In September 1948, the clarion call of the charge sounded, and the "famous" Liaoshen Campaign in the Liberation War was officially unveiled. The first battlefield of the Liaoshen Campaign was in Jinzhou, and the key battle of the Jinzhou Campaign was the Tashan Blockade Battle. Because Tashan is the only way for the enemy to support Jinzhou, the success or failure of the Tashan blockade battle can even directly affect the entire war situation. However, although Tashan is strategically important, there is actually no mountain, just a small village called Tashan Fort, with low and flat terrain, which can be described as easy to attack and difficult to defend. Therefore, before the battle began, the leadership of the Northeast Field Army issued an order and sent a special front commander to the defenders of Tashan. The leader said that with this person guarding, the battle would have a half chance of winning. The development of the war was indeed unexpected by the leadership, under the leadership of this commander, the defenders of Tashan and the enemy on the opposite side fought fiercely for 6 days and 6 nights, and they stubbornly carried the 100,000 troops of the Kuomintang. Who is this commander who lives up to his expectations? Why, before the Sniper Battle at Tower Hill began, he ordered his troops' artillery to shell his own positions? What kind of method did he use to withstand the enemy's all-round attack on land, sea and air?
Figure | The Battle of Liaoshen
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This front-line commander who ordered the artillery to be aimed at the already square position was called Hu Qicai, and it was this incredible move that allowed the PLA fortifications to withstand the artillery onslaught of the Kuomintang army in the subsequent battles.
And he himself became famous because of this, and he had
"Tower Mountain Tiger" and "Tactical Wizard"
The resounding title. This issue of articles and videos let Xiaobian take you to understand this unique tactical wizard and see how "tiger" he really is!
The mentor was killed and joined the army
In 1914, in a sharecropper family in Huang'an, Hubei Province, Hu Qi was born, but his name was still there at that time
Hu Qicai
It is very rustic and full of expectations from parents who want to get out of the family's predicament.
Pictured | Old photo of Hu Qicai
Why? Because
Hu Qicai's family is a sharecropper,
Sharecroppers are worse off than the average poor, because the poor at least have their own land, and they only need to see if the wind and rain are smooth this year, and how the harvest is in the field; and
Sharecroppers can only rent the landlord's land to cultivate, and how much money they can take depends not only on God's face, but also on the landlord's heart.
But those who know history know that one of the "three mountains" that have weighed down on the common people in modern China is these greedy landlord classes, who always exploit and oppress the miserable peasants in order to make themselves richer. The landlord supported by the Hu Qi family was not a kind person, and most of the grain grown every year would be taken away by him, leaving only a small part of the Hu family who had worked hard for a year. And Hu Qicai's family had a total of seven people, and there was not enough food to eat at all.
The children of poor families have long been in charge, and the poor family situation has made Hu Qicai start working around at a young age. Hu Qicai's mother fell ill, but because the family did not have money to see a doctor, she could only drag it out and later died. After the death of his mother, Hu Qicai's burden was also heavier, after all, he was one of the few men in the family. But he was not overwhelmed by these life's dilemmas, but rather
In the day-to-day work, he has developed a strong physique and a strong will.
Pictured| tenants working in the fields
When he was 9 years old, a kind teacher came from the village, and he asked all the children to go to the private school to listen to their lectures when they had time, and did not charge money. Hu Qicai was very happy, because he knew that reading and reading would have more opportunities, so no matter how tired he was after doing farm work, he insisted on going to the private school to listen to the teacher's lectures, even if sacrificing time for rest and play. In this way, Hu Qicai became the most serious student of Mr. Zhang Chufeng, and
Zhang Chufeng not only became the enlightenment teacher of Hu Qicai's knowledge, but also became the person who changed his life.
Zhang Chufeng is a Communist Party member,
He told Hu Qicai a lot of communist ideas, and also described to him the ideal future for which he fought
It provided guidance for Hu Qicai to embark on the path of communism.
