Chapter 50 Chapter 12 Decisive Battle on the Northwest Battlefield

On April 28, 1949, that is, the fourth day after the liberation of Taiyuan, Chairman Mao recalled Mr. Peng from the Taiyuan front to Beijing to further discuss how to solve the problem in the northwest.Based on the rapidly developing domestic revolutionary situation, Chairman Mao pointed out the possibility of resolving the Northwest issue by peaceful means. At the same time, he emphasized that in order to resolve the Northwest issue by peaceful means, the main forces of Hu and Ma must first be eliminated in a decisive military battle. At this time, after the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin, the enemy's elite main force had been completely wiped out, and the Kuomintang reactionary group was facing desperation militarily, politically, and economically.On April 21, 1949, Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu issued an order to march across the country. A million-strong army crossed the Yangtze River and swept away the remnants of the enemy. Territory, and began to march to the southeast, south-central, and southwest.The reactionary Kuomintang government became a dog that lost its family and fled to Taiwan, Guangzhou, and Chongqing respectively.The defeated Chiang Kai-shek clique has completely lost confidence in East and South China, and pins its final hopes on the Hu and Ma cliques occupying the northwest and the Bai Chongxi clique retreating to the southwest, in an attempt to keep the northwest and southwest regions as the last The counter-revolutionary base, gaining the support of the imperialists, bought time, regrouped, and waited for a comeback.

The five northwestern provinces have a vast territory, accounting for a quarter of the total area of ​​the country.The Hu Zongnan Group, which occupies the northwest, is a well-equipped direct main force of Chiang Kai-shek.Although under the heavy blow of our Northwest Field Army, we continued to lose troops and generals, and our combat effectiveness was greatly weakened, but its strength still has 16 armies and 41 divisions, with a total of more than 200,000 people.The Qing and Ning horses have ten armies and thirty-three divisions (brigades), with a total strength of more than 180,000 troops, and they have not yet been annihilated by our army.For a long time, Hu Zongnan, Ma Bufang, and Ma Hongkui have been fighting for power and profit.In order to keep the Great Northwest as a respite, the Kuomintang reactionary group tried its best to win over Qing and Ning.On May 10, 1949, the Central Committee of the Kuomintang sent Ma Bufang to act as the military and political chief of the Northwest (officially appointed on July 27 of the same year). In addition to continuing to serve as the deputy military and political chief of the Northwest, Ma Hongkui also promised him to serve as the chairman of the Gansu Provincial Government , Do everything possible to pull Qing and Ning Erma to send troops to Shaanxi, and unite with Hu Zongnan to deal with our army.Ma Bufang, who gained the military and political power in the Northwest, got carried away for a while, and his ambitions swelled viciously. He even called himself a "pillar of the Northwest" and tried to march into Shaanxi to protect his old nest. So he organized three corps with Ma Hongfeng, led by Ma Bufang's son Ma Jiyuan, Sanlu made a large-scale eastward advance, and cooperated with Hu Zongnan's group in an attempt to capture Xianyang in one fell swoop, and then seize Xi'an.Our First Field Army, which was waiting in full force, attacked the enemy head-on after properly luring the enemy deep, defeating the enemy's spirit and ensuring the safe assembly of our North China Army Corps into Shaanxi.

After the two corps from North China came to the northwest, the strength of the First Field Army increased to twelve corps and thirty-five divisions, with a total of 340,000 men. Division, a total of 380,000 people, the number is roughly equal.However, our army can be used in a concentrated manner, while the enemy army is scattered in various places in the northwest. The main enemy army concentrated on the opposite side of our army has only more than 70,000 people from Hu Zongnan, and more than 80,000 people from Qing and Ning Erma, a total of more than 150,000 people , so the conditions for a decisive battle are ripe.

In view of our army's relative advantage in the northwest battlefield, it is difficult to wipe out the main forces of Hu and Ma in one fell swoop. Instead, they must be separated, differentiated, concentrated, and wiped out individually.Qing, Ning Erma and Hu Zongnan have had deep conflicts for a long time. Although they have to unite because of the common fate of extinction, they are wary of each other, seem to be at odds with each other, and secretly try to preserve themselves in the joint battle. , sacrifice each other, and use each other.On the one hand, they fought together, on the other hand, they had their own ghosts and ideas, which provided favorable conditions for our army to take advantage of the enemy's contradictions and annihilate the enemy one by one.

