"Alas! Mr. Jiang, you can't fight like this! Li Zongren paced back and forth in the front-line barracks, his face full of anxiety, and he couldn't stop sighing. He had a headache when he thought of the order issued by the General Headquarters just now, and after thinking for a long time, he still sent a telegram to Chen Cheng, chief of the General Staff.
The telegram was sent out in a matter of seconds, not only because of the brevity of the content, but also because he had typed the sentence I don't know how many times, and he could type it with his eyes closed. There is only one sentence in the whole telegram: According to the orders of the gentleman, there will be no defeat, and you should persuade him quickly!
After Chen Cheng received the telegram, he fell to his back in anger and immediately scolded: "Okay, you Li Zongren, if you have any opinions, you don't dare to tell Mr. Jiang in person, but come to me." Is it useful to ask me for such a thing as commanding an army? ”
FigLi Zongren Chen Cheng said this very strangely, he is the chief of staff of the Kuomintang army, and it should be commonplace to communicate with Chiang Kai-shek on matters related to commanding operations, how can it be useless? Could it be that the chief of staff is a decoration?
In fact, this may be a bit serious, but it is true. Not only was the chief of staff of the Kuomintang unable to speak out, but senior officers were also unable to command operations freely, and even low-ranking front-line generals often could not tell whether their superiors wanted them to kill the enemy or send them to their deaths. The strange state of the Kuomintang army is due to Chiang Kai-shek, the supreme leader who likes to sit in the high command.
Chiang Kai-shek, as everyone knows, was a soldier with good roots, who studied at the Baoding Military Academy and the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer School, two well-known military academies at home and abroad at that time. It stands to reason that Lao Chiang's military level should be good, even if it can't compare to those founding marshals of our country, at least it won't be bad, and his ability will grow a lot under the tempering of the war, but in fact?
China's supreme leader is not from a military background, and after years of war training, his military command ability has risen step by step; And Chiang Kai-shek, a soldier with an orthodox education, made his subordinates cry bitterly. He can't lead soldiers well, is it really because of his low military level?
In July 1936, Edgar ** experienced the political and military talents of the Communist Party leaders, and wanted to know whether the top leaders of the Kuomintang were also so talented. He learned that *** had worked with Chiang Kai-shek at the Whampoa Military Academy and should know a lot, so he went to interview.
He asked*** Chiang Kai-shek, as the leader of the Kuomintang, must have had a high level of political talent. What do you think Chiang Kai-shek's ability as a soldier can compete with ***? ”
** smiled faintly, shook his head and replied: "Can't compare." ** The military level is gradually rising, and we do not know where its peak is. And Chiang Kai-shek, compared to a soldier, it is more appropriate to call him a politician. ”
Edgar ** was very surprised when he heard this, after all, Chiang Kai-shek and *** can be said to be equal opponents of China in the same era, and the gap in ability should not be large. Although there is no direct comparison, it kicks Chiang Kai-shek out of the ranks of tacticians, and we can draw an evaluation of Chiang Kai-shek's military capabilities.
In the eyes of ***, a military commander needs to have two indispensable abilities: first, a long-term strategic vision of taking one step at a time and seeing ten steps; The second is the strength to control the complex and volatile crisis situation. The former needs to grasp the objective overall information and possible changes, while the latter needs to issue clear and effective orders in response to the wartime situation, and must not be shaken at will.
It can be seen from the performance of the armies of the Chinese Communist Party in the three major strategic decisive battles that Chiang Kai-shek did not have these two advantages. The three major strategic decisive battles began in the Northeast Battlefield, when the situation on the battlefield in the whole country began to become clear, and the PLA's perseverance gradually tilted the situation. In the face of the PLA's favorable operations, the Kuomintang army stubbornly and stubbornly defended several important places. On the one hand, it contains the Northeast People's Liberation Army and prevents our side from entering the customs smoothly; On the one hand, it was transferred to Central China by the enemy forces in the northeast to make up for the Central China defense line.
If the CCP sends troops to attack Central China at this time, it will fall into the arms of the enemy, and the PLA will fall into the flanking attack of the two strategic groups of Fu Zuoyi and Wei Lihuang, and it will not be advisable to suffer from the enemy on the back. However, if it is necessary to attack the northeast, it will give the enemy a chance to retreat quickly and realize the strategic contraction of the Kuomintang army. Therefore, the Northeast Battlefield has become a crucial node in the national war situation.
