Menglianggu, a hill located in Mengyin County, Shandong Province, is not only the place where the famous Northern Song Dynasty general Meng Liang once trained soldiers and horsesIt is also the place where the Battle of Menglianggu took place during the Liberation War. This battle was unusual, the East China Field Army defeated the integrated 74th Division of the Kuomintang Army in a disadvantageRewrote the history of the war. But what kind of hardships and sacrifices are hidden behind the victory? Why did the local people dare not set foot in this mountainous area three years after the war? The following words will take you to understand that period of history.
In 1947, Chiang Kai-shek decided to carry out a major attack on the liberated areas of Shandong and northern Shaanxi. In the face of the all-out offensive of the Kuomintang, the East China Field Army, under the leadership of ** and Su Yu, adopted a strategy that seemed to retreat but actually lured the enemy. Their retreat was misunderstood by Gu Zhutong of the Kuomintang Army as a sign of weakness, and then brutally ordered the three corps to pursue the East China Field Army.
In this crisis, the elite Kuomintang troops, the 74th Division, under the orders of Gu Zhutong, abandoned their previous cautious tactics and became reckless and greedy for merit, so much so that they lost contact with their main forces. This change in the 74th Division did not escape the eyes of ** and Su Yu,They quickly seized the opportunity and decided to fight back, and even more firmly stated: "We must show the courage to take the enemy's head among a million enemy troops!"
On May 11, 1947, the integrated 74th Division set out from Duozhuang with the aim of advancing in the direction of Tangbu and occupying the area. Zhang Lingfu's military deployment was in accordance with his usual tactical layoutAmong them, the 51st Brigade is responsible for the charge, and the 58th Brigade and the troops directly under the division headquarters are the main forceThe 57th Brigade served as cover for the left flank. This type of deployment formed a slogan that circulated in the reorganized 74th Division, reflecting the different combat roles of the brigades.
On May 12, 1947, the East China Field Army reported its counterattack plan to the ** Military CommissionThe main goal was to annihilate the 74th Division, while preparing for possible enemy assistance. Subsequently, the East China Field Army began a fierce attack on the 74th Division on the night of May 13, which marked the official outbreak of the famous "Menglianggu Battle".
Zhang Lingfu, commander of the 74th Division of the Kuomintang Army, was initially unaware of the strength of the East China Field Army's counterattack. When the report was received, he nevertheless ordered his troops to continue the offensive in the direction of Tangbu. But soon, his troops suffered heavy losses at Tianma Mountain, and the East China Field Army quickly occupied the commanding heights, effectively cutting off the 74th Division from the outside world. At this time, Zhang Lingfu had to accept the reality and consider retreating. However, he found that the retreat had been cut off, so he could only choose to retreat in the direction of Meng Lianggu and tried to ask Tang Enbo for help.
Tang Enbo's reaction was unexpected by Zhang Lingfu. Although he was shocked, he did not immediately send reinforcements, but decided to use the strength of 10 divisions to carry out a counter-encirclement of the five columns of the East China Field Army, in an attempt to gain greater credit.
However, what Tang Enbo did not expect was that the target of ** and Su Yu was Zhang Lingfu and his 74th Division. Not only did they confidently intend to annihilate the 74th Division in the short termMoreover, he boldly put forward the slogan of "annihilating the 74th Division and capturing Zhang Lingfu alive." This decision transformed the 74th Division from an overestimated elite unit into a trapped beast in the hands of the East China Field Army.
By 14 May, the situation had worsened. At Huangdoushan, the positions of the friendly integrated 25th Division were occupied by the PLA before dawn, while the troops of the friendly integrated 83rd Division on the right flank were too remote, resulting in a huge gap between the two flanks. About one column of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) took the opportunity to insert it into it, and the strength of the PLA on the front line has also increased to more than three columns. At the same time, the line of communication between the integrated 74th Division and Duozhuang was also cut offThis put the division in an extremely unfavorable strategic position.
Chen Shuyun mentioned in his recollection that when Zhang Lingfu learned all this, he immediately reported the situation to Tang Enbo, the commander of the First Corps. Tang Enbo's instructions were to quickly shift the position and hold on to Meng Lianggu as the coreIn order to attract the main forces of the PLA. In accordance with the order, the headquarters of the integrated 74th Division was first moved to the 285th Heights, and then quickly transferred to the 600th Heights of Menglianggu, which also became the last position of the integrated 74th Division before it was completely annihilated.
The tragedy of the Battle of Menglianggu was largely due to the resoluteness of the forces of both sides and the strength of their equipment. This shift is often overlooked by enemy forces, as the PLA's successive retreat and diversion tactics allow the adversary to underestimate their actual combat effectiveness.
According to the records in "Seven Battles and Seven Victories between the Soviet Union and China", Tao Yong once pointed outAfter the Soviet-Chinese campaign, the 15,000 people of the PLA were already close to the level of American-style equipment. In 1946 alone, the Jiaodong Military District produced nearly a million rounds of ammunition, as well as tens of thousands of mortar shells and grenadier cartridges, and even 29 tons of artillery shells.