After the enemy failed to attack Xianyang and Xi'an, Hu Zongnan's main force was concentrated in the north and south of the Weihe River, and the main forces of the Qing and Ning horses were concentrated in the Qianxian and Liquan areas.At this time, where should our army attack first, whether to pinch the horse and hit the horse first and then the horse, or whether to pinch the horse and hit the tiger first and then the horse? The key is to make correct judgment and decisive disposal according to the situation of the enemy and ourselves. For this reason, Mr. Peng has reported the situation on the front line to Chairman Mao many times and put forward combat plans, and Chairman Mao has also given instructions many times.According to the overall situation of the northwest battlefield at that time, both Chairman Mao and President Peng believed that although the Hu Zongnan Group was the main force of Chiang Kai-shek's direct lineage, it was hit by me continuously and its combat effectiveness was greatly weakened. Therefore, the key to the decisive battle in the northwest battlefield was to wipe out the main forces of the Qing and Ning horses. As long as the main forces of the Qing and Ning horses were wiped out, the Northwest issue could be basically solved.The favorable conditions for clamping the horses and fighting the horses first and then the horses are that the main forces of the Qing and Ning horses are far away from their old nests, the people are sparsely populated, and the supply lines are long, while our army is backed by the Guanzhong Plain, which is rich in products and densely populated, and it is also far away from the old liberated areas. It is very close, and it is more convenient in terms of manpower and material support. Annihilating the main forces of the Qing and Ning horses in Shaanxi is far more advantageous in terms of battlefield conditions than letting them escape back to their lairs to fight again; the disadvantage is that fighting horses is better than fighting Hu Feili , must be fully prepared mentally, materially and in terms of combat methods, and the North China Corps has been quite tired after marching thousands of miles, and it takes a certain amount of time to recover its physical strength, especially when the 19th Corps has just arrived, the preparation time is too hasty.When Chairman Mao and Mr. Peng were considering how to attack the enemy, the enemy learned that our North China Corps had entered Shaanxi, and the main forces of the Qing and Ning horses quickly retreated from the Qian and Li areas to the Linyou mountain area, trying to use this as a maneuvering position to benefit the enemy. When it is unfavorable, we can help Hu enter and leave Guanzhong, and retreat to Pingliang when it is unfavorable, and disperse our troops on the wide front to prevent us from attacking suddenly and avoid being gathered and wiped out.

At this time, Hu Zongnan's main force was still rampantly concentrated on both sides of the Weihe River in the Fumei area, equipped with a group of five armies, the purpose of which was to facilitate maneuvering and hold fast.The deployment of Hu and Ma's troops is a two-way plan that can not only fight together, but also preserve their strength.However, the scattered forces of the Qing and Ning horses and their wide fronts made it difficult for our army to encircle and gather together; while Hu Zongnan's main force was concentrated in the Fumei area, and his deep forces were weak. Although it can be supported from the north to the south, the gap in the middle is very large, which is convenient for our army to circle around and surround it, creating a good fighter to gather and annihilate the enemy.Faced with this situation, Mr. Peng gave up his original idea of ​​clamping horses and beating horses, and resolutely implemented Chairman Mao’s instructions to clamp horses and beat horses first, and decided to use the 19th Corps to clamp down on the two horses of Qing and Ning. , Annihilated Hu Zongnan's main force in the Fumei area with the 1st, 2nd, and 18th Corps.

On July 6, Yang Dezhi and I came to Xi'an to attend a meeting of the Front Committee.As soon as President Peng saw us, he said: "You have been marching for a long time, it is very hard, it is best to give you a month to rest and recuperate, and now you have to fight immediately, and there is not even time to prepare. Although full preparation is the key to victory, but the opportunity to lose the opportunity , even if you are fully prepared, you cannot annihilate the enemy. Fortunately, the main attacking force is ready. When you deal with two horses, you must not have the mood of blindly underestimating the enemy. You must strictly prevent the enemy from going around and attacking from behind. This is the usual method of the enemy. As long as you are not attacked , we will be invincible. This is what Chairman Mao asked me to tell you.” Then, Mr. Peng handed us a telegram, which was sent by Chairman Mao on June 26.The telegram read: "Yang's corps should immediately move westward, approaching the construction workers of the two horses, take on the task of restraining the two horses, and strictly prevent the two horses from attacking back. This point should be strictly told to Yang Dezhi, and the two horses must not be underestimated, otherwise they will suffer losses. Yang Dezhi and others have no experience with two horses."

