On November 25, 1950, Mao Anying was tragically killed during an enemy air raid. After the news was transmitted back to China, although *** was deeply saddened, he still quoted the poem "Qingshan buries loyal bones everywhere, why should the horse leather shroud be returned", and chose to bury Mao Anying's body in North Korea.
Thirty years later, the battlefield shifted from Korea to Vietnam, and 8,500 people were killed, including the sons of 10 chiefs. So, who are these heroic martyrs?
What kind of feats did they do on the battlefield? What was their father's attitude toward his son's sacrifice?
In that special period in 1979, China was in the early stage of reform and opening up, and the country was gradually opening up, but at this critical moment, China's southwest border was repeatedly harassed.
As soon as the civil war in Vietnam ended, they did not feel grateful to China, which had helped them, but turned against China and began to retaliate against China. The reason is simple: at that time, Sino-Soviet relations changed, and the Vietnamese turned their attention to their old friend China in order to gain the trust of the Soviet Union.
At the same time, the Vietnamese authorities made their position clear by discarding Ho Chi Ming's revolutionary ideas. Vietnam first started with the local Chinese and overseas Chinese, which seriously disrupted their normal life.
Despite some gains in other areas, the unstable situation in Vietnam's border areas remains a cause for concern. They have continued to carry out provocative acts along the border, sent a large number of armed men to harass border residents with live ammunition, and concocted vicious incidents such as the Pu Nianling incident, which caused relations between the two countries to fall to a freezing point.
What is even more disturbing is that Vietnam has gone so far as to tear up the agreement it signed with China in an attempt to occupy the Nansha Islands and other Chinese islands, denying them the right to belong. The move provoked strong discontent across the country.
In order to maintain border security, the Chinese border guards decided on February 17, 1979 to conduct a self-defense counterattack against the Vietnamese army that had invaded Chinese territory. Batch 2250,000 troops attacked Vietnam from Guangxi and Yunnan, and the conflict in the border areas intensified.
Under the fierce attack of the People's Liberation Army, Vietnam was vulnerable and quickly collapsed. In just 28 days, the PLA penetrated 40 kilometers into Vietnamese territory and captured several important northern towns.
In the end, our army annihilated a total of 57,152 enemy troops. On March 16, the war ended with a complete victory for our army. This battle gave Vietnam its first taste of the strength of the PLA, so they no longer dared to provoke China directly.
This has allowed the situation on the Sino-Vietnamese border to ease. Although there were still small clashes between the two sides in the border area over the next decade, there were no more large-scale wars.
This fully illustrates the expected results achieved in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam. In the early days of the war, our people were united, and many young people took the initiative to ask for help or demobilization, so the team to fight against Vietnam was quickly formed.
The PLA died heroically in battle, 8,500 of them were unfortunately killed, and 2More than 50,000 people were injured. Most of these young soldiers are hot-blooded young people in their twenties, who have guarded the land of their homeland with their lives, but they will never be able to return to their beloved homeland again.
Among them, there are even descendants of military personnel, including 10 martyrs, who are descendants of the heads of the army. So, who are they? First of all, we have to remember Zhang Li, the son of the division commander Zhang Zhixin.
In the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Zhixin spent his youth.
He witnessed the heroic scene of the shattering of the mountains and rivers of the motherland, and his blood boiled, and he was determined to dedicate himself to the country. So, at the end of the Anti-Japanese War, he did not hesitate to join the Eighth Route Army and became a member of the team.
With his outstanding combat talent, Zhang Zhixin quickly rose to prominence in the army, and during the War of Liberation, he led the army to face off with the Kuomintang army many times, annihilating a large number of enemy troops.
He has earned high praise for his performance and has risen through the ranks. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was appointed commander of the 160th Division of the 4th Army of the People's Liberation Army. In 1957, when he was 30 years old, he was happy to have a noble son and named him Zhang Li, hoping that he could inherit his ambition to serve the country.
