The breakthrough of the Central Plains and the Southern Anhui Incident were both major losses in the history of our army's war.
The Southern Anhui Incident occurred in January 1941, marking the culmination of Chiang's second enemy with us.
In this sudden incident, more than 9,000 people from the military headquarters and directly subordinate units of the New Fourth Army were wiped out, army commander Ye Ting was detained, deputy army commander Xiang Ying, and director of the political department Yuan Guoping were killed, and only more than 2,000 people scattered to break through.
The Central Plains Breakout took place in June 1946, marking the full-scale outbreak of the Liberation War.
In the process of breaking through the Central Plains, the more than 50,000 main troops of the Central Plains Military Region broke through in six directions to the northwest, southwest, and southeast.
The purpose of the enemy's sudden encirclement was to create a second Southern Anhui Incident.
The Central Plains Breakout, which also suffered huge losses and lost its base areas, did it become the second in the Southern Anhui Incident?
The Central Plains Breakout and the Southern Anhui Incident look highly similar in five aspects.
The first point is that "the mountain rain is coming and the wind is full of buildings", and the atmosphere of the imminent outbreak of the war is very strong.
Whether it was the Central Plains Breakout or the Southern Anhui Incident, in fact, our army had already seen the fire at least three months ago. In other words, in response to a possible surprise attack and all-out offensive by the enemy, our military has already grasped a large amount of information from various channels. The only thing that cannot be confirmed is the exact timing of the enemy's attack.
Therefore, before the outbreak of the war, our army made a lot of preparations, and many family members and personnel of government agencies also carried out evacuation and transfer through various channels such as roads, railways, and water transportation in accordance with the agreements between the two sides, thus reducing the burden of the troops on the march to a certain extent.
The second point is that the situation of the enemy being strong and we being weak is very obvious, and it is by no means a wise move to meet each other head-on.
Before the Central Plains broke out, the two sides had been fighting for half a year, and they knew very well that a large-scale armed conflict of the "volcanic eruption" type was inevitable. However, in the face of the enemy's absolute superiority in local forces, it is not advisable to carry it hard.
Before the Central Plains broke through, our army's regular troops had only more than 50,000 people, and they were pressed by 300,000 enemy troops step by step and compressed into a narrow space centered on Xuanhuadian.
On the eve of the Southern Anhui Incident, there were only more than 9,000 troops in the military headquarters and directly subordinate units of the New Fourth Army in Yunling, while the north of Yunling was the Yangtze River channel blocked by the Japanese army, and the rest of the east, south, and west were intertwined with stubborn troops and friendly troops, and the situation was very complicated.
The third point is that the Central Plains Breakout and the Southern Anhui Incident both missed the best opportunity for transfer.
As everyone knows, during the Southern Anhui Incident, the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army was transferred, and the fighters were delayed many times.
Since the Chongqing side issued a "Hao telegram" on October 19, 1940, the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army had enough time to move eastward, but the decision-makers were reluctant to painstakingly manage the Yunling base area, and they were also worried about the transfer route, so that they repeatedly missed the opportunity to transfer.
Why is it said that the Central Plains broke through, and there was also a situation where the timing of the transfer was delayed?
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there was a fierce controversy at the top level of the Central Plains Military Region over the question of whether to stay or leave the Central Plains Military Region.
In the mid-1980s, the commander of the Central Plains Military Region and the commander of the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army looked back on the Central Plains breakthrough 40 years ago and said with emotion: If I had listened to Director Zhang's words, the breakthrough might have been avoided.
** The "Director Zhang" refers to Zhang Zhiyi, director of the Political Department of the Central Plains Military Region.
On the question of whether to go or stay in the Central Plains Military Region, Yan'an had not yet made up its mind to give up strategically, just like Su Yu's Central China base later, as long as there was still a glimmer of hope, the best way to deal with it was of course to strive for preservation.
Zheng Weisan, the secretary sent by Yan'an, is what it means. However, Zhang Zhiyi put forward a completely new idea: the Central Plains Military Region as a whole moved a few hundred miles northward and merged with Liu Deng's Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan base areas (Taihang Military Region and Southern Hebei Military Region) into one.
If Zhang Zhiyi's vision is followed, it is entirely possible to avoid a later breakthrough. However, the relocation of the 50,000 troops of the Central Plains Military Region and a large number of organs and family members requires the approval of Yan'an, and it will take a long time to operate, and it will not be an easy task.
Fourth, there is hesitation in the general direction of the breakthrough.
When the Central Plains broke through, because the secretary Zheng Weisan had just returned from Yan'an, and as the commander of the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army, the troop activity area was all over the 5 provinces of Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Hunan and Jiangxi, bringing together Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Yan'an and other forces. Such unique conditions caused the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army and later the Central Plains Military Region, although there were 50,000 troops, it was difficult to form a fist. The two deputy commanders of the military region, Wang Shusheng and **, also had different opinions on the direction of the breakthrough.
