"Those who are good defenders are buried nine layers underground; Those who are good at attacking, flutter their wings and fly high into the sky, so they can settle down and win a complete victory. The Art of War: The Art of War
Since ancient times, the shift between offense and defense has always been a complex balance. Especially when the defensive camp is at a disadvantage, it is all the more necessary to use wisdom and strategy to bluff and misjudge the opponent, so that the battlefield situation will change from defense to attack. And this is the outstanding performance of General Su Yu in the Battle of Laiwu in 1947. Operate the strategy of "showing the enemy in shape", skillfully set up the Ecstasy Array, put the enemy in a predicament and finally obtained the brilliant result of destroying 50,000 enemies.
In June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek** ignored the desire of the people of the whole country for peace, openly tore up the "Double Tenth Agreement", and launched an all-out offensive against the liberated areas. The flames of war spread, and the liberated areas in Northeast China, northern Shaanxi, and Shandong were shrouded in the cloud of aggression by the Kuomintang troops.
Shandong is strategically located, east of the sea, west of the Central Plains, and Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangnan, and Jinpu, Longhai, Jiaoji three railway arteries converge here. Whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty or Zhu Di later, they were well aware of the importance of Shandong's strategic position, and used it as a base to wave the Northern Expedition or seize power.
Therefore, both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party clearly understood the decisive significance of the Shandong war situation. The Communist Party deployed a large number of troops in the Shandong battlefield, including the East China Field Army and the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, with a total strength of more than half of the PLA. The Kuomintang was also on a large scale, dispatching 23 integrated divisions (armies) and 53 brigades with a total of 310,000 people, intending to seize Shandong in one fell swoop and completely wipe out the main force of Huaye.
However, there was a serious miscalculation within the KMT. After the Subei Campaign and the Lunan Campaign, the strength of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was very different, and the total strength of the Kuomintang army was even five times higher than that of Huaye, which had obvious advantages. However, in the initial stage, the Kuomintang had a total of more than 4 million troops nationwide, all kinds of advanced equipment, and occupied more than three-quarters of the country's land and large cities.
Let's take a look at the situation of the People's Liberation Army at that time, there were only about 1 million regular combat troops, and the main ones in their hands were simple ** such as "millet plus rifles"; The liberated areas are almost all barren and remote mountainous areas, and the liberated areas are often divided between them. Therefore, although the Kuomintang lost nearly 70,000 people, it could not be regarded as an important loss for the PLA under the premise of the huge disparity in the total number of people. This is also the reason why the Chiang Kai-shek clique determined that the situation of our army was "serious and incapable of continuing the battle."
In addition, the Kuomintang has deeper plans. They believed that after successive battles, the East China Field Army led by Su Yu had been compressed into a narrow area from northern Jiangsu to central Luzhong, and they firmly believed that this result was a sign of a phased "victory." Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek believed that the withdrawal of the East China Field Army from the Soviet Union and the abundance of land left behind would facilitate them to occupy more territory and thus increase their chances of victory.
However, the KMT's insistence on the concept of "turf supremacy" ignored the contrast between the vital forces of the KMT and the CCP. During the war, although the East China Field Army led by Su Yu retreated to Shandong for a time, in the process, they not only merged with the Shandong Field Army to form Huaye, but also improved their military strength and combat capability. On the contrary, the Kuomintang army suffered heavy losses in the battle, and the large area of land occupied made it necessary for them to divide their forces into defense, and their forces were more dispersed.
As a result of this state of development, the Kuomintang army lost more than 200,000 soldiers from central Soviet Union to central Luzhong. However, the Kuomintang, which believed too much in the "core theory of turf", was completely unaware of the impending crisis, and even went so far as to say:
The People's Liberation Army has come to an end, and although there are some losses in the ** troops, in terms of the overall war situation, it is undoubtedly a huge victory! ”
A new tactic brought by Chen Cheng.
After the upcoming large-scale local battle in Shandong, the so-called "Battle of Lunan", Chen Cheng, known as the "small chairman", was sent to Xuzhou to oversee the battle, replacing Xue Yue, who had poor results in the Subei and Lunan campaigns. As soon as he arrived in Xuzhou, he announced:
For the fate of the country, the battle of Lunan is crucial! Be sure to win, the loser won't be held accountable! ”
Although it is so firmly said in words, but fighting a war is not a child's play, and military operations are not reliable and there is no fluke. Even the famous general Xue Yue couldn't compete with Su Yu's shrewd strategy, so Chen Cheng, as his successor, would definitely not be able to deal with it easily.
