The support of the people made the Liaoshen Campaign brilliant.

Every village has a hospital, every family is a ward, and everyone is a nurse.

Our soldiers used dry food to satisfy their hunger in the position.

Raise materials for the front line

Farmers’ children gloriously joined the army and went to the front.

Migrant workers urgently transport the wounded.

　　At a critical juncture, the Northern Liaoning Provincial Party Committee organized 400 camels and a large number of manpower from Tongliao to deliver ammunition and oil needed by the attacking troops in time.

The peasants turned over and formed a mighty army of stretchers to go to the front.

　　In the fierce battle, the soldiers sometimes can’t eat or drink water, so the local people braved the gunfire and sent food and water to the front positions; The enemy poured a large number of artillery shells into our position, and the ground exploded several feet deep. With the strong support of the militia and the masses, the position was recovered, and the fortifications were destroyed and repaired … Chen Yi, the former political commissar of the logistics department of the Northeast Field Army, once fondly recalled: "The victory of the Liaoshen campaign cannot be separated from the support of the people."

　　The Battle of Liaoshen was a huge battle in the northeast battlefield in September and October of 1948, and it was also the last battle to liberate the whole northeast and wipe out the Kuomintang troops in the northeast. This campaign lasted for 52 days. On the 800-kilometer-long north-south front between Changchun, Shenyang, Jinzhou and Liaoxi Corridor, our million-strong army wiped out 470,000 Kuomintang troops and liberated the whole northeast after several major battles in Jinzhou, Liaoxi and Shenyang. In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Liaoning’s liberation, the reporter in shenyang military area command Logistics History Museum deeply realized the profound meaning that "the people must rely on the people to win the people’s war" through historical pictures and detailed descriptions of the lecturers.

　　"We will support what the troops need."

　　According to Xu Wentao, director of the shenyang military area command Logistics History Museum, on the eve of the Liaoshen Campaign, the Northeast Bureau, the Northeast Administrative Committee and the provincial party and government organs made a thorough study and deployment of the work before the support, and timely issued instructions to mobilize the people to support the war. In the whole campaign, according to incomplete statistics, 1.83 million migrant workers, 137,000 stretchers and 129,000 carts were used to transport 55 million kilograms of grain and food. In the mighty army of supporting the front, there are migrant workers in the base areas of North Manchuria, West Manchuria and South Manchuria who have been tested by many battles, standing migrant workers in northern Liaoning and Hebei Chare Liaoning who have been producing and supporting the front for a long time in a war environment, turned-over farmers who have just been allocated land in the newly recovered areas, and heroic models who have been neutral and won awards in the past. They carried stretchers, drove carts, entrusted by the villagers, and with the belief that "all efforts should be made to support the front line and everything should be done to win the decisive battle", they devoted themselves to arduous and intense pre-support activities.

　　Xu Wentao pointed to the picture and told the touching stories behind it emotionally. In order to ensure the victory of attacking Jin, our army fought bravely and tenaciously in Tashan, blocking the enemy who was advancing westward to aid Jin. The terrain in Tashan area is high for the enemy and low for us, and our positions are completely within the range of enemy artillery fire. In order to help the troops build fortifications, the people around Tashan Village immediately took action and removed their own door panels, and some even removed the edge of the kang and the cover of the cabinet. An old poor farmer also offered three materials buried underground. The masses said, "We will support whatever the troops need." The local government organized the masses to quickly send a large amount of wood, rails, sorghum stalks and other materials raised from all directions to Tashan positions. More than 200 villagers, soldiers and the masses in Tashan also helped the troops build a traffic trench with a length of more than 8,000 meters from Fishing Mountain in the east to Baitai Mountain in the west. In the midst of gunfire and smoke, the stretcher workers of the two battalions not only rescued the wounded in operation, but also worked hard for three days and nights to help the troops build fortifications. In order to reduce the pain of the wounded, every time migrant workers receive a task, no matter how dangerous or tired, they try their best to transport it in time to ensure safety. The stretcher bearers of Xintaimen Transfer Station in Jinxi County (now Huludao City) are responsible for transferring the wounded to Pigeon Cave, which travels more than 80 miles every day and transports more than 900 wounded for 8 consecutive days, so that the wounded can be treated in time. There were 140 wounded people in Huangtukan village, and they needed to be transported urgently. At that time, there was a shortage of manpower. The cadres of 21 villages immediately dispatched and worked in pieces, and completed the task in only one day and one night.