Under the influence of Zhang Zhixin, Zhang Zhang gradually established the ideal of joining the army and serving the country. At the age of 18, he successfully joined the army. However, in order to allow his son to get a more rigorous exercise, Zhang Zhixin did not tell him about the relationship between the two, but just let him face the challenges alone.
At the beginning of 1979, when Zhang Li learned that the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam was about to begin, his heart was boiling with enthusiasm and he was eager to dedicate himself to the country. However, his unit was not sent to Vietnam to fight.
So, Zhang Li decided to write a letter to his father, begging him to approve himself to join the front-line troops. Looking at his son's handwritten letter, Zhang Zhixin's mood was complicated. He is proud of his son's ambitions, but at the same time he is worried about whether his son, who has no combat experience, can survive the rapidly changing battlefield.
After careful consideration, Zhang Zhixin finally made a decision, made an exception to pass Zhang Li's application, and let him follow his 160th Division and officially set foot on the battlefield in Vietnam.
This is Zhang Zhixin's special love for his son Zhang Li. Zhang Zhang lived up to his father's expectations and became a scout, providing a lot of valuable information to the troops. Despite his admiration, he remained humble and low-key and never divulged his identity.
However, the cruelty of war first befell him on February 27. On the same day, he was in front to reconnoiter the enemy, but was found by the ambushed Vietnamese army and shot in the waist.
Although his uniform was stained red with blood, he succeeded in delivering information with his strong faith.
He was well aware of the righteousness, and despite the difficulty of his actions, he took the initiative to ask for cover for the retreat of his comrades. He was aware of the soldiers' voices, but in the face of the enemy's aggressiveness, he resolutely rejected the offer to return to the rear hospital**.
He insisted that his teammates go first, and it was only at this moment that he revealed his identity: "I am the son of your division commander, please tell my father that I did not disappoint him." ”
In the end, this heroic young player died heroically and stayed at the age of 21 forever. After learning the news, Zhang Zhixin was unable to accept it for a while, standing in place and stunned, after a while, his eyes were full of tears, but his tone was still firm: "War is always accompanied by sacrifice, you think about it, on July 21, 1953, on the Korean battlefield, the fourth company of the 478th regiment sacrificed four platoon commanders in one day, and only one company commander was left in the fifth company.
So many people sacrificed their lives on the battlefield for the benefit of the motherland and the people, and Zhang Li died a well-deserved death. ”
On April 3, when he went to the front line to express his condolences, he held Zhang Zhixin's hand tightly, praised him for fighting a good battle, maintaining the party's true colors, and the motherland and the people were grateful to him. A few days later, the deeds of Zhang Zhixin and Zhang Zhang spread throughout the army, and his selflessness touched everyone, but deep down in his heart, he could not calm the pain of losing his son.
For decades, he carried his son's ** with him. Literary workers took this as inspiration to create ** "Wreath Under the Mountain", in which Zhang Zhixin appeared as "Commander Lei", and Zhang Li appeared as "Little Beijing".
Geng Jinfu and Geng Xiaokang are the same, they are a pair of veterans who have experienced the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and their stories are also full of sacrifice and dedication.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Geng Jinfu has served as the deputy chief of staff of the 150th Division of the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army, shouldering the heavy responsibility of guarding the frontier. In 1958 and 1961, his two sons, Geng Jun and Geng Xiaokang, were born successively, and they grew up in a barracks environment and were deeply affected by their father's patriotic spirit.
The two brothers joined the 150th Division early in training, and fought side by side with their father every day to hone their will and strengthen their physique. Under the guidance of their father, they developed excellent skills and established a firm belief in serving the people.
Although they are the sons of the deputy chief of staff, they always maintain a humble and polite attitude, never put on a show, and are deeply loved by their comrades. In 1978, Geng retired and returned to the region, but his two sons are still serving in the army.
A year later, when the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam broke out, the two brothers resolutely decided to go to the front line and contribute their own strength to the peace of the motherland.
