The Central Plains broke through and showed its might
After the Kuomintang conspiracy to encircle and annihilate the troops of the Central Plains Military Region during the Fifth Five-Year Plan was thoroughly exposed, although the outbreak of the civil war was temporarily postponed, Chiang Kai-shek's wolf-like ambition to destroy the Communist Party of China and the people's army under its leadership did not change. In early June 1946, the Kuomintang held a military conference in Nanjing to make all-round arrangements for the "suppression of the Communist Party."Through the US special envoy Marshall, he proposed that the squadron immediately withdraw from the south of Longhai Road, the entire line of Jiaoji Road, and most of the northeast and other outrageous and unreasonable ultimatumsHe threatened to "settle the CCP militarily within six months." In late June, the Kuomintang army launched an attack on the liberated areas of the Central Plains in accordance with the established "encirclement and annihilation" arrangements. **Commanded the troops of the Central Plains Military Region and launched the Central Plains Breakout Campaign that shocked China and the rest of the world. He closely integrated the strategic decision of the CPC Chairman with the reality of the struggle in the Central Plains, correctly chose the direction of the breakthrough, deployed the campaign plan, adopted flexible and mobile tactics, and led the troops to slaughter the heavy encirclement of more than 300,000 Kuomintang troops, victoriously opening the prelude to the National Liberation War.
"Survival first, victory first".War is not only a contest of military strength between the two opposing sides, but also a constant contest of strategy and courage among commanders. The purpose of war is to destroy the enemy and save oneself.
It goes without saying that the Central Plains Military Region, with 50,000 troops with inferior equipment, is in an extremely dangerous situation in the face of the division and encirclement of the Kuomintang army with 300,000 superior equipment. How to break the enemy's "encirclement and annihilation" plan and destroy the enemy to preserve itself has always been a question that the leaders of the CPC and the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region have repeatedly pondered and planned. In a situation where there is no hope of a "legal transfer", the unanimous opinion is an armed breakout. Only by resolutely breaking through can we avoid the fate of annihilation, preserve the living force, and prepare the conditions for the future. Therefore, choosing the direction and timing of the breakthrough has become the key to the survival of the Central Plains troops. If you are not careful, you will lose everything. In the more than a month since the signing of the "Hankow Agreement," the Kuomintang army has continuously tightened the encirclement, attacking the liberated areas of the Central Plains more than 120 times, and mobilizing more than 100,000 troops. In mid-June, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Liu Zhi, director of the Zhengzhou Sui Administration, to unify the command of more than 300,000 troops in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border area, "tightly blockade, divide and attack, and completely wipe out the Central Plains." The hour hand was turning every hour, and the civil war was approaching day by day. ** Judging the hour and sizing up the situation, calm and composed, together with other leading comrades of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region, they strategized, carefully studied and repeatedly brewed the direction and timing of the Central Plains Military Region's troops' breakthrough, and made careful arrangements for the troops' breakthrough.
The first is the choice of the direction of strategic transfer, with three options: eastward, northward and westward. ** Carefully analyzed the pros and cons of each plan, and believed that this route is the shortest to break through to the east and go to the liberated area of Jiangsu and Anhui, the route is relatively wealthy, and the mass foundation is good, which is convenient for solving the problem of troop supply, but the large army has to pass through a narrow strip between the Yangtze River and Chaohu Lake or between the Huai River and Chaohu Lake, which is very dangerous. What is even more unfavorable is that since the Central Plains Military Region had asked the Kuomintang authorities to allow the Central Plains troops to move to Wuhe, Anhui Province, before and after the "armistice order" was issued, the Kuomintang army mobilized heavy troops to carry out key precautions in the east, and it can be said that it was in the hands of the enemy to break through to the east. Break through to the north and go to the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan liberated areas, ** had this plan. The advantage of this route was that the distance was relatively short, and the Liu Deng field army could be dispatched to meet it, but the disadvantage was that there were many rivers, and it had to pass through the central Henan Plain, and it had to cross the Yellow Flood and the Longhai Railway, so it was very convenient for the Kuomintang army to move troops in this area. Break through to the west, advance into the Qinling Mountains and Wudang Mountains, and then turn into the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area or enter Sichuan. On the surface, there are many unfavorable factors, but it is precisely because of this that the Kuomintang army may be negligent in taking precautions, and the mountains are many and wide, which is exactly in line with the Central Plains Military Region's troops' specialty of being good at guerrilla and mobile warfare, and is convenient for the troops to maneuver. After repeated discussions, he and other leading comrades of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region unified the opinions of the main force to break through to the west. On 20 June, he sent a telegram to the Chinese Communists, explaining in detail the direction of the strategic transfer of the troops of the Central Plains Military Region: "We are now under serious encirclement (of the Kuomintang army) on all sides, and it is impossible to break through to the east and north. According to the instructions, we have now made strategic preparations: (1) The main force will break through to the west, and then directly force the Neixiang, Xichuan, and Jingziguan areas, and after the enemy in Xuchang is mobilized, the main force will pass through the hinterland of Funiu Mountain, go out of Lushi and Luoning, cross the Longhai Road, and cross the river to Taiyue District. If that fails, we will fight guerrillas in Funiu Mountain and Qinling. When necessary, he will go to Gannan to create a base area, or go to Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningbo to join forces. (2) At the same time, we are also preparing to cross the Xiang River and enter the Wudang Mountains to create a base area, or then enter Sichuan and then transfer to the Gannan area for ......”
