Chapter 54 Chapter 7 Battle of Dingtao: Concentrate the Superior Forces and Destroy the Enemies Individually

In June 1946, the country was clouded, and a large-scale civil war was about to break out.In the Northeast, Du Yuming's elite troops of the Kuomintang Army have suppressed Lin Biao's Northeast Democratic Alliance Army to the north bank of the Songhua River; in Hubei, Henan and Anhui, Liu Zhi's troops have surrounded Li Xiannian's troops.On Pinghan and Jinpu Roads, the Kuomintang troops traveling north by train gathered in Xuzhou and Zhengzhou, preparing to attack Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, Luyu liberated areas. In the six months since the armistice order was issued in January 1946, Chiang Kai-shek was very busy.On the one hand, he wants to rebuild the economy of the Kuomintang-controlled area and take over the property left by the Japanese puppets; on the other hand, he wants to reorganize the army and prepare for the elimination of the Communist Party and the liberated areas. In February, he presided over the "National Army Consolidation Conference" in Nanjing, aiming to streamline and compress the 6 million Kuomintang troops that had been assembled during the War of Resistance, eliminate the weak and retain the strong, reduce expenditure, and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.

After reorganization, the Kuomintang has 86 reorganized divisions (armies) and 248 brigades (divisions) with about 2 million regular troops, plus the irregular army, navy, air force, logistics, and schools, with a total strength of 4.3 million.The Kuomintang army received the weapons and equipment of 1 million Japanese and puppet troops, and obtained a large number of arms, aircraft and ships from the United States.Among the reorganized divisions of the Kuomintang Army, 1/4 of the divisions are equipped with American or semi-American equipment. In April, the Kuomintang army began to implement reorganization. Some miscellaneous troops canceled their designations, soldiers were sent home, and some officers were incorporated into the officer training regiment for centralized management.The remaining troops were downsized, and the army was changed to a reorganized division.For example, in the "Five Main Forces", Zhang Lingfu's 74th Army was reorganized into the 74th Division, and Hu Lian's 18th Army was reorganized into the 11th Division.But the personnel and equipment are stronger than in the past.The troops in the Northeast and North China have not been reorganized for the time being, and the original establishment will be maintained.

Just as Chiang Kai-shek was reorganizing his troops, the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region also started training under the leadership of Liu Bocheng. As early as May 1, when the battle to defend Siping in the Northeast was raging, Mao Zedong had a premonition that a full-scale civil war might break out, so he issued the "Instructions on Troop Training" to the liberated areas in the name of the Central Committee: "In addition to expanding the civil war in the Northeast, the Kuomintang reactionaries , is preparing to launch a full-scale civil war. Under such circumstances, our party must be fully prepared to be able to resolutely and completely crush the Kuomintang when it launches a civil war." "After receiving this instruction, immediately order the entire army to train, and the superiors will supervise and inspect. This is regarded as one of the keys to victory or defeat." ("Mao Zedong Military Anthology" Volume III)

After receiving Mao Zedong's instructions, Liu Bo, commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, immediately implemented them, setting off an upsurge of military training.