Chapter 80 2. Bai Chongxi lost 3 troops in the Battle of Hengbao

After September 10, the four-field three-way army marched forward. South China was under heavy artillery fire, and Mao Zedong and other central leaders waited for the good news in Beiping with confidence.At this time, Chiang Kai-shek, who had retired from the background, jumped out again. How could he hold his breath?Seeing that most of the country has fallen into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, when he was in desperation, he once again remotely controlled his remnants and defeated generals.He did not expect that the Bai Chongxi Group was so weak. Amid the shouts of the People's Liberation Army, Bai Chongxi's troops retreated steadily and lost their positions one after another.

On September 13, the Cheng Zihua Corps of the Siye West Route Army sent out from Changde, Taoyuan and other places, and went straight to Zhijiang, the gateway of the three provinces of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou. Occupy Yuanling on the 18th, Xupu on the 19th, Luxi and Chenxi on the 21st. In less than a week, the "Hunan-Guangdong Joint Defense Line" that Bai Chongxi painstakingly deployed has been seriously threatened.In order to ensure the smooth flow of the Zhijiang and Xiangxi highways, he transferred the 103rd Army from the area west of Yongfeng to the Huaihua area north of the Zhijiang River.

In order to restore the defeat, Bai Chongxi placed the three armies of the Guangxi line on the Guangdong-Han railway line.Among them, the 7th Army is located in Hengyang, the 48th Army is located from Yongxing to Leiyang, and the 46th Army is in Lechang. When the war situation was not favorable to Bai Chongxi, Chiang Kai-shek came to Guangzhou suddenly and invited Bai Chongxi to discuss the state affairs. On September 22, Bai Chongxi flew from Hengyang to Guangzhou to meet Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek became very humble. After exchanging his views on the current situation with Bai Chongxi, he suddenly burst into tears. His sad and old voice made Bai Chongxi feel uneasy.He said: "Recalling that when the Northern Expedition started, you became my chief of staff. The two of us were sincerely united and cooperated seamlessly, so we were able to achieve national unity. Later, the two of us parted ways, and even fought in the same room. After the Lugouqiao Incident on July 7, the two of us People worked hand in hand and finally won the war of resistance. These historical lessons have convinced me that no matter how difficult the situation will be in the future, as long as we work together with one heart and one mind and cooperate sincerely, there is still room for success.”

Chiang Kai-shek's true feelings moved Bai Chongxi, and he was determined to put aside his former suspicions and work together with Chiang Kai-shek again. After the two of them exchanged views, Chiang Kai-shek proposed a strategy for defending the southwest: Protect northern Sichuan with the southern part of Hu Zong in Shaanxi; protect eastern Sichuan with the Song Xilian tribe in western Hubei; the Huangjie Corps (the reorganized First Corps) under the control of Bai Chongxi in Central China reinforces Guizhou, so that Sichuan and Guizhou can be integrated with Guangdong and Guangxi. Zhang Gan Corps, Xu Qiming The Corps and Lu Daoyuan Corps took care of southern Hunan and northern Guangdong; the Liu Anqi Corps on Hainan Island transferred two armies to Guangzhou for garrison.

After Bai Chongxi returned to Hengyang, the Sinye Middle Road army had split up and went south, so he ordered the two Guangxi armies distributed on the Guangdong border to go north along the Yuehan Road and gather at the line from Hengyang to Baoqing (Shaoyang). Bai Chongxi has changed. He believes that the only way out is to fight the People's Liberation Army to the end. He wants to find the opponent's weakness, seize the road that the lone army advances aggressively, and then attack the road with killers, forcing other roads to stop chasing, forming a front line of Hengbao. confrontational situation.In fact, the four-field and three-way army is approaching Bai Chongxi, and a situation of great detours and encirclement has formed.

October 1.Mao Zedong solemnly announced to the world on the Tiananmen Gate Tower in Beijing: "The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China has been established today..." On this day, the 113th Division of the 38th Army of the Siye West Route Army encountered the 700th Regiment of the 103rd Army defending Huaqiao. After a fierce battle for 3 hours, more than 1,300 people under its regiment leader were killed and captured, and Huaihua was conquered.Liu Jiashu, the commander of the 17th Corps, hurriedly led the main force of the 100th Army and the officials of the Hunan Provincial Government of the Kuomintang who fled westward to Zhijiang to flee south of Zhijiang.