As the chief of staff of the Ministry of National Defense and the "red man" beside Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng's status was not obtained by sycophancy. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he commanded many large-scale battles, including the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Wuhan, and the Battle of Western Hubei. Chen Cheng was not inferior to Xue Yue in terms of battlefield command and strategic vision, and even in terms of actual combat experience and experience, he may have an even greater advantage.
Therefore, it is not by chance that Chiang Kai-shek appointed Chen Cheng to garrison Xuzhou and represent the highest decision-making power on the front line. However, there is an essential difference between strategy and tactics. ** The President's reference to "strategically despising the enemy and tactically valuing the enemy" is of far-reaching significance.
To put it simply, the implementation strategy must be supported by the flexible use of tactics, and if you only have big dreams, but your tactics have been frustrated by changes in the situation, you may end up in empty talk. Chen Cheng naturally understood the meaning of it, and through careful consideration of many painful defeats, he found that the loss of strength in the Subei Campaign stemmed from the separation of the strong and the weak, and the difficulty of supporting the Lunan Campaign came from the in-depth solitary army.
In the final analysis, it was all due to the constant internal strife in Chiang Kai-shek's army. How to break this chaotic state has become a difficult problem that Chen Cheng needs to face urgently and needs to deal with properly. After in-depth consideration, a well-planned comprehensive combat plan was formed in his mind:
With Linyi as the core, two attack groups in the north and south were formed, with the southern line under the personal command of Chen Cheng and the Ou Zhen Corps as the main force, advancing from the Longhai Road; The northern line was commanded by Wang Yaowu, with the cooperation of Li Xianzhou Group, and advanced from the Jiaoji line. At the same time, Wang Jingjiu's corps was transferred to southwest Lu to block the contact between the East China People's Liberation Army and the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan field armies, and participated in the southern Lunan mountain operations in a timely manner.
The battle plan adopted the strategy of "concentrating forces, moving forward steadily, coordinating progress, and avoiding surprise attacks." After the two attack groups in the north and south converged in Linyi, Shandong, they concentrated their forces to eliminate Huaye in one fell swoop. In addition, Chen Cheng also drew on the lessons learned from the Subei Campaign and the Lunan Campaign to formulate more effective tactics.
The Ou Zhen Corps on the southern front was divided into three routes, left, center, and right to advance to Anling, with Hu Lian's integrated 11th Division on the left, Zhang Lingfu's integrated 74th Division in the middle, and Huang Baitao's integrated 25th Division on the right. In this way, after overcoming the problems that may arise in the troops, the tactic is called "hard walnuts in rotten grapes", Chen Cheng is quite satisfied with this: "Even if it is full of tofu dregs, it can swell the old sow!" ”
For Chen-style tactics, ** also made a joke, calling it "tofu scum swelling old sow tactics".
03 Jiang Jun pressed forward step by step, and Su Yu responded flexibly.
Undoubtedly, although the name of the tactic is not very elegant, the actual effect is quite significant. When Su Yu sent an elite column to meet the enemy in the middle head-on, hoping to attract the enemy troops on both sides to advance boldly, unexpectedly, the left and right roads not only did not dare to act rashly, but quickly gathered in the middle to form a strong barrier, so that Hua Ye had no way to start.
However, as soon as Hua Ye retreated, the three generals who formed a joint force marched in unison again, advancing steadily, marching at a speed of about six kilometers per day, making it impossible for Hua Ye to find a good opportunity for annihilation.
In the tense atmosphere of the war, Chiang Kai-shek's Li Xianzhou group in the Northern War succeeded in capturing Laiwu after leading his army south, further threatening the city of Linyi. The four armies of the East China Field Army were stationed in Xintai, Gangcheng and Laiwu like a "long snake formation" to wait for the clarion call for attack. However, at this time, Huaye, which had 240,000 people, seemed to be cornered - being flanked by Li Xianzhou's group in the north and Jiang's army in the south, and the situation was in full swing. At this time, Su Yu was in a dull mood, anxious like an ant on a hot pot.
At this moment, he suddenly thought of a clever plan: use a straw bed. In fact, what Su Yu was planning was to transfer the troops to Mengyin, and then let the local armed forces led by Feng Zhenwu set up a lot of grass shops in Mengyin in advance, creating an opportunity for the remaining forces of Huaye, in order to eliminate the Li Xianzhou group in one fell swoop. The idea is good, but it is very difficult to execute. After all, the large number of soldiers and the transportation of a large amount of materials are huge challenges in the implementation of the operation. At the same time, the frequent movement of troops can also have a morale impact.