** At the pre-war meeting, it was emphasized: "The first war has always had a long-term impact. Therefore, in the first battle, we must carefully formulate a battle plan, wait for a good opportunity, ensure that our army has the superiority first, and cannot easily meet the enemy. ”
The difficulties in the Northeast Battlefield did not allow *** to win in a panic, but fought and retreated, and has been waiting for the critical moment. Although the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been retreating, its morale has never been lowered, because they all know that this is our army's strategy. The enemy is following us, the initiative is in our hands, they just need to wait for the day of the decisive battle.
On the other hand, the enemy army has no overall view of the situation, and when it sees that the PLA keeps retreating, they feel that they are in control of the battle, and their vanity swells. Chiang Kai-shek did not doubt the strength of his army at all, believing that this was the real strength of the PLA, and even said in the barracks: "The CCP is powerless to fight back, and you just wait for our army to win." ”
How can such words not make a soldier let his guard down? ** said: "The laxity of the enemy is the best opportunity." When the opponent is relaxed, that's when we close the net. "The first battle of each major battlefield is to adopt the tactic of "surprise attack", taking advantage of the enemy's slackness, biting a hole in a place that the opponent does not care about, and attacking while paralyzing the perspective of the enemy general.
On the defensive line that they were proud of, they tore open a big crack and fiercely attacked the strategic deployment of the army and the winning mentality of the soldiers. When the enemy army was in a panic and confused, thinking that our army was just tearing through the defense line by mistake, the PLA was well-trained and stable in attacking, and continued to expand the results until it won the overall victory.
Repeated surprise attacks and victories prove the best tactical foresight, as the British scholar Lee De Hart said: "'Surprise attack' is always a powerful key in military affairs, if the general abandons this key and does not use it, failure will inevitably follow." ”
This was also confirmed by the defeat of the Kuomintang army, and it was not that none of them doubted the tactics of the PLA, and Chen Cheng hinted at Chiang Kai-shek: "Sir should send some more troops to the front, in case the enemy kills him." But Chiang Kai-shek scoffed at this statement and said with a smile: "Our army's strength and armament are several times that of the PLA, and the PLA is struggling to survive, and it is absolutely impossible for the PLA to have the ability to fight back." ”
Chiang Kai-shek had full confidence in his army, never doubted that he would lose the battle, and refused to use such a small trick as a surprise attack, believing that the surprise attack was only a small fight and could not establish a victory on the battlefield. With such a shallow idea, it is no wonder that he was hit hard by the "strange soldiers" of ***.
During the Liaoshen Campaign, the main force of the Northeast Field Army was stationed in North Manchuria, and soldiers were sent to wander around Changchun. For a time, the Kuomintang army believed that the People's Liberation Army was about to attack Changchun, and Chiang Kai-shek also sent the main force to stay in Changchun and wait for the People's Liberation Army to come and conquer it all.
FigWhat they didn't know about the Liaoshen Battle was that the main force of the People's Liberation Army quietly took a long detour and attacked Jinzhou with all its might, leaving the Nationalist Army at a loss. By the time Chiang Kai-shek came to his senses and sent troops to support in a panic, the People's Liberation Army had already surrounded Yixian and cut off all the passages between Jinzhou and Guannei. In this way, the Kuomintang lost Jinzhou, an important strategic location.
In the Huaihai Campaign, the Kuomintang army, based on previous intelligence, concluded that the PLA intended to attack Xuzhou. **In order to deepen their illusion, let the PLA soldiers divide into multiple routes and march towards Xuzhou. Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered Li Mi's corps to be transferred to the west and Sun Yuanliang's corps to the north, and the regiments surrounded Xuzhou.
It's a pity that they fell into the plan again, and the PLA sent out in front was just a bait to harass the enemy, and the real main attacking force was the East China Field Army. Our army took advantage of the fact that Huang Baitao's corps was lonely on the east side, launched a fierce attack, cutting off their passage with Xuzhou, and the Kuomintang army could not support it, and the previous strategic deployment was like a joke.
After disrupting the deployment of the enemy's army in the Xuzhou area, the Central Plains Field Army did not sit idle, pursued the victory, besieged Suxian, cut off the connection between Xuzhou and Bengbu, another hub, and once again laid the victory of the Huaihai Campaign.
