The 74th Division of the National Revolutionary Army was reorganized, and its combat strength was at the top of the "five main forces of the Kuomintang army", and it was known as the ace army of the Kuomintang and the descendant of Chiang Kai-shek, which won Chiang Kai-shek's trust and respect. It was reorganized from the 74th Army of the former Kuomintang in May 1946 and was defeated by the East China Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the Battle of Menglianggu in May 1947 and was completely annihilated. Although there were many reasons for the demise of the Kuomintang 74th Division, the main reason was that the Kuomintang leadership, from top to bottom, was blindly confident, arrogant, misjudged the battlefield situation, and eventually led to the fate of its annihilation.
01 The history of the establishment of the 74th Division of the National Revolutionary Army.
In August 1937, Yu Jishi was appointed as the commander of the 74th Army, which was under the jurisdiction of the 58th and 51st Divisions. Yu Jishi is a native of Chiang Kai-shek's Fenghua, Zhejiang, born in the first phase of Huangpu, a typical Chiang Kai-shek cronie, and is very trusted by Chiang Kai-shek. Yu Jishi was shrewd and capable, led the 74th Army to fight in various places, and made many military exploits.
The 74th Army, which was established at a time of national crisis, participated in almost all the major battles of the frontal war of resistance, and bravely took on the main burden of the Kuomintang army many times and fought to the death against the Japanese army. At the beginning of its establishment, it participated in the tragic battles of Songhu, Xuzhou, Lanfeng, Changsha, and Changde. During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, the 74th Army was almost always on the front line of resistance against Japan, and it was a steel division tempered by war. The famous victory of Wanjialing and the Battle of Shanggao were fought by the 74th Army as the main force.
The 74th Army not only has a tenacious will to fight and rich combat experience, but at the same time, as a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, it is the most well-equipped and the most abundant in the National Revolutionary Army. During the Liberation War, after being reorganized into the 74th Division, it was equipped with a full range of American weapons and equipment, and was known as the "first division in the world".
In 1939, Wang Yaowu of the third phase of Huangpu succeeded Yu Ji as the commander of the 74th Army. Wang Yaowu was brave and good at fighting, with outstanding ability, and led the 74th Army to fight in various battlefields across the country, with outstanding achievements, and even played the prestige of the "Anti-Japanese Iron Army". In 1941, the army participated in the Battle of Shanggao, the Second Battle of Changsha, the Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi Road, the Battle of Western Hubei and the Battle of Changde. In particular, the 57th Division of the army held on to Changde City, fought a bloody battle with the enemy for 15 days, and stubbornly resisted the continuous attack of two divisions of the Japanese army under the cover of air and artillery fire, which was called the most tenacious defensive operation of the Kuomintang army since the Battle of Songhu.
In January 1944, Wang Yaowu was promoted to commander of the 24th Group Army, and Shi Zhongzhong took over as commander. From May of the same year to April 1945, the army participated in the Battle of Changheng and the Battle of Xiangxi.
In May 1946, the 74th Army was renamed the 74th Division. Zhang Lingfu served as the division commander. On May 13, 1947, when the reorganized 74th Division attacked the liberated area of Shandong, it was completely annihilated by the East China Field Army under the command of ** and Su Yu in the Battle of Menglianggu, and the division commander Zhang Lingfu was killed and died.
02 The People's Liberation Army completely annihilated the 74th Division of the Kuomintang in the Battle of Menglianggu, turning the tide of the war in East China in one fell swoop.
In the flames of the War of Liberation, a battle left a strong mark in the history of the Chinese Kuomintang army with its unique historical status and military value. This is the Menglianggu Battle that took place from May 13 to 16, 1947, in the Menglianggu area of Mengyin County, southeast of Mengyin County, Linyi City, Shandong Province. The 74th Division, known as the head of the five main forces of the Kuomintang, was completely annihilated by the People's Liberation Army within four days.
In February 1947, the Kuomintang army established the Xuzhou Command, which was personally commanded by Gu Zhutong, commander-in-chief of the army, to unify the command of the key offensive on the liberated area of Shandong.