The second is the question of the timing of the breakthrough. The strategic transfer of the Central Plains troops is by no means simply a problem of the Central Plains troops themselves, but a matter of "pulling the whole body into action" and has a bearing on the overall situation of the entire liberated areas in opposing the civil war. The more the troops hold out in the Central Plains, they will be able to win one more day for the military and people in the fraternal liberated areas to prepare for the anti-civil war. Therefore, on the one hand, they paid close attention to the changes in the enemy's situation and organized the troops to actively carry out preparations before the strategic transfer, and on the other hand, they led the troops to stubbornly persist in the struggle in the face of great dangers. In mid-June, the Central Plains Military Region intercepted Chiang Kai-shek to the Kuomintang.
5. The secret order of the Sixth Pacification Zone states: "According to the established plan, the central Hubei army will be annihilated as soon as possible, and then the main force will be able to fight," and "the commanders of all the troops responsible for the attack shall secretly complete the encirclement situation and preparations for the attack before the day of the month (editor's note, June 22), and wait for the order to carry out the attack." From the day the attack begins, the troops shall encircle and annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop. At the same time, the intelligence department learned that Liu Zhi had issued an operational order to his subordinate troops to besiege the troops of the Central Plains Military Region, and plotted to start an offensive on 26 July, launch a general attack on 1 July, and "encircle and annihilate them in one fell swoop within 48 hours." On 21 June, in the name of the Central Plains Bureau, he and Zheng Weisan sent a telegram to the Chinese Communists, analyzing the grim situation facing the Central Plains troops and holding that the situation had indeed developed to the point where it was necessary to quickly and actively break through the encirclement. Breaking through to the south is separated by the Yangtze River;If the Kuomintang army breaks through to the east, it will be difficult to pass through the Jinpu line with strong forcesCrossing the Yellow River from the north near the head of the boundary is extremely dangerous because there are many rivers that cannot be waded in vainThe safer ones are the only two roads to break through from southwest Henan and central Hubei to the west. However, one of these two roads has been lost because the Kuomintang army has recently occupied the Xinyang and Suixian areas, and if the Kuomintang army occupies the key points of Yingshan, Anlu, and Yunmeng again, the collective breakthrough route of the column will be completely lost. Under such circumstances, although the troops can still break through the encirclement with brigades and regiments as units, because there are not many such scattered breakout routes, and perhaps half of the troops will not be able to break through, especially when the Kuomintang troops have completed their deployment and start to break through when they are officially attacking, they will be in a passive position not only strategically but also tactically, and it is difficult to imagine such a situation. Based on this, **Zheng Weisan proposed**: "We can be allowed to start implementing the plan of breaking through the main force at the end of this month, that is, to break through two columns in central Hubei to southern Shaanxi and Wudang Mountain respectively, and then transfer to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area." "For the comprehensive conception of the Central Plains troops on the direction and timing of the breakthrough of the Central Plains troops, the chairman of the Communist Party of China ** and *** fully agrees. On June 23, **replied in the name of ** and others: "What I have seen is very good, agree to break through immediately, the sooner the better, do not have any worries, survival first, victory first." "In the future, everything is up to you to decide, do not ask for instructions, so as not to delay the fighters. I hope to unite and fight, and I wish you victory. ”
Accordingly, together with other leading comrades of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region, we resolutely made specific arrangements for the main force to break through and respond to each other on the eastern, western, and northern fronts with the main force in the north and south
The Central Plains Bureau, the Central Plains Military Region Chief's Office, the 13th Brigade, the 15th Brigade, the 45th Regiment, the 359th Brigade, and the Central Plains Military Region Cadre Brigade of the Second Column were the Northern Route Army, which broke through southern Henan to the west, and planned to set out at dusk on 26 June and break through the Kuomintang army's Pinghan Railway blockade line in the area south of Xinyang and north of Wusheng Pass on 29 July. -- The Southern Route Army, composed of the main force of the First Column (owed to the First Brigade), broke through central Hubei to the west, and planned to set off on the evening of the 25th and break through the Pinghan Railway blockade line in the area south of Guangshui to the north of Huayuan on the evening of the 29th.