In 1929, Zhang Chufeng's discovery of being a member of the Communist Party was discovered by the Kuomintang reactionaries, who escorted him to the river. Hu Qicai learned of this bad news during his labor and rushed to the river, but it was too late, and Zhang Chufeng had already been brutally killed. Looking at the corpse of his mentor, Hu Qicai was sad and helpless in his heart, he knew that he was weak and weak, and he could not compete with the Kuomintang reactionaries with weapons in their hands, and could not avenge the teacher. It's like he hates landlords very much, but he can't kill people, and he can't change this society.
Tu | Rikou killed the people
Mood of miscellaneous tastes,
Hu Qicai remembered what his mentor had said, so he made up his mind to join the communist army and make the country truly belong to the people.
He first joined the Young Pioneers, and then waited until he was old enough to join the Red Army.
In August 1930, Hu Qicai waited for the opportunity to join the Red Army and was about to sign up, but was stopped by his family. At that time, the situation at home was very bad, the brother was sick, the two sisters could only help with some housework, and the heavy work was all up to Hu Qicai and his father to bear, if he also left, the family's life would be more difficult. Hu Qicai is very entangled, he wants to join the team of the mentor, but he can't rest assured of his family. After much deliberation, Hu Qicai decided to join the Red Army, saying to his family:
Only by joining the people's army and making a complete change in society can we truly fight for a way to live for the poor people who are suffering!
Tu | Hu Qicai joined the Red Army
After that, Hu Qicai left home with a fierce heart and became a Red Army soldier in the Red Army Special Service Battalion in Huahe District. Years of hard work have enabled him to have good physical fitness, but also exercised his hard-working, tenacious and indomitable character characteristics,
Because of his bravery and dexterity, he quickly gained organizational recognition and formally joined the Communist Party of China in 1932.
Only by fighting in blood can we first appear
Hu Qicai was very heroic, always rushing to the front of the army when he went to kill the enemy, and thus joined the Red Army
He has been injured 5 times in less than 3 years.
The last time Hu Qicai was seriously injured, the comrades in arms wanted him to rest in the hospital for a while, and then return to the front line after the injuries were all right, but Hu Qicai said that he would not say anything, saying that unless he was too disabled to move, he would not leave the team.
It is also with this fierce energy that can bear hardships and is not afraid of death, Hu Qicai has been affirmed and valued by the organization, and he was soon promoted.
From an ordinary Red Army soldier, he was promoted to a leading cadre of the 35th Regiment of the 11th Division of the Red Fourth Front.
Of course, Hu Qicai is not a brave and resourceful person, and the reason why he can be promoted quickly in a short period of time is also because he has shown a certain military talent in the previous battles.
Picture | Old photo of Hu Qicai riding a horse
The leaders of the Central Committee felt that he was a material that could be built and arranged for him to go to the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University for further study, and only returned after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan. Hu Qicai, who returned from school, did not live up to the expectations of the leadership, engaged in fierce battles with the Japanese army on the front line, and repeatedly smashed the "sweeping" plan of the Japanese invaders.
In November 1938, Hu Qicai was transferred to the senior general of the Shandong Column, and then engaged in a seven-year continuous battle with the Japanese army in Luzhong.
An interesting story was interspersed in the middle: In May 1938, Hu Qicai arrived in Shandong with the eighth route army, where he met his wife, Wang Zhiyuan, a girl from Ye County, Shandong. After a period of time together, the two fell in love with each other and decided to get married. In 1939, Hu Qicai and his wife submitted an application for marriage, which was also approved organizationally, but when the final registration was made, the staff wrote Hu Qicai's name incorrectly and registered it as "Hu Qicai".
The name on the marriage certificate is not easy to change, and Hu Qicai will be wrong and officially renamed "Hu Qicai".
However, this name is also suitable for him, and in the subsequent battles, Hu Qicai became a "tactical wizard" in the army because of his repeated surprises.
Pictured| wedding photo of Hu Qicai and his wife
Hu Qicai led the Eighth Route Army in Shandong to fight many victorious battles and made great contributions to the cause of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the local people remembered his exploits and specially compiled a song for him to praise:"
Hu Qicai, not simple, took the eight ways to fight the source, killed the devil thirty-three, and captured an interpreter alive.
