The battle for the defense of Butterfly Island was quite fierce. After Hu Lianfa was 'dizzy' for a while, he would never have imagined that this important part of the "Thunder Operation" plan, which was personally deployed by Chiang Kai-shek, carefully planned by the Kuomintang General Staff, and personally organized and implemented, would be like this. He didn't want to throw his life on this small island. Believing that he could save the day as he had done the previous times, he took a few men and boarded the three jeeps parked outside and hurried towards the beach.

When they arrived at the beach, they saw the landing ship that had left them, forming a formation in the coastal waters. Under the command of a small gunboat, it slowly sailed away from the bay of Butterfly Island. Hu Lian was so angry that he took out his pistol and fired a few shots at the departing fleet. scolded Zeng Haiqiang, an unkind and unrighteous thing, and betrayed the party-state and did not die a good death. After a frenzied outpouring of energy, he calmed down, and he knew that he and the landing force had no way back but to fight on their backs. The first thing he did was to order the blockade of information about the Navy and Air Force. He told the officers above the battalion level that the ship had gone back to Taiwan to pick up reinforcements, and that the president was determined to start recovering the mainland from here. Occupying Butterfly Island, everyone is a meritorious hero in the recovery of the mainland, and the benefits are naturally indispensable to everyone. I vouch for this with my personality, and if you don't honor it, you can scold your mother and beat me with a black gun

On the one hand, he urgently appealed to his principal for help, asking Chiang Kai-shek to send warships to pick him up and the landing force again, at least for the sake of his many military exploits for the party-state, and to send a small plane of the air force to pick him up. On the one hand, he was also making the final battle of the trapped beasts, and in the face of the counterattack launched by our army, Hu Lian took the lead and personally went into battle to command the battle. After the initial panic, the Kuomintang army quickly stabilized its position. Gangxi and Kengbei launched a life-and-death struggle with the communist army, and the 201st Regiment of the 25th Division of the Kuomintang Youth Army, under the cover of tanks, even began a local counter-charge. In Gangxi Village, the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war with each other, and both sides were bound to win. Gangxi Village is a small village with only more than 40 households on the north side of Butterfly Island, 201 highlands on her west side, 108 highlands on the east side of a small hill, direct access to the sea in the north, and the 'plain' of the whole island in the south. If the enemy occupies the village of Gangxi, the entire body of the butterfly, the left wing, and the tentacles will be occupied, and the entire butterfly will only be left with half of the edge of the right wing. Hu Lian knew that if he could occupy the communist heights on the island, even if the communist reinforcements came, he would be able to resist for a few days. Buy some time for the principal to save himself. So the order was given to launch a fierce attack at any cost.

The 201 heights on the west side of Gangxi Village were defended by the 3rd Battalion of the 224th Regiment, and the 108 heights on the east side were the 9th Company of the 272nd Regiment of the 31st Army.

At 13 o'clock, the 25th Regiment of the 201st Division of the Kuomintang, under the cover of 10 tanks, carried out a continuous group charge on the 2O1 Heights and the 108 Heights, and the two sides were stuck together, and the two squads on the No. 4 outpost position of the 9th Company of the 272nd Regiment of the 108th Heights of our army repelled the enemy's continuous charges at the platoon level and one at the company level, suffered huge casualties, and there were only 6 soldiers left in the class. Because of the size of the position, both sides could only resort to refueling tactics. After two hours of fierce fighting, the 201st Battalion of the 25th Regiment of the 1st Division of the enemy left more than 200 corpses on the hillside. And only the last 38 people remained in the 272nd Company of the 9th Regiment of our army. The 201st Division of the Kuomintang Youth Army had no choice but to withdraw the 1st Battalion to rest. And the PLA troops defending the island also replaced the 9th Company.

The two battalions of the 201st Regiment of the 201st Division of the Kuomintang Youth Army, which attacked the 201st Heights, were even more miserable, and more than 700 people were killed and wounded in two consecutive company-level and battalion-sized attacks in two consecutive hours. In desperation, the enemy had no choice but to stop the attack.

Under the rapid artillery fire of the first company of the rocket battalion, the 225th Regiment of the 28th Army launched a charge against the enemy's 118th Division in Kengkou Village and captured the 89th Heights in one fell swoop. Destroy more than 1,200 enemies and force the enemy to retreat to the county seat.

At about 15 o'clock, our army fully recaptured the positions on the front line of Gangxi Village and Kengkou. A total of more than 3,000 enemies were destroyed, and the enemy was forced to retreat to the county seat, and Zhangtang Town and Kangmei Town were defended on the front line.

At 15:30, the second batch of support units of our army - the tank regiment of the 1st Marine Division and the 4th and 5th regiments, with a total of more than 7,000 people, arrived at Wujiao Bay in the east of Butterfly Island and Xiaocrescent Bay north of Jixinyu.

