The Northeast Field Army was the most powerful theater-level unit of our army during the War of Liberation, and its strength and equipment level surpassed that of the fraternal field armies. Such an army of more than one million won more than one million in the confrontation with the Kuomintang troops. However, the third Siping offensive and defensive battle (Siping Street Battle) in 1947 has always made Noji angry and even "faceless", which is a rare example of defeat. The Kuomintang defenders, with the 71st Army as the main body, actually won more with less and repelled the 100,000 main force of the Dongye (Democratic Alliance Army). What kind of unit was the Kuomintang 71st Army, which was strong, and what was the outcome?
On the whole, the historical influence of the 71st Army is greater than its own strength. When it comes to the core troops of the ** army during the Liberation War, the five trump card main forces and the 52nd Army, the 10th Army, the 13th Army, the integrated 36th Division, and the 1st Army are all very strong in combat effectiveness, and the 71st Army is also a front-line army, although it is not a trump card, but its combat power is good. If you break down the composition of the 71st Army during the Battle of Siping, you will find that its historical roots are deep, and it can be ranked at the forefront of all army-level troops. Its core troops have always been the 87th Division and the 88th Division, friends who are familiar with the history of the Anti-Japanese War, should know that in the early days of the 1937 war, the five strongest units of the Kuomintang Army were the 87th Division, the 88th Division, the 36th Division, the Tax Police Corps, and the ** Military Academy Teaching Corps. These troops are at the forefront of the Songhu Campaign, and the ordinary squadron ** division can only support 1-3 days before the formation collapses, and more than half of the ** have to withdraw from the position, but these ace ** armies are basically able to confront the Japanese army head-on for a long time, and the last to guard the Shanghai Sixing warehouse is also the 88th Division's troops.
Due to the serious decline in strength in the early war attrition, the German armament division gradually faded out of the main force of the Kuomintang, and the Soviet and American armaments began to become the best equipment for the Anti-Japanese War. However, the foundation is still there, and the 71st Army, which is composed of the 87th and 88th Divisions as the main body, is still a strong force in the Kuomintang Army. Between 1939 and 1940, the 36th Division was also incorporated into the 71st Army, commanded by the famous general Song Xilian. Due to the above historical reasons, although the overall strength of the 71st Army at the time of the Liberation War was not as good as the five aces of the United States, it was still the first-class main force of the ** Army, and one of the backbone units when Du Yuming attacked the Northeast, slightly lower than the ace New First Army and the New Sixth Army.
The Battle of Siping in 1947 was the third and most tragic battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party around the city. At this time, Chen Mingren served as the commander of the 71st Army, and the troop establishment included the 87th, 88th and 91st divisions. The 71st Army in June 47 was actually in a very poor state, and due to the recent battle losses, the 88th Division did not have many veterans and weak combat effectiveness; The 87th Division lost a regiment at this time, and the 91st Division was not in Siping City. Our army in the northeast judged that Chen Mingren's available troops in Siping City were only more than 10,000 people, and his combat strength and morale were at a low point, which was a great opportunity to recover Siping, and invested more than 100,000 main troops to attack the city.
However, due to the inaccuracy of pre-war intelligence and improper siege tactics and order, our army's attack was stubbornly blocked by the enemy. Chen Mingren organized a security regiment in the city in advance, expanded the size of the garrison to more than 30,000 people, personally went to the front line to command and supervise the battle, and finally confronted our army with the help of fortifications and street battles for nearly 20 days, resulting in more than 10,000 people of the Northeast People's Liberation Army, who were forced to evacuate before the enemy reinforcements. In 1947, the broken 71st Army was able to hold Siping, not because of its objective strength, but more because of the resolute character and high command level of the main general Chen Mingren. This is also one of the reasons why Chen still served as the commander of the corps after the uprising and was entrusted with a large number of military powers.
However, three battles and four draws were the final victory of the 71st Army, and in 48 years Siping was finally conquered by Dongye, and most of the 71st Army, which was less than 20,000 people, was annihilated; After the reconstruction, Xiang Fengwu served as the commander, and soon after the Liaoshen Campaign, it was again wiped out by the Dongye army in the western Liaoxi Plain. The party army in China still has not revoked the name of this important unit and has rebuilt it again in the south, but at this time its strength is far inferior to before, and basically it has only skins, and the officers and men at the grassroots level have no combat effectiveness to speak of. The Kuomintang 71st Army was finally annihilated in Guangxi in November 1949 in the southern front pursuit battle of Siye.