Chapter 45 Chapter 6 The Battle of Central Jiangsu: Seven battles and seven victories, rare in war history

After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet-Central Base Area covered an area of ​​about 23,000 square kilometers north of the Yangtze River, east of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, north of Doulonggang, and east of the Yellow Sea.It is equivalent to most of the Nantong area and the southern part of the Yancheng area in Jiangsu Province today.The towns here are relatively dense, with a population of more than 8 million.It is rich in important strategic materials such as grain, cotton, cooking oil and sea salt, and the cotton textile industry and commerce are also well developed.The water network is densely covered on the plain, and the roads are vertical and horizontal, so the living environment is quite superior.

In mid-October 1945, according to the changes in the strategic situation, the Party Central Committee decided to merge the Shandong Branch of the Communist Party of China and the Central China Bureau into the East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with Rao Shushi as secretary and political commissar of the New Fourth Army, and Chen Yi as deputy secretary and commander of the New Fourth Army Commander.The former Central China Bureau was changed to the Central China Branch Bureau, under the leadership of the East China Bureau.As a result, the leadership of the party and the army in Central China has also been adjusted accordingly.

On October 27, Su Yu received an order from the Central China Branch, appointing him as the commander of the Jiangsu-Anhui Military Region, Zhang Dingcheng as the deputy commander; Deng Zihui and Tan Zhenlin as the principal and deputy political commissars.Su Yu believed that Zhang Dingcheng was older than him, and it was not suitable for him to be a deputy. On the same day, he sent a telegram to the central government, explaining that Comrade Dingcheng "before the war of resistance was the elder, and at the beginning of the war of resistance, he was the superior." assistance in order to complete the glorious mission given by the central government".The leaders of the central government saw Su Yu's sincere telegram, and felt that Su Yu was indeed proceeding from the overall situation and the desire for unity, and expressed a humble attitude regardless of his position. So on the 29th, he instructed the Central China Bureau to agree to Su Yu's request and appoint Zhang Dingcheng as the commander of the Central China Military Region. , Su Yu was the deputy commander and commander of the Central China Field Army. ("Su Yu Military Collection")

After the armistice agreement between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party came into effect on January 10, 1946, the Soviet Union and China spent a period of relatively peaceful days.Affected by the idea of ​​peace, some cadres believe that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party have started peace negotiations, and the CPPCC meeting has also been held. There may be no armed struggle, and even if there is, it is only local friction.The army needs to be nationalized, and the demobilization of the entire army has also started.Many army cadres are skeptical of this, believing that peace is unreliable and the danger of war still exists.But when the superiors said there was peace, some cadres wanted to get married and start a family and live a stable life.Some people feel uneasy when they see that local cadres are well dressed, while troops are still wearing old coarse clothes, and want to transfer to local work.But Su Yu and other leaders did not let down their vigilance.In accordance with the instructions of the Central Committee and the East China Bureau, they launched a "hundred-day military training" to educate cadres and soldiers not to relax.

Sure enough, in May 1946, the situation in the Northeast became more and more tense.After the Battle of Siping, the Kuomintang troops occupied Changchun.Chiang Kai-shek believed that he was sure of destroying the Communist army, so he flew to Shenyang to supervise the battle triumphantly.The attitude of the United States is also becoming more and more obviously biased towards the Kuomintang.At that time, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was still unwilling to completely break with the Kuomintang. When Zhou En came back to Yan'an to report on his work in early June, the Central Committee decided to "do our best to strive for peace, even for a short period of time."

However, Chiang Kai-shek was aggressive, and on June 17 he put forward an ultimatum-style truce condition: requiring the CCP to withdraw from the two provinces of Rehe and Chahar, Yantai and Weihai in Shandong, Harbin, Anton, and Tonghua in the northeast, and after June 7 in Shandong. Liberated cities and towns. On the 25th, they even asked the CCP to withdraw from the cities and towns liberated along the Jiaoji Railway, in northern Jiangsu, and in Shanxi and Hebei after June 7.Marshall also pressured the CCP delegation to accept Chiang Kai-shek's conditions. Zhou Enlai was extremely indignant about this and said that he could not consider it at all.When negotiating with Zhou Enlai, the representative of the Kuomintang proposed that the United States should exercise the final decision-making power. Zhou Enlai was furious and solemnly declared: Chinese Communists are patriots and cannot accept the method of losing national rights. ("Zhou Enlai Chronicle")

The situation has become very clear. Chiang Kai-shek is determined to fight an all-out civil war, and there is no way out.Zhou Enlai telegraphed the Central Committee on June 22: Chiang Kai-shek will not only fight in the Northeast, but also attack the liberated areas in the pass.The war may start in early July, so you should actively prepare for it within 8 days. After thinking for days and nights, Mao Zedong finally made up his mind to deal with Chiang Kai-shek's all-out civil war with a war of self-defense. On June 22, he conceived a strategic plan for fighting on the southern front, and asked Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi and other comrades to consider: If the Kuomintang army aggressively attacks us, the main forces of our troops in Shandong and Taihang will attack from the outer line and go south. fight.The main force of Liu and Deng took the eastern part of Henan as the main combat direction and occupied Kaifeng; Chen Yi's main force took Xuzhou as the main combat direction and occupied Xuzhou;The Central China Military Region mainly deals with the enemy forces in Jiangbei and cooperates with the southern front.Mao Zedong's intention was to lead the war to the Kuomintang-ruled areas, protect the old liberated areas from damage, open up new liberated areas, and ensure the safety of Li Xiannian's troops in the Central Plains.Regarding the central Soviet region, Mao Zedong considered that it was close to Nanjing, and it must be the place where the Kuomintang would focus on attacking. On June 25, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to the Central China Sub-bureau: "Under the attack of Jiang's superior forces, the central Soviet area may be temporarily lost. You should make preparations in advance, so as not to rush and suffer big losses." Prepared for the worst. (The third volume of "Mao Zedong Military Anthology")

In order to implement this strategic plan, the central government instructed the Central China Branch on June 26 to order Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin to lead the main force of 15 regiments to Huainan to cooperate with the main force of Shandong to attack Bengbu.A small number of troops were left to contain the Kuomintang army in the direction of Yangzhou.The headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Shandong stated that it would implement the central order, and ordered the main force of the Central China Field Army to move westward and stand by.