Chapter 18 Chapter 3 The Battle of Handan: A Shining Example of Mass Annihilation

During the Chongqing negotiations, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party signed the "October 10th Agreement." Chiang Kai-shek ostensibly agreed with the CCP's policy of resolutely avoiding civil war and peacefully building the country, but he still stubbornly refused to recognize the legal status of the people's army and the democratic regime in the liberated areas . After Mao Zedong returned to Yan'an from Chongqing, he pointed out in his report "On the Chongqing Negotiations": "The agreement that has been reached is only something on paper. Things on paper are not equal to things in reality." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong" No. Vol. 4, p. 1156) "After the "Double Ten Agreement" was established, our task is to uphold this agreement, ask the Kuomintang to honor it, and continue to strive for peace. If they want to fight, we will wipe them out completely. That's how it is, he came Attack, we will eliminate him, and he will be comfortable." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong", Vol. 4, p. 1159)

That's exactly how things are going. After the "Double Ten Agreement" was announced, the Kuomintang army continued to expand the scale of attacking the liberated areas with the assistance of US imperialism.In addition to transporting part of the army to Beiping, Tianjin and other places using American planes and warships, the main force stepped up to advance by land, and the total number of troops directly used to attack the liberated areas has increased to 800,000. Chiang Kai-shek's strategic intention is to split the liberated areas in North China, seize Pingjin, and seize the Northeast, so as to achieve the goal of "eliminating" the Chinese Communist Party, the Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth Army.

By mid-October, the 3rd and 16th armies in the south of Hu Zong in the Kuomintang's 1st war zone had entered Shijiazhuang via Tongpu Road and Zhengtai Road, and the 1st army of the follow-up troops had already entered the area south of Wenxi, Shanxi; Sun Lianzhong in the 11th war zone The 30th, 40th Army and the New 8th Army have a total of more than 45,000 people. Because Sun Lianzhong flew to Peiping, the troops were led by Ma Fawu, the deputy commander and commander of the 40th Army, and Gao Shuxun, the deputy commander and commander of the New 8th Army. Starting from the Xinxiang area, the 32nd Army of the follow-up army and the Puppet Army Sun Dianying's Department (called the 4th Route Army) followed up along the Pinghan Road. One army of the vanguard of the Kuomintang that invaded north along Jinpu Road has arrived in Jinan from Xuzhou; Fu Zuoyi's troops that attacked eastward along Pingsui Road have approached Zhangjiakou.Of the Kuomintang troops that invaded North China from the above-mentioned four routes, the Ping-Han route was the main force.

In order to smash the Kuomintang army's offensive along the Ping-Han line, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China instructed the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region to intercept Hu Zongnan's follow-up troops on the western battlefield under the leadership of Chen Geng. .On the eastern battlefield, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping personally commanded the main force of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army to fight on the Pinghan Road.There are two battlefields, east and west, with the east battlefield as the focus of operations. On October 12 and 17, 1945, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong successively called Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, and the comrades of the Central Bureau of Shanxi, Hebei, Luyu, and made important instructions: "The main forces of Shandong and central China will be transferred to the Jireliao area and the northeast. It will take at least one month; after the ministries arrive, familiarize themselves with the terrain and complete preliminary preparations, it will take at least two to three months. Therefore, it is a serious strategic task for us to hinder and delay the northward advance of the stubborn army." "In your Under your leadership, we fought a successful battle of Shangdang, which made it possible for our army to strive for an equal or greater victory. All forces under your leadership, except Taiyue, launched a full-scale battle against Pulu to strive for a response In addition to victory, we must concentrate all efforts of Taihang and Hebei, Shandong and Henan to strive for victory in the Ping-Han Campaign. The upcoming Ping-Han Campaign is to oppose the attack of the main forces of the Kuomintang and to strive for the realization of a peaceful situation. The victory or defeat is related to the overall situation and is of great significance." "We hope to encourage the army and the people to unite and seize the opportunity to strive for victory in the Ping-Han Battle with the spirit of the above party's battle."

At the same time, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China also pointed out that the Kuomintang troops assembled in the area near Xinxiang have not yet exposed the weakness of their deployment. Judging from the current situation, it seems difficult to find favorable opportunities to wipe out a large number of enemy troops in the area south of Anyang. Therefore, the troops of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region must be cautious, patient, and wait for work with ease, luring the enemy to go deep into the area between the north of Anyang and Shahe, seek maneuvers, and then annihilate them one by one.

In order to conduct a regular battle with the Kuomintang army, on October 7, the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region decided to reorganize its troops, and unified the main forces of the original base areas into various field columns of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region.The system is as follows: With the main force of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region as the first column, the commander Yang Dezhi and the political commissar Su Zhenhua. The original southern Hebei column was the second column, with commander Chen Zaidao and political commissar Song Renqiong. The original Taihang column was the 3rd column, with commander Chen Xilian and political commissar Peng Tao.

The original Taiyue column was the 4th column, with commander Chen Geng and political commissar Xie Fuzhi. Each column governs 3 brigades, and each brigade governs 3 regiments.The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th columns also formed artillery units from the artillery seized in the Shangdang Campaign, and each military region also formed several detachments and independent brigades.