When it comes to Chinese artillery, General Zhu Rui has to be mentioned.
He was the founder of our army's artillery unit, single-handedly formed the Northeast People's Artillery, and played a key role in the Liaoshen Campaign.
The turning point of the Liaoshen campaign was the capture of Yixian, which was an important defensive barrier north of Jinzhou.
And if our army wants to take Jinzhou, it must first capture Yixian in the north of Jinzhou.
This was the first time that Zhu Rui showed the world the demeanor of Chinese artillery.
The sound of cannons inspires victory and drums, and the martyrs cast ambitions
General Zhu Rui was the founder of the artillery of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and his life was devoted to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people and made irreplaceable contributions to the creation and development of the mainland's artillery forces.
His military career, especially his performance in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, profoundly influenced China's military history.
In 1937, after the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident, Zhu Rui, under the assignment of Zhou Enlai, went to work in the political training office of Cheng Qian, the head of the first war zone of the Kuomintang, and actively participated in the construction of the anti-Japanese national united front.
However, as the situation continued to deteriorate, Zhu Rui and Cheng Qian were forced to retreat to Xinxiang, Henan.
There, Zhu Rui faced many difficulties and had to leave the Political Training Office and devote himself to the Northern Henan Division, serving as an instructor and devoting himself to the guerrilla warfare training of young cadres.
Zhu Rui's contribution to the Northern Henan Division was particularly significant, not only did he participate in education and training, but he also spontaneously founded the North China Military and Political Cadres School.
Later, this school became an important educational institution in the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan base areas, and was known as "the first cadre school in the border area aimed at attracting intellectuals."
Through Zhu Rui's unremitting efforts, the school trained about 2,000 young cadres, who later became the backbone of the anti-Japanese base areas in the Taihang Mountains and the North China Plain.
Zhu Rui's contribution was not limited to the creation of artillery tactics, he had a profound influence on the creation and development of local armed forces.
His efforts established a solid foundation for guerrilla warfare in the Zhinan, northern Henan, and southern Jinnan regions, and laid an important cornerstone for the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Especially in the Liaoshen Campaign, the artillery units commanded by Zhu Rui played a key role, and their fierce artillery bombardment effectively kicked off the campaign.
However, the tragedy is that in this battle, Zhu Rui died heroically and failed to witness the fruits of the victory of the Liberation War.
In June 1945, the central decision-making level intended to appoint Zhu Rui as deputy chief of general staff of the Eighth Route Army, demonstrating a high degree of recognition of his military talent.
However, Zhu Rui himself had other plans, and based on his background in the artillery professional education he received in the Soviet Union, he put forward a proposal that was more in line with his own expertise and had substantive significance for the victory of the war.
He wanted to devote himself to the artillery building of the people's army.
Zhu Rui's proposal was supported by the Central Committee, and he was immediately appointed acting principal of the newly established artillery school.
At that time, the border area was short of materials and the environment was difficult.
Under these conditions, Zhu Rui has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and perseverance.
He personally went deep into the training ground to instruct the trainees, innovated in teaching methods, simplified complex military theories, and adapted them to the actual needs of the battlefield.
Zhu Rui's daily work is very heavy, and he is well aware of the importance of artillery to modern warfare, so while ensuring the quality of training, he also personally participates in the lectures and evaluations of trainee operational training and tactical exercises.
Under his leadership, the infrastructure of the artillery school was rudimentary, but the quality of teaching was not affected in the slightest.
In September 1945, the first batch of cadets of the artillery school successfully graduated, and these more than 1,000 newly trained artillerymen became the core of the artillery force of New China, and they later played a pivotal role in the War of Liberation.
With the founding of the People's Republic of China and the regularization and modernization of the People's Liberation Army, the Yan'an Artillery School has also undergone several name changes.
It has been successively known as the Northeast Artillery School, the Zhurui Artillery School, and the Military Commission Senior Artillery School, and has become the cradle for cultivating senior command personnel and technical experts of the mainland artillery.
Go east to protect the territory, and start from the north to cultivate talents
With the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhu Rui, in accordance with the orders of the Central Military Commission, led the teachers and students of the artillery school to a new battlefield - the northeast, and took on the important task of receiving Japanese equipment and forming a modern artillery unit.
