Chapter 22 5. The enemy army "obeyed" Liu Bocheng's command

Originally, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Ma Fawu and Gao Shuxun, who had committed crimes along Pinghan Road north, to make a surprise attack and occupy Handan, so as to open up the Ping-Han line with the support of Jiang Jun in Shijiazhuang.But Ma and Gao did not listen to Chiang Kai-shek, but "obeyed" Liu Bocheng's command. Their main force was led by Liu Bocheng, and broke into the sand dunes of Fuyang River Hetao from the east side of Pinghan Road.so, what happened? It turned out that this was Liu Bocheng's excellent command art. "For a powerful enemy, like a cat catching a mouse, soften it first and then eat it." This is a strategy of encircling but not destroying.

On October 20, the vanguard of the enemy had crossed the Zhanghe River to the north and occupied Yuezhen, Fengle Town and other places.At this time, the main force of the Luxi Army and the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region that I had assembled in the heart were still on their way, and the troops of the 2nd Column and the Taihang Military Region were still fighting to clear Linguan and other puppet strongholds.In this way, only one of the main forces participating in the war has rushed to Linzhang and the Nandongfang Village area. In order to ensure the concentration of our troops, Chief Liu and Deng ordered Yang Dezhi and Su Zhenhua's 1st column to go ahead and delay the enemy. 1 Zongsui attacked Yuezhen with a force on the night of the 21st to carry out a mobile defense.

On October 22, the enemy's vanguard group all crossed the Zhanghe River to the north. Their offensive route and formation were as follows: the New 8th Army led by Gao Shuxun attached the 8th Column of the Hebei Civil Army as the left wing, and moved north along the east side of Pinghan Road with the main force. Advance; the 40th Army and the 30th Army led by Ma Fawu are on the right.For fear of being annihilated by me, the cunning enemy adopts left and right wings, alternately stops and marches, and is faster. At this time, Yang Su Division 1 received a telegram from Liu Deng: to defend with a large in-depth movement, to fight against the front, to consume, delay, and fatigue the enemy advancing north, to continue to clamp down on the enemy's main force and to move north and east, so that It broke away from the Ping-Han Railway and entered the sandy area of ​​Fuyang River and Hetao in the southeast of Handan, which is not conducive to the enemy. deploy.

In order to realize the intention of the High Command, Yang Su made overall arrangements for the use of troops.Due to the enemy's large number of soldiers, good equipment, strong firepower, and well-trained training, and our 1st column's strength and equipment are at a disadvantage, it was decided to use Yang Junsheng and Deng Cunlun of the 1st Brigade, which are relatively well-equipped and have a tenacious fighting style, to serve as the front The task of blocking a strong enemy is to resolutely block the enemy in the south of Handan and not allow them to enter Handan City.The 3rd Brigade and 16th Regiment defended Linzhang City, protected the 1st Brigade from the flanks to block the enemy, and the column cavalry regiment retreated to Tunzhuang, Cuiqu, Jiadi, and Xiaodi areas in advance to build the last defensive position for the 1st Brigade's mobile defense, so that Guard the gateway to Handan.That night, our 1st column came into contact with the 106th Division of the 40th Army, the enemy's right-wing vanguard, and let them advance while fighting.

The enemy came fiercely, and until dawn on October 23, the 40th enemy army had entered the line of Qinjiaying, Shangcheng, and Gaobenying, the 30th enemy army had entered the Hengcheng area, and the new 8th army had entered Zuoliang and Matou towns. The line is only 30 li away from Handan.This morning, the fortifications of our 1st Brigade have not yet been completed, and the enemy's vanguard launched an attack on the Jiadi, Cuiqu, and Tunzhuang positions of our 1st Brigade. Under the calm command of Brigadier Yang Junsheng, our 1st Brigade While fighting, he strengthened the fortifications and repelled the enemy's multiple charges with tenacious fighting spirit.