This is the first joint operation of the army, navy and air force in the history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the greater significance is a composite exercise. Take Hulian, the "thunder" unit, to train their hands.

Before the war, the staff officers of the Guangdong-Fujian front joint worked out a plan for the landing on Butterfly Island. The landing force participating in the operation is commanded by Wan Jun, commander of the 1st Marine Division, and the ground forces are divided into landing formations and support formations; The Air Force is a mixed Flying Leopard Brigade of the 1st Division, which is responsible for sea and air cover; There were about 10 landing ships, 2 support ships, and 2 planes participating in the battle, and the entire campaign command was under the unified command of the head of the 10 Corps and Wang Kunpeng. Originally, the landing operation was based on the size of the enemy and matched the use of landing ships. In general, 4 landing ships are enough for a small base, 6 for a medium base, and 8-10 for a homeport-class base. This time, for a landing operation on a beachhead that the enemy had just established for half a day, the use of 10 landing ships was really a bit of a fuss, and it tasted like using a knife to kill chickens. But Wan Jun insisted that being idle is also idle, and let everyone actually compare it, which is also a rare actual combat exercise for the troops. It will also accumulate some practical experience for the next step in liberating Taiwan. This is also in line with our army's operational principle of concentrating forces to fight a war of annihilation.

Before setting off, the command once emphasized some precautions for the use of landing ships: It is imperative not to let the landing teams land one by one, as they will be wiped out one by one, and they must land en masse. Efforts were made to allow the landing forces of all ships to reach the landing point at the same time. As far as possible, the landing fleet should be kept from shelling from enemy artillery positions, and the support fleet should pay absolute attention to suppressing enemy artillery fire. Although the main artillery fire of the enemy has been eliminated, special attention is paid to this.

At 15:30, two JH7 Flying Leopard fighters bombed the headquarters of the Kuomintang landing force and other important targets, and a formation composed of two fire support ships converted from 10,000-ton freighters also arrived in the waters of Butterfly Island and began to carry out advance fire preparations. Lots were divided and identified targets were destroyed one by one. To ensure the accuracy of the shelling, 2 freighters even conducted direct aimed fire at the target at a distance of only 3000 meters from the shore. The entire beachhead of the enemy on the island was filled with gunfire and smoke, and the enemy's limbs and blown guns were constantly thrown into the air. Of the 110 targets scheduled, 98 were destroyed. Such a high accuracy rate is directly related to UAV observation and correction. Then the artillery fire extended to the interior of the island, and the enemy's assembly points and material storage points on the island were almost completely overwhelmed by the smoke of our artillery bombardment.

At this time, Hu Lian was cowering in a tunnel left by our army on Yanzi Mountain. Hu Lian escaped the air strike of JH7, and this time there was a certain element of luck. When our landing fleet appeared in the waters off Butterfly Island and was discovered by an enemy observation post set up here, and had already arrived with reinforcements, we were overjoyed and immediately reported to him. He immediately asked the radio station to contact him, but he received no response. He had to go to the observation post to personally verify this important information, and just two minutes after he drove a jeep away from the command headquarters, he was completely destroyed by the JH7 Flying Leopard fighter plane. Hu Lian watched from the top of Yanzi Mountain as the headquarters had been blown into a wasteland with a raging fire. Once again, I am glad that my life is great, my blessing is great, and my creation is great, but in fact, this is not his creation, which has a lot to do with his habit of personally verifying important information whenever possible.

After the powerful artillery fire of our army destroyed the beachhead fortifications of the Kuomintang army, 20 American M26 Pershing heavy tanks and more than 2,000 people of the 4th Marine Regiment of the landing force of the 1st Marine Division completed the landing in Wujiao Bay. At the same time, 30 M26 Pershing heavy tanks and the 5th Regiment, more than 3,000 people, also completed the landing in Xiaocrescent Bay, north of Jixinyu. The assault on the beachhead was launched, and the landing force quickly destroyed the resistance of the Kuomintang on the beachhead. 50 M26 Pershing heavy tanks came ashore and immediately guided and covered the advance of the landing force infantry attack group. Step by step, it advanced to the county seat, Zhangtang Town and Kangmei Town. Two armored propaganda vehicles equipped with loudspeakers constantly broadcast the "Complaint Urging the Kuomintang Officers and Soldiers", and the Kuomintang resistance on the island was very weak. The powerful attack capability of the landing force of the 1st Marine Division of the PLA, the powerful firepower of the naval support fleet, the propaganda effect of the "Complaint Urging the Officers and Men of the Kuomintang," and the superimposed effect of powerful military and political might have completely lost the enemy's will to fight. In the face of strong military pressure and a powerful political offensive. The vast majority of Kuomintang officers and soldiers chose to lay down their arms and surrender with their hands raised.