The "fighting the source" mentioned in the song refers to what happened in Today's Weifang, Shandong
Battle of Zhiyuan,
Although the scale of this battle is not large, it is a classic example of Hu Qicai's use of the tactic of "encircling points to fight for help".
In 1938, the Japanese invaders invaded Weifang, Shandong Province, and stationed here for 7 years with Zhiyuan as a base. In 1945, the Eighth Route Army in the Luzhong area began to counterattack the Japanese army in Shandong, because Zhiyuan was the last protective line of the Japanese army in the south of Linqu City, so our army attached great importance to the Battle of Zhiyuan and assigned Hu Qicai to lead the troops to attack.
Hu Qicai skillfully used the tactic of "encircling points to fight for reinforcements" in the campaign, and successfully swept away the Japanese defenders who ruled the source and the Japanese reinforcements who rushed to the source.
However, although the Zhiyuan battle is typical, because of the limitation of the scale of this battle, it did not make Hu Qicai a blockbuster on the battlefield, and his real fame was during the Liberation War.
The figure | a calligraphic work that records the ballad of Hu Qicai
At the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1945, Luo Ronghuan, the leader of the Shandong Military Region, was transferred to the northeast to command the battle, and he specially asked Hu Qicai to go with him.
Because Luo Ronghuan felt that the situation in Shandong was basically stable, but the northeast still needed more efforts from the troops, Hu Qi was a rare talent, and following himself to the northeast to fight a war could play a greater role. Hu Qicai followed the troops to the northeast, and the following year he served as the commander and leader of the fourth column of the Liaodong Military Region, leading the troops to achieve
Victory in the Battle of Xinkailing.
The Battle of Xinkailing took place in October 1946, when the Kuomintang reactionaries wanted to achieve a complete occupation of the northeast, so they gathered 100,000 troops and launched a huge attack on the southern Manchuria base area of our army. Hu Qicai was actually in danger at that time, and in order to allow the large army to be successfully transferred, he led his soldiers to block the enemy army. The operational policy of this battle Hu Qicai is general
The troops were divided into two lines, internal and external, with the larger number of people on the inner line as the mainstay, supplemented by the smaller number of external lines, and the two lines of liaison and coordination, and detoured to break up the Kuomintang contingent.
Pictured| Japanese troops killed in the Battle of Zhiyuan
The operation was very effective, And Hu Qicai and the generals of the troops not only eliminated more than 8,000 people from the 25th Division of the 52nd Army of the Kuomintang Army, but also captured their division commanders alive, completely crushing the enemy's attack.
The Battle of Xinkailing was also the first major victory after the People's Liberation Army units of the Liaodong Military Region and the Kuomintang reactionaries fought, setting a precedent for our army in Liaodong to annihilate a division of the enemy army in the Liberation War.
Moreover, the Kuomintang army did not succeed this time, and the dream of occupying the whole northeast was completely shattered.
The situation in the entire war situation in Southern Manchuria also changed.
Our army began to occupy a favorable position on the battlefield. Hu Qicai was also commended by the central government after the end of the campaign.
Looking at Hu Qicai's entire combat career, it can be found that he participated in hundreds of battles, large and small, most of which were successful, not only because he fought bravely and was a "tiger general", nor because he was blessed with a great life and possessed by the "protagonist aura", but because of his
The mind and strategy are far beyond ordinary people, and they are good at using strange tricks to defeat the enemy and win. This is most evident in the Battle of Tashan in 1948.
Tu | Hu Qicai spoke in the procession
"Tower Hill Tiger, "Tactical Wizard""
As we said at the beginning of the article,
Tashan is a place that both our army and the Kuomintang troops attach great importance to, and this battle is of great importance, directly determining the success or failure of the Jinzhou Campaign and affecting the entire situation of the Liaoshen Campaign.
But Tashan actually has no mountain, it is a small village of more than 200 farmers, Tashan Fort, the terrain is low and flat, there is no danger at all.