Such a first-class equipment accumulation means that in the Menglianggu Campaign, at least two columns can match the 74th Division in terms of equipment, which can be confirmed from the comparison of various sources, the Menglianggu Battle is not only a strategic contest, but also a tough encounter in equipment and military strengthThis led to the tragic nature of the battle.
In the early summer of May 1947, the planning and execution of the Battle of Menglianggu became an important node in history. Under Su Yu's careful analysis and decisive decision-making, the East China Field Army decided to launch a comprehensive encirclement and suppression of the Kuomintang 74th Division. At noon on May 12, with the siege order of the East China Field Army issued, this crucial battle officially kicked off.
Zhang Lingfu, the commander of the 74th Division of the Kuomintang, sensed the intentions of the East China Field ArmyBut there was no panic. He knew very well that a large number of troops of the main army of the Kuomintang were gathering not far away, and it was possible to turn the tide of the war as long as he held out for a while. So Zhang Lingfu followed Su Yu's plan and retreated to Menglianggu, looking forward to the arrival of reinforcements from the Kuomintang.
After Chiang Kai-shek learned of this situation from afar, he quickly issued an order for Li Tianxia's 83rd Division and Huang Botao's 25th Division to support the 74th Division as soon as possibleThe aim was to completely annihilate the East China Field Army. However, what Zhang Lingfu did not expect was that internal contradictions were also one of the important factors affecting the war situation.
The Kuomintang 83rd Division commander Li Tianxia and Zhang Lingfu had a tense relationshipIn the face of such a fighter, Li Tianxia did not want to see Zhang Lingfu succeed. Therefore, although under Chiang Kai-shek's orders, Li Tianxia sent a force to participate in the battle, this force played a negligible role on the battlefield and hardly played its due combat power.
Although the Kuomintang 74th Division was well-equipped, it suffered heavy losses after three days and three nights of fierce fighting under the continuous attack of about 100,000 troops of the East China Field Army. When the expected reinforcements were delayed, Zhang Lingfu's troops gradually lost their resistance. By the afternoon of May 16, the main force of the Kuomintang 74th Division was finally annihilated under the fierce offensive of the East China Field Army.
The brutality of the battle can be seen: the peaks of Menglianggu have been flattened by artillery fire, the once lush mountains and forests have become barren, and the clear river water has been dyed blood-red. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of soldiers, which was poignant. The horror of the battle left no one in the local population to set foot on this former battlefield for years after the war.
The strength of the reorganized 74th Division is not only due to the superiority of equipmentIt also lies in the rich combat experience and strong will to fight of its soldiers. The predecessor of this unit, the 74th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, was known for its tenacious fighting spirit and high will to fight since it was formed in 1937 during the Battle of Songhu.
When the 74th Army was first established, it consisted of divisions and other divisions, with more than 32,000 elite soldiers. This unit's stubborn confrontation with the Japanese army in the Battle of Luodian showed the courage and courage of the squadron, and thus became famous. Its heroic performance in the Songhu battlefield made Chiang Kai-shek attach great importance to this unitWhether it was Soviet-style aid, German-procured, or American-aided, the 74th Army was always the first to receive the latest equipment.
After the Battle of Shanggao in 1941, the 74th Army was fully redressed in the Soviet-style **Including 115 mm howitzers, 76 mm field guns, 37 anti-tank guns, and a large number of light and heavy machine guns, its combat effectiveness has been greatly improved. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 74th Army participated in many important battles, and was often able to play a close to one-to-one battle loss ratio in battles with the Japanese army, especially in the case of a huge disparity in troops.
The outstanding achievements of the 74th Army even attracted international attention. Roosevelt once recorded the name of the commander of the 74th Army, Yu Chengwan, in a private memo to pay tribute to his lone defense of Changde. The performance of the 74th Army in the War of Resistance against Japan not only won the title of "Anti-Japanese Iron Army".He was also twice awarded the Flying Tiger Banner, the highest honor in the Kuomintang army.
After Japan's surrender, the 74th Army was ordered to urgently airlift to Nanjing, taking on the important task of surrendering and guarding the peopleIt is known as the Imperial Forest Army and the main ace unit in the Kuomintang army. In the reorganization of the army carried out by the Nationalists after the war, the 74th Army was reorganized into the 74th Division, and despite the structural changes, the personnel and equipment were further strengthened. This unit has all been reequipped with U.S. weapons, and the proportion of veterans has been appropriately adjusted, which not only enhances combat effectiveness, but also enhances the mobility and logistical support capabilities of the troops.
Therefore, when the 74th Division became the main target of the East China Field Army in the Battle of Menglianggu, its strong combat effectiveness and equipment superiority posed a huge challenge. This historical background makes the victory of the Battle of Menglianggu even more preciousIt shows the outstanding achievements of the PLA in the use of tactics and the will to fight.