During the Anti-Japanese War, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region was considered to be one of the earliest, longest and most powerful liberated areas established by the Eighth Route Army in North China. However, in the early days of the War of Liberation, although this well-established unit performed well in the War of Resistance, it fell into passivity as the war gradually changed to the War of Liberation. There are many reasons for the formation of this situation, the most critical of which is that after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, there were many demobilized personnel, which led to the weakening of the strength of the troops and the lack of sufficient hard power.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the society was faced with a situation of waste waiting to be rebuilt, and people longed for the end of the war and the peaceful establishment of the country. Even if the Nanjing authorities lacked sincerity in the peace talks, they had no choice but to assume a peaceful posture in the Chongqing talks. On February 25, 1946, Nanjing and Yan'an signed a plan for the reorganization of the army, stipulating that Chiang's army would be reduced to 50 divisions, and our army would be reduced to 10 divisions. The move, which was aimed at achieving the goal of peace through reorganization, was intervened and supported by the United States.
The demobilization instructions issued by Yan'an were formally aimed at implementing the integration programme, but more often as a gesture of goodwill to the international community, the population and the centrists. Although there is a certain degree of flexibility in the implementation of the demobilization policy in the liberated areas, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region has been quite resolute in implementing the demobilization policy in this regard. **As the leader of the military region, he is known for his consistent principled approach and does not compromise on the execution of orders.
In June 1946, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region completed its reorganization, and the field army and local army were divided into 4 columns, 9 brigades, and 27 regiments, with a total number of 510 thousand. However, this unprecedented reorganization has caused tremendous ideological fluctuations within the army, and many cadres have expressed disagreement with it. In fact, the policy of demobilization and reintegration was not pursued without vigilance against war, but with over-optimism about the prospects for peace.
He believed too much that the United States did not support Chiang, and thus believed that the war would not break out again, so he resolutely carried out the instructions of the headquarters. The illusion of peace in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region was quite widespread, and this thinking led to excessive demobilization within the military region. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region adopted a large-scale demobilization policy to reduce the burden on the peasants. However, this decision led to a serious weakening of the army. Due to the reduction in the size of the army, the Jin-Cha-Ji army was in a passive position in the face of the large and powerful Chiang army.
In the winter of 1946, dissatisfaction with the decisions of the military region broke out at a meeting of the Jin-Cha-Ji troops. Some have accused three major mistakes in decision-making: blind optimism and inadequate preparation for war;Blind disarmament, self-abandonment of martial arts;Blindly underestimated the enemy and turned a blind eye to Fu Zuoyi's threat. Although the critics were removed from their posts as a result, these criticisms largely reflect the reality of the situation.
On the whole, the performance of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region in the early days of the Liberation War was not a lack of vigilance, but an excessive implementation of the demobilization policy under the dual influence of the prospect of peace and financial pressure. This led to a sharp decline in the strength of the troops, making them incapable of facing a strong enemy force on the battlefield. In the process, the awareness of war preparedness of the troops inside and outside the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region has been loosened, resulting in a marked decline in the level of military training, and finally showing a rather passive situation on the battlefield.
This lax attitude had a negative impact on the combat effectiveness of the army.