The fire was roasted in the fire, the brigade commander suddenly arrived, the deputy regiment commander was driven out, and the battle situation took a big turn
On a cold night in February 1941, the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army, under the leadership of the brigade commander General Zhang Aiping, began their difficult journey back to the northeast of Anhui.
On that day, a heavy snow covered the land, the cold wind howled, and the temperature plummeted. However, this did not prevent the 25th and 27th regiments of the Ninth Brigade, under the personal command of Zhang Aiping, from starting the battle to seize Qingyang Town, the center of the northeastern Anhui base area.
Soon after the battle began, the battalions of the 27th Regiment launched a fierce attack on the city from the eastern, northeastern, and southern side streets of the downtown area. However, when the 2nd Battalion advanced to a shochu workshop, it was met with extremely ferocious strafing from the enemy's high-level fire, and the troops' attack was greatly resisted.
The task of the 25th Regiment was to first capture Beixiaojie on the north bank of the Tanhe River, and then quickly advance to Beijiejie. However, when the troops managed to break through to the North Street and reach the banks of the Tan River, they encountered a problem: the retreating enemy had already dismantled the bridge.
Faced with this unexpected situation, Deputy Captain Sha Feng made a wise decision. Ignoring the bitterly cold wind, he immediately led the 1st Battalion and 1st Company, 3rd Company, and 3rd Battalion and 9th Company to wade across the river from the east of Beixiao Street.
Although the river is wide and deep enough to be navigated by boat, the crossing was surprisingly smooth, and the number of people was relatively small, but the embankment was steep and difficult to climb.
Deputy Regiment Commander Sha Feng set up the regimental command post in an elementary school in Beixiao Street and ordered the troops to attack the intersection by using the methods of erecting ladders over the wall and making holes from house to house.
At this time, Sha Feng realized that his cotton pants were soaked when he crossed the river, and on a February night in Huaibei, it was snowing again, and the temperature was extremely low, and he was already so cold that his teeth were rattling.
The guards hurriedly fetched firewood and grass, lit the fire, and said to Shafeng: "Deputy commander, you take off your pants first, and I will help you roast and dry." ”
At the moment when Sha Feng was about to take off his pants and roast the fire, Zhang Aiping suddenly appeared in front of him. Zhang Aiping asked, "What are you doing?" Sha Feng didn't have time to put on his pants, so he could only reply embarrassedly: "I'm really cold and can't stand ......."However, Zhang Aiping said resolutely: "No, my command post must be located here!" ”
Sha Feng immediately understood that the brigade commander asked him to leave not because he was bare-chested, but because he believed that as the front-line commander of the 25th Regiment, he should stay with the troops, and the command position should be as close to the front line as possible.
Sha Feng may not know that Zhang Aiping is actually learning from his old leader, Mr. Peng. During the Long March across the Xiangjiang River, Zhang Aiping was the director of the Political Department of the Fourth Division of the Red Third Army Corps.
At that time, the Fourth Division was responsible for interception and cover, and the division's command post was set up two or three miles away from the Xiangjiang River. Suddenly, Commander Peng came and said that his regimental headquarters was located here.
Obviously, Mr. Peng thought that the division command post was too far from the front line. As a result, the command post of the 4th Division was forced to move forward. Interestingly, Zhang Aiping's action to drive away the sand wind turned out to be a key turning point in the battle of our army's attack on Qingyang.
After "driving away" Shafeng, Zhang Aiping first set up the brigade command post in the place where the sand wind had just been fired, and then continued to push the brigade command post forward as the battle progressed, completely ignoring the danger brought about by the enemy's fierce firepower.
Zhang Aiping's leading role and command style at the front had a profound influence on his subordinates, so that cadres at all levels strictly followed this instruction in battle. When the soldiers saw that the leaders at all levels were going to the front line to direct the battle regardless of the danger, their morale was greatly boosted, and everyone moved forward bravely.
Soon, they played an unstoppable momentum when they were not dominant, forcing the enemy to retreat one after another. The 25th Regiment and the 27th Regiment were like two unsheathed swords, forming a joint encirclement of the enemy in Qingyang Town, and finally won the battle at about 9 o'clock in the morning of the 12th, destroying more than 700 enemies, seizing a large number of ** ammunition and military supplies, and making a good start for returning to the northeast of Anhui.
General Sha Feng said with deep feelings: In that battle, Brigadier Commander Zhang Aiping gave me an unforgettable lesson. He stressed that at all times and in all places, commanders must be closely united with their own troops, and only in this way can they truly understand the situation at the front and win the battle.
With this motto, General Sha Feng continued to grow, and finally achieved many military exploits in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and was awarded the rank of colonel in 1955 and promoted to major general in 1964.
General Zhang Aiping also showed outstanding leadership skills in the battle, was awarded the founding general in 1955, and later served as the vice premier, state councilor and minister of defense, and became an outstanding general of the squadron.