The People's Liberation Army repeatedly attacked it unprepared, and the morale of the Kuomintang army plummeted, and they began to meet the battle cautiously. During the Pingjin Campaign, Chiang Kai-shek was extremely cautious in order to prevent the Northeast Field Army from entering the pass. Previously, the Kuomintang army had been keeping an eye on the eastern battlefield, but Chiang Kai-shek felt that it was not safe enough, so he continued to send troops to move east to Jingu, and if the battle situation was unfavorable, he could retreat by sea.
Before the war began, Chiang Kai-shek focused his army deployment on retreat, how could he calculate the real route of ***? When the Kuomintang army rushed to the east in large numbers, the PLA appeared in the west by surprise, and the Yang Chengwu Corps and Yang Dezhi Corps, which were originally stationed in Guisui and Shijiazhuang, received orders to surround Zhangjiakou and Xin'an and contain Fu Zuoyi in the west.
Taking advantage of the inability of the enemy to communicate between the east and west, the main force of the Northeast Field Army began to act silently, quietly crossed the Great Wall and rushed to the south, dividing Beiping, Tianjin, and Tanggu, and the advantage of the battle situation was suddenly transferred to our side. In this battle, our army still adopted the method of surprise attack to open the battle situation. This style of fighting without encircling and separating without encircling is rare in history, which made Chiang Kai-shek scratch his head and made many command mistakes.
FigAfter Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and said: "Why does the Communist Party understand the deployment of our army so clearly? How did you fight the war, and why didn't you report the news from the front? "The war situation is ever-changing, and many things must be grasped by the generals at all levels according to the actual situation, but the Kuomintang army is under the command of Chiang Kai-shek, and the generals are also unable to say what they are suffering.
Formulating tactics is like playing chess, we must have a long-term vision, each piece cannot fall at will, and we must let it play a role and lead the overall situation. ** said: "The person who commands the whole situation is the one who has the heaviest burden on his shoulders, and that person must focus all his attention on the change in the tide of battle." In light of the actual situation, we should properly adjust the arrangements of various units, adapt measures to local conditions, adapt ourselves to changing circumstances, and absolutely not shirk our responsibilities. ”
If Chiang Kai-shek listened to ***'s words, I don't know if he would reflect on himself, but he would certainly not be ashamed on another point. During the war, the lives of the people were already turbulent, and Lao Chiang still allowed the non-commissioned officers to oppress the people and rob the people's property, completely ignoring what the victory was?
** The post-war summary said: "The reason why our army was able to win the three major strategic decisive battles was not entirely due to the efforts of the army, but also inseparable from every and every one of the people who supported the Communist Party." "When the Kuomintang army preyed on the people, the People's Liberation Army, in order to protect the safety of the people's property, would rather reclaim wasteland and grow grain by itself than take a stitch from the masses. It is this quality that impresses the masses of the people and makes them willing to believe in the Communist Party, and when the PLA needs them, they immediately stand behind the PLA.
Take the Huaihai Battle as an example, when the front line had just started fighting, the number of troops and migrant workers was nearly one million, and the amount of grain and grass required was too large, and nearly 100 million catties of grain had to be transported from all over the country every month. It is difficult to raise food, and it is even more difficult to raise and deliver supplies. At that time, the materials of the People's Liberation Army were carried by soldiers and migrant workers, pushed by small cars, and sent all the way to the front line.
The transportation road behind is extremely inconvenient, and the weather is cold, the migrant workers are all red from the cold, and their lips are purple, but they still push the heavy carts and carry the grain bags on their backs to move forward step by step. The weight on their bodies can crush their waists, but it can't crush their backbones, and they shout as they walk: "The People's Liberation Army hits **, we will support **!"
There is no soldier who has seen the deep ruts and footprints on the grain transportation road without tears and misty eyes and vows not to "serve the people with his life." Countless people were frugal to support the front-line food, the children were hungry and their faces were yellow, and the soldiers were fed vigorously. This is all because the Communist Party can bring the long-awaited peace to the Chinese people.
* once choked up and sighed: "The victory of the Huaihai Battle was pushed by the masses of the people with a small cart." "But what about the Huaihai Campaign? The Communist Party has long been inseparable from the masses, and the people are everywhere and have their support. On the other hand, Chiang Kai-shek not only did not protect the people, but indulged his soldiers to infringe on the interests of the people, which was his strategic narrowness.