The 15th Brigade (missing the 45th Regiment) was responsible for receiving and covering the Southern Route Army, the 15th Brigade and the 43rd Regiment were directly involved in covering the passage of the Southern Route Army from the flanks, and the 44th Regiment stationed in the Zhaojiapeng area west of the railway was responsible for blowing up the Huayuan Iron Bridge, cutting off the Pinghan Line, and responding to the Southern Route Army's breakthrough through the Pinghan Railway. After completing the task of covering and responding, the main force of the 15th Brigade returned to the second column in Qiyi Town, south of Tanghe County, Henan. -- The 1st Brigade of the 1st Column confuses and resists the attacking enemy in the Popi River and Baiqueyuan to the east of Xuanhuadian, and after covering the main force of the Central Plains Military Region to break through the Pinghan Line to the west, it chooses its own direction to break through.
The 2nd Independent Brigade of Eastern Hubei held its position in the area of Luwangcheng and Fota Mountain south of Xuanhuadian with the main force, alerted the enemy in the direction of the estuary, and ensured the safety of the southern flank of Xuanhuadian. At the same time, the central county party committee of Luo (Mountain) Li (Mountain) Jingjing (Fu) Guang (Mountain) was formed to persist in the struggle in the Dabie Mountain area. -- The troops of the Jianghan Military Region are actively active in the area west of the Pinghan Railway, and after the main force breaks through the Pinghan Line, they will move to the area west of the Xianghe River, enter the Wudang Mountain, and enter the SichuanLeft an armed force to persist in the struggle in the central Hubei region.
The troops of the Henan Military Region took active action in the area north of Xuanhuadian and south of Xinyang, attacked and harassed the enemy, and responded to and covered the westward advance of the Northern Route Army. Everything is deployed, and ** is still reassuring. Years of fighting in the army have cultivated a Xi in him: whenever a big war comes, he must always think quietly, repeatedly consider every joint of the battle layout, and strive to be foolproof. Especially this breakout, the situation is very complicated. The Kuomintang army had been besieging the Central Plains troops for a long time, building defensive lines layer by layer, and the Central Plains troops were facing an enemy five or six times their size, and if they wanted to break through the encirclement victoriously, they had to surprise the enemy and attack them unprepared. However, at this time, Xuanhuadian was still inhabited by the 32 nd Executive Group of the Military Adjustment Department, which was responsible for "mediation," and its representatives and staff members of the United States and Chiang Kai-shek were closely watching every move of the head organ of the military region. It is an even more difficult matter for the organs and main forces of the Central Plains Military Region to withdraw from Xuanhuadian and nearby garrisons under their noses.
