Chapter 35 4. The battle started early

Preparations for attacking Taiyuan began. The Xu Xiangqian Corps cooperated with the former headquarters of the Jinzhong Military Region and local party organizations to jointly raise various materials needed for the campaign and ensure logistical supplies.At that time, the people of Jinzhong actively supported the front.They put forward the slogan "the more sweat in the rear, the less blood in the front". Yan Xishan is also plotting. A big battle is about to kick off here. Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, is located in the northern part of the Jinzhong Plain, with Pingchuan in the south, hills in the north, Fen River in the west and Han Mountain in the east.The city has a total population of about 400,000. It is Yan Xishan's old nest that has been painstakingly managed all his life. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and its defense system is quite strong.

In his memoirs, Marshal Xu Qianqian described the defense of Taiyuan City at that time as follows: Its defense system is as follows: with the city as the central area, and the east, west, south, and north directions outside the city as four defense areas, forming a defense system starting from Huangzhai and Zhoujiashan in the north, Wusu and Xiaodian in the south, and starting from Hanshan Mountain in the east. , west to Shi Qianfeng's "Hundred Li Line of Defense".Yan Xishan said: Taiyuan is like a human being, Dongshan is like a human head, his hands are the north and south airports, his feet are stretched out on the Linfen River, Taiyuan is like a heart.

From the brain to the internal organs of the limbs, there are staggered ditches, and there are many blockhouses. There are more than 5,000 blockhouses of various types (including block blockhouses, row blockhouses, group blockhouses, artillery blockhouses, and ambush blockhouses, from the first floor to the fifth floor) within the "Hundred Li Defense Line". There are brick blockhouses, stone blockhouses, and steel concrete blockhouses with different layers, which are in the shape of Pin, inverted, round, square, rhombus, half-moon, plum blossom, etc. Most of the bunkers have food, water, eating, sleeping equipment, so as to stick to it).The strength and density of the fortress even surprised American journalists.Comrade Chen Yi once came to the front line of Taiyuan to see the fortifications and said: It's amazing!Yan Xishan boasted that he had armed the front line of Taiyuan as a "fortress city", which could resist the attack of 1.5 million Communist troops.

Except for these fortifications, Yan Xishan devoted all his troops to the front line at all costs. The deployment of troops is: The 11 regular divisions of the 19th Army, the 33rd Army, the 34th Army, the 43rd Army, and the 61st Army are responsible for the defense tasks of the four garrison areas in the east, south, west, and north. 1 army and 6 divisions are responsible for mobile combat tasks, and their defense focuses on the south and north areas.In addition, there are nearly 600 artillery pieces of various types.The total force is about 100,000 people. September 1948. Shijiazhuang Army Hospital.

Xu Xiangqian, commander of the North China First Corps in hospital uniform, was still thinking about the battle on the front line in Taiyuan.One afternoon, when he had just returned from a walk, the security secretary said to him: "Report to the chief, Chairman Mao has called." "The chairman called me?" "It's a special telegram from the Taiyuan Front Committee." "Very well, it looks like Deputy Commander Zhou and the others are ready." "Yes, the content is the battle plan for attacking Taiyuan. The central government said to ask for your opinion first."

Xu Xiangqian looked very excited. He sat on a sofa, looked at the secretary and said: "Please read to me the plan of the former committee of the Corps to attack Taiyuan. I'm really sorry. I get a headache when I read the document!" So the secretary stood opposite him and reported the battle plan—— (1) Gradually weaken the enemy with siege and disintegration attacks, and then capture Taiyuan in one fell swoop, and strive to end the campaign within three months. (2) The offensive steps are divided into three steps.The first step is to break through the enemy's first line of defense, control the north and south airports with firepower, and cut off the enemy's foreign aid; the second step is to capture the necessary peripheral strongholds; the third step is to attack the city.

(3) The direction of attack is scheduled to be in the southeast and northeast, with the southeast as the main direction.Two columns were used for the southeast and one column was used for the northeast. (4) Try not to attack strongholds that pose little obstacle to the siege.Tactically, we strive to attack continuously, divide and encircle, combine with political disintegration, and annihilate the enemy. The attack is scheduled for October 19. Xu Xiangqian stood up and said to the secretary: "His plan is feasible, and I agree. It is a pity that Yan Xishan is too stubborn. If he can negotiate with us, the ancient city of Taiyuan will be saved from artillery fire, and the people of Shanxi will be very happy." Live in peace soon..."

