. The specific deployment is:

Use the 1st column to insert into the southeastern area of ????Juye, cut off the enemy's 70th Division, 32nd Division, and 66th Division, separate and annihilate the 32nd Division; Feng Ji headed east, one part cut off the connection between the enemy's 32nd Division and the 66th Division, and the main force cooperated with the 1st Column to annihilate the 32nd Division; the 2nd Column first annihilated 1 regiment of the enemy's 66th Division from Xie Jiaji, and then joined forces with our 3rd Column to annihilate the 32nd Division. The column coordinated to annihilate the main force of the enemy's "Yangshan Division". In addition, the 1st and 2nd brigades of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region advanced to the area north of Wanfu River to block the enemy who might come from Jinxiang to aid from the north.

After receiving the mission, I set off at noon on July 12 and ran southward at a speed of 15 miles per hour. I arrived at the northeast and southeast areas of Yangshanji at about 1 o'clock on the 13th.

Shanji is located 30 miles northwest of Jinxiang, with more than a thousand households. To the north of the town is a solitary mountain, about 5 miles long from east to west and about 30 meters high. There are three peaks protruding from the mountain, which are shaped like sheep, hence the name "Sheep Mountain". The east peak is called "sheep's head", the middle peak is "sheep's body", and the west peak is "sheep's tail". It has the highest view and can command the entire Yangshan and Yangshan marshes. , well equipped and well educated in the reactionary movement, was one of Chiang Kai-shek's main forces fighting the civil war. After the enemy entered Yangshan, they repaired fortifications day and night, built bunkers and communication trenches along the mountainside, and held on to resist.

< p> The attack began on the night of July 13. I used the 8th Brigade to attack Yangshanji from the northeast and the 9th Brigade from the southwest. During the movement to engage the enemy, the troops were unable to move due to the waist-deep water. When they reached the water barrier area, they were suddenly suppressed by fire from three sides: the enemy's village, Yangshen, and Yangtou. On the night of the 14th, the first square attack was completed. The 1st and 6th columns completely wiped out the enemy's 32nd Division and 70th Division in the Sixth Battalion area. Division, the 2nd Column annihilated the enemies of Xiejiaji. The enemies of Yangshan were extremely panicked. At noon on the 16th, they made a tentative breakout to the south with the strength of one regiment. One part of them was annihilated by our 9th Brigade, and the remaining enemies retreated. Yangshan.

On the 15th, the 2nd Column participated in the battle against the enemy from the west. We immediately adjusted our deployment and coordinated with them three times on the 17th, 19th and 20th. . However, due to unclear understanding of the terrain and enemy situation, some cadres were impatient and their organization work was rough. Although they made breakthroughs in several attacks, they failed to gain a foothold and retreated to their original positions before dawn.

It was midsummer, the weather was hot and it rained continuously for days, and all the traffic ditches turned into small rivers. It was very difficult for the troops to fight the enemy in the chest-deep trenches, and some of their skin turned white and swollen due to being soaked in the water for a long time. The wounds suppurated, the ditch was filled with enemy corpses, and even the ditch water turned reddish-brown. When the cooks delivered meals, they first placed the rice pots on the door panels and floated them on the water. Later, they simply used small boats to transport them. . Due to the hot weather, the enemy corpses had no time to bury them and became rotten and smelly, so the commanders and fighters in the forward positions had to stuff their nostrils with cotton or cloth strips to eat.

During the fierce battle at Yangshan, the 58th Division of Jinxiang assisted the enemy. When the 199th Division advanced to the south bank of the Wanfu River, it was blocked by the independent brigade of the military region. It did not advance for seven days. On the 19th, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Kaifeng to supervise the war. On the one hand, he dispatched troops and generals from Xi'an, Luoyang, Hankou and other places to assist southwest Shandong; Wang Jingjiu was strictly ordered to lead the 58th Division and the 199th Brigade to quickly break the siege of Yangshan at all costs. Leaders Liu and Deng were determined to use only one force to continue besieging the enemy at Yangshan, and concentrate the main force on first annihilating the aiding enemies on the move, and then attack Yangshan. At 6 o'clock on the 22nd, the enemy's 199th Brigade crossed the Wanfu River under the cover of aircraft, tanks, and artillery fire. It rained heavily and the roads were muddy, making it difficult for enemy tanks and artillery to move. The enemy's 5% vanguard regiment was isolated. Our 9th Brigade seized this favorable opportunity and organized the main force of the 25th Regiment to move from both sides of the enemy, while the 26th and 27th Regiments detoured. Behind enemy lines, wipe out most of the enemy. The main force of our 7th Brigade launched a multi-channel attack to separate and surround the main force of the enemy's 199th Brigade. Our 2nd Column and the Independent Brigade of the Military Region attacked from the west. After a fierce battle all night, the enemy's 199th Brigade was completely wiped out. Our column captured more than 2,000 people under the enemy's brigade commander Wang Shiqiao. On the 23rd and 24th, the enemy's 58th Division made several reinforcements, but they were all blocked by our column, and the enemy retreated to Jinxiang.

