Why? This requires a review of the Battle of Lianshui, also known as the Battle of Lianshui.
First of all, it must be admitted that the integrated 74th Division showed considerable bravery in this battle. Of course, this is also related to Zhang Lingfu's boasting before the war, according to the recollection of Wang Keji, deputy of the 151st Regiment of the 51st Brigade of the 74th Division. During the Battle of Lianshui, Zhang Lingfu openly expressed his disdain for the entire 28th Division: "To fight Lianshui, we will go up, and after the battle is down, they (the entire 28th Division) can enter the city to defend." These words angered Li Liangrong, the commander of the entire 28th Division, and although he was displeased, he could only respond: "Okay, you go first." ”
During the Battle of Lianshui, Zhang Lingfu openly expressed his disdain for the entire 28th Division: "To fight Lianshui, we will go up, and after the battle is down, they (the entire 28th Division) can enter the city to defend." These words angered Li Liangrong, the commander of the entire 28th Division, and although he was displeased, he could only respond: "Okay, you go first." ”
Li Liangrong, the commander of the 28th Division, was mad at this time, but in the face of Zhang Lingfu, who was red and purple at the time, he could only say: If you are not sick, you will take two steps first.
Zhang Lingfu immediately launched an attack on Lianshui, but the first attack ended in failure. This inspired Li Liangrong, who countered: "We are ready to take over the defense of the city, when will it be handed over?" Zhang Lingfu was angry, but he was helpless. So he continued to attack Lianshui frantically, however, even if his integrated 74th Division was so desperate, he was still ridiculed by other ** troops:"The 74th Division will also lose the battle! You are well-armed and have strong combat effectiveness, how can you also be defeated? ”
This is Zhang Lingfu in the defense of Lianshui, who put himself in a situation of being ridiculed. In the end, although Zhang Lingfu succeeded in seizing Lianshui and received Chiang Kai-shek's commendation, he was indignant and felt that the responsibility lay with others, so he made a surprise move.
He first sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, saying that the combat strength of the current division was only four regiments. After the Lianghuai War, the first batch of 5,800 Anhui recruits were allocated, of which 1,967 had arrived for defense, 1,630 were on the way to visit, and 2,203 were in the process of urging the handover. The implication is that the reorganized 74th Division suffered heavy losses in the Lianshui Campaign, and hoped to receive more funds, soldiers, and material support.
After sending the telegram, Zhang Lingfu went to see Chiang Kai-shek in the new uniform of the People's Liberation Army. This greatly shocked Chiang Kai-shekAsked: "* Is there still a military uniform?" Zhang Lingfu replied: "* not only has a military uniform, but also better and more practical than **." ”
Then, Zhang Lingfu began to complain: ".The cotton uniforms of the People's Liberation Army are thick and strong, and the soldiers wear them to keep warm and durable; However, the cotton uniforms issued by our army are thin, how can soldiers keep warm? ”Chiang Kai-shek was furious when he heard this, believing that someone was making trouble on his military uniform, and this situation must not be tolerated. So he ordered a comprehensive investigation, and after some tossing, Yu Jishi made a summary report.
Chiang Kai-shek was furious, it seems that someone is taking kickbacks on military uniforms, this is okay, isn't it a joke to say it? The dignified military uniform is not as good as the dirt road, what impact should the international view have? So Chiang Kai-shek ordered a thorough investigation, and after some tossing, Yu Jishi summarized the report.
Except for the 83rd Division (Li Tianxia's department), the military uniforms of other ** units have quality problems, and there are even soldiers who do not have military uniforms to wear because their commanders resell military uniforms. This is the origin of the famous ** joke "Li Tianxia does not drink the blood of soldiers".
In short, the Battle of Lianshui not only caused heavy losses to Zhang Lingfu's troops, but also offended many of his colleagues. However, his old rival Li Tianxia received a higher evaluation because of this, which led to further aggravation of the conflict between the two.
Therefore, when the Battle of Menglianggu broke out, many strange things happened. For example, why did Tang Enbo hand over command to Huang Baitao? Because at that time, Huang Baitao's elder brother Gu Zhutong was the scoop handle of Xuzhou and the commander-in-chief of the campaign.
For another example, why did Zhang Lingfu suddenly attack Tangbu and eventually lead to the annihilation of the entire army? This point not only aroused Chiang Kai-shek's angry questioning, but also caused confusion within **. In this regard, according to the record of "General Gives Instructions at the Symposium on Current Affairs of the Senior Generals of Chiang's 74th Division" published on June 19, 1947, ** had a very frank dialogue with the captured senior generals of the 74th Division. He asked, "Why did your ministry advance to Tangbu alone?" ”
Obviously, it is irrational to think that Zhang Lingfu is moving forward alone with the reorganized 74th Division. As soon as this question was raised, the senior generals of the reorganized 74th Division said one after another that the reason why they acted alone was because they had encountered "two major accidents."
The first:The accident was to judge that the main force of the People's Liberation Army was not hereAnd because of the support of the friendly forces on the left and right, it was only to find out that the main force of the PLA was here, and the so-called friendly forces were just watching from the sidelines.
Therefore, it can be seen from this historical material that Zhang Lingfu's so-called solitary in-depth or arrogant arrogance was just a bluff and was meant to be shown by Chiang Kai-shek and other colleagues. The real reason is that he thought that the main force of the People's Liberation Army was not there, so he wanted to take the opportunity to develop his own power, but the reality punctured his illusions.
In addition, the main reason is that the operational plans of the Ministry of Defense are too subjective and do not understand the real situation at the front. This means that the defeat of ** will often be interpreted by the outside world as various reasons, such as bad weather, uncooperative friendly forces, intelligence errors, etc., until the ultimate responsibility is placed on Chiang Kai-shek.
Second:The main reason is also that the operational plans of the Ministry of Defense are too subjective and do not understand the real situation at the front。This means that the defeat of ** will often be interpreted by the outside world as various reasons, such as bad weather, uncooperative friendly forces, intelligence errors, etc., until the ultimate responsibility is placed on Chiang Kai-shek.
The failure of the Menglianggu Battle was not only Zhang Lingfu's personal failure, but also a concentrated embodiment of the mistakes of high-level decision-making. The lessons of this battle are far-reaching, not only making people reflect on the operational planning and command ability of the People's Liberation Army, but also making people realize the strength of the PLA and the complexity of the opponent.