At the end of 1945, the political situation in Northeast China was turbulent, and the Kuomintang, with the support of the United States, stepped up its military deployment and prepared for an all-out attack on the liberated areas.
Zhu Rui and his team faced unprecedented challenges: a threat from the Kuomintang on the one hand, and a severe lack of equipment on the other.
Zhu Rui and the teachers and students of the artillery school traveled thousands of miles to finally arrive in Shenyang, but they were greeted with disappointment.
The Japanese weapons that were originally planned to be received could not be obtained due to the interference of various external factors, and the nascent artillery unit was faced with the dilemma of equipment vacancies.
In the face of such adversity, General Zhu Rui has demonstrated extraordinary decision-making and adaptability.
He put forward a clear course of action: disperse the cadres, collect weapons, develop the troops, and establish household affairs, and pointed out the direction for the artillery school in a difficult situation.
Following Zhu Rui's policy, the teachers and students of the artillery school were organized into multiple squads, and they were distributed in a vast area in the northeast, from Suifenhe to Manchuria, from Changchun to Hulin and Aihui, and penetrated into every corner where the Japanese army was once stationed.
They not only collected the remaining Japanese artillery, but also found a large number of shells, tanks, automobiles and other military supplies.
By May 1946, Juri and his team had collected more than 700 artillery pieces, more than 500,000 shells, 12 tanks and 23 vehicles, as well as a large number of artillery spare parts and other military equipment.
Zhu Rui's strategic vision and firm determination also provided a solid material foundation for the building of the artillery units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
He paved the way for the military modernization of New China and built a solid line of defense for the military security of the liberated areas in Northeast China.
Yixian attacked the fortification, artillery style
On September 12, 1948, the Liaoshen Campaign was in full swing, and the first action of the Northeast Field Army was to besiege the ancient city of Yixian in the north of Jinzhou.
Yixian was not only seen as the gateway to Jinzhou due to the importance of its strategic location, but also became the first obstacle to the PLA's advance towards Jinzhou due to the solidity of its defensive works.
This historic city has walls that are 7.6 meters high, 7 meters wide at the base and 3.5 meters wide at the top.
In addition, the multiple defense facilities such as trenches, bunker groups, deer villages, barbed wire and minefields on the periphery form an almost impenetrable defensive line.
The defenders were a division of the Kuomintang 93rd Army, with about 10,000 soldiers.
In this major battle, Zhu Rui, the artillery commander of the Northeast Field Army, was tasked with leading the artillery unit to conquer this fortified city.
The Dongye Third Column (later the 40th Group Army), under the leadership of Han Xianchu and in close coordination with Zhu Rui's artillery units, prepared for a full-scale attack on Yixian.
The Battle of Yixian was not only an outpost battle to capture Jinzhou, but also a comprehensive test of the functions of the artillery unit in actual combat.
Zhu Rui attaches great importance to this operation, and he believes that the capture of Yixian County is a key drill for the upcoming Jinzhou offensive battle.
He personally participated in every step of the pre-war preparations, checking all preparations to ensure that nothing went wrong during the war.
On September 30, the eve of the siege, Zhu Rui went to the 3rd Artillery Regiment he had personally formed to inspect the troops.
On the position of the 3rd Artillery Regiment, Zhu Rui looked at the rows of mighty 150mm howitzers, and his heart was full of pride and worry.
These heavy artillery pieces are the brainchild of his heart and will be put to the test for the first time in tomorrow's battle.
On October 1, 1948, the air in the early morning was filled with the precursor of gunsmoke, and the Battle of Yixian was about to begin.
Zhu Rui carefully planned an offensive dominated by overwhelming firepower according to the tactical principles he had formulated.
He concentrated the heavy artillery fire of the artillery unit on a small section of the Yixian city wall, which was only more than 100 meters long, and quickly destroyed the enemy's defense line through a local breakthrough.
At 3 o'clock in the morning, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang Zhiyi reported to Zhu Rui that all artillery units had entered their positions and completed preparations for firing.
At 9:30 a.m., after confirming that all the deployments were correct, Zhu Rui gave the order to open fire.
In an instant, more than 200 cannons were like awakened giant beasts, firing synchronously, and the ground shook.
