Chapter 94 5. 16 days of intense confrontation

The 3rd and 6th Columns went south secretly from the Guancheng area. On the 27th, they arrived at Hongchuankou, east of Juancheng, and joined the 20th Brigade of the 7th Column, which departed from Pu County. On the 31st, the 3rd and 7th Columns surrounded Juye with a sudden move, launched a general offensive that night, conquered it at dawn on New Year's Day in 1947, and wiped out the Kuomintang defenders.There are more than 3,000 people under Wang Ziqin, the deputy commander of the captured major general corps. After the People's Liberation Army recaptured Juye, they swung their weapons eastward to Jiaxiang.The Kuomintang garrison abandoned the city and fled to Jining, and Jiaxiang was liberated at 8 pm on New Year's Day.

The 6th Column of the People's Liberation Army was on its way to Chengwu, and learned that the newly reorganized 21st Brigade of the 88th Division of the Jinxiang Kuomintang Garrison was attracted by the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Independent Brigade, and most of them were wiped out in the south of Jinxiang. A regiment was on defense, so they temporarily changed their plan and rushed to Jinxiang instead.The new 21st Brigade of the Kuomintang Army immediately withdrew its troops, and the brigade headquarter led a regiment to return to Jinxiang City before the PLA.The 6th Column of the People's Liberation Army surrounded Jinxiang on December 30, fought fiercely all night, and captured only four passes. On the 31st and New Year's Day in 1947, the fierce attack continued. Although the east and west gates broke in three times, due to weak firepower, they were forced to withdraw under the counterattack of the Kuomintang army.The first attack on Jinxiang wiped out most of a regiment of the Kuomintang defenders.

The newly formed 21st Brigade, which was trapped in Jinxiang, frequently asked for help from the Xuzhou and Zhengzhou two Sui departments. The 21st Brigade is the direct line of Chiang Kai-shek and the main force defending Southwest Shandong.In order to ensure Jinxiang, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xue Yue and Gu Zhutong to immediately send reinforcements.The Xuzhou Sui Department sent Fang Xianjue, commander of the reorganized 88th Division, to lead the 62nd Brigade and the 140th Brigade to rush to Jinxiang; Jinxiang was assisted by He Zedong.Zhang Lanfeng, commander of the 4th Corps temporarily organized by Henan Security, led his 1st and 2nd detachments with 1 regiment each, and Dingtao Dong aided Jinxiang.

On January 2, 1947, the main force of the East China People's Liberation Army had returned to Lunan and was preparing to launch the Lunan Campaign.According to the new situation, in order to cooperate with the Lunan Campaign, Liu and Deng decided to implement a siege to fight for aid in order to contain more Kuomintang troops.In addition to ordering part of the 6th Column to continue to besiege Jinxiang, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Independent Brigade was dispatched to advance between Jinxiang and Fengxian to join local armed reconnaissance and delay the enemy who might be aided by Fengxian and Yutai. The main force of the 6th column, about 30,000 people, gathered in the Jinxiang area to encircle and aid the enemy, and reported the situation and the determination to besiege the city to the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. On January 4, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China replied to Liu and Deng, agreeing to the deployment of besieging the city and fighting for aid.

Fang Xianjue led two brigades from Xuzhou, passing through Jing'anji and Fengxian counties, and arrived near Yutai on the 6th.Liu Ruzhen and Zhang Lanfeng also marched eastward from Heze and Dingtao. According to the situation at the time, Liu and Deng decided to annihilate Fang Xianjue's troops first. On January 6, the main force of the 7th column was ordered to rush to the Zhangfengji (Zhangjiaoji) and Nanluji (located between Juye and Chengwu) areas, restrain Liu Ruzhen and Zhang Lanfeng's troops, and cut off their direction to Chengwu and Dingtao retreat.Order the 3rd and 6th columns to leave a part to continue besieging Jinxiang, and the main force immediately marched towards Yutai.

