Chapter 13 (2) Thunder is too late to hide one's ears

In order to confuse and mobilize Jiang's army, Zhou Enlai ordered part of the Red Army to march towards Guangchang. On March 2, he called the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area, saying: "Our army fought fiercely with the enemy for three days and nights. On the third day, the enemy's 11th Division could be wiped out or defeated. It is only because it is difficult for the armies in mountain warfare to communicate with our command. Therefore, after the 52nd Division and most of the 59th Division were wiped out on the second day, the positions of the armies were not conducive to attacking the reinforcements of the 11th Division. As a result, yesterday's battle was not completely resolved, and only the 59th Division continued to be wiped out, but the victory was unprecedented. Yes. Today, because the three divisions of the enemy's second column sent reinforcements to the west yesterday, they can go to Xinfeng City, Dongpi, and Huangpi today to intercept my return. I will be surrounded and the battlefield will not be cleared. , The booty is piled up everywhere, so today we retreated in victory, and began to concentrate on the Bu, Nantuan, Dongshao, and Shuikou areas, preparing to continue fighting."

"Because of the victory, the enemy has mobilized one after another. In addition to the eleventh and twenty-eighth divisions that have come to Hekou, the ninth division arrived at Xingxiangfang from Nancheng today, and the second column moved from Nanfeng, Litawei, and Xinfeng to Yongxing The bridge and Raofang line will approach Dongpi and Huangpi tomorrow, and one part of the three columns has occupied Nitre in one day, and today the fifth division has been transferred to Longgudu, and the sixth and seventy-ninth divisions will be concentrated in Hexi, Nancheng." Two days later, Zhou Enlai called the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area again.

The telegram said: "In the past few days, the enemy has been completely passive. The three divisions of the second column originally planned to intercept our return from Xinfeng City. After knowing that the 52nd and 59th divisions were wiped out, they moved towards Huangpi instead. And Hearing that our army has left Huangpi, the enemy's 14th Division hastily moved from Dangkou and Raofang to the north, the 10th and 90th Division stopped at Chongwudu, the 11th Division entered Huangpi, and the Ninth Division rushed to Hekou. Move. The fifth division of the third column was transferred to Longgudu, and today it was ordered to return to Nancheng from Yuekou. The third column has now changed its direction to Nanfeng, and the first one will arrive tomorrow." "The Fujian enemy Liu Heding led a brigade and a regiment into Taining yesterday. The 19th Route Army took Ou Shounian's division and Zhang Yan's brigade to concentrate on Yong'an for three days as the right wing, and Shen Guanghan and Zhang Zhen's division as the left wing. The right wing was scheduled to enter Liancheng on the eighth day. The deployment was scheduled before the battle of Huangpi".

"The offensive route of Chen Cheng's Central Route Army has changed. The third column has moved to Nanfeng, and the first and second columns (now only five divisions) may be closer. They will leave Dongpi, Huangpi, and Xinfeng City. I beg our main force to fight in Dongshao , Hekou, and approach Guangchang with three columns, come out of Toupi and Dongshanba, and intercept my return. Our army plans to choose a wing of the enemy after it is concentrated (the first army will bring the victorious prize, and the road will be far away by recruiting), and we will seek mobile warfare. eradicate it".

Chen Cheng was not reconciled to Huangpi's defeat and was eager to counterattack.He received the Air Force reconnaissance report and mistook the feigned movement of a part of the Red Army into thinking that the main force of the Red Army had transferred to Guangchang. In mid-March, he changed his strategic deployment and changed the three-way "divided into combined attack" to "breakthrough in the middle".Divide 6 divisions into two echelons, the front and the back, and use the method of cross-covering to advance slowly from Yihuang to Guangchang via Xinfeng and Ganzhu.Then, another division was drawn from the back echelon to strengthen the front echelon.

On March 16, Zhou Enlai called the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area to report the enemy's situation and action plan. The report on the enemy's situation mentioned: "The two enemy columns in the north, each with three divisions, moved closer and took turns to search the southeast. Today, the 14th division of the former column arrived at Xinfeng City, the 90th division reached Houfang, and the 10th division reached Caotaigang; The ninth division of the rear column reached Dongpi, the fifth division reached Huangpi, and the eleventh division reached Ancha and Jiaohu. The 79th division of the reserve team was in Yihuang, two regiments were in Hekou, the sixth division was in Fuzhou, and Xu Kexiang's entire division was in Nancheng. Liu Shao's first master was in Le'an and Chongren, and the rest remained unchanged."

