Chapter 45 Chapter Eleven

After the Liaoshen Campaign, Fu Zuoyi Group, the KMT's North China "suppression general", faced the serious threat of attack by our Northeast and North China field armies, and they were in panic all day long.However, due to the contradictions between the United States, Jiang and Fu, whether the enemy troops in North China will withdraw or defend, whether they will flee south or west, is still uncertain.Fu Zuoyi wrongly estimated that it would take at least three months for the Northeast Field Army to enter the customs. Therefore, he still had the idea of ​​luck and did not make up his mind to escape immediately. .Shrink its four corps, twelve armies, and fifty-two divisions with nearly 600,000 people on a railway line that is more than 1,000 kilometers long with Pingjin as the center, Tangshan in the east, and Zhangjiakou in the west. The word "Long Snake Array" deployed his direct troops on the line from Beiping to Zhangjiakou to facilitate westward movement; and deployed Jiang's troops in Beiping and the area to the east in order to drive them to resist our Northeast Army Pass.

According to the enemy's situation, the Central Military Commission decided to take advantage of Fu Zuoyi's fluke psychology and take advantage of his hesitation to jointly launch the Pingjin Campaign with the Northeast and North China field armies, divide and encircle the enemy with sudden actions, and then wipe them out one by one. Grab and eat" strategy.At that time, the enemy was already frightened, and at the slightest disturbance, they might quickly decide to run wildly, fleeing south by sea or fleeing west to Suiyuan.Whether you can catch the enemy is the key to the success or failure of the battle.For this reason, the Military Commission decided that the North China Field Army would withdraw from the encirclement and return to Sui, and slowly attack Taiyuan. "Separate but not surround" the enemy on the eastern front, seize the western front, stabilize the eastern front, and complete the encirclement of the enemy from west to east.

In order to complete the strategic encirclement of the enemy, the Military Commission ordered our North China Second and Third Corps and the Northeast Field Army's Advance Second Corps to act in unison on the Pingzhang Line to surround Zhangjiakou, cut off the enemy's westward channel, and attract the Pingjin enemy's western aid; The main force of the Northeast Field Army and the Seventh Column of the North China Field Army were responsible for dividing and encircling the enemies of Pingjin.The troops deployed by the enemy in the Zhangjiakou area at that time were: the headquarters of the 11th Corps, the headquarters of the 105th Army, the 5th Cavalry Brigade and two security regiments were located in Zhangjiakou; ) is located in Xuanhua; the provisional 31st Division (i.e. the 271st Division) is located in Xiahuayuan and Zhaochuanbao; the 210th Division and the 11th Cavalry Brigade are located in Chaigoubao and Zhoujiahe areas.

On November 26, our second column led the fifth and sixth brigades (the fourth brigade was missing) from Guancun and Longshengzhuang on the outskirts of Guisui, and marched towards Zhangjiakou.Winter outside the Great Wall comes early.It's still early winter inside the pass, and there have been several heavy snowfalls outside the Great Wall.Although the weather was cold, when the commanders and fighters heard that Zhangjiakou was going to be liberated, their hearts were warm and they were all elated. "The sky is all white, and the situation of marching in the snow is even more pressing." Han Wei and other column leaders and I rode our horses eastward. When we saw the soldiers carrying guns and cannons, stepping forward in the snow, marching forward with pride, our thoughts suddenly Back to the hard years two years ago:

On August 23, 1945, after eight years of bloody resistance, the soldiers and civilians of Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei regained Zhangjiakou from the Japanese imperialists.Under the leadership of the Communist Party, the people of Zhangjiakou, who had suffered so much, rebuilt their homes, quickly healed the wounds of the war, and resumed production.Zhangjiakou became the capital of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Liberated Area and the center of politics, economy and culture.However, when Zhangjiakou was becoming more and more prosperous, on September 10, 1946, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the 11th and 12th war zone troops of the Kuomintang to attack us in Jinchaji Zhangjiakou, the capital of the Liberated Area.Our army was forced to defend Zhangjiakou.