Soldiers don't get tired of deceit. After careful consideration, ** boldly made a plan to confuse the Kuomintang army and the representatives of the United States and Chiang. On June 23, ** summoned Wu Chengzhong, commander of the Second Independent Brigade of Eastern Hubei Province, political commissar Zhang Tixue, and deputy political commissar Xiong Zuofang to Xuanhuadian with an urgent order. In the war room of the Central Plains Military Region Headquarters, he and ** explained the task to Wu Chengzhong and others in person. ** It is pointed out that the task of the 2nd Brigade of Eastern Hubei is to be responsible for the vigilance of the first line of Luwangcheng and Fota Mountain south of Xuanhuadian, covering the safe evacuation of the Central Plains Bureau, the head organs and main forces of the Central Plains Military Region, and then breaking through to the east and going to the liberated area of East China. **Pointing to the map, he emphasized: "Pagoda Mountain is the southern gate of the Central Plains Military Region, we must be especially vigilant against the enemy attacking us in the direction of the estuary, and we must resolutely defend Pagoda Mountain." The pagoda mountain is lost, and the city of Lu Wangcheng is unstable;As soon as Lu Wangcheng was lost, Xuanhuadian was directly threatened. "In order to let the Second Independent Brigade seize the time to prepare, ** first asked Wu Chengzhong to return to the Second Independent Brigade to make some arrangements, and then took Zhang Tixue and Xiong Zuofang to Zheng Weisan's office, and assigned them a special task. Xiong Zuofang later recalled the situation at that time and said:
Commander Li took Political Commissar Zhang Tixue and I to the office of Zheng Weisan, secretary of the Central Plains Bureau and political commissar of the Central Plains Military Region. The atmosphere at that time was tense and serious, the eyes of the three chiefs were firmly fixed on us, Commander Li spoke first, and he said to Zhang Tixue with a serious expression: "In order to make the Central Plains Bureau, the head organs of the Central Plains Military Region, and the troops directly under them move to the vicinity of the east of Pinghan Road in advance in a safe and covert manner, it has been decided that you will take a crack army and necessary staff personnel to secretly rush to Xuanhuadian to take over the garrison of the organs and troops directly under the Military Region, create a false appearance, and confuse the enemy." In the name of the garrison commander of the Central Plains Military Region, you dealt with the US and Chiang deputies of the 32 nd Enforcement Group. After the main force of my head agency is transferred, I will escort them out. Then, Zheng Weisan's political commissar emphasized in particular: "Xuanhuadian is the location of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region, and the enemy's eyes are always on it. We must not show the slightest hint until we have moved. Commander Li also reminded Zhang Tixue that the Mei-Chiang representatives of the 32nd Executive Group of the Military Adjustment Department stationed in Xuanhuadian were actually the "eyes" planted by the Kuomintang in Xuanhuadian, and their actions must be closely watched.
After explaining the task, he humorously said to Zhang Tixue: "You can sing a 'empty city plan' in Xuanhuadian!.""Set up the "empty city plan" and deploy the operations of the first column and the first brigade in the east. On 24 July, he entrusted Wang Shusheng, deputy commander of the Military Region and commander of the First Column, to go to the Popi River, where the First Brigade was stationed, to convey to the brigade commander Pi Dingjun and political commissar Xu Zirong the decision of the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region, demanding that the First Brigade block and contain the Kuomintang army east of Xuanhuadian and make a feint to the east under the guise of the main force of the Central Plains Military Region, creating a situation in which the main force is breaking through to the east, so as to confuse the enemy and cover the westward transfer of the headquarters and the main force. On the same day, he also informed Guo Linxiang, deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department of the First Brigade, to rush to Xuanhuadian and give Guo Linxiang a face-to-face lecture. Chiang Kai-shek and Liu Zhi judged that our army would break through to the east, and laid down heavy troops in the east. From now on, the 1st Brigade will detach some of its troops to conceal themselves to the west at night and then blempty during the day and march eastward with great fanfare, so as to create the illusion that the enemy's main force is moving eastward and disrupt its disposition. At the same time, other units reinforced their fortifications at the garrison and assumed the posture of fighting in the east. ** It was emphasized that the 1st Brigade must grasp the two key points of feints and blockade, drag and confuse the enemy, and at the same time save itself, and after completing the covering task, it must flexibly choose a route to break through.
For the troops of the Jianghan Military Region in Anlu Sangshudian and other places east of the Pinghan Railway, ** also sent people to make arrangements. On 25 July, he specially sent Liu Zihou, vice chairman of the Central Plains Administration, to the Sangshudian Jianghan Military Region to convey instructions and study the action plan. According to the instructions of the People's Republic of China, Liu Zihou, together with the leaders of the Jianghan Military Region, seriously discussed the breakthrough action of the troops of the Jianghan Military Region, and decided to immediately assemble the troops, carry out emergency mobilization and light equipment, and send an advance force to act one day in advance, rush to the area near the Xianghe River in advance, reconnoiter the enemy's situation, and control the ferry. In addition, the Jianghan Central County Committee and the Jianghan Detachment were established to persist in the guerrilla struggle in the Jianghan area. ** A series of meticulous and ingenious arrangements made by the Central Plains Bureau for the Central Plains Breakout Campaign laid a solid foundation for winning the entire campaign later.