Said in the action plan: "We have transferred the 11th Army, and we will be able to go to the northwest of Guangchang on the 18th. Cooperate with independent divisions, regiments and local armed forces to contain and restrain the enemy's attacking column in Guangchang. Our main force is determined to stand by and prepare for side attacks. The enemy's rear column should be eliminated first, so as to fight continuously and defeat the enemy one by one." "Our front army started to move yesterday. Because the two enemy columns were too close together, it is still on standby. But this is a battle that will determine the outcome of four battles. I have made the greatest determination to prepare for all sacrifices and deploy the decisive battle with the enemy's three divisions. Positioning and mobilization".

On March 20, Wu Qiwei's second column had reached the line of Ganzhu and Yancun in the northwest of Guangchang, while the first column commanded by Luo Zhuoying was advancing southward from Huangpi to Caotaigang.The 11th Division is in front, the 175th Brigade of the 52nd Division and the remnants of the 59th Division follow up, and the 9th Division is behind.The distance between the latter echelon and the former echelon has been hundreds of miles.The rear echelon opened up again on the mountain. When the 11th Division of Chen Cheng's elite descendant Xiao Qian arrived at Caotaigang and Xuzhuang, the 9th Division behind was still in Dongpi.The 11th Division, which has a strong combat effectiveness, happened to be marching alone on the steep mountain road at this time, and its strength could not be deployed, and it was difficult to respond back and forth.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De sent a telegram that day to gather the main force of the Red Front Army, which had secretly approached Caotaigang on the flank of Jiang's army, to intercept Xiao Qian's 11th Division.The telegram said that the 11th Red Army had arrived near Guangchang on the 18th, and planned to lead the local armed forces to contain the enemy's front column heading towards Guangchang from the 20th, and use the main force to prevent the enemy from returning to help, so as to cover the right side of our army. The main force of our army plans to take lightning measures at dawn on the 21st to simply wipe out the 11th Division near Caotaigang and Xuzhuang, and then attack the enemies of Dongpi and Wuliplatoon. The 5th Army, the 12th Army, and the Yihuang Independent Regiment are the right-wing teams under the command of Dong Zhentang and Zhu Rui. They should attack Caotaigang and Xuzhuang on the left side of the enemy with the main force at dawn on the 21st, and use a part to contain Dongpi from the Yaolanzhai area. enemy.Operational deployment of each unit:

"(1) The Twelfth Army (attached to the two independent regiments of Yi and Huang) should arrive near Xiefan at dusk on the 20th. On the 21st, take a shortcut to cross the river at a suitable place in the upper reaches of Houfang, and occupy the area around Linggeng Mountain and Sanjiaozhai. Attack the enemies of Houfang, Xuzhuang, and Lei Gongsheng on the side, and lead the old independent regiment of Yihuang to go to Shibei and Yaolanzhai to attack the enemies of Dongpi. The new independent regiment went to the southwest of Xinfeng City and dug the The traffic road in the west (defending the enemy and returning to aid), and warned my right back.

