In early October 1947, Zhao Lantian, commander of the 7th Brigade of the Third Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army (who became the founding major general in 1955), received orders from his superiors to launch an attack on the enemy in the western Anhui region, make a mobile attack, and operate flexibly.
Zhao Lantian, who had long been looking forward to a good battle, immediately ordered the troops to march quickly, and he personally led the reconnaissance company to the forefront of the whole brigade.
Zhao Lantian is like this, he loves to take the lead the most in his life, and he is excited when he hears that there is a battle to be fought.
On the night of October 8, when the reconnaissance company entered Huoqiu, Anhui Province, Zuo Kuiyuan, commander of the 20th Regiment of the 7th Brigade, suddenly rushed to report to Zhao Lantian that the 20th Regiment had collided with the Kuomintang 88th Division, but as soon as the enemy found the PLA, it desperately fled and soon disappeared.
Zhao Lantian was very angry: "Why don't you hurry up and pursue?" ”
Zuo Kuiyuan's face was embarrassed: "The whole regiment marched continuously for more than twenty hours, and it has not eaten, and its physical strength really can't keep up, so it is better ... Let the warriors eat first..."
Zhao Lantian sighed, "Alas, this is the only way to go, chase after eating!" ”
But he was really unwilling to watch the enemy slip away from his eyes, and he didn't have the heart to eat. When he saw that there was a mountain beam not far ahead, he touched the telescope hanging on his chest, and suddenly had a sudden thought: While it is all right, I might as well make a cameo as a scout and go to the front to take a walk and take a look.
Thinking of this, Zhao Lantian did not take the guards with him, but left the troops alone and walked towards the mountain beam.
Climbing up the mountain beam, he saw a towering tree tens of meters away, so he strode over, climbed to the tree, and raised his telescope to look around.
By this time the sky was completely dark, there was no light on the stars and moon overhead, and everything around it was shrouded in a dark night.
Zhao Lantian suddenly saw from the telescope that there was a bright light in the distance, and on a closer look, this bright light was clearly formed by the gathering of countless lights.
This unexpected discovery could not help but shock him: there is a situation!
Based on Zhao Lantian's many years of experience in the military, he judged that the bright light was so dense that it was definitely not the lights in the homes of ordinary people, but the camp of the troops.
Is this force friend or foe? In fact, it is not difficult to deduce that our army is strictly disciplined and its actions are hidden, and only when the enemy is camped will it behave in this way.
The enemy is in front, if you attack at this time, you will definitely be able to catch them off guard! When Zhao Lantian thought of this, he immediately slipped down from the tree and returned to the place where the troops had rested.
He asked the operations staff officer to take out a map and look at it, and concluded that the place where he had just seen the lights were lit was a small market town called Zhangjiadian.
Just as Zhao Lantian ordered the troops to prepare for battle, a soldier came to report that the reconnaissance company had captured a Nationalist soldier in front.
According to the prisoner's account, the headquarters of the Kuomintang 88th Division and the Brigade Headquarters of the 62nd Brigade were resting in Zhangjiadian. They planned to stay overnight in Zhangjiadian that night, and then retreat north at dawn the next day to join forces with the reorganized Forty-sixth Division.
Zhao Lantian was overjoyed: "This is a big fish, you can fight it with pain and pleasure!" ”
Now that the enemy is bright and dark, it is undoubtedly a great opportunity to annihilate this enemy. However, the combat staff officers on the side were worried: Now we only have the strength of twenty regiments and one regiment, counting the reconnaissance company of the brigade headquarters, there are only more than 1,200 people, and the enemy's strength far exceeds our side.
Zhao Lantian's determination to fight this battle was unwavering: "There are not many soldiers who are fine, not to mention that the fighters are fleeting, and we must strike decisively!" ”
Interestingly, at this moment, someone came in and reported to Zhao Lantian that a brother force had arrived here, and they were the Twenty-sixth Regiment of the Ninth Brigade of the 3rd Column and Ninth Brigade led by Brigadier Tong Guogui.
In fact, Tong Guogui had come to Zhao Lantian to discuss a joint attack on Zhangjiadian, and they had also found traces of the enemy's Eighty-eighth Division this evening, but they were also insufficient in strength, and it was difficult to eat this enemy alone.
Zhao Lantian saw Tong Guogui and laughed: "Old boy, old boy, your nose is really smart, as soon as you smell the spicy food that we want to eat here, you will come over and rub it and drink it!" ”
Tong Guogui punched Zhao Lantian in the chest: "You boy wants to swallow this piece of fat alone?" As long as you have such a small number of troops, you can eat it! ”
The two were old comrades-in-arms who had fought side by side many times, and this time they had decided on a battle plan with a little discussion: Zhao and Tong led the 20th regiment and the 26th regiment to encircle Zhangjiadian from two directions, encircling the enemy in the heart of the enemy and annihilating them in one fell swoop.
The encirclement and annihilation battle officially began at three o'clock in the morning, and Zhao Lantian and Tong Guogui decisively attacked according to the established plan, completely encircling the enemy's 88th Division headquarters and the 62nd Brigade Brigade Headquarters.
When the enemy was suddenly attacked, they were all panicked, but after all, they had a great advantage in strength and weapons, so the battle with the People's Liberation Army was extremely fierce.
Just when the situation was deadlocked, Zheng Guozhong, deputy commander of the Third Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army, and Ma Zhongquan, commander of the Eighth Brigade, led the Twenty-first Regiment of the Eighth Brigade to reinforcements.
After some joint discussion, the four later founding major generals redeployed their forces and firepower and launched a general offensive against the enemy.
In the end, the fierce battle was completely ended at dawn the next day, and the three columns won a victory in the history of the army - annihilating all 5,300 people of the enemy's 88th Division and the 62nd Brigade.
This battle was of great significance, because it was the first time that the three columns annihilated the enemy of the Party above one regular brigade in one fell swoop, and this victory was achieved without the support of the rear.
After the battle, the generals praised one after another: If it were not for the sudden whim of Brigadier Zhao Lantian, who wanted to act alone, climbed to a big tree to become a reconnaissance, and accidentally found that the enemy was stationed in Zhangjiadian, then it would have been possible to miss this great victory.