The beacon of youth

Chapter 228

The Northwest Field Army attacked Luochuan for a week with two columns of three and six. The troops paid certain casualties and costs but did not make any real progress.

And the rest of the columns waiting to support the enemy's large corps were also distracted. The soldiers were wildly guessing whether the enemy would come or not. If they didn't come, we would have waited in vain.

Putting aside the speculation and doubts of the soldiers, there is a small village with only a dozen or so households about tens of miles away from Luochuan.

People who have lived here for generations have planted various trees around the village, and now guards have put up guard posts around the village, and several metal bars protrude from the roofs of several houses. With such an antenna, the headquarters of the Northwest Field Army is temporarily stationed here.

The shabby house was full of old-fashioned tables and chairs. It could be seen that the family lived a pretty good life. Although the furniture was not new, it was still very strong, which was good enough in the rural areas of the Northwest at that time.

Several black hand-cranked phones on the table rang from time to time, and the staff members who answered the calls were trying to lower their voices to talk to the other party.

Mr. Peng stood beside a table covered with maps for a long time, and Mr. Peng, who has always been very steady, was somewhat anxious.

"Is there something wrong with our field army's tactics? Or is our hand too soft? Why hasn't the enemy come for reinforcements?

Thinking of this, Boss Peng shouted to a combat staff officer: "Order Xu Guangda of the third column and Luo Yuan of the sixth column to beat me hard, keep beating, and be sure to hit me harder."

After this order was sent out, a few days later, the two attacking columns still made no progress, but the casualties of the troops continued to increase.

Boss Peng looked at the number of casualties reported by the army and was really anxious: "What's wrong? The enemy only has more than 7000 people, why is such a large number of casualties still not effective? Is Yang Yinhuan from Luochuan really so hard?" Or are our two columns useless, how did the third and sixth columns become cotton bales?"

Looking at Mr. Peng who was a little angry, no other staff in the headquarters dared to say anything. Only Political Commissar Xi who was not far away came over at this time. Political Commissar Xi seemed to have guessed what Mr. Peng was going to say next:

"Boss, don't be angry. Both Xu Guangda and Luo Yuan are generals who can fight very well. The battles that neither of them can win must have encountered difficulties that are difficult to overcome. It may not be effective to change other troops. My opinion is It’s best not to change generals just before the battle, the other troops are not as familiar with the geography of that area, besides, withdrawing troops will dampen the enthusiasm of the soldiers, and it will also affect the future development of the troops.”

Boss Peng heaved a sigh of relief, and nodded lightly: "The political commissar is right, let them continue to besiege the city. I want to see how long Hu Zongnan and Pei Chang can survive? Do you really want to get rid of Luo Chuan?"

The troops continued to fight for more than ten days, but Luochuan still hadn't been captured. The field army had been besieging Luochuan for more than 20 days. It took such a long time to besiege an army with only one brigade, but they still hadn't won. Never before.

The cadres and soldiers of the third and sixth columns in charge of the attack were very uncomfortable. The troops were under great pressure. The two main columns had a total of more than 4 people. This face is going to lose a lot.

There is no need for others to say anything, and there is no need for the head of the headquarters to issue any orders. Just attack desperately. After hard work, some outlying strongholds outside the city were finally destroyed, and some small places were recovered, such as Hancheng, Heyang, and Chengcheng. wait.

However, the troops were all fighting fortified positions, and the consumption of personnel and ammunition was extremely high. This must be said to be thanks to the victory of Yichuan, which was the last place and captured a large number of enemy weapons. Otherwise, even ammunition would be a problem.

Boss Peng thinks this is not enough. This is not the result we want. We have to adjust our deployment. The purpose is to attract Pei Changhui's Fifth Corps to help.

But Boss Peng had just prepared the troops, and God seemed to be deliberately against the soldiers. After more than ten days of sleet and sleet, the Pei Changhui Corps still stood still.

The weather was wet and cold, and the soldiers were soaked in snow and muddy water. The number of illnesses gradually increased, including colds, fevers, and diarrhea. Although these ailments were not serious in peacetime, they were fatal on the battlefield.

The commanders are very anxious. The army has already been downsized before the big battle started. How can we fight? If Pei Changhui still doesn’t come, the troops will soak in muddy water for another ten days. There is no need to fight. The cold and injuries Disease will drag the troops down.

It can be seen that logistics has a great influence on the combat effectiveness of troops. Sometimes logistics determines everything, and this effect will become more obvious in later generations because of the improvement of the degree of mechanization of troops.

Fortunately, each battalion and company of the independent regiment has newly made cotton tents that can prevent rain. This can be seen as the benefits of having equipment. A large area of ​​grass-green field tents has been set up, and each tent has A small stove with charcoal fire for cooking rice and hot soup.

