Liu Zhi, one of the most ridiculed Kuomintang generals in the Liberation War, famously said: "Xuzhou is the gate of Nanjing, and a tiger general should be sent to guard it." If you don't send a tiger, you should also send a dog to guard the door. Send a pig today, and see that the gate can't be guarded. It is nicknamed "General Pig". However, in his later years, Liu Zhi expressed dissatisfaction with the defeat of the Huaihai Campaign, believing that the blind command of the Ministry of Defense had harmed him, not his own cause. So, what exactly was the reason for the defeat of the Chinese Democratic army in the Battle of Huaihai?Let's take a look.
Liu Zhi was born in 1892 in Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province, from a well-to-do family and well-educated. He studied in Japan, and although he did not complete his studies, he benefited a lot. Later, he entered the Hunan Army Academy to study Xi and was admitted to the Baoding Military Academy in Hebei. After graduating, he participated in the Northern Expedition led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In 1924, at the invitation of He Yingqin, Liu Zhi became a tactical instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy. With the expansion of the teaching regiment, Liu Zhi was promoted to deputy division commander.
In the "Zhongshan Ship Incident" in 1926, Liu Zhi was loyal to Chiang Kai-shek, led the troops to arrest Communist Party personnel, and controlled the seizure of our Party personnel in the navy. In the shocking "April 12" incident, Liu Zhi once again colluded with Chiang Kai-shek to brutally suppress the progressive elements of our party and suppress the revolutionary movement of our party. It was precisely because of these acts that Chiang Kai-shek valued Liu Zhi very much and regarded him as a close confidant. Liu Zhi made an important contribution to Chiang Kai-shek's struggle for control of the country.
In the Great War of the Central Plains, Liu Zhi led the army to defeat opponents such as Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang many times, and established outstanding feats for Chiang Kai-shek to win control of the Central Plains. In the Chiang-Gui War, Liu Zhi made great contributions to Chiang Kai-shek's victory, and his agitation enabled Yang Hucheng to send troops, successfully cutting off Tang Shengzhi's retreat, leading to Tang Shengzhi's rout. However, in the Battle of Huaihai, the Chinese Democratic Party army suffered a major defeat. After the outbreak of the Liberation War, the PLA was at a disadvantage at first. However, under the leadership of the party, they gradually turned the tide.
By the end of 1948, the Kuomintang army was already in danger, and Chiang Kai-shek was in a difficult situation. In November 1948, the "Huaihai Campaign" broke out, and this battle was crucial for both sides. Chiang Kai-shek knew that if he failed, Nanking would become the control of the People's Liberation Army. Therefore, he gathered a large number of troops and decided to take a desperate gamble. Many high-ranking generals within the Kuomintang had already led their troops to revolt, and Liu Zhi, as a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek and one of the few high-ranking generals, was naturally appointed to a heavy responsibility.
After being appointed commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou Bandit Suppression, Liu Zhi excitedly assured Chiang Kai-shek: If you are an official, you will not obey orders, and you will swear to serve your life!However, even with such assurances, the Kuomintang army could not escape the fate of defeat. In the Huaihai Campaign, the PLA became more and more courageous. In 1949, our army launched a general offensive, annihilating 550,000 Kuomintang troops and capturing Du Yuming, a senior Kuomintang general. After this battle, the Kuomintang army had no room for counterattack, and Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan. Liu Zhi fled to Indonesia due to defeat in the battle. After establishing diplomatic relations with Indonesia, Chiang Kai-shek was worried about Liu Zhi's return to China, so he recalled him to Taiwan.
Due to the command error of the Huaihai Campaign, Liu Zhi was criticized by many parties. In his later years, when recalling the defeat in the Huaihai Campaign, Liu Zhi said indignantly: The main reason for the defeat was the decision-making of Chiang Kai-shek and the command. In fact, Liu Zhi's statement was not unreasonable, because the Kuomintang command did make many irrational decisions at that time. He felt that he had been wronged. One of the accusations was that he ordered Huang Baitao's troops to defend to the death. Chiang Kai-shek and the ** command issued an order to defend to the death, leaving Huang Baitao's troops in a difficult situation, but Liu Zhi failed to mobilize a large number of his troops to provide support in the face of Huang Baitao's siege.
Liu Zhi considered mobilizing Qiu Qingquan's troops to relieve the siege, but Du Yuming denied it. On the issue of Su County, although Liu Zhi clearly asked Liu Ruming to leave a regiment of troops to guard Su County, in the end, there was an accident in which the regiment commander Zhang Weiji escaped. The Central China Field Army finally captured Suxian in less than a day and a night, and these were the main points of Liu Zhi's dissatisfaction with the Huaihai Campaign. In 1982, Liu Zhi's memoirs were quite critical of Chiang Kai-shek's command, but the war was over, and Liu Zhi, as the losing party, could not change this fact, especially in the Huaihai Campaign, and his command was also inappropriate.