In the winter of 1947, the main force of our Huaye and Chen Xie's army, in order to respond to Liu Deng's army, launched a campaign offensive on the Pinghan and Longhai fronts. After half a month of hard fighting, more than 20,000 Jiang troops were annihilated, more than 20 county towns were conquered, and more than 800 miles of Pinghan and Longhai railways under the control of Jiang Jun were broken. This greatly shook the Kuomintang and shocked Chiang Kai-shek's troops on the battlefield in the Central Plains. Defending the enemy on the Longhai Road, they asked Nanjing for help one after another.
On December 27, Huaye took advantage of the victory and continued to expand the results. The 10th Column was ordered to form a northern line corps with the 8th and 11th Columns and the 1st Special Column to launch an offensive against the enemy on the Heze (Ze) Kao (Cheng) line north of the Longhai Railway. The 10th Column was ordered to annihilate the enemy along Kaocheng and Hekao.
The task of seizing Kaocheng by the leader of the 10th Column was entrusted to the 85th Regiment, and Yu Gengguang was the instructor of the 2nd Battalion of the regiment. After receiving the combat mission, the officers and fighters of the 85th Regiment were full of enthusiasm, and swept forward like a roaring wind, pointing straight at Kaocheng.
The 85th Regiment is a brave and combative unit that has been tempered by the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Since the attack on the Longhai line, in the battle to liberate Lanfeng City, the first battalion served as the main attack task, and the third company first broke through the city and attacked. In the battle to liberate Liuhe and annihilate the 5th Brigade of the 24th Provisional Division of the enemy, the 3rd Battalion assumed the task of attacking the Liuhe station.
Only the second battalion, in these two attacks, did not serve as a main attack. As soon as the combat mission of capturing Kaocheng arrived at the regiment, the commanders and fighters of the whole battalion were anxious and asked the regiment to hand over the most arduous combat task to the second battalion. In particular, the Fifth Company, before the most difficult tasks, used to be either a commando or a sharp knife company. Now that the troops have just gone through the campaign to complain about grievances, the class consciousness of the commanders and fighters has been greatly enhanced, their determination to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions has become even greater, and their mood for war has become even higher; some soldiers have asked the company commander and instructor several times to become commandos and demolitionists, while some have written bloody letters and demanded the most arduous tasks, and some have made a "military order" promising to capture a few prisoners and a few guns.
The regiment complied with the will of the people and decided that the third battalion would serve as the assault battalion. The whole battalion jumped three feet high with joy.
At the battalion party committee, the regiment's determination and deployment were conveyed in detail. Yu Gengguang and battalion commander Lu Gangsan exchanged views, decided to take the fifth company with the strongest assault force as the assault team, and asked each company to make all preparations for forcibly attacking the city, bringing ladders to climb the city and cross the ditch, and explosives bags to blow up the city.
At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, all the commanders and fighters of the whole battalion gathered on a large field outside the garrison village, and Yu Gengguang made a battle mobilization: "Comrades, the superiors trusted us, entrusted us with the most arduous and glorious task, and ordered our battalion to be an assault battalion to liberate Kaocheng and annihilate the defending enemy. We must carry forward the fighting style of being brave, tenacious, swift and resolute. Successfully complete the combat mission! As soon as the words fell, the troops shouted like a whirlwind on the ground: "Never disappoint the expectations of the party and the people, resolutely take Kaocheng, and annihilate the enemy!" ”
Yu Gengguang couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, and waved his arms with the battalion commander and said to the comrades of the battalion: "Please rest assured, comrades, the two of us will organize the battle well and successfully complete the combat mission with everyone." Welcome 1948 with a new battle victory! The comrades of the whole battalion followed and shouted: "Greet 1948 with a new victory!" ”
"Let's go!"
Deputy Regiment Commander Liu Zhuxi led the second battalion as the vanguard and set off for Kaocheng. From the station to the test city, it is about more than 50 miles. The troops were inspired by the passion of the battle, and although they had all the weapons and equipment on their shoulders, they still felt the wind under their feet when they moved.
The sun sets early in winter. At more than four o'clock, the sun had already set down on the western mountain, and Yu Gengguang and Battalion Commander Lu walked side by side, talking as they advanced. The two of them felt that the combat mission was clear, and they knew their fighters well, but they only knew the enemy's situation and probably didn't know the specifics, and they knew even less about the situation in Kaocheng.