On the 23rd, Chairman Mao instructed our field: Regarding the enemy at Yangshan, "If we judge that we are sure to attack and annihilate them quickly, attack and annihilate them."

Otherwise, immediately concentrate the entire army to rest for about 10 days. In addition to clearing out the small enemies and militia groups passing by, there will be no attack on Longhai, no attack on the east of the New Yellow River, and no attack on the Pinghan Road. Determine not to leave the rear. "Leave the Dabie Mountains." Commander Liu and Deng carefully analyzed the enemy's situation and believed that the enemy's reinforcements from all sources were still being mobilized, and the Jinxiang enemy was unable to provide further reinforcements, and the Yangshanji enemy had been weakened. We were completely confident that we would concentrate all our main forces to quickly annihilate the enemy. . Immediately readjusted the deployment and mobilized the field division's howitzer battalion and the 1st column artillery regiment to strengthen the firepower.

On the 24th, I led the cadres of each brigade and regiment and the 7th brigade battalion and company cadres who were responsible for the main attack. Wearing waist-high mud and water, we approached the forward position along the communication trench to observe the terrain in detail, understand the enemy's situation, and analyze the reasons for the frustration of several attacks on the spot.

After careful study, I believe that several attacks were not successful. The main reason is that we did not focus on seizing the commanding heights. As a result, our several attacks were suppressed by enemy fire and we were forced to withdraw. Therefore, seizing the commanding heights is the key to the entire battle.

The reason is found. I decided to change the style of play and readjust the attack deployment: concentrate the superior forces of 6 brigades (3 brigades from our column, 1 brigade from the 2nd column, 1 brigade from the 6th column, and 1 independent brigade) to divide and encircle the enemy at Yangshan. The 7th Brigade (attached to the 1st Column Mountain Artillery Regiment) and the 16th Brigade of the 6th Column were the main attacking forces. They first captured the Yangshan Group and then attacked the Yangshan Group from east to west. The 24th Regiment of the 8th Brigade coordinated with the 20th Regiment. To attack Yangtou, the main force was deployed to the east and south of Yangshanji to capture the enemy who broke through. The 9th Brigade blocked the enemy from the north and attacked the villages in Jiangzhuang and Houliuzhuang.

I reported to Chief of Staff Li Da on the phone for more than an hour about the situation of the terrain and the idea of ??readjusting the deployment. Chief of Staff Li Da reported to Commander Liu and Deng and called me back and said: I agree with your deployment.

The participating troops actively prepared according to the new combat deployment.

At 18:00 on the 27th, I launched a general attack on the enemy at Yangshan Ji. The artillery fire preparation lasted for 40 minutes. The 3rd Battalion of the 19th Regiment of the 7th Brigade, led by battalion commander Nan Fenglan, broke through the enemy's position in one fell swoop and attacked the main peak of Yangshen. At the same time, the 46th Regiment of the 16th Brigade also attacked the two main peaks from Yangwei. The troops supported each other and cooperated closely to push the enemy halfway up the mountain on the south side.

The enemy took advantage of our lack of time to consolidate our positions and counterattacked us many times in an attempt to recapture the main peak, but they were all attacked by our two brigades of warriors. Retreat.

While I was occupying the main peak of Yangshen, the 8th and 9th brigades of our column attacked the village from the east and south of Yangshanji, and went straight to the enemy's command center after repeated fierce battles. , the enemy's core position was destroyed, and the enemy scrambled for their lives. By 12:00 on the 28th, all the fleeing enemies were wiped out, and the battle ended successfully.

In the battle of Yangshanji, our column killed and wounded 4,000 enemies. We captured more than 7,000 enemy soldiers and captured 9 howitzers and more than 30 vehicles. Our column suffered 3,041 casualties and 506 casualties, including Nan Fenglan, the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 19th Regiment, Yuan Delan, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 20th Regiment, and the 22nd Regiment. Wu Xishan, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the regiment, Ding Gang, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 23rd Regiment, Li Xingrang, commander of the reconnaissance section of the 7th Brigade, and Comrade Shi Yulun, the enemy hero of the column, died gloriously.

After the war, Commander Liu composed a poem to commemorate the battle of Yangshan Ji:

The victory at Langshan and the recovery of Yangshan,

Amidst the thunder and smoke of artillery fire ,

Millions of soldiers and civilians clapped their hands together,

They were happy to see their children seize the city gate.