Welcome to the 2925th issue of the Historical Source History Column. During the War of Liberation, one of the most amazing strategic forces of our army was the Fourth Field Army. The rapid growth of the strength of this unit is truly astonishing, and it has been said throughout history that "100,000 people go out of the customs and 1 million people enter the customs", that is, in just a few years, the strength of the Fourth Field Army has expanded tenfold in the black soil of the northeast. So, is this claim true?
First of all, the Fourth Field Army itself is a field army, and its predecessor was the Northeast Field Army, but it is not the sum of all combat units in the Northeast. In addition to the field army, there are relatively weak military district troops.
For example, on the eve of the Liaoshen Campaign in 1948, the Northeast Field Army actually had only 12 columns plus independent divisions, about 700,000 troops, in addition to more than 300,000 military region troops, expanding the strength of our army in the Northeast to more than 1 million. However, the phrase "one million out of the customs" is relatively loose and is only a general expression to describe the strength of the Fourth Field Army.
When they went south to the battlefield in North China in November 1948, there were only 800,000 people in total, including a large number of civilian workers. Therefore, the most practical significance of "one million out of the customs" is to boost the morale of the troops and deter the Fu Zuoyi clique in North China, and the real number of troops of our army is not so strong.
In fact, even after the end of the Pingjin Campaign, the Fourth Field Army absorbed a large number of "liberation fighters" from Fu Zuoyi's uprising troops, and the official field force was only 880,000 troops, and then marched towards Henan. Looking back at the previous winter, there were actually not a million men, and four months later, the number of troops had not been reached.
Earlier, the so-called "100,000 out of customs" figure was also inaccurate. In the second half of 1945, about 110,000 troops of our army were transferred from North China and the Central Plains to the northeast region, as well as 20,000 cadres and regiments, as well as troops transferred to the northeast by the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Military Regions. In 1947, another 80,000 troops of the Jireliao Military Region were transferred to the Northeast Military Region.
Therefore, the number of troops leaving the customs is far more than 100,000, and the total should be more than 200,000. By the end of 1945, the number of our army in the northeast reached 270,000, and in such a short period of time, how could it be possible to rely on local conscription to quickly replenish this number?Among them, a large number of our troops in North China were sent to the Northeast Theater, which formed the basis of the Fourth Field Army, the most powerful strategic group in the future.
To sum up, although the so-called statement of "100,000 out of customs and 1 million in customs" is not completely unfounded, there are also certain inaccuracies. In the winter of 1948, the Northeast People's Liberation Army had a large number of troops left behind, and their task was to be responsible for production and construction and the maintenance of social order in the northeast region. At that time, it was expected that the number of people entering the Northeast Liberation Army could reach more than one million to meet potential military needs.
However, on the basis of actual combat and overall consideration, such a large number of troops were not sent into the pass. Despite this, the strength of the Northeast People's Liberation Army is still very strong.