At that time, our Second Column was ordered to defend the front in the east of Huailai. From September 20th to October 12th, it lasted 14 days, smashed the enemy's four divisions' attacks in turn, and wiped out more than 3,800 enemies. Name, hold your ground.Many heroic deeds emerged during the battle: On September 30, a battalion of the enemy stormed the positions of the Seventh Company and One Squad of the 15th Regiment in Pao Nanshan. From 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, the enemy fired a thousand shells. In the rest of the day, the squad fought tenaciously under the leadership of squad leader Yan Yaoqing, repelling seven consecutive enemy charges and annihilating more than 160 enemies.On October 3, the 94th Division of the enemy stormed the position of the 2nd Battalion of our 14th Regiment in Huoshaoying with two regiments. position.Sun Cai, the leader of the third platoon of the Sixth Company, led a combat team to defend a certain high ground and repelled repeated enemy attacks. Later, the enemy infantry accompanied the tanks and charged close to the position.It is precisely because there are so many heroic fighters like Sun Cai who are brave, tenacious, and not afraid of sacrifice, that although almost all the fortifications of the fire camp were destroyed in the end, most of the positions still stood firm.

On October 11, 1946, when our troops on the eastern front defeated the invading enemy one after another and were preparing to wipe out the incoming enemy again, the Fu Zuoyi Department of the Kuomintang took advantage of our weak defense on the western front of Zhangjiakou and concentrated three infantry divisions and several cadres. A cavalry suddenly attacked Zhangjiakou from the direction of Zhangbei and Langwogou.At this time, since Zhangjiakou was seized by the enemy, it was meaningless to continue to fight in the Huailai area. On the evening of the 12th, our second column was ordered to withdraw from the battle.

After Chiang Kai-shek seized Zhangjiakou, he was overjoyed and arrogantly announced the convening of the pseudo-National Congress, the formulation of a pseudo-constitution, and prepared to appear on the stage as a pseudo-president.In response to Chiang Kai-shek's arrogant ambition to rob the people of the fruits of victory, on October 13, I published an editorial in Yan'an's "Liberation Daily", sternly pointing out: "We order all the troops and all the people in the liberated areas to completely smash Chiang Kai-shek's attack and regain Zhangjiakou. and all lost ground."The next day, the headquarters of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region issued a communiqué on the defense of Zhangjiakou and firmly stated: "Zhangjiakou, which we liberated from the enemy, must be liberated by us from the invading army of the Jiang family."

The enemy's sneak attack on Zhangjiakou, the capital of the Jinchaji Liberated Area, aroused great indignation among the commanders and fighters.My Second Zong was originally a soldier of the Jicha people, and was more closely related to the gains and losses of Zhangjiakou, so everyone clenched their fists and made an oath: "We must recover Zhangjiakou and avenge the martyrs who died!" Two years have passed.In the past two years, the balance of forces between the enemy and ourselves has undergone fundamental changes. Our army has shifted from strategic defense to strategic offense. Our second column has also become stronger in battle, especially after the new army-wide movement in the spring of 1947. The political awareness of the troops has been greatly improved.In October 1948, in accordance with the spirit of the Party Central Committee's "On Establishing a Reporting System" and "Notice on the September Meeting" and other instructions, the column carried out "opposition to extreme democratization, strengthening centralization and unity; opposition to individualism and egotism". , strengthen the collective concept; oppose guerrillaism, establish the style of work required by regular warfare; oppose disorganization and discipline, strengthen the education of the concept of organizational discipline, improve the organizational discipline of the troops, and achieve unity of purpose, order and prohibition, so as to adapt to guerrilla warfare. The strategic shift to transition to regular warfare has further enhanced the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Comrade Han Wei and other column leaders rode horses on the march, watching the entire company and battalion marching towards Zhangjiakou with firm steps, with mixed feelings and thoughts, and proud and cheerful eyes flashed in each of them. , full of belief in victory.Marching in the snow was arduous, but also enjoyable. It was in stark contrast to the heavy and resentful mood when we evacuated the Huailai position two years ago. After two and a half days of rapid march, our Second Column arrived at Dongyang River and Xuanping Fort on November 29th.The reconnaissance learned that the 210th Division of the enemy stationed at Chaigoubao had heard the news and withdrew to the Kongjiazhuang line outside Zhangjiakou, leaving only two companies of the 12th Cavalry Brigade and the security forces.At dawn on the 30th, the Fifth Brigade quickly wiped out the two enemy companies and security forces defending Chaigoubao, took advantage of the victory, and occupied the left guard that night.At the same time, the first column occupied Huai'an, then crossed the Yanghe River, occupied Shalingzi, and cut off the passage between Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua.The sixth column captured Wanquan and Guoleizhuang, and captured more than 2,000 enemies; then, together with our second column, they captured the outlying strongholds such as Huangtuliang, Wujiayao, Zhaojiayao, and Kongjiayao west of Zhangjiakou.At this time, the three columns of our North China Third Corps had approached Zhangjiakou from the east, south, and west, posing a serious threat to the western front of the Fu Zuoyi Group.