　　Zhao Decai, former stationmaster of Qinghemen Military Station of the Logistics Department of the Northeast Field Army, said that there are countless touching stories in the war-torn battlefield. An old woman named Mu Wenzhen saw that a platoon leader with big feet in our army had no shoes to wear. She tied a wooden board to her feet for shoes, and her feet were all bloody. After she went home, she stayed up all night, hiding from gunfire under the kang, and rushed out a pair of shoes for the platoon leader. The platoon leader was very excited and said, "I will live up to my old woman’s wishes, severely attack the enemy, and repay the people’s care!" In Tashan village, a mother Zhou died on the battlefield in order to send water to the soldiers. With the full support of the people, our army fought bloody battles in Tashan for six days and nights to resist the repeated attacks of nine enemy divisions, so that the enemy could not move forward in front of Tashan. Lin Weichou, commander of the 62nd Kuomintang Army, had to sigh that it was a miracle to find so much wood and build such a complete position in just over 10 days, when he saw that fortresses were scattered all over the position, obstacles and traffic trenches were criss-crossing, and Abatis, stakes and barbed wire, which were difficult to pass through even without defense.

　　Once the chatterbox is opened, it can no longer be closed. Zhao Decai went on to say that after the victory of the attack on Jin, our army moved northward and launched a panic-stricken war in western Liaoning. When I stopped the troops and rushed to Montenegro, there were a lot of people outside the city, mules and horses hissed and wheels rolled, thousands of people had already waited at the street intersection, and carts were loaded with all kinds of equipment. Many people with shovels, pickaxes and other tools are ready to rush to various positions with the troops. Witnessing the enthusiasm of the masses before leaving the army, the cadres and soldiers in the army were full of blood and confidence. There is a 101 highland on the sniper position, which is a stone bald ridge. It is very difficult to repair the fortifications in a short time. Migrant workers and fellow villagers immediately carried bags full of earth and stone, swarmed and swarmed, and the 101 highland suddenly became a sea of people, and the Stone Mountain soon became a solid fighting fortress. During the battle, the masses sent water and food to the position one after another. Migrant workers timely rescue the wounded, transport ammunition, and women and the elderly care for the wounded. There are more than 400 cadres and people in Heishan County in Xiawazi, Baitaizi, Santaizi and Highland 101, which are fiercely contested, and they have given their precious lives to support our army in stopping the enemy.

　　On the day of the battle of Jinzhou, the eight columns that attacked Kam marched eastward and arrived at Goubangzi that night. When the Goubangzi District Government learned that 500 military stretchers were urgently needed for the troops to participate in the battle to panic in the Liao Yaoxiang Corps and attack Shenyang, the district government cadres immediately mobilized overnight and completed the task overnight.

　　A farmer in Wendilou Township, Jinxian County (now named Linghai City) took out all the 11 stones of grain collected by himself and his relatives and friends, led his younger brother and son to grind the rice day and night, and rushed the donkeys to the front line bag by bag. Naiman Banner is more than 500 miles away from Montenegro and Beizhen, and the local people simply use ox carts to deliver 1 million kilograms of grass needed for the front line to their destination on time.

　　"Where the People’s Liberation Army hits, the railway will be repaired and the train will go!"

　　"The Liaoshen campaign has passed for decades, and the past is still vivid. The sacrifices and contributions made by employees in Northeast guangtong-dali railway to ensure the victory of the decisive battle have made me unforgettable. " In front of the picture of General Lv Zhengcao, the former director of Northeast Railway Administration, Xu Wentao recounted this passage written by Lv Zhengcao when he recalled the railway transportation in Liaoshen Campaign.

　　Then, curator Xu explained to the reporter. At the beginning of the Northeast Liberation War, guangtong-dali railway workers had just been liberated from the slavery of Japanese imperialism. Under the leadership of the party, they carried forward a high sense of responsibility as masters, fought day and night, overcame various difficulties such as lack of equipment and food, repaired railways and revived locomotives and vehicles. With the smooth progress of the Northeast Liberation War, the railway lines in the liberated areas have been gradually extended and played an increasingly important role. In order to speed up the victory of the war of liberation, the railway staff put forward: "Where the PLA hits, the railway will be built and the train will go!" Before the Liaoshen Campaign, the Northeast Liberated Area received and repaired more than 5,700 kilometers of railways, with a mileage of 9,818 kilometers, accounting for 98% of the mileage of the whole Northeast, and repaired 885 locomotives, which laid a solid foundation for supporting the war.

　　General Lv Zhengcao, who knew all about the railway transportation during the whole campaign, once recalled that after the Liaoshen campaign began, the Kuomintang troops in Northeast China were surrounded by our troops in three isolated areas, Changchun, Shenyang and Jinzhou, but their ability to destroy our transportation lines from the air was still very strong, which made it more difficult for me to complete the logistics transportation task.