Despite their fear that their elderly father would not be able to withstand the pressure of them venturing into battle, they decide to hide their decision. They were well aware of the danger of this adventure, so they prepared in advance for the possibility of dying on the battlefield, leaving behind the twelve yuan they had accumulated and a suicide note.
But what they didn't expect was that this trip would really be the beginning of a farewell forever. On March 19, Geng Jun and Geng Xiaokang followed the large force of the 150th Division into the mountains of Vietnam.
The mountainous terrain was rugged, but with the guerrilla warfare experience accumulated by our army during the agrarian revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, they shuttled freely through the mountains and forests, and dealt heavy blows to the Vietnamese army many times.
During the battle, the Geng brothers always charged ahead, serving as the key force of the fireteam. However, a large force of the enemy army was suddenly reinforced, and the 448th regiment, where they were located, gradually lost contact with the large force and fell into the heavy encirclement of the enemy army.
In order to protect his teammates, Geng Jun died bravely and was posthumously awarded a first-class meritorious service. However, his heroism did not end. In the battle of friend and foe, he and his comrades fought hard and were finally driven to the edge of the cliff.
Faced with a situation where there was no way out, Geng Jun did not want to become a prisoner, so he chose to lead other comrades to jump off the cliff at the cost of his own life, and all of them died heroically. At the last moment of his life, he shouted "If you are a party member, follow me", which not only reflects his heroism and fearlessness, but also reflects his firm belief.
Although he was only 21 years old, his heroic deeds will always be remembered.
Zhou Wei: A good young man who resolutely chose to join the army to serve the country is different from Zhang Zhixin and Geng Jinfu, Zhou Kaiyuan does not approve of his son's joining the army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Kaiyuan served as a political commissar in the 121st Division of the 41st Army and devoted himself to political work within the army.
He believes that being a soldier is not only a choice, but also a responsibility, which requires perseverance and tenacity. Therefore, he did not think that his son Zhou Wei was suitable to be a soldier.
In Zhou Kaiyuan's vision, Zhou Wei can live an ordinary and stable life, which has made him satisfied. However, what Zhou Kaiyuan didn't expect was that Zhou Wei was full of enthusiasm for joining the army, even if his application was rejected by Zhou Kaiyuan many times, he still persevered and was determined to join the military camp.
In the end, Zhou Kaiyuan had softened his attitude and was willing to accept his son's decision, but he didn't expect Zhou Wei to take the lead and join the 123rd Division next door.
Faced with his son's behavior of playing tricks in order to join the army, Zhou Kaiyuan had mixed feelings, both angry and funny. However, Zhou Wei's performance in the army exceeded his expectations.
He did not use his status as a ** disciple to be special, but trained hard and became an excellent soldier. In the 1979 self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, he always rushed to the front, leading other fighters, and greatly boosted the morale of the 123rd Division.
However, the risks on the battlefield are unpredictable, and although Zhou Wei is not reckless, rushing to the front will always encounter danger. Unfortunately, during an encounter, he was hit by the enemy and died on the spot.
This news dealt a huge blow to Zhou Kaiyuan when he was deploying combat missions on the front line.
Despite the difficulties, he still stuck to his post, successfully completed the deployment and command tasks, and led the 121st Division to the final victory of the war. In addition to the four people we mentioned earlier, there are also the descendants of Qu Ningjiang, Jiang Luping, Luo Yuening, Cao Hui, Zhao Youlin, Peng Hong, Pu Shiping, and many other leaders, who died heroically in the 1979 self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.
As Lermontov said,"Heroes are not candles, but pure sunlight"。Time flies, 43 years have passed in a blink of an eye, but we will always remember these great martyrs, who exchanged their lives for the peace on the border for the motherland and the people.
It is their selfless dedication that allows us to have a happy life today. Here, I would like to pay tribute to the martyrs who died bravely to defend the motherland!