Deng Longxiang’s legendary experience

From porter to major general

When he was a child, he walked from Jiangxi to Hunan to sell charcoal while carrying a pole on his shoulders. He joined the army at the age of 16 and experienced the 25,000-mile Long March. He witnessed the Pingxingguan victory and contributed to the construction of China. The first generation of navy traveled to coastal cities in the north and south... Through Deng Qi's narration, we learned about Deng Longxiang's struggle to grow from a porter to a major general.

Deng Longxiang was born in Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province in February 1913 into a poor peasant family. Deng Qi told reporters, "When my father was young, in addition to hard work in farming, my grandfather also had to do hard labor during slack periods. Even with such hard work, it still could not solve the problem of food and clothing for the whole family. The family lived a hard life of hunger and cold." For this reason, Deng Longxiang carried charcoal many times from Ji'an, Jiangxi to Hunan to sell it to support his family. "Carrying charcoal from Jiangxi to Hunan on foot is equivalent to climbing the Jinggang Mountains. Although this experience is hard, my father has developed a pair of 'iron feet.'" Speaking of this, Deng Qi said with a smile, "My father's iron feet What's amazing is that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he and his secretary climbed Badaling together. His father's leg strength was still very strong. Although his secretary was tall and powerful, he was far behind."

"Father. He joined the army at the age of 16, and later witnessed a great feat that had never been seen before in ancient and modern times - the 25,000-mile Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army." Deng Qi told reporters that because her father was busy with work during his lifetime, she, as a daughter, did not understand him well. Many, but later on, I gradually collected various information about my father's Long March from his father's old comrades and subordinates.

From joining the army in 1929 until the founding of the People's Republic of China, General Deng Longxiang participated in hundreds of large and small battles. After experiencing hundreds of battles, he finally earned the reputation of a "hard-core" general.

“Because my father had read a book, he worked as a clerk when he first joined the army, writing slogans and doing propaganda. Later, a commander of their army had a broken arm and was not suitable to continue to fight on horseback. I My father began to transition to commanding operations. Because he was educated and understood the art of war, he was very thoughtful and persistent in fighting. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, his father was officially awarded the rank of major general. "Deng Qi said about his father's "hard-core" spirit. He said proudly that Marshal Xu Xiangqian also praised his father very much. He once praised his father as "a strong man who is not afraid of death."

Using Sun Tzu's Art of War to surprise Shakou

In February 1949, Deng Longxiang was appointed as the commander of the Fourth East China Guard Brigade. As soon as he took office, the Jiaodong Military Region was planning to form an "attack Qing" force. For this reason, Brigadier Deng volunteered to lead his troops to participate in the Qingdao Liberation Campaign, annihilate the enemy, and preserve this coastal city known as the "Switzerland of the East". Relying on the combat wisdom accumulated over the years and the courage to fear hardships and dangers, Deng Longxiang led the cadres and soldiers of the Fourth Guard Brigade to victory in the battles of Tieqi Mountain, Tamehu Mountain, and Shazikou, and made great achievements in the smooth liberation of Qingdao.

Take the initiative: Lead the Fourth Guard Brigade to participate in the war to "annihilate the enemy and protect the youth"

"Participating in the Qingdao Liberation Campaign was the initiative of Brigadier Deng." An interviewer who once followed the Fourth Guard Brigade interviewed Veteran war correspondent Fu Zhengyou recalled that in 1949, when the Jiaodong Military Region was ordered to form an "attack Qing" force, Brigadier Deng happened to have just taken office, so he took the initiative to ask for help from the head of the military region to lead the Fourth Guard Brigade in a complex situation. Destroy the enemy and protect the city." At that time, the Kuomintang reactionaries' garrison in Qingdao was the 11th Suiyuan District Liu Anqi Department, which had two armies of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, etc. Mr. Fu said, "The enemy relied on its larger force, the protection of the US Seventh Fleet, the superiority of American equipment, and the solid defenses built over many years. They wanted to 'settle for a long time and avoid being annihilated', so they had no choice but to 'destroy the city and evacuate'" Qingdao'. There are not many people like Brigadier Deng who take the initiative to go to the battlefield, which also shows his personality charm from one aspect."

As a reporter with the army at the time, Mr. Fu followed the Fourth Guard Brigade almost all the way. Therefore, he clearly remembered the situation when Brigadier Deng Longxiang commanded the battle. Mr. Fu said with emotion, "Under his witty and tenacious command, the Fourth Guard Brigade captured Lingshan Mountain, held on to Taihu Mountain, swept Lingezhuang, and captured Woluozi and Sishe Mountains. They also went through 9 tug-of-wars to win. Going down Tieqi Mountain, it can be said that Brigadier Deng is a wise and courageous general."