The secretary said: "It is said that the work for peace is still going on." "This is necessary. When a battle starts, countless lives will be ruined!" "Yan Xishan is your fellow countryman, and he was very familiar with him in the past. Maybe if you write a letter again, he will put down his arms." "This may be very small. He won't give up even when he gets to the Yellow River, and he won't give up easily." It can be seen that Xu Xiangqian does not want the demon of war to continue to spread on the land of Shanxi. As a soldier who has experienced many battles, as a Chinese Communist, he loves the hometown where he was born and raised, and the people who live here, but Yan Xishan didn't put down his butcher knife, how could the red sun rise here?

This will be a just and unjust war. This is also a war to rescue the people of Shanxi from the sea of ​​suffering. Xu Xiangqian finished his conversation with the secretary, sat quietly for a while, and then said: "If Yan Xishan's reactionary regime is not completely destroyed, I, a Shanxi native, will have no face to see the people of Shanxi. Please take your pen and ink, and I will reply to the central government." Xu Xiangqian picked up the pen and lay down on the tea table in front of him—— Before the siege battle started, Yan Xishan dispatched ahead of time. October 2.

Yan Xishan dispatched 7 divisions to advance east of the Fen River in three routes. In the early morning of the 3rd, they had already driven to the front of our army's position. Yan Xishan once said to the teachers: "You have two main tasks in this operation. One is to break the communist army's siege preparations, and the other is to try to grab some food and grass in the suburbs and rural areas. We have hundreds of thousands of people in Taiyuan. , Once surrounded by Xu Qianqian’s corps, so many people need to eat every mouthful, this problem needs to be solved.” A division commander asked: "What should I do if I encounter the main force of the Communist army?"

