Chapter 118 10. Chiang Kai-shek scolded Wang Yaowu

The Laiwu Campaign wiped out the Li Xianzhou Group, which greatly shocked the Kuomintang authorities.In order to avoid greater losses and preserve Jinan, Wang Yaowu ordered Huo Shouyi's 12th Army to retreat for more than a hundred miles overnight, abandon important cities such as Zhoucun and Boshan, and retreat into Jinan. .Chiang Kai-shek was shocked by Wang Shuming's report and secretly flew to Jinan on the 24th. He dared not enter the city and asked Wang Yaowu to see him. Seeing Wang Yaowu, Chiang Kai-shek scolded fiercely: "You just lost two armies and one division in the battle of Laiwu. You lost so many light and heavy weapons and increased the enemy's strength. This battle will be even more difficult to fight in the future." Such a failure is a disgrace. Laiwu has been besieged, why did you retreat again? You cannot absolve yourself of the blame for such a big loss. The generals you selected this time are inappropriate, and Li Xianzhou's command ability is poor , don’t you know? He didn’t even send a rear guard when he retreated. What kind of deployment is this! If he sends a capable commander, he won’t fail. Li Xianzhou has been captured by the enemy. They will be killed by the Communist Party. Jinan is very important in terms of military, political, and geographical aspects. If there is an accident, you will be responsible!"

Chiang Kai-shek's habit of shirking responsibility and entrusting his subordinates has been fully exposed again.Wang Yaowu was full of grievances and had nowhere to complain, so he remained silent.Worried about his safety being threatened, Chiang Kai-shek spent the night at Jinan Airport and hurried back to Nanjing early the next morning. (Wang Yaowu: "The Annihilation of Jiang's Army in Laiwu", see the 8th series of "Selected Collection of Literature and History") After the war, Chiang Kai-shek also blamed the failure of the Laiwu Campaign on the reinforcements' fear of the bandits and lack of courage to help them in his speeches in the officer training corps and the training classes for administrative cadres at all levels in the Sui District. The distance between the mouth and the mouth is only 30 li, and the entire army dare not go to the aid alone. The two armies must be side by side, and the final result is that the two armies will be destroyed at the same time." It is an ironclad proof that the more soldiers there are, the bigger and faster the failure will be." ("Speech by Chiang Kai-shek at the Officer Training Corps and the Training Class for Administrative Cadres at All Levels in the Sui District", April 20, 1947)

When talking about mistakes in combat reconnaissance, he also said: "In the past, our combat plans were often determined based on the Air Force's reconnaissance reports. But according to the experience of the Laiwu Battle, the Air Force's reconnaissance cannot be the only reliable In the future, you still have to rely on the army’s own on-the-spot reconnaissance to make decisions, so as not to delay military aircraft.” (Edited by Taiwan’s “National Defense Research Institute”: “President Chiang’s Collection” Volume 2, p. 1580)