On October 2, the 112th Division of the 38th Army entered Zhijiang.On the same day, the 117th Division of the 39th Army occupied Jiangkou southwest of Xupu. On October 3, the 113th Division of the 38th Army entered Qianyang County, wiped out part of the 702nd Regiment of the 103rd Army, and the 112th Division occupied Huitong. On October 4, the 116th Division of the 39th Army occupied An Giang. At this time, the middle road has already completed its assembly in Xiangtan, Xiangxiang and other places, and the Hengbao battle is about to kick off. On the night of October 4, 1949, Lin Biao and Xiao Ke made a campaign plan:

"Order the Cheng Zihua Corps of the West Route Army, which has captured Zhijiang, to detour eastward to the left side of the enemy at Hengbao; order the Eighteenth Army to detour from east to west to the enemy's back, and cut off the enemy's southward retreat. Advance southward, gather in place, wait for the other armies to detour to the designated position, surround Hengbao's enemies on all sides, and gather and annihilate them in one fell swoop." According to the above instructions, Yesi ordered the Xiao Jinguang Corps of the Central Route Army: "Stop waiting for orders now, and strictly prepare for battle, so as to wait for the concentration of our troops."

On the morning of October 5th, the field commander sent a telegram to the Xilu Zihua Corps and the Zhonglu Xiao Jinguang Corps: At present, the enemy's attempt is not to retreat, but to fight us decisively... In this case, our army should gather troops to make full preparations for attack, and then stand by to attack. ...Using the 41st and 45th armies and each of the 40th and 49th armies to encircle and annihilate the enemies in the Shuidongjiang and Songjiatang areas first... A confrontation between the two armies has formed. On October 5th, The Siye Middle Route Army has advanced more than 20 kilometers and controlled the position from Zhajiang to Jieling.

In order to gain the initiative, Bai Chongxi adopted a strategy of advancing as retreat, and set up a decisive battle posture, trying to take advantage of the unstable foothold of the Central Route Army and organize a counterattack against him.The 7th Army was urgently ordered to attack Jieling along the Hengbao Highway; the 46th Army of Lechang, the 97th Army of Chenxian County, and a part of the 48th Army of Leiyang were transferred to the north by train, and they joined forces with those who were originally on the Hengbao Line. The 1st Corps and other departments delayed the People's Liberation Army's southward advance. On the 4th, all 13 main divisions of the Bai Chongxi Group were concentrated on the front line of Hengbao.