The heavy artillery fire lasted for an hour and a half, and the city wall of Yixian County finally collapsed under this powerful firepower, and a huge gap of more than 50 meters wide was blasted out.
According to the description of the infantry regiment commander who participated in the battle at that time, "our artillery was so powerful that we did not use tanks at all, and before the other branches could reach out, we beat the enemy like a badly wounded beast, and then our infantry charged." ”
Artillery fire turned the tide on the battlefield and cleared the way for infantry to attack.
This battle was a thorough verification of Zhu Rui's artillery tactics, and also showed the world the demeanor of Chinese artillery, especially the unique advantages in siege and siege of fortified cities.
This battle eventually became a classic case of the display of artillery power of the People's Liberation Army, which will forever be recorded in the annals of history.
The artillery fire reflects the hero's sorrow, and the war drums of Yixian County have two lines of tears
The victory of the Yixian Siege wrote a glorious stroke on the Northeast Battlefield, but behind the victory, it was accompanied by deep grief.
Commander Zhu Rui died heroically in battle.
This artillery commander, who devoted himself to the cause of the people's liberation, failed to heed the persuasion of his colleagues after the infantry troops stormed the city wall, and decided to go to the battlefield himself.
The reason why Zhu Rui insisted on going to the front line was because of the 150-mm heavy artillery that was put into use for the first time in the Battle of Yixian.
This batch of heavy artillery was processed and repaired in Bamiantong Town, Muling County, and was directly transported to the front line without test firing, and the unknown shooting effect made Zhu Rui worried.
He was worried that if he did not personally inspect the bombing points, once the infantry units destroyed the original bombing points in order to widen the siege entrance, they would not be able to accurately assess the effect of the artillery bombardment, and they would not be able to provide valuable data and experience for the more arduous Jinzhou offensive in the future.
As soon as Zhu Rui wanted to walk out of the headquarters, the guard reminded him, "It's better for the chief not to go over now, the battlefield hasn't been cleaned yet." ”
But Zhu Rui had already made up his mind, and at this time he still thought that he must obtain first-hand materials on the performance of artillery, so that the PLA could be more confident when attacking Jinzhou in the future.
So Zhu Rui said to the guards, "It's okay, we can clean up the battlefield together." ”
With that, Zhu Rui walked out of the headquarters.
Zhu Rui and his entourage made their way along a low-lying carriageway under the city, and as they were cautiously walking, a burst of heavy machine-gun fire suddenly began.
The enemy bunker was hidden inside the thick city walls, almost imperceptible from the outside.
Zhu Rui and his companions quickly lay down, but fortunately, the low terrain helped them avoid the catastrophe for a while.
At the moment of crisis, Zhu Rui sensed that a comrade was exposed to enemy fire due to his lying position, so he instinctively reached out and pulled the other party in an attempt to pull him to a safer position.
However, at this critical moment, unfortunately, they touched a long-buried mine.
At the moment of the explosion of the mine, the fragments fatally hit Zhu Rui's heart, and the 43-year-old artillery hero fell on the journey of liberation.
After the war, Commander Han Xianchu of the Four Fields and Three Columns was heartbroken after learning of Zhu Rui's sacrifice, and tears fell instantly.
It is true that the battle of Yixian was a glorious victory with the annihilation of one of the enemy's elite divisions, but Zhu Rui's sacrifice was too heavy a loss for our party.
Han Xianchu couldn't bear to blame himself, and couldn't cry: "I'm sorry for the party, I didn't protect your ......"
After receiving the report of the Northeast Field Army, Chairman Mao expressed great condolences and attention to Zhu Rui's sacrifice.
He fell into a long silence, expressing deep respect and remembrance for the artillery hero.
Zhu Rui's sacrifice is a great loss in the cause of the liberation of the Chinese, and his heroic dedication and sacrifice will inspire generations of PLA soldiers.
Although Zhu Rui's life came to an abrupt end, his spirit, his contributions, and his promotion of our army's artillery cause will forever be remembered in the hearts of China's military history and people.
The peace and tranquility of today's China are forged by the lives and blood of Zhu Rui and countless heroes like him.
Resources:
Unravel the historical mystery of Juri's death
Zhao Yan
"Father of Artillery" Zhu Rui: The highest-ranking general of our army who died in the Liaoshen Campaign
Yan Meisheng