The soldiers came out and went in very proudly, their faces were ruddy, they were dressed warmly, they were well fed, and they drank some hot soup. Even a young man in his 20s could not do without a bad complexion.

This guy envied the soldiers of other troops again, and some soldiers said: "Look at the independent regiment, it's the treasure of our commander, even the equipment is amazing."

He said clearly: "You are talking nonsense, what does this have to do with the commander, all the equipment of the independent regiment was brought back by myself, to put it bluntly, it was snatched from the Kuomintang, and the Kuomintang troops are there, right? Anyone can grab it, so can you if you are jealous."

While the soldiers were talking, Pei Changhui, the commander of the Fifth Corps of the Kuomintang, was holding a battle meeting. This Pei Changhui, who had a lot of experience in the Kuomintang, was much calmer than Hu Zongnan, even though he was not as senior as Hu Zongnan.

Pei Changhui, lieutenant general of the 6th Army of the Kuomintang, the eighth infantry division, was activated by Chiang Kai-shek and Hu Zongnan in 48, served as the deputy director of the Xi'an Appeasement Office and the commander of the Fifth Corps, and was changed to the commander of the Seventh Corps in 49. During the Deyang Uprising in Sichuan, after the founding of New China, he served as the director of the Southwest Textile Industry Bureau and the deputy mayor of Chongqing. He died in Chongqing in 49 at the age of 12. (Now some people think that all the generals who surrendered or revolted from the Kuomintang will end badly. This is wrong. Pei Changhui will end his life well.)

He said to the officers above the brigade who came to the meeting: "Just now Commander Hu Zongnan called again to supervise us to speed up our march, and we will go all out to help Luochuan and rescue Yang Yinhuan."

As soon as Pei Changhui finished speaking, the generals below were blown up: "We knew it was a pocket and let us drill it. What kind of war is this called? The Communist Army must have a big pocket waiting for us. We are still rushing in with our heads sullen, what is the difference between this and a fool?"

Some also said: "Then what should we do if we don't drill? Can Commander Hu's order not be implemented? Do you dare not implement it? Besides, Luochuan is different from Yichuan. Luochuan is our ** supply base. Food, Clothes, ammunition, what do you need, and what do the Communist Army lack? These are what the Communist Army lacks. Are we going to hand over Luo Chuan to **? In addition, if we don’t go, we will lose Brigadier Yang Yinhuan, Brigadier Yang is not Zhang Hanchu, he is a very capable person. What a pity to send him to the Communist Army?

Looking at the noisy subordinates, Pei Changhui stretched out both hands and pressed down: "Stop arguing, I asked you to come here to discuss issues, not to make you complain and quarrel, let me make a statement first Well, we must go to rescue Luochuan, and we must carry out Commander Hu's orders. If we don't even carry out the orders of our superiors, what will I, the commander of the corps, do?

Brigadier Yang is the pillar of our party and country. A small Luochuan fought against the main force of the entire Northwest Communist Army for more than [-] days. Rarely, such soldiers are the role models that our party and country lack the most, and they must never be given up. Pass my order, and the troops will immediately move out and attack forward. "

The order was issued, and the troops set off, but the marching brigade had been walking for more than two hours, estimated to be about ten miles away, Commander Pei ordered the troops to stop advancing and rest on the spot.

Several reconnaissance troops were dispatched to carry out carpet-type inspections within a range of more than ten kilometers, and report immediately if there are any abnormalities or troubles.

In this way, the troops walked for a day, stop and go, stop and go, and when the sun was about to set, they could walk more than 20 kilometers. Pei Chang, who was sitting in an American jeep, would shake his head and ask an officer beside him: " How far the troops have come."

The officer replied cautiously: "Report to the commander, we have traveled more than [-] kilometers."

Pei Changhui snorted through his nose and eyes: "Order the troops, turn around on the spot, change from the vanguard to the rear guard, and change from the rear guard to the vanguard, go out."

The officer was a little silly after hearing the order. He was afraid that he had heard it wrong, so he immediately asked again: "Commander, you said you want our troops to go back?"

Pei Changhui gave him a sideways glance, and replied a little impatiently: "Don't ask so many questions, follow the order."

The brigade of the Fifth Corps of the Kuomintang suddenly turned around after walking forty miles, and walked another thirty miles.

The [-]-odd miles of going back is really fast, and it will take more than two hours. Going back, who is not going faster as you go farther and farther away from the Communist Army? At this time, Commander Pei Changhui ordered the troops again Camp in place, bury the pot for cooking.

[dedication]