"Fight, hit hard!" Yan Xishan said with puffy eyes: "We are not afraid of head-to-head confrontation, Xu Xiangqian is not our opponent yet..." Yan Xishan was not bragging when he said this.At that time, in terms of equipment, Xu Xiangqian's troops really had a lot of difficulties in fighting hard, not to mention Yan Xishan's geographical advantage. The commander-in-chief of the siege, Xu Xiangqian, has not yet returned, and the former committee of the Corps made a decisive decision to launch an attack in advance. Zhou Shidi said to Chen Manyuan: "The enemy has dispatched ahead of time and is coming fiercely. Where are they now?" Chen Manyuan, the chief of staff of the Corps, turned around and raised his baton, pointing to a combat map hanging on the wall behind him, and preached: "Now the enemy's 44th Division, 45th Division and a part of the personal trainers have advanced to Xiaodian, Nanhe Village, and Gong's House. In the Fort area, the enemy's 40th Division, 49th Division, 73rd Division and 10 Corps have occupied the important areas of Wangming in the north and south and Xiwenzhuang in the north." Zhou Shidi frowned and said: "We should take advantage of the enemy's entry and exit from the fortifications, adopt movement tactics, and strive to encircle and annihilate them in these areas." Chen Manyuan drew a half circle on the map and said: "We should dispatch 4 columns and strive to fight the enemy in the Xiaodian area. Our 8th and 13th columns encircled and wiped out the enemy's 44th Division, 45th Division, and personal trainers; part of the 7th Column forcibly crossed the Fen River and inserted into the north of Xiaodian to destroy the enemy. The first part of the main force of the 15th vertical should attack west of Wusu, outflank the 49th division, and cut off the retreat of the 73rd, 40th, and 10th corps; the first part of the 7th vertical and the second northern Shaanxi garrison brigade captured the Lijiashan highland." Zhou Shidi said: "I agree with your arrangement. In addition, artillery units can also be sent up to try to control the airport in the north of Taiyuan City." Dawn on October 5th. The Battle of Taiyuan officially started. The outskirts of the city were immediately in flames, and when the enemy found out, PLA soldiers had already surrounded them.After a day and night of fierce fighting, the enemy retreated steadily. In the early morning of the next day, the enemy's 44th, 45th, and 73rd divisions were beaten to pieces and suffered heavy losses. The war was still going on, and after more than ten days, our army finally broke through the first line of defense outside Taiyuan.But the next battle will be difficult to fight. After the enemy retreats, they will use the city defense fortifications to fight against our army.At that time, Xu Xiangqian had already returned, and he decided that while the existing troops were controlling the position, the camera would continue to attack forward. However, several attempts have been made without success. The former committee of the Corps had to hold a meeting to re-study the offensive plan.Xu Xiangqian suffered from pleurisy again, and was often so painful that he couldn't even eat.Both Zhou Shidi and Hu Yaobang advised him to retreat to the rear to recuperate temporarily and not to rush to the front again. But Xu Xiangqian said: "Now my mind is full of attacking Taiyuan, how can I go to rest, I can still persevere." People couldn't persuade him, so they had to continue the meeting. After Chen Manyuan reported the recent battle situation, Xu Xiangqian stood up, stroked his chest with one hand, gestured in the air with the other, and said: "According to the situation of the first battle, we fought relatively smoothly, which strengthened our determination to conquer Taiyuan. But now the enemy has retreated, relying on bunkers and fortifications to resist tenaciously. A strong attack is not enough, and it will cause great losses. Considering the current terrain occupied by the enemy and us, in order to conquer Taiyuan, we must first control Dongshan Mountain. This eight-nine-kilometer-long front must be broken through, so we must try to occupy Niutuo Village, Xiaoyaotou, Naoma, and Shantou. The four main points, these are all the natural barriers of Taiyuan City. If we take down Dongshan, it will be equivalent to cutting the throat of Yan Xishan's defense system in Taiyuan City. You may know that this Taiyuan city has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. In history, when Li Zicheng rebelled and the Japanese invaders invaded, they first captured the main peak Dongshan outside Taiyuan city, then pushed westward, and then broke through the city wall. We have to go down here. Work hard." Chen Manyuan said: "Whether the time is right to capture the enemy's four main points in Dongshan Mountain has to be considered. Yan Xishan claims that this place is enough to hold 100,000 elite soldiers. Now the Niutuo Village has a prominent terrain and strong fortifications. It is supported by more than a dozen main towers. The main position of the enemy's Dongshan defense line, the small kiln head, should not be underestimated. The main peak of the land is narrow, with a total of more than 30 large and small hills, and the fortifications are all serial formations. Although Naomaa is relatively flat, the terrain is also very complicated. There are eight The nine main blockhouses are connected. Although the hilltop is located only 3 kilometers east of the city, it is connected by the top of the main position and the Nao Nao Mountain position to form two large positions. The wall of the main position is as high as five or six meters. There are countless ditches and secret passages, criss-crossing, easy to defend but difficult to attack." Everyone debated how to capture these high grounds, and finally Xu Xiangqian explained: "Now we can consider attacking Dongshan. After the previous stage of fighting, the enemy has been led to the southern line by us, and its Dongshan defense force is relatively weak. , we should seize this opportunity.” Zhou Shidi asked: "The main force of our army is still some distance away from Dongshan, and we are marching there blatantly. What should the enemy do if they find out?" "I've also considered this issue. The village party secretary Zhao Bingyu of Dongshangou came yesterday. According to him, there is a small road in the northeast, which can go straight into Niutuo Village. As long as our troops move in concealment, the enemy will not be easy to find. Shizuizi in the southeast has already Occupied by our army, it is possible to continue advancing deep into the enemy." "Yan Xishan watches our army's movements every day. I am worried that if he moves, he will transfer the main force in and fight our army with his city defense fortifications." Hu Yaobang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly continued: "The soldiers we captured have now been added to the various columns. After education, most of them are still willing to contribute to us. They understand the terrain and city defense system of these places. We It seems that they can be used as guides. The commander-in-chief is going to attack Dongshan, and I think it can." Chief of Staff Chen Manyuan has been sketching on