The Liaoshen Campaign was one of the "three major battles" of the Liberation War, and its importance was self-evident; the leadership of the central authorities decided to fire this first shot in Jinzhou after careful consideration, and it was also determined that the occupation of Jinzhou would cut off the road for the Kuomintang troops to retreat southward, and facilitate the encirclement and total annihilation of the enemy troops in this northeastern region in the future. Therefore, the success or failure of the Battle of Jinzhou is quite important, and the most important thing to win this battle is to raid the Nationalist defenders in Jinzhou, and then quickly take Jinzhou before the opposing reinforcements arrive and end the battle. Therefore, in addition to the battle plan on the frontal battlefield, how to effectively block the reinforcements of the Kuomintang troops is also a question that must be considered. whereas
Tashan Fort is exactly the place where the Kuomintang reinforcements must rush to Jinzhou, and if an ambush is set up here to block the footsteps of the enemy reinforcements, then our army will have more room to play in Jinzhou, and the war will have half the chance of victory.
Pictured | Tower Hill sniper battle
The Kuomintang side also understood this, and before the war, their leaders had twice visited Huludao and watched the terrain of Tashan there. Later, orders were given to the 11 divisions that participated in the battle:
Tashan must be taken before the 14th, and the PLA cannot be allowed to seize the opportunity.
The Kuomintang troops rushed out, and the war was about to break out, and the Platon Army also made a move, and the leaders issued instructions:
Let Hu Qicai come over and garrison Tashan, and be sure to hold it.
The leader has been in the northeast for many years, knows Hu Qicai's skills well, and has high hopes for him. Hu Qicai was not timid, and after receiving the order, he quickly rushed to Tashan.
Because there was a certain distance from the place where he was originally stationed, when Hu Qi arrived at Tashan, the attack of the Kuomintang troops had already begun, and shells fell on the positions of the People's Liberation Army. Hu Qicai did not stop at all, took advantage of the gap to climb up to the forward position, raised his telescope and carefully observed the terrain of Tashan and the battle situation on both sides. After careful analysis, Hu Qi came to a conclusion:
The most important place in the entire Tashan defense line is the small village of Tashan Fort, and if you hold it, the enemy will not be able to advance half a step.
Tu | Hu Qicai in the front line position
thereupon
Hu Qicai came to The Tower Hill Fort with his men and horses, and personally went to the front line position to check the construction of the fortifications here.
The cadre in charge of the fortifications understood the commander's intentions, patted his chest, and promised that the fortifications of the Tashan Fort position had been completed, and the leaders had seen it, and there was no problem.
Hu Qicai looked down and thought for a moment, raised his head with a serious expression, and issued an order that surprised everyone present:
Pull up our guns and take a look at the fortifications of Fort Tashan.
The surrounding fighters were very confused, not knowing what kind of medicine this new commander was selling in the gourd, there were not many shells, and they did not leave to fight the enemy, how could they still bomb their own positions?
Hu Qicai did not directly answer their questions, but only asked the gunner to follow the order. Carrying out the commander's order with a head full of questions, the gunner pushed the cannon out and dropped a bomb in the direction of Fort Tashan.
After a loud noise, a large opening appeared in the fortifications of Tashan Fort, which were said by the soldiers to be "foolproof".
Hu Qicai listened to the regimental commander's report before the battle in the Tashan Trench
Hu Qicai made the warriors all look at this mouth, and finally spoke: "Is this what you said is no problem?"
Even our own mountain artillery cannot resist, so how can we stop the enemy's aircraft cannons?
Only then did the warriors understand Hu Qicai's good intentions, and it turned out that he had already seen that his own fortifications were not built at all, so he used this way to let them intuitively feel.
The warriors immediately began to tear down the original fortifications and seize the time to rebuild a very strong defensive line. The devil is in the details, too
It was Hu Qicai's "heavy calculations" that established the basis for victory in the Tashan sniper battle.
The battle officially began, and the well-equipped Kuomintang army took advantage of the tide to launch a surprise attack, which was blocked by our army's defense line. The People's Liberation Army launched a counterattack on the spot, and the enemy was attacked head-on without defense and gradually retreated. In this way, the first day of fighting was over, and the enemy launched a total of 7 charges, losing more than a thousand people, while the defenders of Tashan suffered only three hundred casualties. The next day, October 11, the enemy gathered the strength of 4 divisions into battle, with 4 howitzers and more than 10 75 mm mountain guns, together with 4 aircraft in the sky, began to bombard our positions indiscriminately.