At the end of the meeting, we returned to the Corps, conveyed and discussed the instructions of Chairman Mao and President Peng level by level, combined with combat missions, carefully studied the characteristics and tactics of the two horses of Qing and Ning, as well as our methods of dealing with them. Features, seize the time to conduct tactical and technical training, especially emphasizing the training of fighting cavalry and fighting bayonets.Through general and in-depth ideological mobilization, all commanders and fighters can further overcome the concept of underestimating the enemy and prevent their heads from being dazzled by victory.

The Battle of Fumei began. According to the scheduled battle plan, our corps took the first action. On July 10, it entered Ma Bufang, Qianxian County opposite Ma Hongkui's troops, and the highland north of Liquan to build fortifications and threatened to attack; the 61st Army defending Xi'an Then we pretended to move towards the enemy in the Qinling Mountains in the Nanshan Mountains in order to confuse the enemy, cover the movement of the main force, and restrain the two horses and the southern part of Hu Zong in the Qinling Mountains to ensure the safety of the flanks of our main force.At dawn on July 11, the main force began to attack Hu Zongnan's troops.The Second Corps, which was assembled in a concealed manner at the predetermined position, marched secretly and quickly around the enemy's side from the gap between the southern part of Hu Zong and the Erma; Depth: A corps attacked the enemy westward from the south bank of the Weihe River along the Chang'an-Yimen Highway and the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains.Hu Zongnan once estimated that our North China Corps would have to rest for at least a month before it could fight after entering Shaanxi. Flank at me and win the joint battle between Hu and Ma.Our army launched a fierce attack with lightning speed, which caught Hu Zongnan off guard. He was surrounded by our regiments within a day. After two days and nights of fierce fighting, except for the remnants of the enemy who fled across the Qinling Mountains, we wiped out four enemy armies, 43,000. With more than a thousand people, eight counties were liberated. This was an unprecedented victory on the Northwest battlefield in the War of Liberation.

The victory of the Battle of Fumei brought about a fundamental change in the balance of forces between the enemy and ourselves in the northwest battlefield. Our army changed from a relative advantage to an absolute advantage, and the initiative of the war was completely in the hands of our army.When the southern part of Hu Zong was surrounded and wiped out by me, the two horses once gathered their troops and put on a posture to help Hu Zong, but they didn't dare to make a move and sat back and watched him be wiped out.Hu Zongnan's main force was wiped out, and the remnants retreated to the Qinling Mountains. It was already a "mud bodhisattva crossing the river - he could not protect himself", so naturally he could not help the horse.Qing and Ning Erma saw that Hu Zongnan's situation was over, and in order to preserve their strength and avoid the fate of being wiped out, they hurriedly withdrew northward.The combat alliance between Hu Zongnan and the two horses of Qing and Ning was finally smashed by me, and the two horses of Qing and Ning were completely isolated.

Chairman Mao instructed Mr. Peng on June 26 before the start of the Battle of Fumei: "The central government of the Kuomintang is preparing to move from Guangzhou to Chongqing. In order to reassure the puppet government, it will move to Chongqing instead of Taiwan, and to make the In order to prevent Hu Zongnan from entering Sichuan as soon as possible, it seems inappropriate for you to occupy Hanzhong for the time being, and it seems more beneficial to keep Hanzhong in Hu Zongnan's hands for a few months." According to Chairman Mao's instruction, our army will not occupy Hanzhong for the time being after the main force of Hu Zongnan has been eliminated. And Chengsheng launched a pursuit battle against the two horses of Qing and Ning.At this time, Chairman Mao called Mr. Peng and said: "The victory in the fight against the Hu is great, and I am very relieved. Regardless of the heat, it is very good to take advantage of the victory to hold the battle against horses."