In the Battle of Menglianggu, the 74th Division was completely annihilated. In addition to factors such as geographical advantages and lack of friendly support, the sharp decline in the combat effectiveness of the reorganized 74th Division itself was also an important reason. The division was once known as the first of the "five ace armies", and in the early days of the Liberation War, it ranked among the best in the Kuomintang army in terms of the quality of soldiers and equipment. However, after several battles, the attrition of the reorganized 74th Division was extremely serious, and a large number of new recruits were replenished. Zhang Lingfu repeatedly asked for a break to allow the recruits to be systematically and rigorously trained, but they were not approved. He said angrily: "The veterans are serious, and the recruits lack systematic and rigorous training, if the war goes well, they may be able to move forward, but once they encounter setbacks, they will become a group of ineffective rabble."
We have been fighting for more than half a year, and the rest promised by Mr. Chen has never been fulfilled, and if this continues, we will not be able to continue fighting!Before the battle of Menglianggu, Zhang Lingfu couldn't bear it anymore and called Chiang Kai-shek directly, strongly asking for at least three months of rest. After receiving the telegram, Chiang Kai-shek sent Tang Enbo to inspect the reorganization of the 74th Division. After listening to Zhang Lingfu's report, Tang Enbo walked to the baggage regiment and asked: "Who has participated in the Anti-Japanese War?"Raise your hand!Two-thirds of them raised their hands. He looked at Zhang Lingfu and said with a smile: "It seems that veterans still occupy a considerable proportion, and the situation is not as serious as you said." After his return, Tang Enbo reported to Chiang Kai-shek that the situation of the reorganized 74th Division was not serious and there was no need to rest. So, what's really going on?Who lied between Tang Enbo and Zhang Lingfu?In fact, neither of them is lying, they just have their own plans.
The reason why Zhang Lingfu applied for a three-month rest was because he was indeed facing a large number of recruits, who had not yet received systematic training. As he said, rushing out to battle may be able to make a difference, but once it encounters a setback, the reorganization of the 74th Division will be in jeopardy. And Townenburg saw a very different situation, because what he saw was a baggage regiment. In most armies, the baggage troops are usually in a protected state, "the soldiers and horses are not moved, the grain and grass go first", so the personnel of the baggage troops rarely participate in the battle, and the attrition is relatively small. Especially in Zhang Lingfu's troops, in order to preserve strength, many veterans were assigned to the baggage regiment, which was also a regular practice of many Kuomintang generals, aiming to retain strength. Tang Enbo knew that when he went to the baggage regiment, he "found" that two-thirds of the veterans of the Anti-Japanese War were recruited, and the argument that there were too many recruits was simply untenable. So, why did Tang Enbo expose Zhang Lingfu's play?Of course, he has his own plans.
At that time, Tang Enbo served as the commander of the First Corps, and the reorganization of the 74th Division was subordinate to his troops, which was also the trump card in his hands. The Battle of Menglianggu is about to start, if the reorganized 74th Division is allowed to rest, then who will respond?Therefore, Tang Enbo pinned his hopes on the reorganization of the 74th Division to make a meritorious contribution to him, so how could he agree to let them rest and recuperate?As for Chiang Kai-shek, would he not know that the reorganized 74th Division had fought too many battles and needed to rest?Of course he knows, but his thoughts are similar to Tang Enbo's, the reorganized 74th Division is an ace unit, and a big battle is about to be ushered in, how can he retreat at a critical moment?This will deal a serious blow to other troops and affect their morale!In Chiang Kai-shek's view, although the reorganization of the 74th Division may encounter some difficulties, it is still the best among the Kuomintang troops, and if they do not fight, who will come?Even if you need to rest, you have to wait until this battle is over. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek pretended to let Tang Enbo go to inspect and forced Zhang Lingfu to fight.
In this way, under the "persecution" of Chiang Kai-shek and Tang Enbo, Zhang Lingfu had no choice but to fight hard, and finally died in the Battle of Menglianggu!(Reference: "The Battle of Menglianggu", "The Biography of Su Yu and Chiang Kai-shek's Ace General Zhang Lingfu").