During the War of Liberation, a special regiment-level unit stepped on the dust in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area, where they were the "Imperial Forest Army" guarding the holy land of the revolution.
However, at dawn in 1947, a small mistake led to the annihilation of the unit.
So, what exactly happened that day?
In 1937, the flame of the Anti-Japanese War ignited the land of China, and Zhang Caiqian, the new commander of the 12th Division of the Eighth Route Army, raised his arms and shouted in order to boost morale: "Brothers, from now on, our mission will be heavier!".”
However, after shouting, they did not rush to the front line like other troops, but stayed in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo area.
Early one morning in 1944, when Zhang Caiqian was explaining guerrilla tactics to the soldiers, he received a telegram from a telegraph operator in a hurry.
After receiving the telegram, Zhang Caiqian took a deep breath, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes: "Brothers, ** has given us a new task, we are going to western Henan to meet with the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Garrison Brigade to establish a new position against Japan."
Zhang Caiqian's words made the soldiers present boil, and they knew that from now on, the mountains and forests in western Henan would become their new battlefield.
After three years of troop establishment, the banner of the newly established Northwest Hubei Military Region is fluttering in the wind.
In a simple command tent, Zhang Caiqian and several other regiment commanders sat around a wooden table, discussing the follow-up plan of action. At that time, due to the blockade of the Kuomintang, the living space of the Northwest Hubei Military Region became smaller and smaller, and their survival time became shorter and shorter.
In desperation, at the beginning of 1947, ** made such a move - let Zhang Caiqian lead the Northwest Hubei Army to retreat collectively.
On the eve of the retreat, Zhang Caiqian summoned his regiment commander and cadres and announced the decision of his superiors.
In the early hours of tomorrow morning, we will begin to move in groups. The 5th Regiment, as the main force, was to cross the Yangtze River and join the guerrilla detachments on the Hubei-Henan border. Zhang Caiqian said.
At that time, the 4th Regiment, headed by Zhang Caiqian, was stationed on the front line of Dangyang and Yuan'an, while the 5th Regiment was on duty in the areas of Jingmen and Zhongxiang. In an urgent military situation, Zhang Caiqian ordered the 5th Regiment to look for an opportunity to join the 4th Regiment.
When this order was transmitted to the 5th Regiment, Yang Xiukun, commander of the 2nd Division of the Northwest Hubei Military Region, was leading the regiment.
After Yang Xiukun received the telegram, his brows tightened, knowing that the situation was critical. He immediately summoned political commissar Liu Jianting to discuss the best route to break through.
But during the transfer, the soldiers of the 5 regiment were exhausted, hungry and cold. They set up tents in a makeshift camp on the banks of the Shuxi River, hoping to rest for a while to regain their strength.
But it was this short break that changed the fate of the 5th regiment.
It turned out that during the rest of the soldiers of the 5th Regiment, the enemy's intelligence network keenly captured the movements of the 5th Regiment, and then a large number of troops quickly assembled in the section of the Sha Changjiang River, cutting off the road of the 5th Regiment.
At the same time, Zhang Caiqian waited anxiously on the opposite bank of Shashi, but the 5th regiment was delayed. His spies brought the worst news: "The enemy's large forces are approaching rapidly, we must cross the river now!."”
Zhang Caiqian's face was like ashes, but as a leader, he had to make the most difficult decision: "Order the 4th regiment to cross the river immediately, we can't wait any longer." ”
In this way, the 4th Regiment, under the leadership of Zhang Caiqian, took advantage of the cover of night to cross the turbulent Yangtze River with difficulty, while the 5th Regiment lost the opportunity to cross the river because of the rest of that day.
By the time the fighters of the 5th Regiment arrived in Shashi the next day, the enemy had blocked the road like iron buckets. In the face of an impregnable enemy, they understand that there is no way out, whether to turn back or to advance.
In the misty drizzle in northwest Hubei Province, the officers and men of the 5th Regiment advanced to the southeast of Dabie Mountain with an unyielding will and in accordance with the decision of Commander Yang Xiukun.
However, fate always seemed to be working against them, and the enemy's pursuers followed, and the battle of encirclement and interception began again and again.
In the Tongbai Mountains, the soldiers of the 5th Regiment had their backs against the mountain rocks, and their eyes showed a resolute light. But with the arrival of the Kuomintang reorganized 85th Division, they fell into a bitter battle with almost no chance of winning.
During the battle, Shu Lieguang's political commissar took the lead and died heroically, while Yang Xiukun sat on a stretcher and commanded the battle with his own will.
Despite the great sacrifices, the remnants of the 5 regiment finally broke through the encirclement. They were again surrounded in the Guojiahe area of Huang'an County, Hubei, this time, the enemy was only a local security regiment, but they forced the 5th regiment into a dead end by virtue of their geographical and numerical advantages.
In the fierce battle, Yang Xiukun still stuck to the last line of command. Warriors surrounded him, resisting the onslaught of the enemy. When the ammunition ran out, ** miserable, the morale of the 5 regiment reached a low point.
Retreat and look for an opportunity to break through!Yang Xiukun gave the final order in the confusion.
However, when they tried to regroup, they found that the troops were no longer able to maintain a full formation. Yang Xiukun collected some of the remaining fighters and decided to move eastward, hoping to have a chance of survival.
Unexpectedly, when transferring to Lihuang County, the 5th Regiment was once again besieged by the enemy. The fighting was even more severe, and the soldiers were barely able to fight back with a lack of ammunition and support.
After this tragic battle, the 5th Regiment, which once shocked the enemy, was scattered on the earth by the wind like a fallen leaf after autumn.
The tide ebbed and flowed, and the 5th Regiment did not catch up with the last chance to cross the river. They lost the opportunity to continue fighting under the old chief, and lost the future of galloping on the land of Jianghan.
Commander Yang Xiukun and political commissar Liu Jianting were also displaced by the war.
And Zhang Caiqian, who led the soldiers of the 4th Regiment, crossed the waves of the Yangtze River, and finally established a liberated area on the Jianghan Plain after the war, shouldering heavier responsibilities and serving as the commander of the Jianghan Military Region and the chief of staff of the Hubei Military Region.
Whenever night fell, Zhang Caiqian often walked to the river alone, looking at the direction of the river, thinking about the soldiers of the 5th Regiment who failed to follow him.