The Joint Command Headquarters on the support ship 'Liberation' received reports that the landing force met little decent resistance and suffered minor casualties. The landing force of our army launched an offensive, and the 4th and 5th regiments, with the support of tanks, have captured the county town of Butterfly Island, the town of Zhangtang and the area of Kangmei Town, and have fully joined forces with the 224th and 225th regiments of the 28th Army and the 272nd regiment of the 31st Army defending the island. The battlefield is being cleaned up and the prisoners are being contained.

At this time, the reserve battalions of each regiment were landing, and the follow-up supplies and personnel were still going ashore in a steady stream as planned, on the coast, dusty, smoky, the whole beach was in chaos, after the guidance of the beach service company, the chaotic situation on the beachhead was quickly solved, and the orderly diversion of people, vehicles, and materials was distributed.2 hours, 2 infantry regiments and 1 tank regiment of our army all went ashore. But by now the battle is almost over.

The battle at Yan Tsai Mountain was not over, and the 1st Battalion of the 4th Regiment surrounded Yan Tsai Mountain, which was a commanding height east of Butterfly Island and an important fulcrum for the Kuomintang landing beachhead. Since before the war it was an observation post position of our army. There is a platoon-level pit position on it. Before the war, there was a debate about whether to abandon this position first, and some comrades did not agree to give it up, believing that it would be very difficult to regain the fortifications with permanent surnames built on them. However, most of the comrades believed that although there were permanent fortifications, they were too small in scale and were only platoon-level fortifications. Rock Tsai Mountain is far away from the core position. In the face of a strong enemy, it is impossible to hold an isolated platoon position far from the main position. Even when we counterattacked, the Kuomintang army would not be able to hold on for a long time, and there was not even water on it, and even thirst would kill them with thirst, so it would not hurt to give up first.

Hu Lian hid in the tunnel of Yanzi Mountain, added a thick and chapped lip, and said to the deputy commander of the 118th Division: "Send someone to try to inform everyone in the position to carry weapons to assemble here." The time has come for us to be loyal to the party and the state, so please go and inform us. 'Watching this deputy commander of the 118th Division walk out. Hu Lian took out the last cigarette from the cigarette case and casually threw the silver cigarette case aside. He took a deep puff of his cigarette and ordered the female operator who had been following him to send a final farewell telegram to his headmaster, and then ordered the code to be destroyed. He looked at the last of the codebook that burned to ashes, and he smiled wryly. He stood up and hugged the female newspaper operator with whom he had had a few nights of stands. "Commander, I'm afraid, let's go out and surrender to the communist army. They won't kill us," he patted the female operator on the back to soothe her, "Baby, don't be afraid that everything will pass. He let go of the female operator, picked up the M3 submachine gun, pulled the bolt and loaded the bullet. Striding towards the mouth of the tunnel, the moment he walked out of the tunnel, he suddenly turned around and shot a long shot at the operator, after which he closed his eyes and thought: "She is still young, she really shouldn't die, but she knows too many secrets of the party-state." ”

Hu Lian is ready to carry out a final decisive counterattack. He personally led about 120 Kuomintang officers and soldiers to launch a suicidal charge against the 4th Marine Regiment that surrounded him. After only 15 points of fighting, the 4th Marine Regiment annihilated most of the Kuomintang officers and soldiers, and a few were captured and surrendered. Hu Lian was wounded in the abdomen, hid behind a boulder, looked in the direction of Taiwan and shook his head in despair. He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at his fiercely beating heart. He hesitated. He saw several communist soldiers rushing towards him. He moved the muzzle of the gun to his head and aimed it at his right temple, and this time he didn't hesitate to pull off the plate machine decisively.

The fighting on the island gradually subsided. Groups of PLA soldiers were searching for the Kuomintang stragglers, gathering a large amount of weapons and equipment discarded by the enemy. Prisoners sat on the beach with their heads hung down.

The battle on Butterfly Island tugs at the heart of the center. Even the top commander in Yanjing made a special trip to the war room of the General Staff Headquarters, and personally talked directly with the commanders of the three armies in Guangdong and Fujian on the phone to understand the situation. The old man applauded. In his characteristic Hunan accent, he said, 'You guys played well!' This time Jiang damn it was a loss, and he lost people again, I congratulate you! 'The propaganda machine was immediately activated by the TW authorities after receiving the telegram that Hu Lian had occupied Butterfly Island. The officers and men of our army are under the leadership of General Hu Lian this morning. In one fell swoop, he conquered the Butterfly Island where the communist army was entrenched. Annihilated more than 30,000 bandits. Thus began the prelude to the liberation of the mainland" The Kuomintang Political Department also held a press conference. However, before the press conference was over, it was abruptly terminated for the reason of "no comment".

The defeat of the Kuomintang at Butterfly Island forced the Kuomintang to terminate their carefully planned plan for "Operation Thunder". Chiang Kai-shek's dream came to an end.

(To be continued)