In early May, the ** Military Commission instructed: To lure the enemy into depth, it is necessary to have great patience, to grasp the maximum number of troops in hand, not to be impatient, and not to divide troops. The main force of the field army of the East China Field Army withdrew to the east of Laiwu, Xintai, and Mengyin to standby.
After the retreat of the East China Field Army, Chiang Kai-shek and Gu Zhutong, commander-in-chief of the army, made an erroneous judgment, and they mistakenly believed that the East China Liberation Army could not defeat the Kuomintang army, so they chose to retreat, and the main force of the Kuomintang army should follow and pursue.
Tang Enbo, commander of the 1st Corps of the Kuomintang Army, ordered the reorganization of the 74th Division and the 25th Division as the main attack, marched north from Duozhuang and Taoxu, and ordered to capture Tangbu on the 12th; The 7th Army and the integrated 48th Division each moved to Yishui, and the main forces were assembled at Tangtou and Gegou to respond to the direction of the main attack; The first part of the 83rd Division was reorganized to attack Mamuchi, covering the right flank of the main attacking force, and the main force was the corps reserve; The 65th Division was reorganized to defend the Mengyin area. On May 11, the Kuomintang army launched an attack as planned, with the 74th Division capturing Chongshan and Aishan on the same day, and the 25th Division capturing Huangdouding Mountain; The 83rd Division advanced to the south of Gushan; The 7th Army advanced in the direction of Yishui.
That night, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) mastered the action plan of the 1st Corps, and Su Yu analyzed that there were four favorable conditions for the annihilation of the 74th Division: first, the division was located in front of the main force of the PLA, and there was no need to make major troop adjustments to form an absolute superiority of 5:1 troops; Second, although the 74th Division is equipped with all-American equipment, it is limited by the terrain of the mountainous area, and it is difficult for the heavy equipment to play a role and cannot be carried up the mountain; Third, the unit is an elite lineage, has always been arrogant and arrogant, and has deep contradictions with other Kuomintang troops, and will not do its best to rescue under the stubborn resistance of the PLA; Fourth, once the 74th Division is completely annihilated, it will deal a double blow to the Kuomintang army in terms of strength and spirit.
However, Chiang Kai-shek was full of self-confidence, believing that the 74th Division occupied the commanding heights, enjoyed the advantage of geographical advantages, coupled with its strong combat effectiveness, and there were strong peripheral troops nearby, which was a good time for a decisive battle with the main force of the East China Liberation Army, so he ordered the 74th Division to resolutely hold on, attract the main force of the People's Liberation Army, and vainly hope to come to the center to blossom, in an attempt to eliminate the main force of the East China Liberation Army.
Wei Zhenyue, chief of staff of the 74th Division, believed that this place was a lonely mountain and a taboo for soldiers, and it was not suitable to hold on. However, division commander Zhang Lingfu denied Wei Zhenyue's suggestion, believing that his troops had a complete structure, strong combat effectiveness, and close proximity to their outer friendly neighbors, and that there should be no problem in holding out for one or two days, and that one or two days would be enough to realize the campaign attempt to blossom in the center, and that it was a good time to establish combat achievements.
On the one hand, he ordered the blocking troops to resolutely resist the Kuomintang troops on the outer line, and on the other hand, he asked the main attacking troops to destroy the 74th Division before the Kuomintang troops on the outer line arrived.
After dark on 14 May, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) gave full play to its advantages in night warfare and organized continuous attacks overnight, fighting fiercely all night until dawn on the 15th. On the 15th, the fierce battle was in full swing, because the Menglianggu mountain area was all stone mountains, and it was impossible to build fortifications, the personnel, horses and materials of the 74th Division were all exposed to the artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army. Zhang Lingfu found that he was in a desperate situation, and only began to decide to break through in the afternoon of the same day, first under the cover of the aircraft, the troops launched a breakthrough battle to Duozhuang in two ways, and fought until dusk, the 74th Division not only failed to break through, but also because of the heavy situation of the People's Liberation Army, the positions occupied were lost one after another, and were compressed in Menglianggu, Lushan less than 2 kilometers north and south, less than 3 kilometers east and west, only controlled a few hills, the 74th Division headquarters retreated to a cave on the 600 heights.