On October 24, the three enemy armies had all crossed the Zhang River and devoted all their strength to the north.Li Zhenqing's 106th Division of the 40th Army and other units, under the cover of intensive artillery fire, repeatedly attacked the position of our 1st Brigade. Break into the position of our 1st brigade, and occupy the front line of Nanbo Village and Gaozhuang. At this critical juncture, most of the participating troops that I had assembled to the heart had arrived. The 4th Brigade of the 2nd Column, Sun Qingde and Liu Minghui, the 6th Brigade, Wang Tianxiang, and Liu Huaqing's 2 brigades, and Liu Qingde, commander of the Left Wing of the Luxi Army, had arrived. Under the leadership, they rushed from the direction of Linguan and took control of the Zhangzhuangqiao, Luochengtou, and Chenjiagang areas west of Handan. 3 Zong under the leadership of Chen Xilian concentrated in Cheqiguan and the area west of Guanglu Town.Taihang's 1st and 5th detachments were assembled in the area west of Ci County.In this way, a situation of encircling the enemy on three sides was formed. At the same time, the momentum of the enemy's attack was also blocked, and the front was relatively stable.So far, my 1st column has successfully completed the task of pinching the enemy in the predetermined battlefield south of Handan and covering the centripetal assembly of our main force with tenacious resistance.

At this time, Commander Liu Bocheng said happily: "The situation is very good now. The enemy has got into the horns. He can't advance or retreat." As Commander Liu Bocheng said, our army's encirclement situation against the enemy is Very good, but the attack effect after encirclement is not very obvious.This is because the enemy is a well-trained and regular army after all, with sufficient troops, strong firepower, and excellent equipment, not tofu dregs that will collapse at the touch of a touch.Chief Liu and Deng are quite flexible in employing troops. Based on the current situation, he made an immediate decision: until the enemy's energy has not been greatly dissipated, exhausted and frustrated, and our follow-up main force has not arrived, we will not fight the enemy for the time being.First besiege the enemy in the sandy area of ​​the Hetao of the Fuyang River, and consume most of it by means of partial destruction, thereby gaining time, and finally destroy the main force of the enemy.This is Liu Deng's usual tactic of cats catching mice and eating them when they are soft.

Following Liu Deng's instructions, Chief of Staff Li Da issued instructions to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd vertical troops to wait for a general offensive: 1. Each unit should keep in contact with the enemy with one-third of its strength, assemble on the move, select the enemy's weak points, and gradually wipe out individual units (from 1st and 2nd platoons to 1 company and 1 company) with the centripetal tactics of attacking one point from several lines. battalion, do not fight wars of attrition) to exhaust its strength. 2. In addition to the separate activities of the local guerrilla units, a large number of capable teams (40 to 50 people) should be assigned to carry small artillery, grenade grenade, etc., to enter the depths of the enemy at night, and to attack the core units, especially the various heads, so that It cannot rest in peace.

3. Whenever we cannot control the bridges that the enemy may control, we will destroy them, capture small groups of troops that are disturbing, sink all ships, prevent them from escaping, and completely trap the enemy in the loop. 4. The main force of each unit should use the time to rest and reorganize, pay attention to rest and political agitation, and study the tactics of annihilating the enemy. The above four tasks are limited to two or three days to actively carry out, so as to strive to destroy the besieged enemies with all our strength after all our follow-up troops arrive. On the same day, Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Bo Yibo, Zhang Jichun, Li Da and others made a report to the Central Military Commission: "Yesterday (25th) we fought at night, and a small amount was captured. It is because of a guilty conscience and enough energy. In addition, my follow-up troops have not yet arrived with 13,000 people, so I am determined to continue to exhaust the enemy south and east of the Fuyang River. An annihilation battle; instead, enter the depths of the enemy with a lean team to actively move, and gather the main force to rest. Once the follow-up troops arrive, seek opportunities to wipe out one or two divisions of the enemy."

The next day, on October 27, Chairman Mao Zedong immediately replied to the telegram: "The telegram was received on October 26. The deployment is very good. When the follow-up is ready, we must recharge our energy and store up energy. At that time, the enemy will be hungry and tired, and our weaknesses will be exposed. I will concentrate The main force seeks out weak points, annihilates one or two of its divisions, and the enemy will be frustrated." On the same day, the Independent 4th Brigade, 17th Division, Zhang Weicheng Detachment, and Shi Zhiben Detachment under Commander Yang Yong of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region rushed to the battlefield. Chief Liu Deng completed the final deployment of the general offensive.