　　In the tense military transportation, railway workers and their families often risk their lives to repair damaged lines and equipment. Often, just after the enemy plane flew away, the fire did not go out, the smoke did not disperse, and some bombs dropped by the enemy did not explode, railway workers and their families rushed to the scene, lifting rails, carrying sleepers, picking sand, filling craters and laying lines. The flight attendants of the special transport team organized by Beian, Qiqihar, Angangxi, Baichengzi, Harbin, Jilin and other rear locomotive depots didn’t say anything about where to go or what to do when bidding farewell to their parents and wives. They just said, "It’s a long trip, don’t worry about it" and picked up their lunch boxes and left. Many extraordinary deeds were created by these ordinary railway workers and their families: the locomotive was broken, the driver was carrying brake shoes on his head, and braved enemy planes to shoot and rush to repair it; On the way, the locomotive fuel caught fire, and the flight attendant risked his life, squatting on the brace at the bottom of the locomotive and filling the axle box with hard oil; The stove bar was broken, so they put the straw bag on their bodies and got into the ash box to repair it. Some campers were damaged, and the flight attendants rested on the roof of the coal water. In the late autumn night in Northeast China, the wind is biting, but the railway workers hold the firm belief that "everything is for the front line and everything is for victory" to overcome the cold and frost and overcome many difficulties.

　　Jinzhou is the hub of Beining Line, and the throat leading northeast to Guannei. In order to concentrate on conquering Jinzhou, our army decided to deploy two more columns from Changchun and Shenyang to participate in the battle on the Beining Line. At this moment, the arms train to Jinzhou front was bombed continuously, and even the cars carrying arms were bombed, and the troops attacking Jinzhou were in urgent need of ammunition supplement. In late September, the headquarters of the Northeast Field Army decided to organize a secret arms train in Ang Ang Creek-3005 times, which was transported to Xifuxin Station before the reinforcements of Shenyang Kuomintang came out. Sixteen comrades of the crew of the 3005 train risked being bombed by enemy planes at any time, and the general listed them on September 28. Along the way, with the support of the masses, we fought bravely with enemy planes, overcame many difficulties and broke through layers of obstacles. After four days and nights of operation, we finally arrived at Darcy Fuxin Station at 4: 46 a.m. on October 20, and delivered the ammunition that the commanders and men were eagerly waiting for in time.

　　In October, the Kuomintang army in Northeast China felt that the end was coming, and sent planes to bombard Cangtu, Xinlitun, Paozi, Zhangwu, Tongliao, Zhengjiatun and other stations on my western line in an attempt to cut off my transportation line. On October 1, the Liuhe Bridge was damaged and the transportation was paralyzed. At this critical juncture, in order to ensure the smooth flow of the line, the railway employees, their families and the railway column soldiers worked hard to repair it that night. After a night of fighting, the temporary bridge was set up, and it passed through the military ranks twice day and night, and passed through the military ranks four times day and night, creating an amazing miracle.

　　Wang Shixin, a veteran of the former Northeast Field Army, recalled that after our army completed the deployment of encircling Jin Dayuan in Northeast China, the Liao Yaoxiang Corps, which was holed up in Shenyang, formed the "Westward Corps" to invade Xinmin in an attempt to solve the siege of Jinzhou. After Liao Yaoxiang Corps left Shenyang, an enemy cavalry rushed to Cangtu Station. Seeing that the station was destroyed, they searched everywhere for tools for repair. The enemy caught Shi Yunpu, a road maintenance worker in Cangtu Road Maintenance Work Area, and asked him where all the tools were. He said that they were taken away by the retreating people. The enemy insisted that he was hiding and forced him to hand over his tools. If he doesn’t pay, the enemy will fight. The old worker was beaten all over, spitting blood, and insisted that he didn’t. The enemy was so angry that he pointed a bayonet at Shi Yunpu’s chest and threatened him. The old worker was fearless in the face of a strong enemy and would rather die than pay. After the enemy fled, when our comrades came back, Shi Yunpu dug up his buried tools to repair the line for everyone, and Cangtu Station was soon opened to traffic. Under the bombardment and strafing of enemy planes, the telephone operator in Zhangwu Electric Power Station still kept working and kept the telephone open. Three girls, Li Guilan, Che Xi ‘e and Li Tingxia, insisted on working at the exchange desk. The oldest of them is 21 years old and the youngest is only 14 years old. These three girls stayed at their posts day and night and didn’t take off their headphones for more than ten days. I don’t know how many times the telephone line was blown off, but the electricians risked their lives to connect again and again. I don’t know how many places the telephone exchange has moved, but the communication has never been interrupted.

　　At the end of the visit, Xu Wentao told reporters emotionally that during the Liaoshen campaign, railway workers and former migrant workers cooperated with the troops to transport more than 19,000 wagons to the front line, which made incalculable contributions to ensuring the victory of the decisive battle. The great contributions and heroic achievements of the broad masses in Northeast China to the People’s Liberation War will never go down in history.

　　Image courtesy of shenyang military area command Logistics History Museum.

Editor: Li Yongchao