Chapter 58 5. Liu Bocheng decided to reorganize the 3rd Division

On August 28, 1946, the "National Army" under the jurisdiction of Liu Zhi and Xue Yue attacked Liu Bocheng's field army from the east and west at the same time to encircle them.East: 5th Army, 11th Division, and 88th Division attack Chengwu, Shanxian, and Yutai from Dangshan and Yucheng; West: 3rd Division, 41st Division, and 47th Division, and 55th Division and 68th Division. The Ministry attacked Dongming, Dingtao, and Cao counties from Fengqiu, Kaifeng, and Kaocheng. The strength of the "National Army" heading to the front line already includes 15 brigades of the regular army and a large number of local teams, which are well-equipped and six times the number of Liu Deng's main force.

The situation is critical, if you are not careful, the entire army may be wiped out! In the middle of the night, the heat of early autumn is still steaming across the land in southwestern Shandong.Occasionally, a few cool breezes pass by, bringing a little freshness to people.Liu Bocheng walked out of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army Headquarters with a reed fan.He raised his head and looked at the star-studded night sky, which was like a strategic layout map-a tired army was surrounded by it, allowing the opponents to slaughter it. What he commanded was such an exhausted army all the way, it was impossible to continuously compete with an enemy several times his own.However, if the incoming enemy is not dealt an annihilating blow and dampens its spirit, the troops will not be able to gain a foothold and retreat to Hebei, which will be even more unfavorable to the development of the future war situation.

Liu Bocheng had no other choice, but to overcome all difficulties and concentrate his forces to wipe out the enemy, in order to withstand the pressure from both sides. In his view, although the enemy's front-line troops have 100,000 troops, when they "separate and attack together", there are at most two divisions in each route, and the command is not unified. conflicts will intensify.Although our army is a tired army, its morale has been higher since the attack on Longhai Road. With the support of the old base areas and the cooperation of the masses and local armed forces, if we can pinpoint the weak points of the enemy, we will give full play to our own advantages and seek to wipe out the enemy. One way is entirely possible.

Who will hit first?Liu Bocheng came with a "ranking order": Xue Yue's main force of Jiang's army from Xuzhou is all American equipment and has strong combat effectiveness, so they should be avoided; Liu Zhi's department is from Zhengzhou's eastward enemy. The 47th divisions advanced side by side, with a gap of about 20 miles in between, which was convenient for encirclement and annihilation, and the entire 3rd division was the only direct line unit.In addition, the entire 3rd division was hastily transferred from the middle of the pursuit of the Central Plains People's Liberation Army, and the long-distance march was also a tired division.

Yes, let's fight the whole 3 divisions!Liu Bocheng was determined, and he immediately told Deng Xiaoping's political commissar and Li Da, the chief of staff, that both Deng and Li agreed.As a result, a request telegram for this combat plan was sent to Yan'an. Another important reason why Liu Bocheng chose the 3rd Division as the first target was that he was well aware of the subtle relationship between the 3rd Division and its commander Zhao Xitian in Jiang's army and the impact of being beaten. In the Jiang army in the Central Plains, the 3rd Division has always been known as "capable of attacking and defending" and "invincible", and the officers and soldiers of the division often refer to themselves as "the leader of the president's trump card".Lieutenant General Zhao Xitian even regarded himself as a "student of the Son of Heaven" and was arrogant and domineering, defiant to no one.When he passed by Zhengzhou, Liu Zhi actually entertained him with a feast as a superior, and he placed great hopes on Zhao's attack on Liu Bocheng this time.Of course, there are other reasons for Liu Zhi's enthusiasm.Zhao Xitian graduated from Whampoa Phase II, and has a teacher-student relationship with Liu Zhi. Moreover, Zhao is also the nephew of Gu Zhutong, commander-in-chief of the army, and has always belonged to the faction of He Yingqin and Gu Zhutong.In order to please Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi especially hoped that Zhao Xitian could take the lead in this attack on Liu Bocheng so that he could replace Sun Zhen at that time.

As Zhao Xitian's direct superior, Sun Zhen was already very dissatisfied with Zhao Da. If he was beaten first, Sun Zhen would not risk his life to save him.And possibly schadenfreude. It is precisely because of all this that Zhao Xitian and his 3rd division became what Liu Bocheng was most interested in.Zhao's arrogance is giving our army an excellent opportunity.If the entire 3rd division can be wiped out in one fell swoop, it will definitely shake the morale of Jiang's army until the enemy's plot of "dividing into and attacking together" is finally defeated. On August 30, Mao Zedong sent a telegram from Yan'an, agreeing to Liu and Deng's strategic deployment of the 3rd division first, and pointed out: "This division belongs to the Central Army. If it can be wiped out, it will have a great impact."