Full of indignation: "As long as I, Old Deng, are here, there will be our Tieqi Mountain."

According to Fu Zhengyou. Recall that in May 1949, Deng Longxiang led the Fourth Guard Brigade into the eastern front of the battle to liberate Qingdao.

At that time, Tieqi Mountain was an important stronghold in the eastern defense system of the enemy's Qingdao Garrison 11 Liu Anqi Department in Suiyuan District. The people who defended the villages at the foot of the enemy's mountains carried out brutal plunder and massacres. The common people's grain was robbed by the enemy while it was still in the fields, and their home belongings were almost looted. Brigadier Deng held a public sentiment survey at the time and was filled with righteous indignation. He gave a "dead order" to his tenth regiment on the phone: "In order to liberate the people of Qingdao and to liberate the whole of China, we must resolutely capture the Iron Cavalry Mountain."

The battle at Tieqishan was one of the most brutal battles in the battle to liberate Qingdao. On May 28, 1949, Fu Zhengyou met Brigadier Deng who was commanding the battle at the Tieqishan position. At that time, nearly a hundred soldiers from the 10th Regiment of the 4th Guard Brigade had sacrificed their lives on the position, and the battle for the position was brutally fought with the enemy. Still ongoing. "The tug-of-war is very exhausting. When I saw Brigadier Deng in front of the artillery regiment position, I found that his face had lost its luster, and there was a lot of mud on his body. His eyes were red from the continuous sleepless nights..." Mr. Fu recalled. Said that at that time, Brigadier Deng put down the telescope, smashed it hard on his hand, and replied decisively: "As long as I, Old Deng, are here, there will be our cavalry mountain!"

Subsequently, Deng Longxiang resumed command of the artillery regiment. Correct the position, measure the distance, aim at the target, and shoot the shells into the enemy bunkers on the hilltop. The enemy fortifications made of reinforced concrete were destroyed in response, shocking the enemy's death squad composed of 120 silver dollars per person as bait. . "At the same time, he recommanded the 10th Regiment to adjust its combat deployment, reorganized its troops and took advantage of the situation to kill the enemy, and finally recaptured the Iron Cavalry Mountain."

Excellent wit: Using Sun Tzu's Art of War to gather and annihilate the enemy

Mentioned liberation For Qingdao, we have to mention the feat of our army quietly climbing the dangerous Laoshan Mountain and descending to Shashakou. This surprising strategy to defeat the enemy was thought up by Brigadier Deng Longxiang. According to Deng Longxiang’s daughter Deng Qi, “There were not many cadres in the army who led troops to fight in the war, but my father had a lot of ink in his stomach because he had read a few books when he was young and liked to study. , is very familiar with the art of war. In the Battle of Shakou, my father used "Sun Tzu's Art of War"." At that time, when a large number of enemy troops were about to flee towards Qingdao City, Brigadier Deng considered it. In order to not only annihilate the enemy's main force, but also protect the beautiful coastal city of Qingdao, we gave up the pursuit of "duck ducks" and adopted the tactic of "attacking the enemy's snake waist", planning to quietly climb the dangerous Laoshan Mountain and launch a surprise attack. In the important town of Shazikou, we led the enemy to "reciprocate from head to tail" to achieve the purpose of mass annihilation. Then, we used a large group of troops to approach Qingdao City. At 3 o'clock in the morning on June 2, Deng Longxiang, who had successfully climbed Mount Laoshan, led the 11th Regiment of the 4th Guard Brigade and occupied Shazikou Town, about 20 kilometers east of Qingdao, overnight, cutting off the enemy's escape route from the eastern sea, and then led his troops Advancing towards Qingdao, as all the enemy defenders outside Qingdao were captured, the enemies in the city had no intention of resisting and fled in panic. "Before leaving, the enemy leader Liu Anqi planned to order the destruction of the city, so he planted a large number of explosives in Qingdao Port. However, because of his father's speed, the enemies fled from the sea before they had time to detonate."

1949 At 12 noon on June 2, Qingdao was officially liberated, and citizens opened their doors to welcome the People's Liberation Army. Qingdao, a beautiful city known as the "Switzerland of the East" by the world, returned intact to the hands of the people.