So they asked for a guide as they went. Not only did the battalion do this, but Yu Gengguang also told the companies to learn about the situation in Kaocheng from the villagers who led the way, and to find people who knew about the situation in Kaocheng in the villages they passed through to investigate. He also sent a reconnaissance group to reconnoiter the enemy's situation under the city of Kaocheng and understand the terrain of Kaocheng.
In this way, the second battalion investigated as they went. By the time the troops reached the village of Niuying, north of Kaocheng, the battalion company had already conducted an investigation with six or seven guides and a few people who were familiar with the situation in Kaocheng. After arriving in Niuying Village, Yu Gengguang and Camp Chief Lu found three villagers who went to the city every day to do business and made a further understanding. The reconnaissance team also found out the situation in time and rushed back to make a report. It was confirmed that what the masses said was consistent with the reconnaissance situation of the troops.
Kaocheng was defended by a reinforced battalion of Chiang's 55th Division and a local security regiment. The reinforced battalion of the 55th Division was all cowered in the city, and there were only two companies of the enemy's security regiment in Xiguan outside the city, all of which were rabble, and their combat effectiveness was not strong.
The city of Kao is surrounded by a wall two feet high, and there are four gates on all sides. There are four levels outside the door. Xiguan is not only large, but also the enemy defends tightly, and has built a wall and dug an outer trench close to the wall, the trench is more than a zhang deep, and the inner edge of the ditch is the wall root of the wall. It has a slope though, which is easy for me to climb across. The east end of Xiguan is close to the west gate of Kaocheng, as long as I capture Xiguan, it is easy to get close to the city and take the west gate.
Based on the above situation and the intentions of the leadership, the 2nd Battalion quickly determined the combat plan and made combat arrangements: With rapid and courageous movements, it forcibly assaulted and took the enemy by surprise, first seized Xiguan, and then relied on Xiguan to launch a strong attack on Ximen.
At the same time, the battalion headquarters asked the fifth company to boldly and courageously pursue the remnants of the enemy in Xiguan when they fled into the city, and as soon as the opportunity came, they would follow the fleeing enemy and rush into the city, seize the ancient west gate, and cover our follow-up troops to enter the city in one go. It also demanded that the 4th and 6th companies not only have a clear mission, but also treat the weak enemy as a strong enemy, prepare the auxiliary company to attack the main attack, and follow the rapid advance of the 5th company of the assault company, and be ready to enter the battle at any time to expand the results of the battle. The battalion commander also made careful arrangements for the machine gun company and other firepower units.
The five companies, which served as assault companies, were carefully organized and had a clear division of labor according to their tasks. The second platoon is an assault platoon, and two combat groups are formed, each with a ladder to climb the wall over the ditch, and the first and fourth squads of the sharp knife squad led by Zhang Xinli, the platoon commander of the first-class meritorious service, to carry out the assault. Wang Jingle, the leader of the first platoon, led two squads as a bomb throwing group, which was responsible for throwing bombs on the wall and covering the assault of the commando team. And designated Liu Fenghui, the deputy squad leader of the second squad and a special meritorious hero who is good at completing the blasting task, as the team leader, formed a blasting team, and prepared to blast the West City Gate.
From the battalion to the company, all these detailed reconnaissance and careful arrangements were completed on the way to Kaocheng and during the one-hour assembly to Niuying Village in the north of the city. This was a step in the preparation work for knowing oneself and knowing that the other side could win the battle, and with these preparations, Yu Gengguang and other commanders felt that they were sure of winning the battle.
The enemy that has long been entrenched in our Hekao area is the 86th and 55th Divisions of the Kuomintang Chiang Army and the local security regiment, which is inserted in the hinterland of southwest China, safeguarding the interests of the local bullies, landlords, and all reactionaries, and is an extremely vicious enemy arm. The higher authorities issued a call for all our commanders and fighters to resolutely destroy the enemy entrenched in this area.
Everything is ready, just wait for the gunshot!
The battle begins!
Niuying Village is only two miles away from the West Pass of Kaocheng, and the troops flew covertly and arrived in the blink of an eye, and Yu Gengguang followed the assault company forward. When the troops were about to approach the outer trench of Xiguan, they were noticed by the enemy alert on the wall and asked, "What are you doing?" "Then they shot at me. The battle began, and at this time, the time was just after half past ten.
Under the leadership of squad leader Jia Zengyuan, the fifth company of sharp knife squads ignored the enemy's shouts and shots, and one of them ran to the outer edge of the trench, and Wang Jingle, the leader of the platoon, also led the bomb throwing team to the front of the trench and shouted: "Fight!" The fighters of the bomb throwing group, one by one, stood upright on the edge of the ditch, stretched their stances, waved their iron arms, and "swished" a row of grenades flew to the top of the fence and exploded with a "bang".