Wang Shusheng is from Red Fourth and was once the deputy of the commander-in-chief. During the Anti-Japanese War, he has been serving as a deputy under Liu Deng of the 129th Division, and in the later stage of the Anti-Japanese War, he opened up the Henan base area dominated by western Henan and Piding, and was an "outsider" in the Central Plains Military Region.
Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Central Plains Military Region**, born in the Red Sixth Army and the Red Second Front Army, he was under the command of Mr. He of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army during the Anti-Japanese War. In the later stage of the Anti-Japanese War, ** led a southward detachment of 5,000 people to Hunan, Jiangxi and Guangdong to create a base behind enemy lines. Due to the blockade of the Japanese puppet army, the southbound detachment returned north to join the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army.
When the enemy was about to launch a siege, Wang Shusheng and ** had a dispute over the direction of the breakthrough. As a result, the meeting was held many times, but it was not decided, and finally it was divided into several directions: North Road and South Road. Opinions cannot be unified, which will inevitably affect the breakthrough effect.
In the Southern Anhui Incident, due to the disagreement between Xiang Ying and Ye Ting, there was also a situation in which the battle meeting was held for seven hours without results under the encirclement of 80,000 enemy troops. In the end, most of the day was wasted, and the best opportunity to seize the breakthrough was missed.
The fifth point is that the Central Plains Breakout and the Southern Anhui Incident each showed an unexpected surprise army.
The Central Plains broke through the siege, and more than 6,000 people from the 1st Vertical and 1st Brigade of Pidingjun, who were partial divisions and feigned the main force, fought thousands of miles to reach the East China Military Region, and the formation of the three regiments of the brigade was intact.
Compared with the left of Zheng Weisan's Northern Route Army, the right side of the Northern Route Army, and the Southern Route Army of Wang Shusheng and Liu Changyi, the establishment was basically disrupted. There were also the 2nd Independent Brigade of Wu Chengzhong and Zhang Tixue, which were left behind, and suffered heavy losses.
In this way, Pi Dingjun played a role in the critical moment of guerrilla warfare in Taihang Mountain.
In the Southern Anhui Incident, there was also a unit that was lucky enough to escape from the encirclement of Gu Zhutong and Shangguan Yunxiang's 7 divisions, and finally more than 1,000 people dispersed and broke through, and regrouped in Anhui Wuwei on the Yangtze River, which was Fu Qiutao's 1 column.
However, most of Fu Qiutao's more than 1,000 people broke through in twos and threes, and there was no brigade of more than 100 people, and the reason why Fu Qiutao's department was able to stand out in the siege of 80,000 enemy troops was mainly due to the help of the Qingbang he met in his early years.
The breakthrough of the Central Plains did not become the second in the southern Anhui incident that the enemy expected, for three reasons.
First, the Central Plains breakthrough was actively abandoned, while the southern Anhui incident was passive.
The reason why the Central Plains broke through the siege and did not take action for more than half a year was mainly to cover the development of the remaining major strategic areas, such as General Lin and the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army after a year of running-in, they have gradually entered a better situation. Soon after the Central Plains broke through, Su Yu's Central China base area was also strategically abandoned, and the main force was transferred to Shandong and the first division was integrated.
The Southern Anhui Incident was completely different, because the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army was in a passive situation, and suffered heavy losses.
Second, the military and political commanders who broke through the Central Plains were more united than the commanders of the Southern Anhui Incident.
When the Central Plains broke through, although Wang Shusheng and ** had differences of opinion, after the decision to break through by the road was determined, everyone's execution still had nothing to say. Zheng Weisan broke through to Shanxi, Hebei, Luyu, and returned to Yan'an with the 359th Brigade, and Wang Shusheng, Liu Changyi and others created a new guerrilla base in southern Shaanxi.
After the Southern Anhui Incident, the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army was scattered by the enemy, and the Yunling and Jiangnan base areas were completely lost. Therefore, compared with the losses and gains in the Central Plains breakthrough and the strategic replacement, the loss of the cadre contingent in the southern Anhui incident is very significant.
Third, the backbone of the Central Plains Breakout was preserved, and the cadres of the Southern Anhui Incident suffered great losses.
As the saying goes, stay in the green mountains without worrying about no firewood. This is also the basic requirement of the chairman and Yan'an for the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army and the Central Plains Military Region. After the Central Plains broke through, our army lost the Central Plains Military Region, but the backbone, especially the senior cadres, was preserved.
And in the Southern Anhui Incident, the sacrifices of sacrifice, the detention of detained, the defection of defection, the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army ceased to exist. Therefore, after the chairman and Yan'an considered it as a whole, it was decided that ** would rebuild the military headquarters in Yancheng.
*, Su Yu, Fu Qiutao, Zhou Gong, Zhu Kejing, Ye Ting].