However, in any case, only by firmly following this route can Huaye get out of trouble. There are more important questions to face - how to skillfully conceal Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng and Wang Yaowu? Because if the southern front learned that all the troops of Huaye were heading north, it was really difficult to predict whether they would attack in a big way. If Wang Yaowu was aware of this situation, would he have been fooled?
Although Huaye's main force faced many obstacles in its northward movement, as the commander, Su Yu firmly believed that as long as he went all out to deal with Li Xianzhou's group, he would definitely be able to achieve victory. The Ou Zhen group, which adhered to the southern front, had eight integrated divisions, while the Li Xianzhou group had only three armies, and the group's combat effectiveness was weak, there were many internal contradictions, and it lacked military strength. Fortunately, Han Liancheng, the commander of the 46th Army in Li Xianzhou's group, was still a member of our loyal underground party. Therefore, as long as there is any movement on the other side, our army will immediately know about it and take corresponding measures.
Just as Huaye was facing a grim situation, Su Yu decided to adopt a key tactical strategy to prevent Lao Jiang, Chen Cheng and others from seeing through his strategic layout.
Su Yu, who was anxious, immediately deployed the following two important measures:
First of all, he sent the first.
2. The third column disguised itself as the main force, set up three lines of defense in the Yinan area of Linyi, and deliberately showed its determination to stick to Linyi by resisting the enemy's pace.
Secondly, Su Yu ordered Feng Zhenwu, who was stationed in Mengyin, to fabricate the flags of the three main columns, and at the same time set up many straw mats on various camps, in an attempt to mislead Li Xianzhou's troops on the southern front and slow down their march.
04 Fight Wang Yaowu with wisdom.
Under Su Yu's careful planning, the 310,000 Jiang troops who surrounded and attacked Shandong really believed it. Clause.
2. When the third column was in Linyi and the Ou Zhen group, Feng Zhenwu's troops set up many straw mats in the northern part of Mengyin, making Li Xianzhou mistakenly believe that Huaye's main force had arrived at their position.
On February 15, 1947, the Ouzhen Group went through a while"Bitter fighting", successfully occupied Linyi, the excited Chiang army quickly exaggerated the results of the battle, and even reported to Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek, claiming"16 brigades were annihilated"！
Chiang Jun was ecstatic by this result, but their lies were soon exposed. In fact, in this encirclement and suppression, Huaye did not suffer such large-scale losses at all.
Faced with this situation, the army in Chiang Kai-shek's hands began to make a big noise, for fear that Chiang Kai-shek would be ignorant and unaware. Received the so-called"Destroy 16 enemy brigades"After the good news, he said confidently to Xiong Shihui, director of the Northeast Xingyuan:
After Linyi succeeded, the ** forces south of the Yellow River were vulnerable, and it only took a month to completely wipe them out, and then only the problem north of the Yellow River remained, I hope you can help me deal with this problem. "
Chen Cheng on the side began to feel worried, because Ou Zhen had successfully captured Linyi, which was firmly held by the People's Liberation Army, but Wang Yaowu was still hesitant in the north, what was going on?
It turned out that compared with the ignorant Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng, Wang Yaowu was a good general in the Kuomintang army. He fought bravely, had a unique vision, and had a strong sense of war. In his early years, he defeated ** in the Battle of Yihuang; In the battle of Tanjiaqiao, our army suffered defeat again; In the subsequent War of Resistance Against Japan, he made the Japanese army defeated and fled many times in many battles such as the Battle of Wanjialing, the Battle of Gao'an, and the Battle of Changde.
Although Su Yu successfully deceived Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng, it was difficult for him to hide from Wang Yaowu. In the Ou Zhen group occupied Linyi as well as false"16 brigades were annihilated"Later, Wang Yaowu was keenly aware of the anomaly - that is, the Ou Zhen group did not encounter severe obstruction before the capture of Linyi.
If it was really Huaye's main forces stationed in Linyi, they would never give up this place easily, and the two sides would definitely start a fierce battle. Then, the most likely scenario is that Su Yu changes his strategy and puts the main force into the northern front to fight Li Xianzhou's group!
Considering this, Wang Yaowu couldn't help but get nervous, and quickly issued an order for Li Xianzhou's group to retreat. In the face of Chen Cheng's non-stop orders to carry out the orders of the headquarters, Wang Yaowu had no choice but to continue to carry out Chen Cheng's orders, so that Li Xianzhou's group would stop retreating and continue to attack south.