"(2) The Fifth Army Corps should arrive near Duanxi on the 20th and send a team to approach Houfang guerrillas in disguise. At dawn on the 21st, attack the enemies of Houfang, Xuzhuang, and Leigongsheng along Luoma Mountain and Pili Mountain." The 3rd Corps, 1st Corps, 21st Corps, and the Independent 5th Division are left-wing teams under the command of Peng Dehuai and Teng Daiyuan. Deployment of the troops: "(1) The Third Army should occupy the line of Jieshang and Leimu Mountain with a covering team on the 20th, and cover its main force to Dongbian Ridge and Liangxi at dusk. The enemy attacked Caotaigang in the northeast. "(2) The First Army Corps should occupy the vicinity of Sanxi with a covering team on the 20th, cover its main force to reach the Daping, Xufang, and Zhou lines at dusk, and attack the enemy near Tieshiao from west to east at dawn on the 21st, so as to Cut off the connection between Dongpi and Caotaigang enemies. "(3) The 21st Army (directly under the command of Lin and Nie) should occupy the vicinity of Wangdu and Shangbao with cover teams on the 20th, and cover the main force to reach the vicinity of Guwangkeng and Qiuping at dusk, and at dawn on the 21st That is to attack the enemy of Dongpi from west to east. "(4) The Independent Fifth Division (directly under the command of Lin and Nie) should leave Xiushan from Wucheng at dawn on the 21st, attack the enemy in Wuli Platoon from north to south, and guard our left flank." The battle dividing line between the two wing teams is from Dongbianling to the right side of Dongpi Road (the road belongs to the left wing team). The 22nd Army is the general reserve force. On the 20th, it will not move on the spot. On the 21st, it will advance with the left rear of the 1st Army. If necessary, it will be directly commanded by Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen. On March 20, Xiao Qian commanded the headquarters of the 11th Division to camp at Caotaigang. Since the Red Army was resisting steadily and sent small troops to contact the 11th Division, Luo Zhuoying, who had led his troops to the fifth mile row north of Huangpi, judged that the Red Army seemed Waiting for the main force to arrive, fighting in Caotaigang is not good for the 11th Division.At night, Xiao Qian received a report that the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Red Army Corps had gathered around Caotaigang to destroy the 11th Division.Xiao Qian will report this situation to Luo Zhuoying, who is commanding in Huangpi. At this time, Li Yannian's 9th Division was already in Huangpi. Luo Zhuoying told Xiao Qian on the phone to immediately withdraw to Huangpi to let the Red Army beat the air, and then the 9th and 11th Divisions would fight back against the Red Army.However, Xiao Qian believed that his 11th Division was so powerful that the Red Army might not be able to destroy it. In addition, it was raining and his troops were close to the Red Army. He was afraid that retreating at night would cause confusion and affect morale.At the same time, they were afraid that the Red Army would take the opportunity to attack.Therefore, he insisted on not withdrawing, and decided to fight the Red Army on the spot. Luo Zhuoying had no choice but to order Li Yannian to prepare and deploy troops to support the 11th Division.Chen Junfeng's independent regiment was also deployed between Caotaigang and Huangpi to cover the rear of the 11th Division and leave the 11th Division's luggage in the Wuli row. At dawn on March 21, the 1st and 3rd Army Corps, the main force of the Red Front Army, divided into left and right wings and entered the attacking position.On the left wing, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen led the Red 1st Army, 21st Army, 22nd Army and 5th Independent Division into battle.The right wing is the Red 3rd Army and the Red 5th Army led by Peng Dehuai.The 10th Division of the Red 1st Army first attacked the Jiang army stationed at Huangboling.Not long after the left wing attack started, Xiao Qian's 11th and 9th Divisions were quickly cut off. Chen Cheng got the news that the 11th Division was besieged in Caotaigang, and urgently sent Wu Qiwei to lead the second column to return to help, and then ordered the 9th Division to provide nearby support.But the second column had a two-day journey from Caotaigang, and the distant water could not save the nearby fire.However, Dongpi is located in a river valley, and the 9th Division was blocked by the 12th Red Division at Caotaigang. In addition, the 9th Division has limited troops and cannot protect itself. It is impossible to launch a slight threat to the Red Army. Chen Cheng sent a telegram to ask the commander of the Nanchang battalion to help him with the plane.Huangbailing is the commanding height to guard the south side of Caotaigang. If we don't take this highland, we can't capture Caotaigang.The Red 11th Division followed up behind the Red 10th Division, and only waited for the Red 7th Division and the Red 9th Division to rush to the attack area to coordinate operations.However, until about 8:30 in the morning, the two divisions still did not arrive. At about 9 o'clock, the right-wing attacking force under the command of Peng Dehuai had already attacked across the board. Lin Biao couldn't wait any longer, and ordered the Red 10th Division to attack Huangbailing quickly, and the Red 11th Division to cover on the right side, and cut off the back of Jiang's army. Around 10 o'clock, the Red 9th Division arrived, and at 11 o'clock the Red 7th Division also arrived.At