On October 1, 2019, a grand military parade was held in Tiananmen Square to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the PLA battle flag phalanx, there is an honorary battle flag named "Liu Laozhuang Company" shining brightly. Why did the "Liu Laozhuang Company" have such a special honor and be able to stand out from all the units with honorary titles in the whole army and be examined by the people of the whole country, and what heroic deeds did this company have?
In 1941, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was still in the stage of strategic stalemate, and the Japanese invading army shifted the focus of its military offensive to the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines led by the Communist Party of China. At this point, the base areas entered the most difficult period of the War of Resistance. From 1941 to 1943, the Japanese army continued to gather heavy troops and launched large-scale sweeps of the anti-Japanese base areas in northern Jiangsu many times.
In response to the enemy's sweeping plan, the New Fourth Army in the base area followed the instructions of its superiors and dispersed some of its troops. Take advantage of the undiscoverable characteristics of small units and engage the enemy in guerrilla warfare. The Fourth Company of the Nineteenth Regiment of the Seventh Brigade of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army was such a team.
On March 17, 1943, the four companies that switched to the Lianshui area of Huaiyin in northern Jiangsu encountered the sweeping enemy unexpectedly, and the enemy was numerous, and the four companies quickly moved to the Liu Laozhuang area northwest of Huaiyin after breaking through the enemy's encirclement.
In March in northern Jiangsu, the earth was still filled with chills, especially when the night came cold, and the commanders and fighters of the four companies slept with steel guns in their hands and clothes. Early the next morning, as the troops were preparing to eat, the distant sound of gunfire shattered the tranquility of the morning light, and then a dozen civilian figures appeared in the open field, shouting that the devils were coming as they ran.
The sudden arrival of the Japanese army caught the troops off guard, and the four companies immediately entered the preparation for battle, and an encounter was about to begin. Bai Sicai, commander of the fourth company, ordered to first meet the enemy and cover the safe transfer of the masses, and then the troops used the communication ditch to withdraw from the village.
The so-called traffic ditch is a half-man-high bunker passage dug by the local people to deal with the Japanese sweep, which is convenient for covering operations and retreat. At that time, it was judged that if this enemy was not a large force, four companies could effectively block the attack. If it is a large force, first block the enemy, buy time for the mass transfer, and then withdraw from the battlefield along the nearby traffic ditch.
The Japanese advanced very quickly, and with the sudden and intense sound of gunfire, the four companies began to engage the Japanese.
Relevant scholars have found in Japan the history of the 54th Infantry Company of the Japanese Invading Army unit that attacked Liu Laozhuang in that year, and in this company history, it is recorded that the intelligence agency of the Japanese invading army learned that the leading organs of the party, government, military, and government in the anti-Japanese base area in Huaihai District were stationed on the north bank of the Liutang River in Huaiyin, so they sent heavy troops to sweep it up.
The Japanese 17th Division was responsible for the sweep. The 54th Regiment under the division was the unit that attacked Liu Laozhuang. There was heavy fog near Liu Laozhuang, and the Japanese army suddenly encountered the resistance of the New Fourth Army. The main force of the 54th Wing then arrived to engage the New Fourth Army.
According to the battle history of the Japanese wing, there were more than a thousand Japanese troops participating in this battle, which is a huge difference with the 82 people of the four companies who insisted on Liu Laozhuang.
However, the fourth company was also a steel company of the nineteenth regiment of the Seventh Brigade, and the company commander Bai Si joined the Red Army at the age of 16 and became an excellent grass-roots military commander who was brave and good at fighting and resourceful and courageous in his long-term combat experience. Instructor Li Yunpeng was also an outstanding political work cadre who started from the grass-roots level, and the sudden battle did not disrupt the combat deployment of the four companies.
At first, both sides of the battle were tentative. For the Japanese army, it was suddenly blocked by the New Fourth Army, and it was not clear what the size of the other side was. But with the strafing of four companies of heavy machine guns, the Japanese suddenly realized that they were the main force of the New Fourth Army, so they adjusted their tactics to fight with more fierce firepower.
Based on his own combat experience, Company Commander Bai Sicai judged that what they encountered was not a small group of Japanese troops, but a large formed force, and under such conditions that the enemy was outnumbered and outnumbered, the troops needed to be quickly transferred in order to avoid casualties.