Wang Yaowu knew that the front was dangerous, but he needed to obey the orders of his superior, Chen Cheng. He had to let the Li Xianzhou group move on, causing them to be in the contradiction of moving forward or backward. When Su Yu realized this, he initially feared that the "big fish" would escape, but after in-depth analysis, he understood that this was caused by the lack of uniformity of instructions within the Kuomintang. As long as Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek still believe in the illusion created by Huaye, even if Wang Yao turns the tide by force, he is afraid that he will be helpless!
Although Wang Yaowu tried all means to get the troops on the northern front to return in order to avoid being surrounded by Su Yu, Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek insisted that Wang Yaowu strictly follow his orders. In the end, Wang Yaowu could only watch as Li Xianzhou's group fell into the trap laid by Su Yubu, and this battle, which had already doomed the Kuomintang army to defeat, was irreversible.
Destroy the Kuomintang army.
After understanding the internal workings of the Kuomintang, Su Yu began the detailed planning of his plan to annihilate the enemy. At this time, the 46th Army of the Gui Department was exposed to the front line, and its commander Han Liancheng was a secret party member of our army. Therefore, it will be easy for us to eat the 46th Army.
In order to confuse Jiang's army, Su Yu instructed Feng Zhenwu to build a large number of straw shops in the north of Mengyin to create a scene of suspected assembly of the army, and then because Han Liancheng needed to find an excuse to delay the speed of the march in order to explain the task to Li Xianzhou, so as to buy time for the arrival of our follow-up troops. If we attack the 46th Army first, then Wang Yaowu will not only not let the main forces of the 73rd Army and the 12th Army rush to help, but may accelerate the northward movement of these two troops, in that case, the original war of annihilation may evolve into a crushing war, and the final victory will be impossible to talk about.
Prior to this, Su Yu's strategy - let Feng Zhenwu build a straw shop - successfully confused, making Li Xianzhou's troops hesitate and not dare to advance. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Liancheng spread false information about the arrival of Huaye's main force, which made Li Xianzhou's troops even more confused. These key factors created important conditions for our army to eliminate Li Xianzhou's troops.
Subsequently, the war began, and Huaye launched a fierce attack on the 73rd Army and the 12th Army sitting in Laiwu City, at this time the Kuomintang troops in the city were shaken and eager to break through from the north and seek survival. The small city of Laiwu was instantly filled with all kinds of Kuomintang troops who were struggling with the trapped beasts.
Because the walls of Laiwu are tall and thick, if the city is forcibly attacked, it will only cause unnecessary losses. Therefore, Huaye followed Su Yu's instructions and adopted the tactic of "encircling three and putting one", leaving the opportunity for a breakthrough in the north. The panicked enemy troops did not have time to care whether they were trapped, and fled to the north one after another, but they did not expect to fall into the traps set by our army in Qincun and Gaojiawa.
In a vast area of only 3 or 4 kilometers from east to west and 1 or 2 kilometers from north to south, more than 50,000 enemy troops were in chaos, and people, vehicles, and supplies were jammed with each other. On the eve of the breakthrough, Han Liancheng broke away from the spearhead of the brigade, which undoubtedly made the already chaotic situation worse.
When Huaye found that the enemy was in the encirclement**, he immediately launched a heavy fire counterattack. After just three hours, the enemy forces were all defeated. ** sighed: "50,000 enemy troops gathered in the sandy area of the ravine 3 to 4 miles long and 1 to 2 kilometers wide, after our artillery bombardment headquarters, mules and horses panicked, soldiers shouted to intercept guns, and most of them chose to surrender. The battle lasted 3 hours. ”
After the Battle of Laiwu, our army paid a slight price of only more than 6,000 men and defeated more than 50,000 enemy troops. Through the establishment of a small number of straw shops, it was a victory that can go down in history. General Su Yu's unique military wisdom is truly impressive.
After experiencing the fiasco of the "Battle of Lunan", Chiang Kai-shek angrily rebuked Wang Yaowu: "I feel ashamed of such a loss, and this matter must be caused by your improper planning." Laiwu is already trapped, why should he be evacuated? The commander sent this time is incompetent, don't you know about it? In the face of severe reprimands, Wang Yaowu was speechless, and could only pour out his anger on the internal problems of the Kuomintang: "The 50,000 army has disappeared quietly, even if I let 50,000 pigs go and let them catch them, they will not be able to complete the task in 3 days!" ”
The Battle of Laiwu seriously dampened the Kuomintang's morale and laid the foundation for the subsequent integration of the liberated areas of Shandong. Huaye's strength has risen rapidly, and the best equipment has been significantly improved. Chiang Kai-shek was forced to abandon the all-out offensive and switch to the offensive with concentrated superior forces, so that the war of liberation entered a strategic period.