After some bombardment, the enemy was exhausted and out of breath, but the Tashan position benefited from strong fortifications and was unscathed.
Hu Qicai took advantage of this opportunity, and at the sound of an order, he removed the enemy's howitzers and mountain artillery and launched a fierce attack on the Nationalist infantry units.
On the 12th, the Kuomintang troops began to rest because of the previous successive defeats, and Hu Qicai's side was also seizing the time to repair the fortifications, after all, it had been carried for two days and two nights, and even the iron walls could not stand it.
On the 13th, the Kuomintang troops made a comeback and gathered the strength of 5 divisions to carry out a "wheel war", taking turns to charge and attack Tashan Fort. But
Hu Qicai had already made preparations, and arranged a battalion of elite troops at Tashan Fort, and also placed 16 heavy machine guns, 49 light machine guns, and dozens of mortars.
Just wait for the enemy to throw yourself in front of the net. As soon as the Kuomintang troops came to the front of the position, they saw that the opposite side was covered with barbed wire and machine guns, and their own side was full of mines and craters, and there was not even a place to get down. After that, the enemy reluctantly found a place that had not been planted by the PLA as a position, and the Battle began again with Hu Qicai's Tashan defenders.
Pictured| the People's Liberation Army evaded enemy aircraft
The battle continues,
The Kuomintang troops still did not advance, and the independent 95th Division, known as the "Zhao Zilong Division", was transferred to attack Tashan.
However, Hu Qicai had already dealt with this unit, knowing that although they charged fiercely, they were very bad at white-knife warfare. Pinch the weakness,
Hu Qicai specially formed a "super death squad" and fought a white-knife war with the other side.
The silver light reflected by the bayonet flashed into everyone's eyes, and the great scuffle began, and only the piercing red could be seen between heaven and earth. With 700 men attacking and 70 surviving, Hu Qicai's soldiers finally fought hard to repel the independent 95th Division, which was several times larger than themselves.
After 6 days and nights, under the command of Hu Qicai, our army successfully held the Position of Tashan.
Forced the eleventh division of the Kuomintang on the opposite side to retreat helplessly. According to post-war statistics, the Kuomintang troops suffered more than 7,000 casualties in this battle, and the casualties of our army were only half of them. Hu Qicai made great contributions, the central leaders personally invited him to dinner, and the soldiers of the troops also gave him the nickname of "Tashan Tiger", and his reputation as a "tactical wizard" was truly confirmed.
Picture | Tashan Sniper Battle (oil painting)
Wizards die
After the founding of New China, Hu Qicai was awarded the rank of lieutenant general by the central government.
On July 1, 1997, 83-year-old General Hu Chi Cai watched the handover ceremony of Hong Kong on television
In the afternoon, he also attended the celebration ceremony with his old comrades-in-arms, and everyone gathered together and sighed that this was a fortunate thing for the country. However, it is very regrettable that after returning in the evening, General Hu Qicai relapsed from an old disease due to emotional agitation, and was rescued in the hospital for two days, and finally died. his
According to the general's orders, the family buried his ashes in the Tashan Heroes Memorial Cemetery.
This place was built by Hu Qicai himself, and many of his former comrades were buried inside.
The picture | a photo left by Hu Qicai when he went to Tashan in his later years
Hu Qicai's life is full of legends, as a "tiger of Tashan Mountain", he is a typical representative of the Communist Party's ranks who dare to fight and dare to fight and is not afraid of sacrifice; as a "tactical wizard", he is a front-line commander who has repeatedly made strange moves and achieved many achievements, and is deeply appreciated by the leaders at higher levels. he
Courageous and strategic, flexible and mobile, can be called a "warlike" soldier.
It is precisely because there are many heroic models like him that our army can win the final victory and the country can achieve today's prosperity and strength! Happiness is not easy to come by, and I would like to commemorate General Hu Qicai with this article, and warn future generations not to forget the martyrs and forge ahead.
Video Link:
With war imminent, why did the commander shell his own position? It's all about stopping 100,000 enemy troops!