Amid the sound of grenade explosions, the machine gun company of the 2nd Battalion also launched fire suppression on the enemy. Under the cover of strong fire, the assault platoon of our assault company quickly jumped out of the trench and set up ladders. The sharp-knife squad leader shouted: "Up!" After leading the whole class to climb the wall quickly, shouting to annihilate and drive down the enemy on the wall, he rushed to Xiguan Street, and pursued the enemy who fled to the city. The other squads also bravely pursued and annihilated the fleeing enemy together with the Sharp Knife squad. The comrades of the first and third platoons also rushed over the wall to the west pass, and rapidly developed eastward.
The two companies of the Xiguan Security Regiment originally had little combat effectiveness. After I beat and rushed, some of them were confused and panicked as soon as they heard the gunshots, and some wanted to go up to the wall to fight a dozen, but before they could run to the wall, they ran into our commando knife squad, and they were shocked by the gunshots, threw down their guns and ran, and some got up from the bed, ran to the city with guns and clothes, and most of them were intercepted and eliminated by the comrades of the Sixth Company, who had occupied a position in the northwest corner of Xiguan. The intention to quickly seize Xiguan was realized.
The assault company pursued the enemy fleeing into the city. Comrade Jia Zengyuan, the leader of the sharp knife squad, was hit by the enemy and his left arm was broken, he didn't care about the bleeding wound, gritted his teeth and endured the severe pain, and led the whole class to pursue all the way to the West Gate. Just as he was about to rush into the west gate with the fleeing enemy, the defenders at the gate closed the gate with all their might, shouting with all their might, despite their brothers who were being pursued by us outside. The enemy at the city gate opened fire fiercely, regardless of who was under the gate, and my sharp knife squad was pressed outside the west gate by enemy fire.
At this time, Yu Gengguang followed the assault company to the east of the West Guan, and then the commander of the third battalion of Lugang also ran up. The two of them, Shang Baomin, the commander of the fifth company, and Cui Baochuan, the instructor, quickly studied and decided: immediately attack the West Gate! Instructor Cui led the assault, the battalion commander organized fire cover, and Yu Gengguang was responsible for directing the blasting.
Comrade Jia Zengyuan, the leader of the fourth squad, was seriously injured, and the fifth company wanted to change a squad to serve as a sharp knife squad, but the comrades of the fourth squad resolutely refused to do it, and they must complete the task of breaking through the West Gate. The company agreed to their request and appointed a brave fighter as squad leader.
The siege battle struck while the iron was hot, and the team immediately set off. As soon as the machine gun rang out, Liu Fenghui, the famous demoman and deputy squad leader of the second squad of the special meritorious service, jumped up, picked up a bag of explosives weighing dozens of pounds and flew to the west gate. With a loud bang, the city gate was blown open, and the assault platoon commander Zhang Xinli jumped up and shouted: "Comrades, rush!" "The first one rushed up. He took the lead, led the sharp knife squad, and rushed into the west gate of the city with thick smoke and smoke in the blink of an eye, and broke into a city.
The follow-up troops followed the assault team into the city. The first and third platoons of the assault company developed eastward along the main street, and the commander of Shi Baoqian's company led the sixth company to expand forward from the right side of the fifth company.
At this time, the 1st and 3rd Battalions also broke into the city from the east and north, and the enemy defending the city was quickly divided and annihilated by us under my swift and fierce attack. The battalion commander of the reinforced battalion of the 55th Division of Chiang's army began to disbelieve that it was our field army that had come to attack the city. Later, when he knew that it was true, if it hadn't been for the enemy guarding the west gate and shutting the city gate with their lives, and delaying it for a few minutes, he wouldn't have even had time to escape. Only a small group of the enemy who fled to the south gate tried to resist stubbornly, but our 6th Company quickly caught up with them, stabbed them in the back, and was quickly annihilated.
In the battle of Kaocheng, we captured more than 600 enemy prisoners and captured a lot of weapons, ammunition, and military supplies.
When the battle was basically over, Yu Gengguang looked at his watch, and the time had just passed eleven o'clock in the evening. He doubted the accuracy of his watch, and asked Battalion Commander Lu and the comrades around him, and they all said, "Instructor, it's 11:14." ”
The table is accurate, but the battle, with the full play of people's subjective initiative, is over in just over forty minutes. The enemy was annihilated by my swift and courageous attack, the city of Kao was liberated, and the opening cannon of the battle of Kao (city) was fired.