Chapter 49 Peaceful Liberation of Peking

After Zhangjiakou was liberated, our Second Column was ordered to station in Wanquan, Kongjiazhuang and Zhaojiayang areas on standby.The troops rested for four days, conducted battle summaries, appraised meritorious service, added 8,700 liberation fighters, deployed cadres, and prepared for new combat tasks. On December 29, my second column was ordered to set off from Wanquan, take a train to Kangzhuang by the newly repaired railway, and then march on foot.On New Year's Day in 1949, Xinhua News Agency broadcast Chairman Mao's New Year's message - "Carrying the Revolution Through to the End", which greatly encouraged the commanders and fighters of the entire army. The comrades redoubled their spirits and shouted "Down with Chiang Kai-shek and liberate the whole of China" Slogan the slogan and advance to Peiping.On January 5, they reached the area south of Sunhe Town in the northeastern suburbs of Beiping, and the column headquarters was set up in Nangao Village.

As soon as he camped, he received an order from the Corps.The task assigned to me by the Corps of the Second Column is: to open the Anding Gate, and cooperate with the brother troops to destroy the enemy in the city.The Standing Committee of the column held a meeting to study, and decided to use the sixth brigade to clear the periphery, and the fifth brigade to break through the city, and then the two brigades penetrated side by side, and together with the brother troops, they wiped out the defending enemy in Peiping. After each unit received the task, the leading cadres went to the front to repeatedly observe the terrain and study the combat plan.At the same time, in-depth political mobilization and urban discipline education are generally carried out, as well as pre-battle training in urban attack tactics and techniques.The commanders and fighters of the whole army were excited and high-spirited, and the pre-war training was in full swing.The Military Commission instructed: Beiping is an ancient cultural city, and artillery fire is not allowed to prevent accidental injury to residents in the city and damage to cultural relics.The leader of the column resolutely carried out the instructions of the Military Commission, ordered the fifth brigade to form a blasting team of 300 people, rushed to build dozens of ladders, and repeated drills, preparing to use witty and brave combat actions to avoid cultural relics and historic sites and densely populated areas, and approach the enemy as soon as possible Combat, use dynamite packs and light weapons to resolve battles and protect cultural cities.The troops repeatedly practiced close combat and street combat actions such as blasting, shooting, bombing, and assassination. The field army headquarters and the head of the corps visited the training ground for guidance, and the fighting spirit of the troops became even higher.

On January 14, Chairman Mao issued the "Statement on the Current Situation", setting forth eight conditions for peaceful negotiations.While organizing the troops to study the "statement", we educate the troops to prepare for both "peace and fight", and emphasize that as a revolutionary fighter, we must base ourselves on fighting and never let go of our fighting spirit. On January 15th, our army liberated Tianjin and wiped out 130,000 defending enemies. When the good news came, the whole column rejoiced. At dawn on January 21st, my second column, together with the brother troops, arrived at the starting point of the attack according to the original combat plan, and stood by to attack the city.In the morning, we received the news.Fu Zuoyi has accepted the terms of our army's "peaceful liberation of Peiping", and before the end of the month, the twenty-five divisions under his command will be driven out of the city, pending reorganization.

Peking was liberated peacefully.My second column was ordered to withdraw from the position, the column headquarters moved to Daxiaotangshan Town, the fifth brigade was in the Gaoli camp, and the sixth brigade was in the Houniufang area, preparing to carry out the new task of reorganizing Chiang and Fu's troops.The Battle of Pingjin ended with victory. This battle wiped out and reorganized more than 520,000 Kuomintang troops, paving the way for victory across the country.