Chapter 93 One million troops of the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River[1]

(April 22, 1949) [Xinhua News Agency Yangtze River Front Line at 22:00 on the 22nd] The People's Liberation Army's million-strong army broke through the enemy's position and crossed the Yangtze River from a front line of more than 1,000 li.From Jiujiang (not included) in the west to Jiangyin in the east, it is the crossing area of ​​the People's Liberation Army.Starting on the night of the 20th, the Central Route Army of the People's Liberation Army on the north bank of the Yangtze River first broke through the Anqing-Wuhu line and crossed to Fanchang, Tongling, Qingyang, Digang, and Lugang areas. Within 24 hours, 300,000 people had crossed.From 5:00 p.m. on the 21st, our West Route Army began to cross the river, at the Jiujiang and Anqing sections.By the time of power generation, two-thirds of the 350,000 People's Liberation Army had crossed the road, and the rest could be completed on the 23rd.This road has now occupied the vast south bank positions along the Guichi, Yinjiahui, Dongliu, Zhide[2], and Pengze lines, and is expanding southward.Just like the enemy situation encountered by the Central Route Army, the enemies faced by our West Route Army also retreated one after another, with no fighting spirit, and the resistance encountered by our army was very weak.In this situation, on the one hand, the People's Liberation Army is unstoppable because of its bravery and fighting skills; on the other hand, it has a lot to do with the Kuomintang reactionaries' refusal to sign a peace agreement.The officers and soldiers of the Kuomintang unanimously hope for peace and do not want to fight any more. They are very discouraged when they hear that Nanjing refuses peace.The war criminal Tang Enbo [3] went to Wuhu to supervise the battle on the 21st, but it was of no use.Tang Enbo believes that the Nanjing and Jiangyin lines of defense are very solid, and the weakness only exists in the Nanjing and Jiujiang lines.Unexpectedly, on the day Tang Enbo arrived in Wuhu, the eastern defense line was broken by our army again.The 350,000 troops on the East Road and the West Road launched a cross-river operation at the same time on the same day.All planned plans have been realized.By the time the electricity was generated, most of our armies on the East Road had crossed the south bank, and the rest could finish crossing on the 23rd.The enemy's resistance here is relatively tenacious. However, during the fierce fighting all day from the afternoon of the 21st to the afternoon of the 22nd, I wiped out and defeated all resisting enemies, occupied vast areas of Yangzhong, Zhenjiang, and Jiangyin counties, and Control the Jiangyin fortress and block the Yangtze River.The vanguard of our army has already cut off the Zhenjiang and Wuxi railway lines.

Published according to Mao Zedong's manuscript. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is a press release written by Mao Zedong for the Xinhua News Agency and published in the People's Daily on April 24, 1949. [2] Dongliu and Zhide were merged into Anhui Dongzhi County in 1959. [3] Tang Enbo was then the commander-in-chief of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Garrison Command of the Kuomintang Army.