Tang Enbo instructed Zhang Lingfu to break through to Wanquan Mountain through the radio, in order to meet up with the nearest 83rd Division, but the 74th Division was unable to turn back at this time and could no longer organize an effective breakthrough operation.
At 8 o'clock on May 16, Chiang Kai-shek made up for the loss of the sheep and personally issued a warrant to the reinforcements from the outside line, asking all the reinforcements to rescue at all costs, but the Kuomintang reinforcements were blocked by the People's Liberation Army and cut off on the periphery, unable to join the 74th Division.
At this time, Zhang Lingfu regretted it and did not listen to the advice of Chief of Staff Wei Zhenyue, resulting in a mountain of defeat. Around noon, he sent a suicide note to Chiang Kai-shek on the radio: "More than 100,000 bandits have besieged me for several days, and now they have no ammunition and no food, so I decided to fight with Renjie (Cai Renjie, deputy commander of the 74th Division) to the end, and finally report to the national leader with a bullet and subordinate robes. The old father came to Beijing, did not serve him, he wanted to treat him well, the young son Xi was kind to him, Yuling and my wife, and now I will never know. ”
At 13 o'clock, all units of the People's Liberation Army launched attacks on Menglianggu and 600 heights from multiple directions, and at about 15 o'clock, the PLA had captured Menglianggu and 600 heights, and Zhang Lingfu, commander of the 74th Division, was killed by the People's Liberation Army.
There are three main reasons for the failure of the 74th Division at Menglianggu: First.
1. Arrogance and recklessness of the enemy. It is believed that the PLA is not capable of eating such an ace force as the 74th Division, even if it holds out for a day or two in such a Jedi, it will have no problem, if it resolutely organizes a breakthrough a few days earlier, it should be able to break out of the encirclement; Clause.
Second, the terrain is unfavorable. The mountainous terrain is not conducive to the operation of heavy equipment troops, the 74th Division cannot pull heavy ** such as 105 mm howitzers up the mountain, and can only take light ** up the mountain, and Menglianggu is a stone mountain, no water and no food, it is a standard lonely mountain Jedi, and the garrison here has committed a taboo; Clause.
Third, the intelligence collection is ineffective. Ignorant of the PLA's activities in the Lunan area, the PLA was attacked by the unit to occupy Duozhuang and cut off the retreat of the 74th Division.
03 The great historical significance of the victory in the Battle of Menglianggu.
The Battle of Menglianggu was a battle of annihilation of mountain movements, and the goal of this campaign was to eliminate the integrated 74th Division of the National Revolutionary Army. In a fierce battle of four days and three nights, our army completely annihilated the enemy and won a brilliant victory. ** Waved and wrote: "Meng Lianggu is on the Ghost God, and the 74th Division has no place to escape." The signals are flying and the stars are dazzling, and the lighting is burning everywhere. The knives rushed to the top of the mountain, and the rain of blood came to wet the robes. I am glad to see that the thieves are exhausted, and our army is heroic. ”
However, the generals of the Kuomintang army lacked the spirit of unity and cooperation, were selfish, and could not form a strong joint force on the battlefield, which was also an important reason for the defeat of the Kuomintang army. Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his diary on March 25, 1948: "The generals of the Kuomintang army, greedy and cowardly, lifeless, fought a war, only cared about preserving their strength, passed the buck to each other, and did not save them when they saw death. ”
The Battle of Menglianggu was an important battle during the Liberation War, which marked the strategic achievements of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the East China Battlefield and laid a solid foundation for the victory of the National Liberation War. This battle fully demonstrated the heroic fighting spirit and tenacious fighting spirit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and also demonstrated the great wisdom and strategic vision of military thinking. We must not only remember those martyrs who sacrificed bravely, but also inherit and carry forward their revolutionary spirit and patriotic feelings, and work hard to realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!