After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the New Fourth Army, the Eighth Route Army and other units advanced to the northeast and launched a year-long battle. However, due to the lack of support from the solid rear and the local population, the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army was passive in the fighting.
Therefore, the most important task is to establish a stable base area, and the first task is to suppress bandits. After more than a year of suppressing bandits, North Manchuria successfully consolidated and opened up a base area. When the Kuomintang army attacked South Manchuria, North Manchuria sent troops to cooperate with South Manchuria's resistance, and South Manchurian troops successfully thwarted the enemy's attacks again and again in the Battle of Sibao Linjiang.
Among them, in the Fourth Battle to Defend Linjiang in March 1947, the two columns led by Han Xianchu fought together and achieved a brilliant record of annihilating a division and a regiment, completely crushing the enemy's attempt.
The key to this victory was the close cooperation of the two columns and the excellent command of Han Xianchu. When Du Yuming mobilized 100,000 troops and launched an attack on Linjiang in three directions, the head of the Liaodong Military Region ordered the 3rd and 4th columns to conduct joint operations, concentrate superior forces, and annihilate the enemy one by one.
Under the guidance of the organizational principles, the 4th Column was dispatched to the 3rd Column to participate in joint battles. After the establishment of the front-line command, Zeng Kelin served as the commander, and Han Xianchu served as the deputy commander.
Han Xianchu led the 4th Column and 10th Division to the 3rd Column, and the leaders of the 3rd Column, including Zeng Kelin, Luo Shunchu, and Zeng Guohua, greeted them with a warm attitude. After meeting and greeting each other, they immediately plunged into the work of studying the enemy's situation and drawing up operational arrangements.
According to the instructions of his superiors, Zeng Kelin decided to first destroy the enemy in the center, which included the 89th Division, the 162nd Regiment of the 54th Division, and the 20th Provisional Division. In order to effectively destroy them, we must choose one of the 89th Division or the provisional 20th Division as a target for attack.
Zeng Kelin believed that our troops must win the first battle, and it would be more advantageous to attack the provisional 20th Division. This is a motley army with average combat effectiveness, which is relatively easy to defeat.
If we can successfully attack them, it will be a great morale boost and lay the foundation for us to continue to expand our gains.
Han Xianchu took a fancy to the 89th Division, which was a powerful force of Chiang Kai-shek's descendants. He believed that as long as a strong enemy could be defeated, then the weak enemy would retreat without a fight.
There are three reasons for his fight against the 89th Division: First, the 89th Division has just been transferred from Rehe and is not familiar with everything in the northeast. Secondly, with superior equipment, they are very frivolous and do not take their opponents seriously.
Finally, they like to be adventurous. Han Xianchu decided to seize these characteristics, lure the enemy deeper, and then annihilate them. The elimination of the "Thousand Miles of Horse Division" back then was precisely because the enemy was too frivolous and was eliminated by Han Xianchu and Hu Qicai in Xinkailing.
Han Xianchu's battle plan was very bold and a bit risky. As a front-line commander, Zeng Kelin and others disagreed with this. He believed that it was necessary to ensure victory in the first battle, and it was difficult to guarantee victory in the first battle of the 89th Division.
The two sides were at loggerheads over which enemy to fight first. Zeng Guohua, as the deputy commander of the 3rd Column, carefully analyzed Han Xianchu's plan and believed that although it was a bit risky, the basis for winning the victory was credible.
However, he did not say which side he was rooting for. After learning of this, ** and Xiao Jinguang of the Liaodong Military Region quickly gave a reply, and they supported Han Xianchu's combat plan.
After receiving a call back from Han Xianchu, Zeng Kelin and other leaders expressed their willingness to accept Han Xianchu's unified command. Han Xianchu elaborately formulated a set of combat plans, he called on one part of the 3rd Column and 8th Division and one part of the 4th Column and 10th Division to take on the task of luring the enemy, while the 9th Division was responsible for blocking the attack, and the 7th and 8th Divisions and the 10th Division were inserted from both flanks to the rear of the enemy's flank.
Han Xianchu clearly knew that this task was very arduous, and it was necessary to carry out an effective blockade, and at the same time, it was necessary to do a real retreat like a real one. However, under Han Xianchu's ingenious arrangement, when the enemy was lured to the designated location, the 7th, 8th, and 9th Divisions surrounded him from all sides, and the enemy was very surprised by this, their organization was disrupted, and the command system also fell into a state of failure.
After 10 hours of fierce fighting, we managed to annihilate one of the enemy's divisions and a regiment, totaling more than 7,800 men. This battle of the four guarantees over the Linjiang River brought about a fundamental turning point in the situation in the South Manchurian region, and the situation in the northeast region also changed from passive to active.