Just as the company commander Bai Sicai was about to order everyone to retreat, a message made his heart tighten. The company investigator reported to Bai Sicai that the traffic ditch was incomplete, and that a large road had cut off the traffic ditch, which was a severed ditch.
In the face of strong Japanese fire, without the cover of communication ditches, a breakthrough was impossible. Company commander Bai Sicai and instructor Li Yunpeng knew what this meant, and they immediately launched an emergency mobilization order in the rain of bullets. The mobilization order requires all commanders and fighters to hold their positions, fight resolutely, abandon the breakthrough, and win more time for the masses and the headquarters of the troops to retreat. The order was quickly transmitted throughout the company.
The sky had begun to brighten, the fog was gradually clearing, the battlefield situation was clearly visible, and the Japanese army immediately began to organize a charge. Under the cover of machine guns, about a small group of Japanese troops rushed towards the position of the fourth company. Since Liu Laozhuang was a plain area with no terrain to cover, the charging Japanese army was almost completely exposed to the positions of the four companies.
Under the resolute resistance of the four companies, the enemy was quickly repelled, and then the Japanese cavalry unit rushed over again, and the machine gun grenades of the four companies set off a new round of counterattack climax. The Japanese soldiers fell on their backs and suffered heavy casualties. At this time, the arrogant Japanese army realized that the opponent was extraordinary, so it adjusted its tactical troops and retreated. Among them, the infantry artillery squad made full use of the advantages of weapons and equipment, and tilted to the position of the 4 company with dense shells, and in an instant, the front of the position shook and the smoke was filled.
This round of artillery fire caused great casualties to the four companies, after all, the shielding function of the communication ditch was limited, but the steely will of the fourth company was stronger. Under the cover of artillery fire, the Japanese immediately launched several rounds of attacks, the commanders and fighters of the four companies continued to stubbornly resist, the fortifications were destroyed and the bunkers were immediately repaired, the backpacks were collapsed to fill in, and the wounded personnel were bandaged up to continue the battle.
Under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, the four companies were reduced more and more, so the original non-combatants rushed to the front line, and the Japanese army absolutely did not expect that they would only have a company of less than 100 people in front of the New Fourth Army. Annoyed, the Japanese mobilized their fire and launched a new round of shelling. How could the narrow communication ditch escape the dense shells, a completely asymmetrical battle, the situation was becoming more and more critical, the number of casualties rose sharply, and only less than half of the company's men remained.
At this time, the soldiers of the four companies were exhausted, but they still silently resisted the enemy who pounced. It wasn't long before the bullets ran out, and the company commander Bai Si arranged for the remaining company soldiers to load their rifles with bayonets and prepare to engage in a hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, dismantling all the extra guns and burying the parts in the ground, which must not be left to the Japanese army.
Under the cover of artillery fire, another wave of enemies rushed to the front of the position. The last few soldiers of the four companies engaged in a deadly hand-to-hand battle with the enemy, and the battlefield was fierce, and the sound of bayonet impact was loud.
When night fell on the position, the shouts of killing finally stopped. Because the enemy was outnumbered and the strength was disparity, all the soldiers of the four companies fell. The battle was fought fiercely, and the soldiers who died on the battlefield maintained a fighting posture. Some clutched the enemy's neck with both hands, and some clenched the enemy's ears.
The heroic deeds of Liu Laozhuang's eighty-two martyrs have been highly praised by party and army leaders. In his article "Heroism of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army," Zhu De praised the battle of Liu Laozhuang in Huaibei, where all 82 people in the company were martyred, as the highest expression of the heroism of our army's commanders and fighters.
After the war, the Seventh Brigade of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army reorganized the Fourth Company and named the company Liu Laozhuang Company, and a heroic name was born.
During the period of the War of Liberation after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Laozhuanglian inherited the heroic and fearless spirit of his predecessors and went all the way north to south, making great achievements for the establishment of the People's Republic of China. In 2009, Liu Laozhuanglian was selected as a collective of 100 heroic and exemplary figures who made outstanding contributions to the founding of New China.
Today, in the Eighty-two Martyrs' Cemetery, 82 commanders and fighters of the company are buried here. The 19.43-meter-high monument seems to remind people that in 1943, there was a company here for the liberation of the nation, and they wrote immortal poems with their lives and blood.