noon, these divisions fought together and launched a fierce attack on Huangbailing.The battle was extremely fierce. Xiao Qian's 11th Division held fast on the hilltop, while the Red 10th and 11th Divisions repeatedly launched charges.In the forward position, the two sides met hand-to-hand and fought hand-to-hand in turn, but Huangbailing failed to capture it for a long time. In order to embolden Chen Cheng, the plane sent by Chiang Kai-shek hovered over Huangboling and dropped bombs on the Red Army's position.One of the bombs fell on the front command post of the Red 1st Army. The strong explosion blasted Lin Biao, who was drafting a combat order, off the hill, and Nie Rongzhen was also thrown to the ground.At 1:00 p.m., after discussing with Nie Rongzhen, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen decided that Xu Yangang, Chief of Staff of the Legion, would lead the Red 9th Division to concentrate its forces to implement a central breakthrough and attack the frontal positions of the 11th Division to cope with the offensive of the Red Army's two wings. At around 3 p.m., the Red 9th Division finally overwhelmed the two regiments of the 11th Division that were sticking to the front of Huangboling.After capturing Huangbailing, the Red 9th Division quickly pursued Dongpi regardless of the fatigue of the fierce battle, and cooperated with the Red 21st and 22nd Army to block Chen Cheng's 9th Division who came for reinforcements.After the division was surrounded and wiped out, it fled in a hurry in the dark of night the next day. Zhou Enlai rode his horse to Huangbailing, and the battle was over.Up and down the mountain, bomb craters are everywhere, and gunpowder smoke is everywhere.On the flat ground at the foot of the mountain, political workers were giving lectures to the dejected captives.On another flat ground, there were piles of trophies, including mortars, field artillery, heavy machine guns, light machine guns, submachine guns, rifles... Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen greeted Zhou Enlai in front of the front headquarters on the hillside. Seeing that both Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen had bandages on their heads, Zhou Enlai asked with concern, "How are your injuries?" "It's scratched a little, and it will be fine in a few days." Nie Rongzhen said lightly. "All the generals of my legion have failed, so it can be seen that this is a bad battle!" Zhou Enlai looked very heavy. Lin Biao said angrily: "It's nothing to hang dots, it's a pity that Xiao Qian ran away!" Zhou Enlai said: "Isn't the 11th Division a unit that claims to never lose a battle? Let Xiao Qian run if he can! I'd like to see how he left his troops here and went back alone to report to Chen Cheng!" Lin Biao said: "And your student, that is, my senior brother, Huang Wei, the brigade commander of the 31st Brigade, also ran away. Someone saw that this kid was also injured, and he escaped on a stretcher!" Zhou Enlai: "You two, one is Huang Wei's political teacher and the other is Huang Wei's junior, and you let him run away! I will hold you accountable for politics!" Lin Biao said, "Next time I won't let one go." Seeing the rows of captives being escorted down the hillside, each carrying a rope, Zhou Enlai asked in puzzlement, "What are they all carrying the rope for?" Nie Rongzhen said: "I also felt strange just now. I asked them to understand that this was a reward from their division commander Xiao Qian for capturing the Red Army prisoners before the battle. They all brought ropes and were going to tie the Red Army back to receive the reward. .” Zhou Enlai said: "Oh, those who wanted to take prisoners have now become prisoners!" Everyone laughed. At this time, a political worker came to report that there was a prisoner named Ouyang Liguo who claimed to be a reporter with the army and demanded his release.Zhou Enlai thought for a while and said, "Bring him to see me." A few minutes later, a tall, thin man wearing myopia glasses was brought over by the guards.Zhou Enlai sized up Ouyang Liguo and said, "If I put you back, would you dare to truthfully report the situation here?" "Yes. I will report it truthfully." Ouyang Liguo nodded and bowed to Zhou Enlai. Zhou Enlai smiled coldly, shook his head, and said, "No. You dare not. If that happens, Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng will cut off your head!" Ouyang Liguo lowered his head in embarrassment, trembling, and said, "Yes...don't dare...I don't dare..." Zhou Enlai asked again: "When you go back, can you see Chen Cheng?" "Visible." "When you see Chen Cheng, send him a message for me." Ouyang Liguo took out a pen and paper from his pocket, and prepared to record respectfully. Zhou Enlai said, "Tell Chen Cheng that if he still wants to encircle and suppress the Soviet area, I, Zhou Enlai, will be waiting for him at any time!" Ouyang Liguo opened his eyes suddenly, looked at Zhou Enlai in surprise, and said, "You are the famous General Zhou Enlai!..." "I'm Zhou Enlai, I'm not famous." Zhou Enlai smiled. "Your head, Chairman Chiang... No, it's Chiang Kai-shek. The reward has been offered for many years!" Ouyang Liguo said. "Oh, you mean that I, Zhou Enlai, became famous because of this!" Zhou Enlai showed a proud look on his face. "If you can see Lao Jiang, please send a message to his old man for me. Just say, Zhou Enlai, I am sorry, my head is not worth so much money, tell him not to spend it!" Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen and others who were on the side couldn't help laughing.