Blindly wooing warlords from all sides, while ignoring China's largest group. If the Kuomintang does not have the support of the people, how can it continue to develop? can only go to the end of the bullet and food, which is an important reason for their repeated failures. The formulation of tactics is not long-term enough, and the strategy of being far away from the masses is a step behind, and Chiang Kai-shek led his troops to defeat in battles only in these places?
Of course, the most terrible enemy in the world is not the strong, but the strong who keep learning and improving; And the most hateful teammates around him are not weak, but self-righteous and assertive. Why do people always say that *** ideas are the crystallization of collective wisdom? Because no matter what position he holds, he never closes his eyes and ears, rejects the advice of others, and learns from others.
This, especially in the military field, knows that he is not from a military background and has a lot to learn. However, at that time, the relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was not harmonious, and under the terrorist attack of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party members were brutally killed, and they had to pick up guns and learn to fight back. Who could have known that this intellectual, who had only been an elementary school teacher at that time, would become an outstanding military commander. At first, *** couldn't even shoot a gun, but in order to defend the revolutionary road, everything could not be learned from scratch.
** I have no experience in military school, so I can only learn in the practice of war, and while fighting guerrilla warfare against the enemy, I can think hard about how to better deal with the enemy. Each time, I will summarize by myself, remembering what worked and what didn't. He constantly reflected on his own understanding and experience, shared and talked with his comrades-in-arms, recorded all the difficulties encountered in the war, and thought about and speculated on how it would change and how to deal with it from all aspects. This may be the way to cultivate strategic capabilities in the early days.
And after being promoted to chairman, these habits did not disappear. When the People's Liberation Army was fighting, he never insisted on going his own way, and often took the initiative to ask the front-line generals their thoughts and opinions, and jointly discussed and formulated strategic arrangements. During the war, ** rarely questioned the judgment of the front-line generals, and always told them: "You let go of your hands and feet to do it, and I will take responsibility." And after a battle, I repeatedly summarized with them and listened carefully to the advice given by others.
The launching of the Huaihai Campaign was a suggestion put forward by Su Yu, acting commander of the East China Field Army. At that time, the Battle of Jinan was not over, and Su Yu seized the opportunity with his keen sense of war and proposed to the Military Commission: "Please start the Huaihai Campaign immediately." "At that time, the Military Commission did not know the situation, and some people were very hesitant, but they trusted Su Yu's perception of the situation on the front line and persuaded them. The next day, he drafted a reply: "We trust your judgment that the Battle of Huaihai is necessary. ”
And when the East China Field Army planned to encircle Huang Baitao's corps, the commander of the Central Plains Field Army urgently called the Military Commission, putting forward his own plans for the upcoming fight, existing flaws and some suggestions, hoping to reconsider. ** did not question the feedback of the other party, and together with the members of the Military Commission, two battle plans for the Subang area were formulated overnight. **Send all the plans to the front-line generals and tell them: "What is appropriate, I hope to recover." ”
The strategic plan and wartime plan of the Huaihai Campaign were revised and perfected by the First Central Military Commission in accordance with the constant feedback of the front-line generals and the actual situation. Li Da, chief of staff of the Central Plains Field Army, commented after the war: "The Central Military Commission made the greatest contribution to the victory of the Huaihai Campaign. ** Good at taking advice, front-line generals are not afraid to speak out, so plans can always catch up with changes. ”
But no matter how perfect the plan is, ** still repeatedly instructed the front-line generals: "It is impossible to go according to the plan when the war starts, if the situation is urgent, you must be able to adapt to the situation, you don't need to consult the Military Commission, trust your own judgment." This is equivalent to delegating power to generals in wartime, but it is not an order that ordinary leaders dare to order. But it is precisely because of the trust of *** that the relationship between the Supreme Command of the People's Liberation Army and the front-line generals can be so harmonious.
** The practice of Chiang Kai-shek was not possible in the troops of Chiang Kai-shek. After Chiang Kai-shek came to power, the Kuomintang army was always firmly controlled by him, and all operational commands, regardless of the size of the battle and the severity of the battle, were left to him to judge alone.