that map, and he has clearly marked the four main points of Dongshan.Xu looked at him forward and asked, "What's the opinion of our chief of staff?" "We can't fight Taiyuan Guangwei. Now there are not many problems in the periphery. Dongshan is only four or five kilometers away from the city. It is the best policy to win here first. When we approach Taiyuan City, the Dongshan problem can't be solved. Winter is coming. Our army should take advantage of the opportunity to continue advancing and conquer Dongshan first." The opinions on capturing Dongshan were finally unified, and the attack time was finally set in the early morning of October 16. The deployment of troops at that time was as follows: With the Northwest 7th Zong and a part of the Jinzhong Army, they secretly marched northeastward from the north of Xiaodian via Yuci, penetrated deep into Dongshan, attacked the key points of Niutuo Village, and controlled the northern airport with artillery fire; another part attacked Dabeijian , connected with the 15th in the direction of Dayaotou in the south, cutting off the retreat of the enemy at Mengjiajing in Hanshan Mountain. Attack with Shizuizi and Naoma in the 15th vertical, and continue to advance towards the Dadongmen after succeeding, and occupy Dayaotou with a part, and cooperate with the 7th vertical in the northwest to cut off the enemy's retreat. In the 13th vertical, first compete for Nanpingtou and Mazhuang, attack Shuangta Temple, and then attack the southeast corner of the city after succeeding. The main force of Jinzhong troops is located on the south line of the city, capturing various key points, and one part is actively active in the west of the Fen River to contain the enemy. The 8th and 24th Brigade is the 7th Vertical Reserve, and the other two brigades are the General Reserve of the Corps. October 16. The battle for Dongshan has begun. The 39th Brigade of the 13th Vertical attacked the enemy's 49th and 73rd Divisions, and the fighting became more and more intense.After occupying several strongholds successively, the enemy began to counterattack after retreating. On the 18th, the 7th Zong had secretly inserted into the Niutuo village, conquered several bunkers one after another, and occupied this key point in one fell swoop. On the 19th, the other part of the 7th Zong captured Hanshan, forcing a regiment of the enemy to surrender. At the same time, the 15th vertical also successively occupied the Shierliang Highlands. Yan Xishan was quite shocked when Niutuo Village fell, so he reorganized the retreated remnants and launched a counterattack. On the 21st, when the enemy's 34th Division attacked Niutuo Village, one of its artillery regiments received a secret order from Yan Xishan to cover the advance of the infantry with powerful firepower. The enemy rushed up and was beaten down, and then came up again and was beaten down again. The stalemate lasted for a whole day and night. The artillery fire was deafening, the fire reflected the sky red, and the killing cries echoed in the empty valley. After the rampant enemy retreated, the infantry stopped attacking and attacked with intensive artillery. On that day, the enemy fired more than 10,000 shells of various types at this position, almost destroying all the original fortifications of Niutuo Village occupied by our army. , A regiment of our army fighting here suffered more than half of the casualties, but they still resisted heroically. This kind of see-saw battle was extremely difficult, and Xu Xiangqian had to readjust the arrangement.He made the greatest determination and mobilized all 27 regiments, and the troops that went into battle accounted for four-fifths of the total force. If Dongshan is completely lost, Taiyuan's defense system will be weakened by half. Of course, Yan Xishan understands the pros and cons.He was very anxious, except for leaving the two divisions in the west of Taiyuan City, he mobilized all the main forces, and made the worst plan to fight Xu Xiangqian to the death. A vicious battle was still going on. At that time, the enemy and us participated in the battle with more than 800 artillery pieces, almost setting the highest record on the battlefield in North China. Although Yan Xishan invested so much capital, he still failed. After more than a week of bloody battle, Yan Xishan watched his team being eaten up by the PLA step by step, so he had no choice but to withdraw those remnants from the position and retreat towards Taiyuan City. November 13. The situation in Taiyuan has changed a lot, and the battle for the four main points finally ended with the victory of Xu Xiangqian's corps.A total of more than 20,000 enemies were wiped out, but our army also paid a considerable price for this, with nearly 9,000 casualties. On November 16, the Central Military Commission called the Front Committee of the First Corps and decided to delay the attack on Taiyuan in order to cooperate with the Pingjin Campaign.And instructed our army on the front line in Taiyuan: "Fight for another week or two, capture some of the key points of the encirclement, and firmly control the airport, that is, stop the attack and carry out a political offensive. The troops will stick to the positions they have and rest on the spot." The General Front Committee followed the instructions of the Central Committee, while attacking small strongholds on the outskirts of Taiyuan City on a small scale, while resting and replenishing the team.At this moment, Xu Xiangqian's body was even worse. One night, Xu Xiangqian and Zhou Shidi brought a few combat staff officers back to the command post after inspecting the forward positions. Their faces were as pale as paper, and they suddenly fainted on the ground.Zhou Shidi hurriedly helped him up, put him on the bed, and asked eagerly: "Mr. Xu, Mr. Xu, what's wrong with you?" He held Xu Xiangqian's hand and called several times in a row. Xu Xiangqian opened his eyes and said with difficulty, "Old Zhou, I suddenly felt severe pain in my left chest..." When he said this, there was a layer of sweat on his forehead, and the complexion on his face was very ugly. Hu Yaobang walked in with a man in a white coat.Zhou Shidi was still in a hurry. He said to the visitor: "Comrade Qian Xinzhong, it's good that you are here. Mr. Xu fell to the ground just now and felt a sharp pain in his chest. Please show him quickly." Xu Xiangqian shook Qian Xinzhong's hand and said, "It doesn't matter, the old problem has happened again." Qian Xinzhong, deputy director of the Ministry of Health of the North China Military Region, was not a doctor of the Corps. He was ordered to come to Taiyuan to guide and help with his work. At that time, the Corps' medical conditions were poor and medical personnel were extremely scarce. He examined Xu Qianqian very seriously, and finally diagnosed with a large amount of fluid in his chest and pleurisy. Several other leaders of the Corps advised him to go back to the rear to rest, but he said: "Taiyuan is not won, how can I rest in the mood, I can't leave the front line..." They knew that Xu Xiangqian was a very stubborn person, and he would not leave here without the order of the central government, so they had to report his condition to the central government in private.