Heavy snow fell on the 8th. The 3rd and 6th columns, the 20th brigade, and the independent brigade of the military region surrounded the two brigades of Fang Xianjue's department in the Hujiahaizi, Yangzhuang, and Songjiawa areas in the northwest of Yutai. After brief preparations That is to attack.The 140th Brigade drove from Taiwan to Xuzhou, and then to Yutai. Before the situation was clarified, it was surrounded by the People's Liberation Army. The battle ended at dawn on the 9th.The 140th Brigade Headquarters and the 29th Regiment were all wiped out, most of the 28th Regiment were wiped out, and Major General Xie Maoquan, the brigade commander, was captured.

The fiercest battle was in Yangzhuang.Yangzhuang is located about 10 miles north of Yutai City, and is stationed by the 186th Regiment, the main force of the 62nd Brigade of Fang Xianjue's Department. On the 8th, the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Column of the People's Liberation Army surrounded Yangzhuang.The 186th regiment was completely destroyed, and most of the 184th regiment was wiped out, and the remnants fled back to Yutai.Most of Fang Xianjue's two brigades were wiped out. In addition to killing and wounding more than 2,000 people, more than 7,000 people under the brigade and regimental commander were captured.

The day when Fang Xianjue's troops were quickly wiped out coincided with the time when the Chen and Su armies in East China were encircling Yi County and Zaozhuang in the second stage of the Lunan Campaign.In order to ensure the safety of Xuzhou, Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng urgently ordered Wang Jingjiu and Wang Zhonglian's troops to abandon the newly occupied Daming and other places and quickly return to aid Longhai Road. On January 10, after the Yangzhuang battle ended, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping immediately ordered the main forces of the 3rd and 6th columns to move westward to encircle and wipe out Liu Ruzhen and Zhang Lanfeng's two units.At the same time, after learning that the 75th Division reorganized by the Kuomintang would go to Heze via Dongkou (west of Juancheng), they urgently ordered the first and second columns to advance from Yanggu to Hongchuankou, east of Juancheng, and prepare to encircle and annihilate the area between Dongkou and Heze. The enemy.On the way to march, it was also learned that the reorganized 75th Division had moved south from Ji County by train, so they ordered the 1st and 2nd Columns to continue to advance southward to assist in the encirclement and annihilation of Liu Ruzhen and Zhang Lanfeng's two units.

On January 11, Zhang Lanfeng's troops advanced to the Mengjiapu, Liujiamiao, and Yangjiazhuang areas west of Jinxiang and southeast of Datianji; Liu Ruzhen's troops advanced to the vicinity of Wenshangji.The 3rd and 6th Columns of the People's Liberation Army first surrounded Zhang Lanfeng's troops, and the main force of the 7th Column detoured to the west of Wenshangji to cut off the retreat of Liu Ruzhen's troops. On the night of the 12th, an attack on Zhang Lanfeng's troops began, and one of his regiments was wiped out for the first time. On the 13th, Zhang Lanfeng's troops broke through to the west, and the People's Liberation Army followed and chased them. They wiped out another regiment in Wanglou, east of Chengwu.Zhang Lanfeng's troops were wiped out.

On the 14th, Liu Ruzhen learned that Zhang Lanfeng's troops had been wiped out, and immediately withdrew to Dingtao.The 1st and 2nd columns of the People's Liberation Army arrived in the vicinity of Nanluji in time after a rapid march, and immediately followed and chased westward, encircling the 3 regiments of Liu Ruzhen's department in the Xitaiji area. On the 15th, the Kuomintang army counterattacked the PLA under the cover of five or six aircraft in an attempt to break through.Several assaults were carried out on the People's Liberation Army who invaded the village, but they were all repelled.At night, the People's Liberation Army launched an offensive. On the 16th, the 3 regiments of Liu Ruzhen's department (less than 1 battalion) were wiped out.Liu Ruzhen fled to Dingtao before being besieged and was spared capture.

When the 3rd Column of the People's Liberation Army was chasing and annihilating the remnants of Zhang Lanfeng, it took advantage of the victory to surround Chengwu County on the night of the 16th. Under the cover of artillery fire, it took only 15 minutes to reach the top of the city, and the battle was resolved in 2 hours.The supply battalion of Zhang Lanfeng's department and a security regiment were wiped out. The head of the regiment, Zhi Yongde, was killed, and the county government and 5 district offices were also wiped out.So far, the giant goldfish battle is over.