The decisive moment of this Ping-Han battle is coming. Chief Liu Deng firmly grasped the initiative of this battle, and their determination was correct and firm. On October 30, General Gao Shuxun led a total of more than 10,000 people from the New 8th Army and the Hebei People's Army to revolt in Matou Town.At the same time, Ma Fawu, the deputy commander of the 11th theater and the commander of the 40th Army, was notified by phone, explaining that he would lead the New 8th Army to unite with the Communist Party's army to jointly oppose Chiang Kai-shek's reactionary rule of launching a civil war and implementing autocracy and dictatorship, and advocated peace and democracy. Ma also broke away from the Kuomintang and stood on the side of the people. After Ma Fawu received the call, he panicked like a bolt from the blue.This action of General Gao was a great shock to the enemy, and it was a great encouragement to the commanders and fighters of our army who participated in the Battle of Ping-Han.Thus, the battle entered an important turning point. That afternoon, the Liu Deng Command received a report from Chen Xilian of the South Group: "The enemy's first unit is building fortifications in some villages south of the core position, and some troops are being mobilized, and they are in a panic." When Political Commissar Deng received the report, Commander Liu immediately said: "The enemy is going to make chaos, we have to take the initiative." Commander Liu immediately went to the map and proposed a plan to wipe out the enemy: "Use 1 vertical and 3 vertical main forces, and start a covert movement at dusk. Press down, wait for the enemy to break away from the fortification zone, attack the enemy with a concentric pincer and a violent round, focusing on the head office and deployment system, and annihilate them one by one. Use the general reserve to build a stronghold on the north bank of the Zhanghe River to stop the enemy and arrange a flank attack on the south bank of the Zhanghe River to cut across the 32nd enemy reinforcements." It was late at night, but the sound of gunfire, gunfire, and shouts of killing became louder and more intense.After the 67th Division of the Lu Chongyi Division of the 30th Army retreated to the line from Xiwangcao to Zhongwang to occupy the cover position, its main force, the Fifth Division of Mafa, immediately broke through the encirclement southward before dawn on the 31st.When the enemy broke away from the main position, Yang Dezhi's 1st column was from the east, and Chen Xilian's 3rd column was from the west, and they fanned the breakout enemy in multiple ways. 2 The troops of the Zong and Southern Hebei Military Region followed and pursued from north to south under the command of Chen Zaidao and Qin Jiwei, while Yang Yong and Zhang Tingfa's troops went out to the north and south of the Zhanghe River to attack.In the afternoon of the same day, Ma Fawu led more than 10,000 people from his troops to the Qiganzhang, Xinzhuang, and Maying areas, surrounded by me, and defended the village to resist. At this time, the 32nd Army of the enemy's follow-up unit, which was separated by me on the south bank of the Jianhe River, used its main force to attack my independent detachment's position on the south bank of the Zhanghe River in order to break the siege of Mafawu. Annihilating the five divisions of Mafa and tenaciously holding their ground, blocking the enemy south of the Zhang River. In the war room of the command headquarters, Deng Xiaoping's political commissar analyzed the battle situation and said: "The situation must be opened up quickly. Time is running out, and the enemy's 32nd Army must not be added." "Shoot people first and shoot horses, and capture thieves first to capture the king." Commander Liu Bocheng continued: "Press five fleas with five fingers, but none of them can be caught. The first and second columns must be concentrated, and the horse method must be solved first." Five Commanders!" After careful reconnaissance, the troops learned that Ma Fawu's chief was in the former flagpole.At dusk, our army launched a final attack on the remnants of the horse, and the battle entered a decisive stage. The main force of the 1st vertical is from the east, and the main force of the 2nd vertical is from the north to attack the former flagpole camphor;The enemy desperately resisted, while our commanders and fighters moved forward bravely. The battle was extremely fierce, and the entire battlefield was a sea of ​​flames.Many outstanding soldiers and cadres of our army had shed their last drop of blood, but they continued to fight harder and harder. On the night of November 1st, when our army broke into the headquarters of the Fifth Chief of Mafa, the enemy lost command, and they were in chaos and fled in all directions.Our people from all walks of life, east, west, north, south, rose up to chase and intercept the fleeing enemy. At this time, the enemy's formation was in disarray, trampling each other, scrambling for their lives, completely losing their will to fight.Before noon on November 2, all the enemies were wiped out except for a few who escaped.Ma Fawu, deputy commander of the enemy's 11th theater and commander of the 40th army, was captured by the guard company of the 1st vertical, 3rd brigade and 2nd regiment.Also captured were: Liu Shirong, Deputy Commander of the 40th Army, and Song Kentang, Chief of Staff of the Chief of Staff.The enemy troops sent to aid in Shijiazhuang and Anyang were under my sniper attack. When they heard that Ma Fawu had been wiped out, they also retreated upon hearing the news.