Wang Shijie is Chiang Kai-shek's very trusted chief, and he recorded this sentence in his diary: "At this time, Mr. Chiang was in charge of the Ministry of National Defense, and many things were not shared. It can be seen from this that Chiang Kai-shek's ** does not want anyone to share the power in his hands, and it is no wonder that he has been targeting the Communist Party, because what he wants has always been **.
During the Huaihai Campaign, Chiang Kai-shek was angry after being tricked into Xuzhou, and planned to let the army flank the People's Liberation Army in the north and south, and ordered them: "We must open up the Xubang section of the Jinpu Road." The front-line generals sent a telegram: "Mr. Hope will send more troops, and the existing army will not be able to destroy the PLA." Lao Jiang has always regarded himself very highly, and when he heard this, he was dissatisfied, thinking that the troops he had dispatched were enough, and he refused to pass.
Then the People's Liberation Army attacked with high momentum, the combat effectiveness was far beyond imagination, the Kuomintang army was unstoppable, Chiang Kai-shek turned pale with fright, and ordered: "Immediately withdraw from Xuzhou, save troops to wait for the defense of Nanjing." But as soon as he led the team out of Xuzhou, Chiang Kai-shek changed his strategy, and when he saw that the People's Liberation Army did not chase and the army was in turmoil, he guessed that they had suffered heavy losses and did not dare to pursue.
Lao Jiang immediately changed his mind and ordered the army to return to the People's Liberation Army, intending to rescue the trapped Huang Wei Corps. But as everyone knows, this is the strategic movement arranged by the PLA, and Huang Wei is the bait placed in the pocket of the PLA, deliberately used to confuse Chiang Kai-shek and let him spend his troops on helping Huang Wei break through the encirclement.
When Chiang Kai-shek returned to his division, he swore that he would boast about Haikou and said: "Let Huang Wei wait, and Li Yannian and I will rescue him soon." Then another hard battle, for a long time without opening the encirclement of the PLA, Chiang Kai-shek realized that he had misjudged, and they were simply unable to repel the PLA. He was no longer able to return to the sky, but asked Huang Wei to lead his team to break through the encirclement, Chiang Kai-shek ordered: "I will let the air force support, there is still poison gas cover that day, you will immediately break through during the day." ”
Huang Wei had different opinions from Chiang Kai-shek, he had been fighting the PLA for a long time, and he understood it better, and replied: "It is impossible to successfully break through the encirclement during the day!" The two sides insisted on their own opinions, and after five days of delay, the situation did not improve, and Huang Wei could only lead the charge at night.
As soon as this team came out, they stepped into the net prepared by the PLA, and their morale collapsed in an instant. Except for Hu Lian, who fled alone in a chariot, Huang Wei's corps was all annihilated.
FigWhen Huang Wei and Chiang Kai-shek commanded the operation in the Huaihai Campaign, Du Yuming stayed by his side and knew the old Chiang's command style very well. When Du Yuming recalled the war, he once commented on Chiang Kai-shek: "He always underestimated the People's Liberation Army and overestimated himself, and always felt that his decision was correct, even if it was broken in the next second." ”
The thing that impressed Du Yuming the most was a letter written to him by Chiang Kai-shek after the war, he said: ".In his letter, Chiang Kai-shek blamed Huang Wei for not obeying his orders, believing that Huang Wei finally broke through without authorization, and the defeat was self-defeating. It can be seen that Chiang Kai-shek did not reflect on his mistakes at all.
FigDu Yuming neither listened to the advice of others, nor did he learn lessons from his failures, and it is no wonder that Chiang Kai-shek, a soldier who graduated from a military academy, did not improve his tactical level at all. A commander who commands an army to fight only looks at the surface, does not think about whether the opponent has a follow-up move, does not inquire about his own difficulties, and no matter how powerful the army is, it will die one day.
Chiang Kai-shek's political path was smoother than ***. After the Zhongshan incident, Chiang Kai-shek had a complete monopoly on the Kuomintang's political power, military and finances; At that time, he was still walking among the mountains and fields, organizing agricultural activities in Hunan County and Township.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek stood at the pinnacle of power in the Kuomintang, and naturally looked down on the *** in a cloth suit, but he was too conceited, self-contained, and paranoid, which hindered his own way forward. In the end, when he was defeated by *** who had not been in his eyes, he also ended up with a sentence that he had previously commented on Huang Wei - self-destruction!