On the 5th, Bai Chongxi first used the 176th Division of the 48th Army and the 87th and 88th Divisions of the 71st Army as the first echelon, and the main force of the 7th Army as the second echelon. After a counterattack, Bai Chongxi transferred the main force eastward, ordering the 138th Division of the 48th Army and the 172nd Division of the Seventh Army to the south of Zhajiang to prevent the Central Route Army from advancing south; Division, the 224th Division of the 7th Army, the 183rd Division of the 58th Army, and the 304th Division of the 126th Army, a total of 5 divisions, commanded by Zhang Gan, commander of the 3rd Corps, flanked the 40th Army of the People's Liberation Army facing Zhajiang from the east and west; Order the 174th and 236th Divisions of the 46th Army to assemble in Hengyang as a reserve team; order the 305th Division of the 126th Army and the 97th Army to temporarily organize the 1st Division to move westward to Wugang and Xinning to ensure the safety of its left, in an attempt to prevent the The West Route Army advances eastward. After learning of the above situation, the Front Committee of the Four Fields sent a telegram at 10:30 on October 5th to the 12th and 13th Corps and their subordinate armies: At present, the enemy's attempt is not to retreat, but to fight us decisively... In this case, our army should gather troops to make full preparations for attack, and then stand by to attack. ...The combat deployment is: use the 41st and 45th armies and each part of the 40th and 49th armies to first encircle and wipe out the enemies in the Shuidongjiang and Songjiatang areas... At 12 o'clock on the 5th, after Siye completed the deployment of troops, he called the Central Military Commission again: (1) After his exposure to the Hengbao Line, Bai Chongxi quickly transferred the 46th Army stationed in Lechang, the 97th Army stationed in Chenzhou, and the 48th Army stationed in Leiyang to Hengbao by train. Cooperating with the Seventh Army, the Seventy-first Army and one division of the 126th Army originally in the area, a part of the 58th Army attempted to fight us decisively.The enemy's force is quite strong. (2) Our 38th and 39th armies have occupied Zhijiang and Qianyang, and Huang Jie retreated without a fight. (3) We gather superior forces to wipe out the enemy. Today, we have ordered the 38th and 39th armies to advance between Baoqing and Qiyang, preparing to participate in the decisive battle on the Hengbao line. The army is about to advance to the whole state halfway. (4) In the future when we march towards Guangxi, we will use 5 armies to move closer together. If the enemy confronts us in a decisive battle, we can also fight. If the enemy retreats, we can still advance.If our troops are too scattered, we will be unable to fight in combat situations, and when the enemy retreats, we will not be able to block the enemy due to insufficient troops in various routes. (5) The Guangxi army is cunning and quick, and is good at fighting in the mountains. Our troops have suffered from its small losses many times. ...The Central Military Commission replied and approved the deployment of the four fields. On October 5, the main force of the Central Route Army stopped to stand by in the area north of the Hengbao Line in accordance with the instructions of the Front Committee of the Four Fields.The 135th Division of the 45th Army was marching in a hurry, and because it had not received an order from the Front Committee of the Four Fields to stop advancing, the whole division had no choice but to act according to the original deployment, and took the opportunity to cross the Hengbao Highway at Jinlan (now Jinlan Temple) in the northwest of Hengyang that night. , its avant-garde entered the Shaping Lingguan Hall, which is just south of Shetian Bridge.The action of the 135th Division was like a sharp knife piercing the heart of the Bai Chongxi Group, which shocked Bai Chongxi. At dawn on the 6th, Bai used the 176th Division to attack the 405th Regiment of the 135th Division in Hegongdian.The commanders and fighters of the regiment took advantage of the favorable terrain and fought bravely. After two hours of fierce fighting, they repelled the 176th Division. After Bai Chongxi suffered a loss, he decided to retreat across the board. On the evening of the 6th, he ordered all his ministries to shrink their troops and retreat to the front lines of Xinning, Dong'an, Lingling, and Daoxian; The 135th Division then marched westward to Wugang and Dongkou, blocked the West Route Army advancing eastward, and took on the task of covering the retreat of the main force. On the afternoon of the 6th, the 135th Division marched from Lingguan Hall to Shizhu Bridge, Chibi Ridge, and Longjing River.Bai Chongxi launched a fierce attack on the 135th Division with the main force of the 5 divisions of the 7th and 48th Army Headquarters. Lin Biao and Deng Zihui ordered the 135th Division: The main force of the Central Route Army is chasing and fleeing the enemy. You should stick to your positions, fight and intercept the enemy, and adopt flexible tactics to deal with various situations... At dawn on October 8, the main force of the 403rd Regiment of the People's Liberation Army passed by Interspersed overnight, and rendezvous with the main force of the division.It rained again in the early morning of this day, and the two sides fought fiercely again, and the 7th Army, the ace of the Guangxi faction, was already under siege. On the night of the 9th, Bai Chongxi ordered the four besieged divisions to break through with all their strength.Among them, the 172nd Division and a part of the 138th Division stormed the position of the 135th Division of the People's Liberation Army in Huangtupu several times in an attempt to break through to the west, but were repelled.The 171st Division of Baibu broke through to the south and attacked the positions of the 119th Division of the People's Liberation Army at Tielan Bridge and Maocaoling 18 times. After 26 hours of fierce fighting, they were all repelled. At dawn on the 10th, the Sinye Middle Road army launched a general attack on Bai Chongxi's troops, and the 4 divisions of the Gui Army could only struggle to death. The fighting in the area of ​​Tielan Bridge and Maocao Ridge was particularly fierce.The enemy launched 18 large-scale offensives, all of which were repelled.At dusk, the main forces of the four fields rushed to the position one after another, and the various units of the Guangxi army were divided and interspersed. On the night of the 10th, the Sinye Middle Road army centered on Dafeng Mountain and set up a net to search for prisoners with the cooperation of the local people. On the morning of the 11th, the search and suppression battle in the dense forest came to an end, and the sound of guns and artillery in the Hengbao theater gradually decreased. At the same time that the army of the Sinye Middle Road liberated Hengyang and other places, the 38th and 39th Army of the West Road advanced eastward from the Zhijiang area, all the way like a broken bamboo. On October 9, the 39th Army conquered Wugang County and wiped out 2,700 enemies. On October 11, the 145th Division of the 49th Army captured Baoqing. On October 13, the 38th Army and the 49th Army and other departments annihilated more than 5,000 people from the 62nd Division of the enemy who had abandoned Baoqing in the area of ​​Penny Pond. On October 14, the 122nd Division of the 41st Army captured Rulin, and the 39th Army captured Gaosha, forcing more than 1,000 people from the 1st Independent Division of the newly formed 8th Army to surrender. So far, the battle of Hengbao has ended victoriously. In this campaign, the People's Liberation Army's four-field, central and western armies won the biggest victory since going south in the two battlefields of southern Hunan and western Hunan. They wiped out 3 enemy armies and 5 divisions, with a total of more than 47,000 people, including 38,000 prisoners.Seized 402 artillery pieces, 13071 guns, 176 cars, 1116 horses, and liberated 24 counties.